Report
1
The
Union of the Mental and Physical Bodies
Written
by:
Melanie
Tucker
PSY
459- Theistic Psychology
UHM
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
The Mental World
Consciousness is one of the most
important objects that people have. It
may not be a physical object, but it is what allows us to be human and to
interact with others. Everyone’s
consciousness affects others around them.
Humans are all connected to each other so each decision will alter
someone else’s path. By taking away
someone’s conscious, it in turn takes away their humanity, making them
essentially a robot. People are given a
conscious at the time of their birth.
This stays with them for endless eternity.
There are two paths we can follow with
this. The first being selfism. This is doing things for yourself, to benefit
yourself, with no thoughts of what affect it has on others around you. This is very unfair to those around you, and
it’s a “hellish” trait, hellish meaning something that is negative. On the opposite path is the road of
altruism. This is doing whatever it may
be to not only help yourself, but those around you. In this path, you aren’t thinking of “how can
I help myself”, but “how I can I make this other person benefit”. Altruism yields “heavenly” traits. Your decision in which one you choose will
affect how your mental body will develop.
The world in which we belong is based
much on physicality. In the above
mentioned paragraph however, I stated that the most important aspect of being
human is that we have a conscious. This
must mean that even though we tend to look at the physical, maybe there should
be more attention paid to the non physical.
A way that we can experience this non physical aspect of humans is to
look into dreams, or as called in theistic psychology, dream consciousness. What we see in dreams appears real to
us. We can talk to people, pick objects
up, or anything else you wish to do in dreams.
This shows that physicality isn’t that important. Sure, our corporeal self (the part of us for
instance sees a yellow pen and states it is a yellow pen) only looks to the
physical. What if you look at this pen
and wonder is it really a pen, or could it be a laser pointer. This is thinking abstractly.
The physical nature of things is
important to most people. It’s hard to
think beyond that and recognize there might be something more important. We all have our own feelings (which are run
by our affective organ, like the heart, endocrine system, and the reproductive
glands), and we all have ideas to carry out our feeling (which are carried out
by the cognitive organs, like the lungs, mouth, and vocal cords). The affective organ and cognitive organ
conjoin to form the behavior for reacting to the ideas because of the feelings
you have, and this takes place in the sensorimotor organ, which is the body’s
reaction to what we feel and think. This
system corresponds to our physical things like the brain, joints, and
hair. Why do we think the way we
do? What if our mental world is more
important the objects we see daily? This
is the idea behind theistic psychology.
There is a presence behind of what we think. This is called the “Divine Psychologist”, or
God. Our consciousness allows us to see
and believe what we wish, but eventually through time and life obstacles, we
will be able to accept spiritual (also called rational) truths. This Divine Psychologist has a co-presence
with us and helps guide our paths and choose our loves (those behaviors and
ideas with which we hold onto and uphold by).
The Body-Mind Union
Correspondences are the mental
and the physical worlds matching up point by point. For instance, we have the physical sun which
gives us light and heat, and it allows objects all around us to flourish. In the mental world, there is the “Spiritual
Sun”. The Spiritual Sun gives us what we
need to survive in the mental world. The
Spiritual Sun is the ruling force of the mental world. This is what has broken off and helped form
what we are made of. Just as there is
matter that makes up everything around us, there are substances that come from
the Spiritual Sun that help the mental objects survive.
Below is a list of correspondences that
I have seen throughout my life. The body
isn’t actually doing what the terms suggest, but it implies a mental state to
the bodily form.
Popular Body-Mind Correspondences
Body Mind
Having a stiff upper lip someone who is mentally
strong
Having a broken heart being emotionally
distraught
Dyeing to be first someone who is
eager
Belly up the situation went bad
Heart of gold a
genuine, nice person
Neoligistic body-mind correspondences
Body Mind
Mouth of a serpent someone who lies
and is deceitful
Like a vulture a person
who is mean and cruel
Crooked finger someone who
abuses power
More
than One World?
We indeed have a physical world
in which we can touch, see, and smell things around us. In theistic psychology however, there is
another world, the mental world which lies in eternity. Having the belief that these two worlds exist
is dualism. “Substantive dualism” is believing that there are two things that make up
everything, good and truth, which comes from the Spiritual Sun. This goodness and truth equates to the
rational or spiritual substances that radiate from the Spiritual Sun. One could also say that the goodness relates
to heat of the Spiritual Sun, while truth relates to the light of the Spiritual
Sun. These particles of goodness and
truth form our mental world, and help supply us with feelings, which are
related to the affective organ, and also these particles give us thoughts,
which are related to our cognitive organ.
