Beyond the Self: The Pursuit of a Higher Reality
From the moment we take our first breath, we begin constructing a complex internal world – our self-concept. This intricate mental framework, built from biological needs and societal influences, acts as a filter through which we experience everything. As George Kelly (1955) proposed, each individual constructs their personality from a unique set of "building blocks," shaping their perception of the world around them. However, what if this self-concept, while essential for navigating the world, becomes a barrier to a deeper truth? This exploration delves into the fascinating interplay between self-perception and reality. While most individuals function with a relatively shared understanding of the world, for some, distortions in self-concept lead to a fractured view of reality. In extreme cases, these distortions can create entirely separate realities, as seen in individuals with severe mental health issues. This raises a profound question: is the world we experience truly objective, or is it an illusion colored by our self-image? This work ventures beyond the limitations of self-concept, exploring the pursuit of a "Higher Reality." While traditional psychotherapy aims to modify self-perception for better adaptation, spiritual philosophies, as exemplified by Helen Schucman's "A Course in Miracles" (1976), advocate for transcending the self entirely. This pursuit of a deeper reality challenges the very foundation of our self-constructed worlds, beckoning us to explore a potential existence beyond the confines of our individual perceptions. As we embark on this journey, we will explore the science of self-concept formation, analyze the distortions that cloud our vision, and delve into the spiritual quest for a reality that transcends the limitations of the self.
The self-concept is formed in childhood as the human child tries to adapt to the necessities of his body and society. George Kelly (1955) intimated on how each child constructs his personality using the nature of biological and sociological building blocks he has available to him. The formation begins from day one of the child’s birth and by age five is discernable.
Once formed the individual sees everything in his world through the lenses of his self-concept. He does not see anything as it is but as his self-concept and self-image dispose him to see things.
In most cases, people are normal and see things as most people in their world see them. In some cases, people (those with personality disorders) distort what they see and do not see things as members of their group see them; they project their distortions to other people and relate to their distortions, not to the people to whom they are relating.
In insanity, individuals completely escape from the socially defined objective world and posit their understanding of it and relate to their understanding, and perception, without trying to ensure that what they see is there or merely their imaginations; we say that such people live in their world. (The sociologist, Karl Mannheim (1930) posits that reality, as we understand it, is a social and individual construct, not what is in truth reality.)
The objective of scientific psychotherapy is to enable individuals to understand their self-concepts, self-images, and personalities and where there are problems, change them and make them more adaptive to their world.
The purpose of spiritual psychotherapy is to get individuals to relinquish their self-concepts and self-images (Helen Schucman, 1976, A Course in miracles), have no self-concepts, and live only from their Real Self.
After UCLA College of Letters where I obtained PhD is Philosophy, Psychology and Religion I got a teaching job at the University. I felt uneasy teaching. I applied for a job in the mental health field; I got many offers and within two years was running the mental health center where I worked, supervising psychologists and psychiatrists who have been in that field for many decades.
Eventually, I felt bored by the job (of been executive director...I was barely thirty two years old when I was the executive director of the largest mental health agency in the city where I lived) and quit and tried doing other things.
Nothing I tried worked out for me. So, I did other executive director jobs but eventually wound up quitting and returning to college teaching until I felt that teaching is too easy for me; I felt unchallenged being a college professor (I filled my time writing on assorted subjects that interested me).
Eventually, I realized that I have a destiny and fate. My normal routine is to read until I go to sleep (although there is a huge TV in the house, I seldom watch it) and get up around 5 AM, think for a while, and then go to my computer and type the thoughts that I just had in my sleep.