To speak of the sacred is to refer to the eternal grandeur proper to our
essential nature. This dimension is personal to the eye, touch, movement
and expression. To live the sacred means to reside consciously in this
endless space, authority of time, yet transcending time. In this capacity
of being, the notion of individuality loses all coherence. The Ego-I thought
has re-integrated it's source, free of all identification to an idea, image
or concept.
In the field of psychology, suffering is always associated to a "knower" of suffering, an entity called the "me" that is supposed to have experience of suffering. "I suffer". Suffering is observable, as is any other matter. It is expressed on a physical, emotional or psychic plane yet always refers itself to an Ego-Me that suffers. When the focus moves from suffering towards the knower of suffering, a question imposes itself : "Which is this Ego-Me that suffers? What is it about and whom is it about? Is it the representation of myself that is in the process of suffering (yet can an image suffer?) or is it the body which suffers?" These types of questions which can be qualified as enlightened introspection lead to a discovery of this entity that we call myself. This probing utilizes the most natural faculty of conscience which is attentiveness. Comprehension can occur only through a non selective observation, that is to say, an open attentiveness without a priori.
What can such an observation bring? At first, on the physical level, a non-selective listening allows to take note of the tensions and reactions located more particularly in one part of the body or another. This listening does not seek to explain. It concerns giving space to the part of the body that suffers, a breathing space that is inhibited by the body tension. In the way that a mother looks after her child protectively, the conscience protects suffering and gives it the opportunity to express and resolve itself. As the tension progressively disappears, the natural harmony of the body reveals itself as a silent background, existing yet not always expressed. In this healing process, one cannot exactly speak of a willful intervention but a sort of conscious non-action that will allow the body to find it's proper place, it's spontaneous rythm, it's deep-seated health.
This very quality of observation, as it explores the relationship between the body and the mind, will rapidly identify the fact that all physical tension is in connection with a mental action and a secondary emotional reaction. Frowning, shrugging, blocking of the abdominal breathing, are as many bodily reactions linked to an internal attitude. For example, wanting something at all cost, refusing a situation or acting in the hope of receiving a reward. The gaze in the eye being the most fit in it's ability to discern, the thought that creates a state of tension and it's reaction on a physical level will instantly be identified. When the process is clearly perceived, there is like a halt, a mental suspension that is a prelude to the psychic and physical release. The "letting-go" is hence in action : perception, vision, instant comprehension, then surrender. With practice, one very quickly identifies the slight shoulder tensing that reveals a defensive attitude, the breathing blockage associated with the emotional implication to the situation or the puckering of the brow linked to a needless concentration. These schemas involve the by and large psychosomatic structure in which body, emotions and thoughts are totally interdependent and thus acknowledged as a whole. The more the mind is aware, the easier it is not fall into the old patterns or defense habits, tension, resistance, refusal.
Finally, the observation will turn towards the very structure of thought which still refers to the central and omnipresent Ego-I figure, bearer of the past, the future and the present : 'I did, I acted, I will do, I would like, I want". From this root thought "I" are born the other protagonist figures of the human theater : You, He, Them. The ultimate question then appears : "Who is the connoisseur of this I, who am I?". A silence settles. No answer. Would this silence in itself be the answer? For the first time after so much turbulence, the inquirer turns inward and no longer finds anything to feed his questions. A full silence replaces all the ideas that one can have about oneself. This silence that searches itself, when it finds itself, simply remains there where it has always been. The self has regained it's place of residence. All effort is abolished. The simple thought of searching for something has disappeared. A conscious plenitude reveals itself.
The sacred in psychology therefore first goes through an experience, through an awareness of our true nature, desire which underlies all desire, search which underlies all search. When the object of this quest is revealed to the one who suffers, his entire vision of existence and of himself is transformed in a radical way. Events are no longer refused or undergone but experienced as an opportunity for a liberating understanding. The theatrical expression of the actor identified with the role he is interpreting gives way to the authentic expression of a lived oneness in which the central figure is no longer the self, but life itself. Freedom with regard to oneself appears as the only true freedom, non-affected by the succession of events which is called destiny.
This very perception when applied to psychopathology will shed a new light. All pathological process thus appears as the consequence of a non-comprehension and therefore reveals itself as being an opportunity for growth.
Depression, for example, is linked to a mistaken search for happiness in a situation, an event, a relationship, or an idea of oneself. When happiness is identified as a direct expression of our profond nature, a space is created. The event loses it's substance for it is no longer considered as cause of suffering. The inner attitude is recognized as generating suffering. The change in one's inner look is in itself an act of healing.
Anxiety over something is nothing but the mirror of a primitive anxiety of non-existence, of annihilation into absolute silence. The treatment of anxiety is therefore an invitation to confront oneself to the inner silence, to contact it without fear, to live it as a precursor to an as yet not revealed plenitude.
Obsession, a crystalized and rigid thought, is the material counterpart of the haunting desire to be. A shift must therefore be made. Once recognized, the quest for underlying perfection is repositioned in a more accurate perspective. The mind-body structure can hence be released and open itself to a greater truth. The desire to be returns to the being.
Meditation, relaxation, comprehension are in this way the new tools of a spiritual psychopathology, the goal of which is to integrate and harmonize. The sacred occupies the major place in a holistic therapeutic approach. The awareness of our infinite nature is the result of a genuine therapy in which patient and therapist are nothing but the expression of one and the same consciousness.
Translated from French by Caroline Carr.