Substantive dualism accepts that there are two worlds, one temporal, and
one eternal. There is also the idea that
there is a physical outer shell to us, but there has to also be an internal
mental shell of us. This light and heat
is constantly going in and out of us, filling us with the substances to help us
survive.
Correspondences
and Us
By studying the
correspondences, we can help see how our mental and physical world connects and
how it works together. At birth, we are
born into these two separate bodies. The
physical needs to flourish and choose between what is right and wrong so the
mental body has a positive place to go to when the physical body dies. Everything in the mental world corresponds to
something in the physical world. If we
understand that there is a relationship between the mental and physical bodies,
it can give us more insight to who we are and if we listen to the co-presence
of God in us, we can become closer to him.
Correspondences
in Schools
If the correspondences are
universal, I don’t think that they would be appropriate for a biology class,
but they may have some potential in a psychology class. The reason why I would be against it for a
biology class is that I feel that biology is something that we can look at,
understand, and describe. When it comes
to the point of validating if these body-mind correspondences exist, it can’t
concretely be proven. It would be hard
to find a device that could properly map out what someone’s affective and
cognitive organ are doing. Unless there
is a way to read minds, I think it should be kept out of biology because it
would be hard to place it in the curriculum as being completely valid.
On the other side of the issue,
I think it could have potential in psychology classes. Psychology is such a vast topic with many
theories and oppositions to many of those theories too. In psychology, I think there is a certain
extent to which someone can assume what’s going on behind the body-mind
correspondences and go with that idea.
Psychology is the study of the mind and how it works, so what better
place to teach the concept of the correspondences between the mind and
body!
The Mental Layers
There are in all 12 mental layers. The first layer is called the Spiritual
Sun. This is the source of spiritual
heat, or altruism, and spiritual light, rationality. This spiritual heat and light is what makes
up everything. Layer 2 is called “Soul
from conception to birth”, or “Heaven of Human Intervals”. The father’s semen is what makes the soul,
and it’s effective at the time of conception.
This is a layer that no human could ever comprehend. Only God recognizes it’s there. In this layer is also where still-bourns and
unborn children are. “Soul from birth to
eternity” is the next layer. This is
also kept out of the consciousness of human knowledge. It’s created from the father’s soul that is
carried within his semen. Here is also where each individual’s
uniqueness is formed. These first three
layers are all connected. They belong to
God. Layer 1 exists outside of time and
space, and therefore is eternal, having no beginning, nor no end. . This
layer supplies what is need for layers 2 and 3 to form, the “spiritual bar
code” used to make up each individual soul.
The fourth layer is called the
“Spiritual Mind, Celestial Layer”. We
are not able to experience this level until death of the physical body. This layer represents the innermost layer for
humans. The “Spiritual Mind, Spiritual
Layer” is the next layer. Like the
previous layer, it remains unconscious until the physical death. Layer 6 is “Spiritual Mind, Natural Layer”, and
it helps us form languages and institutions.
As with layer 4 and 5, this layer is also not recognized by us. These
layers are all related. This is the
spiritual mind. Layers 4, 5, and 6 are
all developed by what we learn from Sacred Scripture. The first six layers are all related since
layers 1-6 are in the spiritual world.
Next is the “Natural Mind” layer. This has two parts, 7i (seven internal), and
7e (seven external). 7i can be thought
of as Divine speech. We are able to
relate to this layer by reading Sacred Scripture, gaining insight, or
experiencing enlightenment. 7i
corresponds to only that which is good.
These spiritual truths can only exist in heaven. 7e, on the other hand, is not heavenly. This is a layer in which is hell. In the eighth layer is where we house our
hellish inherited traits. This is
yourself, as you know yourself. The
“Natural Mind, Corporeal Mind” is the layer that is closest to the physical
body. This layer looks at what can be
seen concretely. Also, hellish traits
exist in Layer 9. Each of these layers
makes up the whole of the natural mind. The
difference between layers 8 and 9 and layer 7 is that the latter is developed
through Sacred Scripture only, while layers 8 and 9 are gained by physical
interaction with our surroundings. The
internal and external layers also exist within layers 8 and 9.
The “Spiritual Body” is located in
layer 10, and holds the nine layers before it.
This is a protective layer. The
“Limbus Covering” layer also holds all the previous layers. Unlike the Soul listed previously, this layer
is inherited from the mother. This layer
does not disappear at death. Layer 12 is
the “Physical Body” and is inherited from the mother after conception. The physical body forms our natural mind by
receiving sensory information. This
layer does not exist after death.
