Well Found Books
Peace and Harmony
Richard E. Jensen, PhD, ABPP
Peace and harmony from what? Why do I need them? I refer not only to peace within ourselves, but also harmony with the world around us. Maybe you already have them. Maybe they are not an issue for you and perhaps I'm speaking to the wrong audience. But, I doubt it. Peace and harmony are basic goals for our lives. We are seldom mistaken about whether we have them or not. They are aspirational values offered by many thinkers who remind us that we need to tune in to ourselves to find them.
We all die. The vast majority of our forebearers born just 100 years ago are long gone. We are temporary, impermanent, we come and we go. This is likely to fill us with denial, pretense and minimizing. When I was about 10 years old, my Dad pointed out some of these more awkward "facts of life." I was a bit shocked at that time, but over the decades I have found inspiration and comfort in his forthrightness about such critical life matters.
How do we deal with the other facts of life, which we did not learn in our teenage years? There is no simple answer and one size does not fit all. I think it is a basic tenet, we must all find our own path. However, if peace and harmony, including desensitizing the effect the fear of dying, are on your path, it will take grit to get there. I say grit as a way of referring to tenacity, perseverance, persistence, intellectual integrity and above all, common sense. But grit is less than half the problem. Magic is unlikely to work as a way of knowing, because it constitutes the same kind of illogical and non-empirical step described by theologian Soren Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard argues the Judeo-Christian tradition provides a variety of complicated explanations with many theological inconsistencies. For him, in order to be a Christian believer, a leap of faith is necessary. The leap of faith was quite acceptable for him and he recommended it. For me, the leap he describes is not supported by anything I can understand about ways of knowing and I must set it aside. If we are to have any basis for believing our world view is accurate, it will take grit and an active rejection of the notions of faith or magic to get to real peace and harmony. Albert Ellis, a psychologist and framer of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, would say that we need to "counter propagandize" ourselves to rid ourselves of irrational thinking. Perhaps it's more easily rendered as debunking our own irrational ideas.
If we could really embrace the notion of living in a natural world with its enormous complexities and if we could dismiss magic, theological explanations requiring a leap of faith, and really muster grit, tenacity and perseverance, we would have a good start on peace and harmony.
In The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defines prayer as, "To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner, confessedly unworthy." It's pretty clear that Bierce was talking about magic. But there's a larger problem. To pray is to externalize and pursue some supposed power outside ourselves. This is an exercise in burden-shifting, moving the responsibility, accountability or onus elsewhere. We have all probably heard the admonition, “Let go and let God.’’ There are two problems here. Who would get the consequences of the actions of some personal God? Aren’t we back to magic, again?
We need to seek not only peace within ourselves, but also harmony with the natural world around us. Is there a remedy, or are we stuck with a craving for what we do not have or with spiritual angst as described by the Buddha or Kierkegaard? How about focusing on ourselves within our natural world? We could begin by taking time out to be still and to quiet ourselves, to be thoughtful and reflective. Could we find our way to:
Savor our stillness?
In our times of quieting, reflecting, and stillness, could we enjoy the peace and harmony that is ours to experience and allow it to help us let go of our fears?
Wash out our fears and anxieties?
Allow our fears and anxieties to "dissipate" in our stillness (and they do), as we contemplate in quiet?
Become who we need to be? Make the changes and adjustments that are needed
to grow and change to emerge to our best self?
Be ourselves?
Avoid just filling a role prescribed by family heritage or religious tradition?
Look at ourselves in our own natural ecology?
See ourselves as natural beings, living in a natural world without a need to reach
to external supernatural powers?
Among other things, I'm saying we both need to be and to become. Perhaps not anywhere else, but in psychology the words “being” and “becoming” have historical meanings. One line of thought emerges from the work of Abraham Maslow in Toward a Psychology of Being, which focuses on experiencing, savoring, living in the present and in being who we are. From another point of view, Gordon W. Allport in Becoming: Basic Considerations for a Psychology of Personality develops a line of thought that focuses on growing, changing, and developing. It might be tempting to think of them as opposing worldviews. I argue both being and becoming are important foci of our lives. We need to both savor the moment and enjoy who we are while at same time we need to grow, develop and change into what our natural world demands of us.
Hard to do? So hard we better skip it? After all, couldn’t we just pray? Not likely. Consider the object of prayer. As far as I can tell, there is only: us, earth, a solar system, a universe and a larger cosmos. Think about leverage, the efficient use of our energy and maximizing our personal growth. Is it really worth externalizing, trying to be an exception to the way the natural world works, relying on some God or supernatural force to protect us?
There may still be lingering concerns that:
More background about Eastern and Western thought is required.
An even more compelling rationale is needed.
Implications of making such a radical change in worldview need to be explored.
Methods and procedures are needed identifying just what a seeker might actually do.
I agree with these concerns and have developed a model addressing these challenges in the form of a book entitled,
Life, Death and Spirituality : Finding Peace and Harmony without Religion.
Become a new person of our own making:
•Cope with life's ultimate disappointment
•Harness doubt and skepticism
•Sample wide-ranging world views
•Enjoy a realistic life perspective
•Learn a powerful relaxation exercise
•Utilize ancient skills to clear the mind
•Let go of magical mumbo jumbo
•Banish illusions that impair understanding
•Subdue the fear of death
• Discover personal Grit
•Dismiss superstition for what it is
•Move from angst to acceptance
•Find your path to peace and harmony without religion
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Author:
Richard E. Jensen, PhD, ABPP is a clinical psychologist, now retired, focusing on writing non-fiction and poetry.