Highwood Highlights No. 18. September 2008
Spirituality and Health. Why is it that most people feel uncomfortable discussing religion? You might feel uneasy as you start to read this article. Why is that? You might be interested to know that the commonest identifiable reason for unsubscriptions to this newsletter is because spirituality is mentioned from time to time. In fact, it will not surprise me if there are unsubscriptions as a result of this edition.
Does spirituality have anything to do with health? It does not take much thought to realise that oneʼs philosophy of life, oneʼs motivating opinions, oneʼs concept of existence, have a major impact on health. Consider some examples: I know a teenager who read material on evolution, concluded that life was "a tea-break between oblivion" then gave up their training and spent years sitting on their bed and doing not much else. I have noticed an obvious difference in mental health between terminally ill people who believe in a resurrection and those who donʼt. I know someone who "religiously" goes for a walk in the morning because they want to pray to God and meditate on His works. I could go on about blood transfusions, immunisations, taking drugs, eating habits, alcohol use, vegetarianism, sexuality, high-risk sports, social activities, family habits and a host of other health issues where spiritual beliefs directly impact behaviour.
So why do people get uncomfortable discussing spirituality? Before answering this, I need to get more specific. Many people are happy to talk about religions or spirituality in a general way. There's usually no problem as long as no absolutes apply, everyone is right and "there's many pathways to heaven". This is why things get more uncomfortable if you move from discussing generalities to talking about a personal God or the authority of the Bible. And if you really want to move the conversation into decision-making time then try focussing on Jesus Christ. Why do I mention Jesus Christ here rather than some other object of worship? Because Jesus is the most controversial name. I find people are generally more comfortable talking about other personages such as "God" in general, the Dalai Lama, Krishna, Buddha, Allah, Nirvana, The Force, Billions of Years (the god of evolution) or even Satan. It is interesting to me that the names "Jesus" and "Christ" are, along with "God", by far the most common sacred names used in profanity. Why is the profanity and blasphemy not shared around more among other "deities"? An interesting question. But for now let us consider why people often feel uncomfortable discussing a personal God.
I think there are a few related reasons. First, we seem to have a natural tendency to want to be our own boss, that is, we donʼt like the idea of being morally accountable. Second, we enjoy our bad habits too much and God will tell us to give them up. Third, we donʼt like to admit that we have been wrong. Pride stands by our side and tells us that it will be too humiliating to confess our mistakes and sins. We are worried that if we have a God, He will want us to confess that we have been wrong. We may even have to go to others and apologise for our behaviour and ask for forgiveness. We want to avoid pain and desire to stay in our comfort zone. Yes, I know there are other reasons why someone may not want to talk about God, such as hypocrites or past personal grievances or concern that someone is going to use religion to exercise power over them or get their money. But I think that when you really get down to the nitty gritty the basic reasons are the ones we have given - the issue of authority, enjoying bad habits and pride.
What about absolutes? Is there any such thing as right and wrong when it comes to spirituality? If we say, as many do these days, that there are lots of different ways to God, then we are really claiming that there is no right or wrong. As far as I can tell, most religions admit in one way or another that there’s some kind of problem that alienates us from "God"; and that their particular way is aimed at solving this problem. These various religions, with their different ways to "God", have totally contradictory ideas and methods about solving the problem. They even disagree on what the problem is and on who or what "God" is. For example, some say that we must simply develop the good that’s inside us, yet others believe that there’s absolutely no inherent good within us. Some believe that God is a mystic element in the trees, animals and everywhere else, while others claim that this is nonsense because God is a personal being. So, if we say that these contradictory religions all have a true way to God, then we are claiming that every one of them is right. In other words, there’s no right or wrong. And if there’s no right and wrong, then there’s no such thing as truth or error either. But in claiming this, we’re teaching and believing the ridiculous. Consider this: It’s truth to say that if a person jumps off a cliff (no exceptional circumstances applying) then they will fall downwards. But it’s erroneous to claim that if they jump off a cliff then they will float upwards. Do you get the point? Gravity is a reliable truth. So are the laws of electricity, light, pressure, temperature and so on. Without these laws life would not exist. Just as happiness is dependent upon natural laws that are truth, so happiness is dependent upon moral and spiritual laws that are truth.
So in learning from one another about religion we are going to have to get over our displeasure with absolutes. We also will need to agree that a prideful attitude is not conducive to learning spiritual things and that it is at least worth considering the possibility of somehow parting with bad habits. If we can do these three things and also acknowledge that it is okay to disagree whenever needed, then we can proceed with confidence that we will at least learn something and enrich our understanding of another's point of view.
Whether you believe in a personal God or not; whether you believe in the Bible or not; whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not; what you believe about death; what you believe about the meaning of life - it's all going to have a big impact upon your health. So, if you're interested in health then do not ignore spiritual matters.
Highwood Testimonial:
The following is a testimonial from Araipu that we have on file for public release. "I found my stay here gave me a lot of benefits. My health has improved. My medication has been reduced. Lost about 4.5kg. Breathing better than when I arrived."