Within the natural mind, there are
three separate ways in which one can experience God: conscience, proof, and
sacred scripture.
In layer 7 (the rational mind), the
conscience can relate with God by accepting that there is substantive dualism,
God is true and good, and they can realize that they do in fact have an
immortal self. People in layer 7 use
various types of proof to know and accept God: rational conscience, rational
co-presence with God, and experiencing scientific revelations. Layer 7 people can also experience God by
understanding Divine Speech, or the Word of God.
In the 8th layer (the
materialistic mind), there is a different way in which God is experienced. Within the conscience, human dignity,
fairness, and a personal God is present.
Proof is expressed by historical events, miracles, and prophecies. With sacred scripture, one accepts God
through mystical correspondences with Divine Speech. This means the person is accepting there is a
presence there, but all they really know is that this presence is greater than
them.
Within layer 9 (the corporeal mind),
conscience equates to guilt, taboos, and blood lines (accepting beliefs because
the family does). The proof in the
corporeal mind is present with visions, ghosts, and talismans. There are all physical objects that are
thought to have power. Physical events
help layer 9 people experience sacred scripture. People in this level can only see things as
they seem to be, and not look within the surface of them, unlike the other 2
layers.
The natural mind and the spiritual mind
work hand in hand. Layer 7i corresponds
to layer 6, layer 8i corresponds to layer 5, and layer 9i corresponds to layer
4. If layer 7i is achieved (which means
the mind has begun regeneration, also known as accepting heavenly traits), this
opens up layer 6 to the individual. By
going to layer 8i, it opens up layer 5.
Lastly, opening up layer 9i allows people to reach the height of the
layers, which are the closest to God.
Mental Anatomy
The idea of having mental anatomy is a
logical one since our physical body has anatomy as well. This brings about the idea of dualism. The body isn’t made of only one part. We have a physical body with which we can
interact with the other physical objects amongst our world, so we, in addition,
also need a mental body to experience that other part of us. The physical body and the mental body are two
separate entities. We are born with
these two bodies. The physical body is
however not permanent, only temporary.
The mental body is permanent. The
mental body, which is located in layer 10, is made by the unique soul that is
in layer 3.
This mental is made from mental ether,
which is made by the rationality truth substance that radiates from the
Spiritual Sun by means of the spiritual light which holds inside spiritual
heat. Like atoms make up molecules,
mental ether is the building block to all things in the mental world. This mental ether causes our mental body to
be immortal since mental ether can never disappear. In this mental world of eternity, we are born,
and we will be a part of it forever.
There are three mental organs, the
affective organ (A), the cognitive organ (C), and the sensorimotor organ
(S). These organs correspond to the
spiritual body with the physical body. The affective organ in the spiritual body
works with the circulatory system of the physical body. Feelings and willings help the affective
organ flourish. Feelings allow us to recognize
things such as our needs, desires, and interests, while willings help us with
intensions and motives. The cognitive
organ corresponds to the respiratory system in the physical body. This organ is related to the thoughts we
have. Thoughts help us formulate our
feelings. These corresponding parts help
us experience things such as logic, concepts, and predictions. This system is the circulatory system. The sensorimotor organ corresponds to the
nervous-skeletal system. This involves
using the five senses to experience the environment that our physical body is
in. Seeing, dancing, and hearing are all
examples of these group of systems. It’s
important to keep in mind the distinctions between the two separate
bodies. A, C, and S are only locate in
the spiritual world, not the physical world, while the respiratory,
circulatory, and sensorimotor are only relevant in the physical world. These three parts together make up our
threefold self.
A man’s and a woman’s anatomy is very
different. A male’s central organ is
the affective organ. This corresponds to
what his loves are. Surrounding the
affective organ is the cognitive organ, which houses the thoughts of a
man. Those two combine together to make
the sensations and movements of the sensorimotor organ. For women, the cognitive organ is placed in
the center. Their thoughts lead to what
their loves are. This in turn leads to
the body’s reaction to the joining of the cognitive and affective organs. The A (feeling), C (thought), and S
(sensation) must be different for males and females. This is logical since a male is ruled by
their loves whereas a woman is ruled by her thoughts. In the idea of correspondences, the male
physical anatomy is different than a women’s physical anatomy. It must also be that the male and female
mental anatomy differs!
Mental as a Substance
Thinking of mental being a substance is
hard one to grasp. I was surprised that
the people I had asked this question too, and described the idea about theistic
psychology, fell into two distinct categories.
