The Discoveries

Restructuring the Psyche

Having acknowledged that, for the development of a healthy society, a restructing of the psyche at an individual level may be called for, we should think about the qualities that must be part of that.

That specific qualities will be essential is certain, and foremost of these must be the quality of 'openness and honesty', that we may grow 'true and straight'. To fully appreciate this we must first develop some sort of understanding of the concepts of 'openness and honesty' and 'growing true and straight' (at least insofar as the Fellowship uses those terms) and what part they have to play in our behaviour.

A good starting point is an exploration of the link between 'openness and honesty' and health or well-being. That there is a connection soon becomes apparent, as indeed there must be if such a quality contributes in a wider sense to the development of a healthy society.

If 'openness and honesty' is an essential requisite for 'growing true and straight' (the healthy state), then the absence of this quality may well impede such growth; its absence may even be conducive to the onset of 'dis-ease'. This observation is no more than an application of the principle of cause and effect.

One can begin to see that here are building blocks that can transform the concept of 'openness and honesty' into a reasoned moral imperative; an imperative, not just for practising 'openness and honesty', but also for living in the 'right way': the imperative being enlightened self-interest, with rewards not in some uncertain 'heaven' or distant 'afterlife', but in the present, in real-time, in a way that can be personally experienced.

Embodied within that imperative are principles that determine precisely what constitutes the 'right way'.
This is something that most thinking adults spend much of their 'inner life' seeking; an absolute, or yardstick by which all things may be measured and interpreted. A yardstick, moreover, not depending upon mood, predilection for clever argument, or indulgence of a passing whim, but a truly consistent test of what is right and what is wrong; a test in which the goal posts are not constantly shifting.

But no matter how obvious it may be there will always be those who deny the connection between 'openness and honesty' and good health. As too there will always be those who, though acknowledging its validity, will make little or no effort to apply it. Understanding such denials, or lack of effort, is very simple.

Implicit within the connection being fully realised is an acceptance of responsibility for one's own health in a way, and at a much more intimate level, than is presently the case in society at large. Unfortunately, prevalent social conditions (particularly in the 'developed world') encourage the avoidance of responsibility by fostering the perception that illness is something that happens to a person rather than something that they, in many cases, bring on themselves.

If one lives in a physical environment containing elements inimical to good health (toxic chemicals, germs, etc.), then its likely that the body will fall prey to illness and disease.
It follows that if one lives in a mental environment containing elements inimical to good mental health, then its likely that one's patterns of thinking will become unhealthy.
And if one lives in an emotional environment containing elements inimical to good emotional health, a similar effect will be observed in one's emotions. And effects in the mental and/or emotional domains must ultimately manifest in the physical organism.

But what, precisely, constitutes 'elements inimical to good mental and emotional health'?

Nowadays there seems to be, certainly in Western civilisation, much concern about the detrimental effects of pollution (from toxic waste, CFCs, smoking, or whatever) upon the physical health of the community.
Yet how much attention is given to the pollution that exists at a more subtle level; the pollution from what may be called a general 'bad attitude' to life? Perversely, the most vociferous proponents of 'cleaning up the planet' are often those responsible for the more insidious forms of pollution that are arguably more far-reaching in their consequences.

As individuals we cannot always directly control our physical environment; but we can to a large extent control our mental environment that must, in turn, affect our emotional environment.
Control over the factors that influence our mental and emotional environment is implicit within the notion of accepting responsibility for one's health. However, having accepted that responsibility, real effort is required (of a sort that most people are unwilling, or perceive themselves as unable, to make) to implement the necessary changes.

Hence, in any attempt to restructure the psyche, the first and major obstacle to be overcome is one's own inner resistance, and for this too we must accept responsibility.

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