I just re-read “Psychology through the Eyes of Faith,” by David Myers and Malcolm Jeeves. This is maybe the best book I’ve ever read that reflects on mainstream psychological science from a Christian perspective. These are some points that struck me on this reading.

“. . . men go out and gaze in astonishment at high mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad reaches of rivers, . . . the stars in their courses. But they pay not attention to themselves.” (Augustine)

I always have loved how Myers and Jeeves describe their understanding of the relationship between religion and science:

“It’s like viewing a masterpiece painting. If you stand right up against it you will understand better how the paint was applied, but you will miss completely the subject and impact of the painting as a whole. To say the painting is ‘nothing but’ or ‘reducible to’ blobs of paint may at one level be true, but it misses the beauty and meaning that can be seen if one steps back and views the painting as a whole.”

Similarly, these authors suggest, science only provides information on “what” and “how” questions. Religion, on the other hand, deals with questions of meaning, questions of “why.”

Myers and Jeeves at one point discuss research on meditation, which since the time of their writing, has exploded. In fact, research increasingly shows that meditation helps people physically and psychologically, and increasingly is being incorporated into psychotherapy. However, this doesn’t have to be a solely Eastern practice. As these authors point out, there are Christian forms of meditation as well. “‘Sit down alone and in silence,’ advised the fourteenth-century mystic Gregory of Sinai. ‘Lower your head, shut your eyes, breath out gently, and imagine yourself looking into your own heart. . . As you breath out, say Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. . . Try to put all other thoughts aside. be calm, be patient, and repeat the process very frequently.'”

Given the degree to which humans have problems thinking accurately, Myers and Jeeves discuss the value of doubt a great deal. For instance, they say:

“. . . it’s okay to have doubts. Doubt reveals a mind that asks questions, a humble mind, one that does not presume its own ideas to be certainties, one that checks its presumptions against the data of God’s creation. Indeed, the intellectually honest words belief, faith, and hope acknowledge uncertainty. . . One need not await 100 percent certainty before risking a thoughtful leap across the chasm of uncertainty. One can choose to marry in the hope of a happy life. One can elect a career, believing it will prove satisfying. One can fly across the ocean, having faith in the pilot and the plane. To know that we are prone to error does not negate our capacity to glimpse truth, nor does it rationalize living as a fence straddler. Sometimes, said the novelist Albert Camus, life calls us to make a 100 percent commitment to something about which we are 51 percent sure.”

In another section, they write, with a similar theme:

“‘Christian religion,’ said C. S. Lewis, ‘is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in [dismay], and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay.’ The first step toward wholeness and inner peace is to acknowledge that self-interest and self-deception taint every corner of our lives. The insights gleaned from psychological research on illusory thinking and self-serving pride therefore have deep Christian significance, for they reinforce the biblical view of our human limits and our spiritual poverty.”

Sometimes, the authors explicitly discuss psychological research findings in light of Bible stories, such as the wisdom of Mary, who was willing to enjoy the moment with Jesus, as opposed to Martha who always was someplace else psychologically.

I love how Myers and Jeeves connect Carl Rogers ideas about what he termed “necessary and sufficient conditions” for change – empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard – with grace. As they suggest, “What better definition of grace than unconditional positive regard – knowing someone as he or she truly is and valuing the person nonetheless.”

Most of the time, Christian psychologists really are not psychologists as much as they are applied theologians. In closing, what I like most about this book is that the authors are both fully psychologists and fully Christians and do not think that there is a problem with integrating the two. I agree. As they close, all truth ultimately is God’s truth.

One of the most intriguing questions regarding personal religiousness and spirituality concerns why some people are more motivated than others to seek and find a faith perspective. For many, this raises the question of whether nature (for example, genetics) vs. nurture (for example, upbringing) makes more of a difference.

Psychologists often use behavioral genetics research to try to untease the relative effects of nature vs. nurture.

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People often question the meaning of the terms “religion” and “spirituality.” One of the challenges in defining such terms is to identify a definition that captures the essence of the concepts, while at the same time limiting them to not be all-inclusive.

Psychologsts of religion often have defined religion and spirituality in terms of the “Sacred,” which further is defined as that which is holy, set apart, or distinct. The problem with this seems to be that the terms used in the definition are no clearer than the terms trying to be defined!