The two groups of people also had similar educational interest and
careers.
My first group has a strong background
in science and psychology. For them,
it’s easy to accept this “negative bias”.
The negative bias is the rejection of the Divine being. I can tell them that there is a Spiritual
Sun, and everything comes from that, but of course there is the question of
where the proof in that is. This group
of people is thinking in their layer 9.
They are basing what they think on what science has told them. For them, its physical matter that makes up
all things. To suggest there is some
other world in which our mental is detached from our physical seems
outrageous.
I do also have people though that can
understand this concept. These people
tend to be more of my friends who are teachers, or social workers. This group of people acknowledges that there
is in fact a God. When describing the
idea that there is a possibility of a mental substance, they could easily
accept it. There wasn’t a question about
why this could be, or what effect it has on each person, but they could see
that mental and physical can be split.
Mental’s Relationship with Eternity
Eternity is placed all around the
Spiritual Sun. The Spiritual Sun
contains all the spiritual light and heat that are needed to make people in the
mental world survive. The heat and the
light equates to the loves and thoughts we have. The loves and thoughts are the correspondences
of the affective organ and the cognitive organ.
Loves and thoughts are made of the eternal substance which comes from
the Spiritual Sun. This means that the
mental world is composed of eternal substances, which is timeless and without
an end.
Mental Age
When a person’s physical body detaches,
that person has a mental age that corresponds to that of their physical
age. Only external physical experience
can yield to a building of the mental age.
The activities one's physical body participates in alters their thoughts
and feeling of that body. So, as someone
increases in their physical age, there is also an increase in their mental
age. Sometime there are children and
young adults who separate from their physical body too soon. If this is the case, people that are located
in the other layers of the mind can cross over briefly to help them understand
the process that is going on.
Eternity
Eternity is something that is
contrasted with time. Time has a
beginning point, and an ending point.
Eternity is not within time.
Being eternal is timeless. The
physical world to which out physical body belongs to experiences time. The mental world however is a world that’s
placed around the Spiritual Sun, which is made from the substances of good and
truth. The shape of mental world of
eternity is that of the human body.
The Grand Human and the Grand Monster
The Grand Human and the Grand Monster
are what drives the loves that we have. The
Grand Human is based on heavenly, good traits, while the Grand Monster is based
on hellish, bad traits. Our path is
based on which way we plan to live our lives, selfishly or altruistically. If we are selfish, we are being ruled by the
Grand Monster. However, if we avoid the
selfish traits, we move into the Grand Human.
We are born with traits that are located in the Grand Monster; this is
shown in layer 8 and 9 of our mental anatomy.
We are able to choose loves in the Grand Human though as we progress in
our physical lives. As our ideas change
and become more positive, it will be possible to be a part of the Grand
Human. When the physical body dies, the mental world
is split up by these two different societies.
How are they related to each other?
In order to exist we have to have the
Grand Human and the Grand Monster. If
our lives were planned out to be perfect all the time, we wouldn’t be human at
all. Our consciousness plays in here and
helps us make which choice we think is correct for us. As we progress in our physical lifespan, our
mental eternity can take multiple paths.
We can continue to progress our mental layers, or they can be unregenerated,
which means the spiritual truths from
the Spiritual Sun haven’t been taken in and accepted, which leads one down to
the path of the Grand Monster, or
layers -9e,-8e, and -7e, the e meaning external. When someone dies and has reached their
first death, their ruling loves come out.
During this time, they can choose to go along the path which leads them
to layer 4 (which would take them down the path of 7i, 8i, 9i), or they can be
stuck at a place in the Grand Monster, the -9e,-8e, and -7e. The choices you make correspond to what
layers you are part of. This can also be
called the second death.
Choosing the Grand Monster is a very
negative path to take. In the mental
world, this is especially detrimental because a person can’t have the knowledge
to deal with mental surroundings since they are still stuck within their
physical, natural mind. An unregenerated
person will be infused with states of insanity.
Having a physical comprehension of the mental world of eternity is not
possible. To fully get to the layer that
is closest to God, layer 4, one must take the internal natural mind layers (7,
8, and 9), and in the second death get to layers 6, 5 and 4.
How we relate to them while still living on earth
The vertical community is the way the
mental world is organized, and it also provides a balance within the societies
of the Grand Human and the Grand Monster.
The physical bodies of us move in a horizontal community. The horizontal community works its way
outward and spreads, taking up more land and resources. The mental world however goes in a vertical
path.
