The Hunger for Spirituality
Finding the Way to Express Your Healthiest Self
The modern dilemmas of overeating, hoarding, shopping, and autoimmune illnesses may reflect a thwarted natural human need for spiritual fulfillment.
Contemporary American culture often refers to the material world as reality whereas the ephemeral world is too often called, in a derogatory sense, imagination. What if, instead of imagination being disparaged fantasy, it is actually the foundation that generates material creation (i.e. this world)? This perspective reveals why trying to engender satisfaction from the material world fails in the long run.
The Spiritual Meaning of Obsessions
A way to test the truth of the above notion is to examine your compulsions. If they are merely the result of the material world, they should be easy to deal with in a material way. Don’t shop; don’t overeat; just say no. However, if not fulfilling the uncontrollable behavior, causes you anxiety, stress, discomfort, or agitation, consider the possibilities of these thoughts.
I fill myself with substance (meaning) by overeating.
I bring sweetness into my life with sugar (chocolate, candy, cookies, etc).
I make my life more exciting or, at least, interesting enough to wake me up with coffee (drugs, marijuana).
I have more opportunity to express my individuality and creativity by shopping for the right things.
My life has more importance when I see my material possessions as significant and hold onto them.
My sensitivity and uniqueness is reflected in the mystery of my illness.
This is not criticism. It is looking at clues and trying to understand the depth of their meaning. Addressing these underlying meanings of spiritual hunger would be more effective than fighting the compulsions as if they were simply bad habits.
Natural Altruism
An article about a recent study at the National Institutes of Health appeared May 28, 2007 in the Washington Post. Shankar Vedantam, the author, describes the neuroscientists who made the study as suspecting altruism was “not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather was basic to the brain, hard-wired and pleasurable.” They did not expect to find that many aspects of morality might be the result of evolution, developing to help species survive and propagate.
Some of the scientists believe that if morality is rooted in brain chemistry it has less value than if it came from free will. Instead, scientists and educators could recognize that interference from unhealthy aspects of our culture causes people not to behave altruistically. Understand more about those and make the culture healthier.
Human Development and Motivation Theories Are Light on Spirit
Some descriptions of human development and motivation, although rich in insights, do not recognize spiritual stages or they delegate spiritual tasks to late in life, presumably after an individual has fulfilled certain personal needs, learned more about the world, and developed specific skills. Although it can be helpful to look at people in this linear way, life experiences and the natural variations in the human personality are not so conveniently organized.
Children are observed acting with sympathy of spirit. Like playing baseball, some children may seek to learn the game on their own. Others may have the game brought to them by luck or life. Yet, among those who learn to play, there is a wide variation of natural talent. Children in their natural play reflect sensitivity to issues of kindness and caring no matter the experiences they have chosen or had thrust upon them.
