Through our destiny, we pay or gain the merit of past actions and thoughts in previous lifetimes. Spiritual struggles among atheists: Links to psychological distress and well-being. However, correlational studies of the relationship between religious/spiritual struggles and self-reported growth have reported mixed findings. Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. Smith, H. (1958). Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 8(4), 341-351. Pirutinsky, S., Rosmarin, D. H., Pargament, K. I., and Midlarsky, E. (2011). Here are signs that you have spiritual foundation problems in your life: 1. As patients near the end of life, their spiritual and religious concerns may be awakened or intensified. . Advance online publication. Wortmann, J. H., Park, C. L., and Edmondson, D. (2011). ), Judeo-Christian perspectives on psychology: Human nature, motivation, and change (pp. Meisenhelder, J. This includes distress by ghosts or ancestors. Please read the article on ‘. In the last 25 years, religious/spiritual struggles have begun to receive attention from researchers and practitioners. Things, material things don't mean anything anymore. God, where are you? A negative/nasty attitude. Spirituality can help you liberate greater energy from within yourself to overcome physical stress. Henri J.M. It is also true, however, that religion/spirituality can be a source of stress and strain at times, including times of upheaval. Our destiny also determines how we react or respond to various stimuli and events. Pargament, K. I., and Lomax, J. W. (2013). It depends on where you stand on your spiritual path. In addition, major life stressors increase the likelihood of religious/spiritual struggles. Feeling confused about religious/spiritual beliefs, and feeling troubled by doubts or questions about religious/spiritual. Internet pornography use, perceived addiction, and religious/spiritual struggles. Religious struggle as a predictor of mortality among medically ill elderly patients: A 2-year longitudinal study. In fact the extent of the known world as compared to the subtle-world is in the ratio of one is to infinity. Pargament, K. I., & Exline, J. J. In an earlier article, we described the following average breakdown of the root causes of problems in life. Campbell, J. 1, Context, theory, and research (pp. Another example is getting romantically involved with another person who has a history of violence and alcoholism despite being advised otherwise. A. This may anger the ghost who may in turn affect or possess the person. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 8(3), 191-203. From my own weight-loss journey, I've learned that it does little good to address eating and exercise if life issues have you collapsing under their weight and turning to addictions to cope. Ignorance about the factor of destiny and the give-and-take account leads to people in adverse situations crying out in despair saying, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’. The destiny that we are born with is just a sliver of our accumulated give-and-take account over all past births. Causes of problems in life; Karma (Destiny) Problems with Ancestral Spirits; Demonic Possession; Evil Eye; Spiritual Cleansing of Home (Vastu) Effects of Nature and Environment; Mental Health; Addictions; Physical Health; Sleeping Disorders; Spiritual Healing. A PsychSolutions finalist aims to use traditional tales to facilitate psychotherapy in Senegal. Johnson, C. V., and Hayes, J. Religious and spiritual struggles. . Do I still believe in God? On the path you have to transcend your notion of success and failure and control your emotions and habitual reactions... 3. 459-476). One woman with AIDS spoke about the profound changes she experienced through her religious/spiritual struggles: “I value life more now. A “full” life is logically one that is meaningful and devoid of aimless wandering. Spiritual growth can be enhanced in many ways, of which Reiki is one. Also they would be careful about not creating further negative destiny. B., and Marcum, J. P. (2004). Religious/spiritual struggles are also more common among members of socially marginalized groups, including individuals identifying as non-White, LGBTQ , and lower in socioeconomic status (Exline et al., 2014). Stomach: Holds nourishment. Inability to assimilate the new. The main elements in the subtle-world that affect our lives are subtle-bodies (more commonly known as spirits) of our ancestors that have passed on and ghosts. If you feel constantly negative, this is a sure sign of spiritual … Guilt, discord, and alienation: The role of religious strain in depression and suicidality. GRATEFULLY — BR. (2012). Complicated grief in the aftermath of homicide: Spiritual crisis and distress in an African American sample. Spiritual struggle and affective symptoms among geriatric mood disordered patients. Spring 2019 Summer 2019 Fall 2019 DEAR FRIENDS: IF YOUR MEANS PERMIT, A DONATION TO SPIRITUAL LIFE WILL HELP US GREATLY. (from Pomerleau et al., 2019). Wartime faith-based reactions among traumatized Kosovar and Bosnian refugees in the United States. Pandemic prompts surge in interest in prayer, Google data show, © 2021 American Psychological Association. These include an accepting attitude toward religious/spiritual struggles (Dworsky, Pargament, Wong, and Exline, 2016), reframing religious/spiritual struggles as an opportunity for positive change (Saritoprak and Exline, in press), finding a sense of meaning through religious/spiritual struggles (Wilt et al., 2016), drawing on religious/spiritual coping resources (Wilt et al., 2019), and having a sense of ultimate hope (Abu Raiya et al., 2016). We all have lived many lifetimes before our current birth. In this case, his intellect would work according to his destiny. Our ancestors and ghosts can play up or effect problems within a family such as physical illnesses, mental illnesses, etc. In K. I. Pargament (Ed.