In this vertical community, we have the
choice to accept ideas, or to reject them.
For instance, we start out at birth at layer 9e (external), which means
it has not yet undergone regeneration (the process of enhancing your mind and
moving closer to spiritual truths, and therefore being closer to God). If we allow God to help guide us to
understand that there is more to things than just the surface, we can go to
layer 8e. Where layer 9 is pretty
concrete, layer 8 is abstract. Layer 8
is normally achieved in adolescence. If
one allows their mind to open up even more, than probably as a young adult,
layer 7e will be obtained. All of these
layers are part of the unregenerate natural mind.
At this point, two things can happen,
deny God’s presence and go to layer -9e,-8e, and -7e, or inversion can take
place and lead one to layers 7i,8i,9i,6,5,and lastly, 4. As mentioned previously, the negative
external layers lead to insanity. The
positive layers however allow one to become closer to God, and these are considered
internal layers. 7i is generally reached
as a young adult. Once someone has
regenerated their layer 7i, they then can open themselves up to layer 6. As a mature adult, 8i is often reached, and
once that happens, layer 5 will be available.
In ones old age, 9i is reached, and with that, they can get to level 4,
which is the highest and the closest level to God.
The Dying/Resuscitation Process
The dying process begins first with the
death of the physical body. This is
known as the first death. About 30 hours
after our physical body is gone, our mental body awakens in the mental world of
eternity. The mental body and the
physical body were once attached by correspondences, so the mental body still
contains all the mental organs that were there at birth. All that has been removed is the physical
body.
The zone that this takes place in is
the resuscitation zone. During this
time, we are forced to look at our loves and pick the ruling one. Once we have chosen the ruling love, all the
other loves diminish and that becomes the love we have. This is the final, free choice we are
given. This will make the difference
between being in the Grand Monster and the Grand Human. If one chooses a place in the Grand Monster,
they will be filled with hatred and irrationality. If they choose the Grand Human, then they
will be filled with truth, love, and reason.
When we have made the choice, if we
have chosen loves within the Grand Human, we are prepared to move forward from
the natural mind and experience the spiritual mind in layers 6, 5, and 4. If we have chosen to reject the spiritual
mind, we stay in insanity within the Grand Monster in layers -7e,-8e, and
-9e.
The Process of Regeneration
The process of regeneration begins with
acknowledging what we are thinking and feeling, and then acting on what we
think and feel. Spiritual combat and
temptations play a role in regeneration by allowing us to choose which loves we
go with. We use our own consciousness to
make a decision as to how we will behave.
We can be selfish and choose on our own gain, or we can be altruistic
and choose for the better of everyone.
Self-Witnessing and Regeneration
Mental self witnessing is a technique
that is done solely for the purpose of regeneration. By traveling into the depths of our minds,
it’s possible to see how our affective organ and cognitive organ work together
to cause sensorimotor responses. It’s a
common mistake that people are not correct when they describe their
feelings. People often say they aren’t
angry with someone when they are, or that they aren’t jealous of someone, but
in fact they are. The affective and cognitive organs aren’t
expressing themselves properly in the sensorimotor organ. This is only denying ourselves of who we
are. Self witnessing lets us look at
what we are saying, and why we are saying that and make any necessary changed
to correct the behavior, if it’s hellish.
This can also be referred to as experiencing the threefold self. The affective organ and cognitive organ
conjoin to help the sensorimotor organ act.
If you can adjust your hellish feelings and thoughts, this helps the
regeneration process. When the selfism
in a person can be replaced with altruism, it progresses them in the
regeneration process.
Self-Witnessing and Me
Self witnessing is effective for
understanding why you do certain actions or behave in a certain matter. As far as personal experience goes, I find it
something that I do on a regular basis. It’s
fairly easy to identify emotions you feel and why you feel them. It’s important to not mask those for feeling
that aren’t genuine, that only hurts the regeneration process. The goal during
this is to reject the selfism that is so apparent in many people’s lives. If people give into the Grand Monster, then
hellish traits continue to build up within that person and it gets harder and
harder for them to gain the path of altruism.
For me, I try to have understanding of the people around me and what
their needs are as well. I listen to my
affective organ, react with my cognitive organ, and act as a whole with my
sensorimotor organ. If I have thoughts
that are filled with negativity, I try looking at them and I adjust them to try
to be a better person. It is something that I have to concentrate on,
or I will get wrapped up in my own hellish emotions and thinking and react in a
way that hinders me.
Self-Witnessing in Schools
I think that many people do this on their own actually.
