Spirituality
and Mental Health
How has
spirituality helped you get through your “dark night”?
“Many times
the Christ has come to the world, and He has walked many lands. And always He
has been deemed a stranger and a madman.”
-Gibran
“O God, thou
created us in thy image and our hearts will be restless until they find their
rest in Thee.”
- St.
Augustine
Buddha was
asked ‘What have you gained from meditation? He replied, “Nothing!” However,
Buddha said, let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression,
Insecurity, Fear of Old, Age and Death.”
“Never give
up on someone with a mental illness. When "I" is replaced by
"We", illness becomes wellness.”
-S. Alder
“O my
servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things
contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of
blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy
and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by
Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in
their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and
every one of them you will no doubt attain.”
-Bahá’u’lláh
“O MOVING
FORM OF DUST!
I desire
communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy
rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee,
but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chosen for thee, yet
boundless shame thou hast chosen for thyself. While there is yet time, return,
and lose not thy chance.”
-Baha’u’llah
“About a
third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from
the senselessness and emptiness of their lives. This can be defined as the
general neurosis of our times.”
-Jung
“When our
thoughts are filled with the bitterness of this world, let us turn our eyes to
the
sweetness of
God’s compassion and He will send us heavenly calm! If we are imprisoned in the
material
world, our spirit can soar into the heavens and we shall be free indeed! When
our days are drawing to a close let us think of the eternal worlds, and we
shall be full of joy!”
-Abdu’l-Baha
“The normal
person wears masks in order to function in society, to maintain self-identity
in a world that corrodes the self and redefines it for its collective purpose.
To act without a mask, to think and speak and behave without this veil of
illusion is an act of madness. To lose these masks, to be true to self and
therefore true to nature and reality, is to be free. This freedom, taken
against society, has its risk of loneliness and misunderstanding, but it
safeguards intuition and self from the intolerant masses and their expectation of
conformity, of mask-wearing.”
- unknown
"Dark
emotions don't go away. They simply come to us in whatever form we can bear.
When we master the art of staying fully awake in their presence, they move us
through suffering. We discover that the darkness has its own light."
– M.
Greenspan
"Joy
gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener,
and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world
and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become
weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence
veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our
spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead
beings. There is no human being untouched by these two influences; but all the
sorrow and the grief that exist come from the world of matter—the spiritual
world bestows only the joy!"
-
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
“The spirit
is permanent and steadfast in its station'. The veil or hindrance that
interposes between soul and body during physical disease is sickness itself.
Sickness reveals a lack of balance in human organism, an absence of equilibrium
in the forces essential for the normal functioning of the human body."
-S. Effendi
“You ask me
how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were
born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen -- the seven
masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives. I ran maskless through the
crowded streets shouting, "Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves." Men
and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me. And when I
reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, "He is a
madman." I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for
the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul
was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in
a trance I cried, "Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my
masks." Thus I became a madman. And I have found both freedom and safety
in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood,
for those who understand us enslave something in us. But let me not be too
proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief. “
-Gibran
“Thy name is
my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to
Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my
healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou,
verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
-Baha’u’llah
"What
does it mean to be crazy? To have a disorder of the mind. But
"disorder" can only exist if there is some kind of pre determined
"order" set in place. And who decides on order relative to the human
mind? Human society. Sane and insane is a judgment based on perspective. So
there is no reason to think of yourself as insane; if the very mindset of the
society that determines whether you are sane or insane is in and of itself
insane!”
– T. Swan
“O Lord!
Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction.
Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the
Redeemer of every soul. O Lord! Grant deliverance through Thy mercy, and reckon
me among such servants of Thine as have gained salvation.”
“Nobody
realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”
– Albert
Camus
“Anxiety in
the heart of a man weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.”
“But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
“There is
more to life than increasing its speed.”
-Gandhi
The spirit
may be likened to the light within the lantern. The body is simply the outer
lantern. If the lantern should break, the light is ever the same because the light
could shine even without the lantern. The spirit can conduct its affairs
without the body…. The human soul by means of this body can perform its
operations, and without the body it can, likewise, have its control. Therefore,
if the body be subject to disintegration, the spirit is not affected by these
changes or transformations.”
“When your
life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something
magical happens: ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of
life begins to nourish your soul!”
