Spiritual Psychology is based on an understanding of humans being multi-layered entities with a Mind, Body and Spirit. Commonly known as integral, transpersonal, or spiritual psychology, it is a method that seeks to explore the full range of human potential in relationship with the soul.
As the Age of Reason evolved the science of psychology separated spirituality from the human condition as behavioral scientists tried to understand the mind separately from the soul. When you separate the mind from the soul you are left with an insufferable complex of emotional neuroses, which is why the Freudian psychologies focused almost entirely on neurotic behaviors and their roots in human infancy. Additionally when you separate the soul from the mind, you are often left with an infantile spirituality that cannot relate to the physical world, the responsibilities, relationships and complex emotions within it.
The movement to merge psychology and spirituality together again has been progressing for decades. It seems our modern times have finally accepted or broadened the definition of 'spiritual' to mean more than just mainstream religious beliefs. Today more alternative beliefs are coming out of the closet and working to reconcile the spiritual and physical aspects of our human self for healing the whole of a person; mind/body/spirit.
Long after the Freudians a new concept of psychology began to develop known as Existential thought. This therapy starts with the belief that although humans are essentially alone in the world, but we long to be connected to others. People want to have meaning in each other's lives, but ultimately we must come to realize that we cannot depend on others for our validation. The result of this revelation is anxiety in the knowledge that our validation must come from within and not from others.
This perspective is widely held in Metaphysics as an accurate hypothesis for discussing the responsibility of the soul to the choices and conditions of the individual spirit. In other words, we cannot blame others for the choices we have made, nor the spiritual choices we selected to work through in this incarnated embodiment.
It's no longer taboo to talk about karma, reincarnation and the affects of our past and past lives upon the issues and trials we face today. Spiritual Psychology takes the step beyond scientific psychology and tries to merge the wisdom of both the physical and spiritual experiences together again. Regardless of what that spiritual path is. After all, when more than 80% of the worlds population holds some type of spiritual belief, why wouldn't we try to understand the human condition from both a physical and spiritual perspective.
Spiritual Psychology, seeks to understand the three layers of the human being. The person we display to the world, the person we see our self as, and the person we really are within our spiritual existence. This process of understanding helps an individual gain insight into the trials we feel that have moved us away from our spiritual path, created karma, and consequently caused us to feel separated from the Divine force within our life and our own Higher Self. Through spiritual work and therapy, we can let go of these pains and fears to gain understanding about the lessons our soul seeks to acquire and to see ourselves in a new light. To bring about a holistic healing for the whole being of mind, body and spirit.