No one really needs to be taught what they feel, unless they maybe have
some mental defect. It’s pretty easy to
read oneself and make adjustments if they aren’t happy in their lives.
Mental Psychology
Metal psychology is
understanding that you are born with hellish traits which you have
inherited. These traits aren’t good ones
to have, and it’s important to reject all the hellish traits, or loves, that
you have, and you must replace them with good ones. This also involves rejecting the selfish tendencies
people often have and encourage them to take an altruistic approach to living,
which would be doing things to better other people, not only yourself.
Nontheistic Psychology vs. Mental Psychology
In school, we are taught that God doesn’t
play a part in life. This is the
negative bias. The acceptance that there
is a God is the positive bias. Mental
psychology stresses that there is a co-presence with God and he is in control
of everything.
Mental Psychology in
Schools
If mental psychology was shown to have
no connection with religion, and based only on human biology, I think it might
have a place in schools. The problem
arises though with the mention of God.
Using the term God throughout the texts for this course, for me, implies
a lot of Christianity within it. People
have the right to choose how they want to handle their lives, and they already
have an idea of what will happen to them in the afterlife, if they believe
there is life after our physical body dies.
Using the term, the “Divine Psychologist”, I think would be more
appropriate and make less people frown at the idea. I think that if this was taught, a lot of
people would be ruined. Religious
viewpoints are held very dear to people.
This would flip their whole world upside down and cause a lot of turmoil
for those individuals.
Mental Psychology vs. Religion
Mental psychology is looking at what is
bad or good in us and changing that if we wish to become a better person. Religion for me is believing in a higher
power, accepting that higher power, and worshipping that higher power. Mental psychology really is more based on the
individual consciousness, and how we react to it. I don’t think it involves worship of God, but
however, the acceptance of God’s help to help us choose the right path.
Is God feasible?
I don’t think that the scientific
definition of God is feasible. To have
to rely on one factor to create the entire universe, both physical and mental,
seems too risky. I believe that multiple
things have to come into play to make our world work.
Is Heaven and Hell acceptable
I don’t believe that accepting loves is
acceptable to people in science or to my own view. I know in my case, I have multiple good and
bad things that I enjoy. I don’t think
that I have to choose one or the other.
The mind is so complex, both physically, and mentally. I find it too hard to believe that we have to
pick one side to spend all eternity in.
Such a complex organ needs multiple pathways to roam, and shouldn’t just
be limited to one. I think science would
reject this idea as well, just because it is so limiting. Complex species, like humans, need a complex
world. Just sticking to one love
wouldn’t make even living in the mental world very worthwhile.
Mental Psychology and Me
For me, I think I can better tie in my
affective and cognitive organ better and genuinely show this in my sensorimotor
organ. A lot of times I tell people what
they want to hear so I have to deal with them less. This only hurts myself though. By lying, it takes away a little part of
me.
What ideas do you not
fully agree with or not at all?
I personally think that the idea behind
theistic psychology relates to the spirituality of an individual. It might not pertain to strict religious
practices, but it focuses on the idea that we all have a co-presence with the
Divine Psychologist and he helps us with our temptations. My religious background and my educational
background make me very non- accepting of most of the concepts.
I can accept the idea that we have two
bodies at birth, the mental and the physical.
I can also accept that when our physical body dies, our mental body
detaches from it. The problem that
arises for me is when it comes to the unregenerated layers. I think that people can lead a good life, and
be morally just, and not have a connection with God, but still get to a
positive place in the end of the physical life.
I know some people need to depend on
God for a crutch to work through life, but what if I feel complete without
God? Does this make me a bad person? By class definition, this would mean I’m
giving into the stupifier of arrogance.
I deny that there can be a God. Perhaps
I think I am too good for God? This is
not the case at all however! I just base
my life on what I feel are good morals and practices. I constantly think of how my affective and
cognitive organ are reacting together to form my outward behavior. I think that I am my own person though, and
all of my thoughts and the obstacles in my way are mine and not under the
control of God.
How could these issues be resolved empirically, or further
researched, in your view?
In order for me to believe in the
concept behind theistic psychology, I would need hard evidence that there is this
mental world. I can’t accept something
just because someone says it to be true.
I need to experience it myself, or read about that topic until I can
fully understand it. In addition to
that, I need it to make perfect sense in my head. It has to fit within my own rationale. In theistic psychology, it’s says that its
irrational to think that there is no God influencing us, however, in my
beliefs, I think its irrational to think everything depends on God.