In light of all the great religious and spiritual traditions across the world, I’ve always thought that the Sacred has something to do with an entity that lasts forever. God, Jesus, the soul, and everyday objects connected with such entities (for example, Holy Communion) fit this definition. When I present this definition to students, many agree, while others say that this leaves out their view of that which is Sacred and, by implication, also what is spiritual. For instance, an atheist who finds intense positive emotion in sex or music might say that they have had a “spiritual experience,” which my definition wouldn’t recognize as such. My response typically is that the Sacred and the spiritual seem to have qualities different from merely experiencing intense positive emotion.

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The more that I learn about different cultures, the more that I become fascinated by cultural differences. Each person has a unique cultural heritage consisting of a blend of different cultural influences. However, research suggests that there are a couple of dominant cultural orientations across the world.

The individualistic cultural orientation generally values individuals distinguishing themselves, relative to others. This is seen in values to self-actualize, fulfill one’s potential, achieve self-esteem, reveal one’s unique talents, stand up for one’s personal rights, and take personal responsibility for one’s actions. Although it may be difficult to recognize, this orientation uniquely is promoted in the United States. In contrast, the collectivistic cultural orientation generally values the honor of the group (for example, one’s family, community, tribe, or country). This orientation is promoted most clearly in Asia and Africa. Both orientations are represented in key cultural institutions (for example, democratic vs. communist governmental structures) and practices (sending kids to day care when young while parents work vs. staying with them).

It is easy to believe that the values taught to us are universal values. Often times, however, they are culture-specific. For instance, people in the United States often do not recognize that they have internalized a purpose in life heavily influenced by their culture (i.e., distinguishing themselves, relative to others), ironically not as freely chosen as individuals might like to believe. It seems helpful to reflect on whether this really fits deeper values that someone might hold. Once there is a recognition that other cultures possess different values, it is natural to think through what values someone might like to follow. In my view, I often have tried to consider how to take the best of different values in order to achieve a good life.

Clearly, the freedom and opportunities associated with an individualistic cultural orientation is the envy of the world. This probably is part of the reason why the United States historically has received so many immigrants. The focus on independence also encourages individuals to achieve. American society obviously has benefited from this achievement, as seen in the tremendous wealth that has been attained. On the other hand, the focus on standing out in excellence brings with it many disadvantages, including an unhealthy kind of pride, isolation, and the stress of trying to do well in everything. In contrast, a collectivistic cultural orientation often possesses the advantages of humility, interconnectedness among people, and a more laid-back lifestyle.

I often wonder how I can appreciate the opportunities I have in the United States, choosing what fits best for me, while at the same time rejecting those aspects of American culture that seem less healthy, such as pride, materialism, isolation, and toxic busyness. One specific practice we have adopted to do this is to spend one day a week in a traditional “Sabbath.” On this day, we spend our time very intentionally in ways that rejuvenate us. On a typical Sabbath, for instance, we might attend church, go for a hike, have a special drink at a local coffee shop where we will play a game with family and friends, take our time to make a nice dinner, and taking our time to enjoy that dinner with family and friends. We also try not to do things that drain us on this day, including work (something that feels like work anyway) and any technology that can distract us from the present moment or from each other. This is an amazingly peaceful and restorative time for us, and allows us to be more effective the rest of the week.

Sometimes, I’ve struggled with the meaning of my life, and how to index whether my life is well spent. I’ve sometimes sought accomplishments as an objective indicator of this, but have found that this kind of external focus brings with it considerable stress. Thinking through the best of other cultures gives me a different perspective. In this regard, I love the words of Henri Nouwen, when he writes:

“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.”

Continuing with my recent entries summarizing new scientific findings, I’d like to devote this post to an article that came out today in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science that reviews all of the research on the effects of parental divorce on children’s development. This is a particularly important topic considering that approximately 50% of first marriages in the United States will end in divorce and that approximately 50% of children in the United States will have parents who divorced.

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I fondly remember one of the interviews I had when I trying to be placed in a pre-doctoral clinical internship. Toward the end of this particular interview, evidently noticing my interests in religion and spirituality on my curriculum vita, someone asked me, “Would you consider yourself a Christian psychologist?” Strangely enough, I had never really seriously considered that question. So, on the spot, I said, “Well, I am a Christian and a psychologist, so, yes, I guess I’m a Christian psychologist.”

The notion of a Christian psychology has been on my mind lately. I wonder whether Christian Psychology might transcend the simple understanding I had a few years ago to become a distinct subspeciality within Psychology, similar to what Christian Philosophy apparently has been able to do. If this is possible, I wonder what would constitute such a subspeciality.

