Which was real you?

But, where was consciousness? Which was real you? Nature had a mechanism, which isolated truth. When an animal sensed danger, it sniffed air to investigate. It was a process which generally stilled neural activity. Survival, in a perilous world, demanded a responsive approach, free of distorted views. An inquiring mind was most open. And, it was not as if an investigation needed to be about life threatening concerns. Even when you wrote a shopping list, that very inquiry stilled background thoughts. In end, that curious personality was true you. The superior consciousness. The most powerful intelligence in nature. That questioning drive was devoid of emotions. Open to recognize new. All other drives had fractional views. Views, which were distorted, or bending to whims and fancies of anger and fear, or love and compassion.

The spreadsheet list

For worrying issues, you did not need costly counseling. You could begin you own investigation. Just an exercise on a spread sheet assisted this process. Just as in a shopping list, a search process was set in motion. This routine began by listing, line by line, any aspect of a vexing problem, as it came to mind. A short line would be entered, in a single cell of spread sheet. Like a shopping list. It could just begin with, say, "Downsizing" and go on down. Many conflicting emotions surged in background. Each line would be a thought, which could point to pages of reports, or be just a hunch. It represented a particular feeling. The curiosity drive was powerful. It would bring in differing viewpoints. Each viewpoint was noted down. These views would arrive in conspicuous sequence.

Emptied mind

When you noted them down, you brought them into consciousness – into view of isolated and competing drives. The more outraged drives, including four letter references to corporate stupidity, became conscious of opposing viewpoints. Raging emotions could have eliminated those muffled, crucial insights. The average issue would fill about 60 or more cells. All your views about those uneasy rumours in office. It was a process which emptied your mind concerning subject. By time list was over, mind would have thrown up many rival positions. Opposing viewpoints usually brought needed balance.

Organized thoughts

Once list was over, a label was entered for each thought in an adjacent cell on spreadsheet. From a calmer perspective, labelling an entry became easier. The slimming down of corporation was not end of world. There could be promotional opportunities. Even possible career improvements. Solutions were bound to emerge. So an entry in a cell could be labelled as an “opportunity.” Each such label would fit several more entries. Gently, picture cleared. Subsurface drives which triggered anxieties came out into open. Things at back of mind, which went thud, in dark. The process ended with sixty thoughts in a dozen labeled categories. A "sort" of labels column would arrange similar ones together, in alphabetic order. Listing similarly labeled ideas together would bring clarity. They became groups of consistent, allied thoughts.

Creativity from a stilled mind

Isolated drives came out into open. A dispassionate consciousness viewed tumult and made sense. Unlikely worries seen together distilled reality. Purged anxieties. The less likely outcomes could be ignored. The inevitable ones had to be accepted. That left you with actions you could take. Invariably, things you could do never took all that much time. The rest of stuff just climbed off your chest. Acted on, ignored, or accepted. Another threatening issue would have been acknowledged, accepted and foreseen. Over years many such concerns raised their heads. Each time, spreadsheet evaluation balanced mind and stilled its hidden anxieties. When major concerns in life were sorted out, creative forces of mind converged. Anger and fear, love and altruism cooperated to search for solutions which met all concerns of mind. An integrated mind was most creative force in world.

Studying effects of sacred moments on people’s lives could serve to add understanding and knowledge for practical ways to increase well-being while providing a possible therapeutic alternative to treating stress. A serious need exists for programs that promote well-being in both psychologically healthy and unhealthy individuals. It is important to understand whether aspects of sacred moments can be cultivated as a therapeutic intervention and consequently whether their cultivation can contribute to a reduction in rising medical costs associated with stress. Current research is quick to point out that rising amount of stress in western society is due to increasing complexity of responsibilities and events (i.e., 9/11). Stress is a precursor to anxiety, and approximately 19 million Americans are afflicted with some type of anxiety disorder today. Furthermore, disorders such as anxiety critically impact quality of life and well-being. Although current research is working towards discovering factors that influence well-being, there is still a pattern of sidestepping qualities of sacred moments in reference to mental health and well-being. With field’s persistent emphasis on techniques toward mental health that do not explicitly involve sacred and transcendent, it seems critical to continue to tap this area for its value to psychology.

Psychology is becoming more interested in those moments that transcend and include ego, are non-ordinary, and are personal. Arthur Hastings, a leading Transpersonal Psychologist points out: "These experiences are usually defined as going beyond ordinary sense of identity or personality to encompass wider dimensions of psyche and cosmos. This can include experiences of intense love, enhanced perception, a sense of merging into a more comprehensive identity, spiritual and religious experiences, psychic awareness. . . . Other definitions suggest that transpersonal means optimal health and well-being, holistic development of self and psychology of transformation."

Both sacred moments and well-being are suggested in Hasting’s description of transpersonal psychology. A study of sacred moments could aspire to bring transpersonal psychology out into mainstream of psychology and bring mainstream thought into transpersonal realm.

Questions

1. What effects does cultivation of sacred moments have on subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and stress.

2. What are participants’ experiences of having sacred moments? What helps cultivation of these moments and what hinders cultivation of these moments in daily life? The recent surge of interest in well-being has brought a serious need for interventive strategies.

*** There is currently a study that is about to begin that explores affects on sacred moments on daily life.

IF you are interested in learning how to potentially cultivate more of these moments in your life, please check out

http://sacredmomentstudy.blogspot.com