-in-Chief), J. Exline and J. Jones (Assoc. They eventually add to our overall account that we have to settle as our destiny in the various subsequent births we take. etc. Bryant, A. N., and Astin, H. S. (2008). To understand this article, it is recommended that you first read the following articles: As discussed in the previous articles of this section, the root cause of any problem is most likely to be in the spiritual realm. Spiritual Problems. Needless to say, settling of negative accounts can give us a lot of pain in our lifetime. As a rule of thumb, all major events in our life are destined. Many psychological problems, which are common in our society and the age we live in, can create blockages to growth in our soul. Such a life no longer seems real to us, even in our dreams.” (Carl Jung, The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man) In addition to the rise of secularism, Jung suggested that the development of modern mass society also played a significant role in the emergence of the spiritual problem. Sample item: Felt guilt for not living up to my moral standards. Rather, whether religious/spiritual struggles lead to growth or decline may depend on moderating variables. 4. Please read the article on ‘, The increased attack here is due to the fact that this person by helping people to grow spiritually is contributing to an increase in the. Religious/spiritual struggles are an important part of the life stories of many people, past and present. Wilt, J. Introduction to Spiritual Root Causes of Difficulties in Life, 2. 4. Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life: 1. factors that impact the trajectory of religious/spiritual struggles. Suppressing spiritual struggles:  The role of experiential avoidance in mental health. Trauma and PTSD symptoms: Does spiritual struggle mediate the link? If John has given Mary five units of pain by cheating on her, then by this action he could be settling a give-and-take account or creating one or a combination of both. Some of the paths are Path of Action (Karmayoga), Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga), Path of deliberate Rigour (Hathyoga), Path of Knowledge (Dnyānyoga) etc. B. (2019) found that religious/spiritual struggles partially mediated the relationship between the accumulation of  major life stressors and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and social isolation, and lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness (see Figure 2). Life is different now. For example, if religious/spiritual struggles are a primary source of mental health problems, then treating the psychological concerns without attention to religious/spiritual struggles may not be effective. In a study of Muslim war refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia, those who encountered more war-related trauma reported more religious/spiritual struggles (Ai, Tice, Huang, and Ishisaka, 2005). But as the economic situation gets worse and more desperate for so many people around the globe, we can start to consider spiritual and moral solutions to our civilization’s economic problems. 20, 52-108. However due to these academic efforts, we are better equipped to climb the corporate ladder or have success in our chosen field. (2011). Sterility: Fear and resistance to the process of life or not needing to go through the parenting experience. Religious/spiritual struggles have been consistently associated with mental health status across diverse groups and contexts. This is because of faulty judgement as the intellect acts according to the destined event that needs to occur. Murray-Swank, N. A., and Pargament, K. I. If there is anything that will at this moment heal our wounded planet with its immense problems of social injustice, ecological devastation, extreme economic disparities, war, conflict and terrorism, it is a deeper experiential understanding and knowledge of our own spirit. October 24, 2019 . Lack of commitment. Murphy, P. E., Fitchett, G., and Emery-Tiburcio, E. (2016). Julie J. Exline, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Shaken to the core: Spiritual struggles in research and clinical practice. Trevino, K. M., Pargament, K. I., Krause, N., Ironson, G., and Hill, P. (2017). San Francisco, California: Harper and Row. King, S. D., Fitchett, G., Murphy, P. E., Rajaee, G., Pargament, K. I., … and Johnson, R. H. (2018). On this note, 29% of college students struggling with their religion/spirituality reported both growth and decline (Desai and Pargament, 2015), reflecting the possibility that religious/spiritual struggles lead to both pain and gain for a significant number of people. Although research on this topic is still emerging, the findings suggest that religious/spiritual struggles have the potential to act as both a cause and an effect of psychological problems. six basic principles of spiritual practice, To what extent does spiritual level provide a protective covering against ghosts, Classroom - Real life case studies of problems with spiritual root cause, Transformation of a seeker – Overcoming negative thinking and anger with spiritual practice, Positive changes in a seeker – Anorexia overcome with spiritual treatment, Basic Principles of Spirituality for Rapid Spiritual Progress, The first one is from the perspective of the ‘Path of Action’ (. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 85, 565-575. Spiritual transformation among veterans in response to a religious/spiritual struggle. Concerns that life may not really matter, and questions about whether one’s own life has deeper meaning. Working with a nationally representative sample, Trevino, Pargament, Krause, Ironson, and Hill (2017) found that increases in exposure to major life stressors were particularly predictive of religious/spiritual struggles among individuals with higher levels of trait anger, death anxiety, social isolation, and smoking. The process of wrestling with challenging questions and dilemmas, although it may be distressing and disorienting, has been viewed by theorists from Piaget to Erikson as a precursor to growth. She has served as principal investigator on two projects funded by the John Templeton Foundation: one on religious/spiritual struggles and another on supernatural attributions. CorrespondingAuthorandReprints: BernardLo,MD, Room C 126, 521 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143 (e-mail: bernie@medicine.ucsf.edu). For example, in a six-month follow-up study of African Americans who had lost a loved one to homicide, those who experienced more complicated grief manifested increases in religious/spiritual struggles over time (Neimeyer and Burke, 2011). Without a highly activated sixth sense, we would never know which one of our actions could be settling or creating accounts. With this success, we gain access to perks and privileges that others can only wish for. The Telegraph (May 22, 2020). Does my life have a deeper ultimate purpose and meaning? Most of us are unaware that the difficulties in our lives are actually spiritual problems 80% of the time. God wants us to know the meaning of life. In this article, we shall investigate what these spiritual root causes are and the principle behind overcoming them. Understanding and addressing religion among people with mental illness. Sample item: Felt troubled by doubts or questions about religion/spirituality. On the other hand, people with a lower spiritual level are vulnerable to attacks from even low-level ghosts. Further research is needed that focuses on: We thank the John Templeton Foundation (grants #36094, #59916) for its support of research cited in this paper. Spiritual needs include finding meaning in one's life and ending disagreements with others, if possible. Journal of Higher Education, 79, 1-27. Neimeyer, R. A., and Burke, L. A. Dworsky, C. K. O., Pargament, K. I., Gibbel, M. R., Krumrei, E. J., Faigin, … and Warner, H. (2013). The ghosts exploit any such factor unfavourable to the person to attack him. Religions, 9, 242. Figure 1: Source: Pandemic prompts surge in interest in prayer, Google data show. Gibbel, M. R., Regueiro, V., and Pargament, K. I. Exline, J. J., and Grubbs, J. Tensions and guilt about not living up to one’s higher standards and wrestling with attempts to follow moral principles. The impact of the subtle-world on our lives can be quite different depending on our spiritual profile, which includes spiritual level and the efforts we take to grow spiritually and help others grow spiritually. Does negative religious coping accompany, precede, or follow depression among Orthodox Jews? In summary, the key points to take from this article are: Copyright © Spiritual Science Research Foundation Inc. All Rights Reserved. Has my religious community abandoned me? Everything happens for a reason and is governed by the law of give-and-take, destiny and wilful action. The elements in the spiritual realm that mainly influence our destiny are ghosts and subtle-bodies (spirits) of our departed ancestors. Start every day with a morning prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of a new … Several longitudinal studies have shown that baseline levels of religious/spiritual struggles are predictive of increases in psychiatric symptomatology over time, including symptoms of PTSD among military veterans (Currier, Holland, and Drescher, 2015) and symptoms of depression among Orthodox Jews (Pirutinsky, Rosmarin, Pargament, and Midlarsky, 2011). We have discussed some of these benefits in our section on the benefits of spiritual practice. The Winding Road is one such 9-week group program that was designed to help college students, religious and nonreligious, dealing with religious/spiritual struggles in their transition from life-at-home to life-at-college (Dworsky et al., 2013). You see things more clearly” (Siegel and Schrimshaw, 2000, p. 1549). The relationship between religious/spiritual factors and perceived growth following a diagnosis of breast cancer. Sometimes we go through years of study, which may be relatively painful compared to another person who has just completed high school and is already earning, though a meagre amount. the implications of specific religious/spiritual struggles (divine, demonic, moral, ultimate, meaning, doubt-related, and interpersonal) for growth and decline. When we are settling accounts, it is destined and when we create accounts, it is because of wilful action. . Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 19, 713-721. Ai, A. L., Tice, T. N., Huang, B., and Ishisaka, A. Even atheists describe some religious/spiritual struggles, albeit at lower levels than their theistic counterparts (Sedlar et al., 2018). Look Inside the Book. COVID-19 resources for psychologists, health-care workers and the public. For example, in a study of breast cancer patients before they were diagnosed and 24-months post-surgery, Gall, Charbonneau, and Florack (2011) found that higher levels of spiritual discontent prior to the diagnosis predicted greater posttraumatic growth two years later. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. . Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Robust as the relationships are between religious/spiritual struggles and psychological distress and decline, we should be careful about equating religious/spiritual struggles with psychopathology. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 8(4), 291-308. How can I live up to my spiritual values? Johnson and Hayes (2003) found that one-third of college students in campus counseling centers reported religious/spiritual struggles. I savor a sunset . In truth, there is no mystery. (2013). 36) in 2017. and TuVan, Le. I value moments and memories, and what is good about life. Figure 2: Religious/spiritual struggle as a mediator of the link between stressful life events and adjustment. The following table shows us the relationship. This may seem like a paradox but it can be understood by a simple analogy. Sample item: Felt attacked by the devil or by evil spirits. Y ears ago, my grandmother’s 1909 house got a fresh layer of wallpaper. Her research centers primarily on the interface of clinical, social, and personality psychology, with a special focus on topics involving spirituality, religion, and existential concerns. No picture or text may be duplicated or copied without the express written permission of the editor of the Spiritual Science Research Foundation. In crisis we pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 pandemic. Saritoprak, S. N., and Exline, J. J. Whether a particular problem has a spiritual root cause can be known for sure only through the medium of a highly activated sixth sense. A., Grubbs, J. Still other notable research suggests that stress and trauma may exert at least part of their effects on mental health problems, such as PTSD, through religious/spiritual struggles (Pomerleau et al., 2019; Wortmann, Park, and Edmondson, 2011). Although the study of religious/spiritual struggles has grown dramatically, there is a great deal more to be learned. (2011). Religious/spiritual struggles can also be found in the biographies of notable scientific and literary figures: Galileo, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Darwin, and Virginia Woolfe, to name a few. If we were to look at why we experience happiness or unhappiness in life, from the viewpoint of the Path of Action, then all happiness and unhappiness and all of our life’s events are experienced as either due to destined or wilful actions. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 11(3), 266-277. Dworsky, C. K. O, Pargament, K. I., Wong, S., and Exline, J. J. The very foundations of our society and of the importance of a family unit have been/are being eroded. Religious and spiritual struggle: Prevalance and correlates among older adults with depression in the BRIGHTEN program. Over the course of the program, participants experienced lower levels of shame and stigma, reductions in psychological distress, improved affect, and a change in perspective. However, ninety percent of the root causes and sources of all problems in life are spiritual e.g., subconscious, and can't be seen. This can also be understood by the following analogy. Desai, K. M., and Pargament, K. I. . (in press). . Anger or disappointment with God, and feeling punished, abandoned, or unloved by God. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 409-419. Spiritual distress may result in feelings of depression, low self-esteem, loneliness, anger, bitterness, fear and unrelieved physical symptoms. (in press). Rosmarin, D. H., Malloy, M. C., and Forester, B. P. (2014). The religions of man. The Spiritual Path of Action is inherently about practicing Spirituality by the principle that ’As one sows, so shall one reap’. Psychology and Health, 26, 287-305. By doing spiritual practice as per the six basic principles of spiritual practice, we harness spiritual energy that helps us overcome the influence of these spiritual factors. (2015). Journal of Affective Disorders, 132, 401-405. Adding further complexity to the picture are studies that show religious/spiritual struggles tied to indicators of both growth and decline (e.g., Meisenhelder and Marcum, 2004). In fact, researchers have also identified a general religious/spiritual struggles factor (Stauner et al., 2016). The next time you see a problem unfold in your life, remember that the cause could either be physical, psychological or spiritual. I often call money the final spiritual frontier, as many people walking a spiritual path, either do not wish to look at their relationship with money, ie. From the perspective of the Spiritual Path of Action, 3. We are born again and again to settle these accounts. Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org: ABOUT THIS EDITION Though this eBook edition is designed primarily for digital readers and computers, it works well for print too.