S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 8 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 3 9 Samuel Bendeck Sotillos Relationships encompass an indefinite number of states of consciousness and levels of reality—a sacred unity both within the created order and in what lies beyond it, as the Lakota saying reveals: Mitakuye oyasin –“We are all related.” The Hindu tradition has what is known as satsang, or an association with truth or reality, which consists of being in the company of saints and sages; however, it also signifies an ultimate encounter with our primordial nature or the Self. The Buddha considered that “the entire holy life… is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship” (2000, 1524). Additionally, Confucius (551–479) stressed that the person who “associates with those that possess the Way… thereby corrects his own faults” (1938, 87). It is through intimate forms of spiritual fellowship that we can embark on a way of life that adheres to the middle path between extremes. This idea is found in the Gospel of Matthew (7:14): “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” In the Islamic tradition, this is known as following the “straight path” (Arabic al-sirāt al-mustaqīm; Qurʼān 1:6) and, for this reason, the “fellowship of Muslims” (Arabic ummah) is described as a “middle community” (2:143). As Buddha taught, the way of “[a]voiding… extremes, the Tathāgata has realized the Middle Path: it gives vision, it gives knowledge, and it leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna” (Rahula 1974, 92). Confucius also alluded to the middle way: “To go too far is as bad as not to go far enough” (1938, 156). Akin to the Twelve-Step Programs adage of living “one day at a time” (Anonymous 2001, 293) we find that all the spiritual traditions teach us to live in the present moment, as life can only be truly experienced in the here-and-now. “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The present moment contains the whole of time, both past and future. This is why it is often referred to in traditions as the eternal now. The present moment is ultimately all that exists, as the past is no longer and the future has yet to arrive. To be mindful of the here-and-now is to enter the contemplative state of the Real, which is none other than this timeless present. Metaphysically, the whole of time, past and future, is contained in the eternal now, as Ānandamayī Mā teaches: “In that supreme moment, all moments are contained” (2007, 91). Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) conveyed a similar teaching: “All time is comprised in the present or ‘now’” (Cusanus 1954, 76). Within Islamic spirituality, there is a well-known saying that “the Sufi is the son of the moment” (Arabic al-sufī ibn al-waqt). 4 Conclusion Psychology today attempts to assess, diagnose, and treat addiction without acknowledging what we have termed the trauma of secularism. Without understanding the historical developments that led to the world of modernity – the fruition of the Age of Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries – it is difficult to understand how this profane trajectory radically undermined the collective psyche. The discipline of modern psychology has unapologetically participated in this anti-spiritual outlook which, paradoxically and unknowingly, it has also attempted to remedy since its inception. Deprived of metaphysics, contemporary psychology remains in a hopeless, self-contradictory predicament because it cannot be called what it alleges itself to be: namely, a science of the soul. In an addictive state of mind, we are unable to get enough of we do not need, and for this reason we remain unsatisfied even when we obtain the thing desired. Similarly, we cannot get enough of what we truly need, due to an inability to properly understand the underlying source of our addiction. What is forgotten or confused is that we are ultimately seeking transcendence and healing from our samsāric or fallen condition, as unambiguously taught in the world’s religions. To be human is to be called to the sacred, and our soul will not rest until it returns home, a journey supported by adhering to one of humanity’s divinely revealed sapiential traditions. It is through metaphysics that a multidimensional model for understanding the spiritual roots of substance abuse can emerge. Informed by the diverse epistemologies of the world’s cultures, we can better understand the underlying motives of addiction and the means to facilitate wholeness. To become what we are entails restoring our spiritual dimension, the science of the soul, for “the way of healing is one of integration; resolution of the psychomachy [note: battle for the soul]; making peace with one’s Self” (Coomaraswamy 1988, 231). Note [1] “He [note: Bill Wilson] would later say that [note: William] James, though long in his grave, had been a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous” (Anonymous 1984, 124).
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