There is all of this talk about spiritual transcendence these days. How do we recognize it? How can these individuals be supported and valued in our society. This is a proven process recorded over the last 5000 years. Western psychological hospitals screen for these special experiences so that individuals don't get labeled as psychotic while entering and negotiating this process.
2007-06-09 14:31:47 · 6 answers · asked by EnlightenedOne 4 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Great answers. It is true that a quiet heart can be recognized, however the greater problem is in the newly awakened individual's difficulty coming to terms with a new reality. It is actually a death of the self as defined by one's experiences. The person that emerges is a baby in need of much help. This help IS NOT available for those that come up outside of any tried and true tradition. It is a rare occurrence that may become more common with some kind of structure in place as a method of coping.
2007-06-09 15:59:59 · update #1
I recognize that enlightenment is a mental state/condition that is possible for human beings. However, I did not learn this during my psychological studies. I learned about enlightenment in a Zen Buddhism course that I took as an elective.
Enlightened persons can recognize others like themselves. The unenlightened are unlikely to recognize those who are enlightened and may instead mistakenly view the enlightened as mentally defective.
Never in my bachelor's psychology classes nor in the few psychology graduate courses that I took did I hear of psychologists who recognize enlightenment as a possible mental state. Terribly, psychologists base sanity too much on the characteristics that are statistically normal for a particular social population. The fields of clinical and abnormal psychology, in particular, lack objectivity. Those kinds of psychologists generally focus on negative mental characteristics, for example, what they view as deficiencies, and show little interest in the positive characteristics of the human mind, such as psychological resilience. They are quick to assign labels on people that stigmatize their minds, and do not show interest in researching the beneficial mental states including enlightenment. I am not talking about all kinds of psychologists so don't misunderstand my claims.
2007-06-09 15:26:50 · answer #1 · answered by MindTraveler 4 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Western psychological hospitals do not screen for "these special experiences so that individuals don't get labeled psychotic." Why would an enlightened individual be entering the psychiatric system unless they were mentally ill? And if they were mentally ill, that would affect their course of enlightenment for sure. Also, "we" don't need to recognize enlightened folks, they are quite content without us recognizing them. That's part of being enlightened, right?
2007-06-09 14:40:15 · answer #2 · answered by LifeProfessor 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
A) i do no longer think interior the bible or any of the biblical religions because it extremely is. B) I doubt which you're any further enlightened then the different human on the face of this Earth. C) you recognize the extra you place up this question the extra you sound like a raving lunatic.
2016-10-08 21:44:49 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The one who is truly enlightened does not show it. That would be false pride.
Hm.... Western psychological hospitals..... they label anybody as abnormal who sticks his head out and does not conform to the plebs, the gray ignorant stupid Masses...... whose standard the psychologists have adopted.
2007-06-09 14:37:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It not that these things do not happen, it is that if such people gain support and value in our culture, then the ones who claim to have such experiences will outnumber the genuine article and cause nothing but trouble.
2007-06-09 14:36:04 · answer #5 · answered by gotagetaweigh 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no. people fear the unknown
2007-06-09 14:35:47 · answer #6 · answered by the big jerm 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