-Rabbi
Kushner
“Spiritual
opening is not a withdrawal to some imagined realm or safe cave. It is
not a pulling away, but a touching of all the experience of life with wisdom
and with a heart of kindness, without any separation.”
-Jack
Kornfield
“When the
material world and the divine world are well co-related, when the hearts become
heavenly and the aspirations grow pure and divine, perfect connection shall
take place. Then shall this power produce a perfect manifestation. Physical and
spiritual diseases will then receive absolute healing.”
-Abdu’l-Baha
“The heart
is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or
love. What seeds will you plant there?”
-Buddha
'You must
always remember, no matter how much you and others are afflicted with mental
troubles that your spirit is healthy, near to your Beloved, and will in the
next world enjoy a happy and normal state of soul.”
-Bahai
Writings
“Within you
there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and
be yourself.”
-H. Hesse
"Happy
are those conscious of their spiritual need."
-Matthew
5:3.
“The waters
closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped
about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars
closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to
you, into your holy temple.”
-Jonah 2:5-7
“Know thou
that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of
body or mind.
That a sick
person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves
between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any
bodily ailments.”
-Bahá’u’lláh
“But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
-Galatians
5:22-23
“Time, in
the words of Albert Einstein, is "an illusion of consciousness."
Shallow thinking literally speeds up our experience of time, while deep and
peaceful thinking slows it down. We inhabit time more effectively when our mind
and heart are clear. Such a world view
is like a mental filter, leading us to experience the world through a lens of
love instead of fear. Fear is the thinking that dominates the world, but love
is who we really are. Grounding ourselves each day in a deep remembrance of who
we really are, we actualize the spiritual power that lies latent within all of
us. We were created to love, and in loving we are fulfilling the purpose of our
lives. With every thought we think, we either extend love or project fear into
the world. Taking a few simple principles and applying them to our daily lives
lifts us above the turmoil of the world.”
-M.
Williamson
O My
servant! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of
its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come
forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent
and manifest unto all the world.
-Bahá’u’lláh
– Rumi
“Your pain
is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the
stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you
know pain.
And could
you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life,
your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you
would accept the seasons of your heart,
even as you
have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you
would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your
pain is self-chosen.
It is the
bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore
trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his
hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup
he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been
fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.”
- Gibran
“Oh
soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your
own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you
worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul.”
“It takes
courage…to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take
the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.”
― M.
Williamson
“Consider...
the sun when it is completely hidden behind the clouds. Though the earth is
still illumined with its light, yet the measure of light which it receiveth is
considerably reduced. Not until the clouds have dispersed, can the sun shine
again in the plenitude of its glory. Neither the presence of the cloud nor its
absence can, in any way, affect the inherent splendor of the sun. The soul of
man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its
sustenance, and should be so regarded.”
-Bahá’u’lláh
“Sorrow
prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that
new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of
your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up
the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever
sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”
-Rumi
“Once a
professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held
it up for all to see and asked the students, “how much do you think this glass
weighs? ’50gms!’?…’100gms…’125gms’…. The
students answered, “I really don’t know unless I weigh it.” The professor said, ‘now, my question is:
What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’ ‘Nothing’ the
students said. “OK what would happen if
I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked. “Your arm would begin to ache” said one of
the students. “You’re right, now what
would happen if I held it for a day?” “Your
arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to
go to hospital for sure! Ventured another student”, all the students laughed. “Very good. But during all this, did the
weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor. “No” was the reply of all the students. “Then what caused the arm to ache; the muscle
to stress?” After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm ache, what should
I do?” The students were puzzled. “Put
the glass down!” said one of the students.
“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this.
Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long
time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyze you. You will
not be able to do anything.” It’s
important to think of the challenges in your life, but even more important to
‘put them down’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep.”
- C. Rutagengwa
“Two of the
most fundamental human needs are the need for love and justice. Love
draws forth from each of us those qualities of character – compassion,
trustworthiness, fair-mindedness, generosity, courage – which make for a
meaningful life and empower us to contribute to the emergence of peaceful
societies. Justice involves the wisdom to apply this force of love
strategically – using the tools of reward and punishment in harmony with that
kind of moral education which refines the heart’s attraction to excellence of
character and service. That so many human beings are deprived of these
essential prerequisites for healthy development and thus fail to manifest noble
human capacities is one of the great tragedies of our age.”
-Baha’i
Association of Mental Health Professional