I haven’t rigorously pursued this topic yet, but I hope this will begin an occasional series reflecting on what a Christian psychology might be. Today, I will begin with some preliminary thoughts that I hope to flesh out at some point in the future.

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Ever since I read Kathleen Norris’s book, the Cloister Walk, maybe 10 years ago, I have been fascinated by Christians’ reliance on the Psalms as a means to a deep prayer life. Perhaps this is because the Psalms are so raw in terms of emotion, so striking in terms of insight, and so poetic in terms of imagery. Given this, I have been on a long-time quest of identifying and praying my favorite Psalms. In the last couple of weeks, my interest in this little project has been rekindled in front of my fireplace as I’ve quieted myself after the kids have went to sleep. Below I list my favorites, along with particular sections that most stand out as being most meaningful to me.

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the seat of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1: 1-3).”

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. . . Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me (Psalm 23: 1-4).”

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreath; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you (Psalm 39:4-7).”

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Psalm 42:1-2).”

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. . . Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:1-3, 10).”

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. . . The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51: 10, 17).”

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain (Psalm 127:1).”

“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul (Psalm 131:1-2).”

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139: 23-24).”

I’ve been thinking in recent weeks a lot about intuition, its powers, and its perils. To inform and develop my thoughts, I read David Myers’s book “Intuition,” which I reference frequently below.

Myers defines intuition to be a “capacity for direct knowledge, for immediate insight without observation or reason.” He notes that many people base their beliefs and actions on intuition and recommend similar practices to others. In some ways, this seems helpful. For example, experts often (but not always) seem to be able to quickly and effectively size up a novel situation relevant to their knowledge and experience. Perhaps this is because, as neuroscientist Antonio Damasio suggests, good judgment involves an emotional component often times based on previous experiences. In fact, brain researchers such as Damasio and Joseph LeDoux have found that some of “the brain’s emotional pathways bypass the cortical areas involved in thinking. One pathway runs from the eye via the thalamus, the brain’s sensory switchboard, to the amygdala, a pair of emotional control centers in the brain’s primative core. This eye-to-amygdala shortcut, bypassing the cortex, enables your emotional response before your intellect intervenes.” Finally, intuition seems to be a critical ingredient for creative breakthroughs.

On the other hand, people often times seem to rely on intuition in ways that are misguided. Myers writes a lot about this in his book, detailing how individuals often are inaccurate in their judgments related to the past, future, their competence and virtue, relationships, sports, investments, clinical decisions, interviewer decisions, gambling, and psychic predictions.

My interest in this topic largely stems from my observation that people’s thoughts and actions, in a given situation, often seem to be based more on emotion and intuition than on their more deeply seated beliefs and values. This makes me think of something that renowned educator, Parker Palmer, once said about human development. Palmer believes that people tend to be reactive in life, rather than reflective. Perhaps this is because we revert automatically to the more primitive part of our brains, rather than relying on the more advanced cortex. Palmer suggests that there are three primary institutions that help people transition from reactivity to reflectivity: (1) Education, (2) art, and (3) science. To this, I might add (4) religion.

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In its August/September edition, one of my favorite magazines, Scientific American Mind, published an intriguing article (“Depressingly Easy”) suggesting that a major cause of depression concerns individuals’ lifestyles. The author, Kelly Lambert (also author of the book “Lifting depression: A neuroscientist’s hands-on approach to activating your brain’s healing power,” from which the article is based), suggests that many of our current mental health problems stem from a disconnect between how our brains are designed to receive enjoyment and our current quick-fix, fast-pace lifestyles. Specifically, she suggests that our brains are designed to benefit from “effort-driven rewards” that stimulate a particular part of the brain involved in pleasure. So, whereas in the past, people benefited both from anticipation and satisfaction of the completion of hard work (such as gardening, hunting, making our own clothes, preparing our own food from scratch, and walking or biking to a destination), nowadays we simply buy what we need and use technology to speed processes along. Because of this, we have lost much of the anticipation that comes from the completion of a project as well as the satisfaction that only comes when we are personally responsible for it. This may take much of the enjoyment out of our lives. (Compare this with the Amish, who experience hardly any depression as a community.)

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On the flight out to the conference I’m attending, I had the opportunity to read a lengthy article by Diener and Seligman called “Beyond Money: Toward an Economy of Well-Being.” It’s a very interesting article essentially making the case that societies across the world rely too heavily on measures of financial growth to index success and base policy decisions. They argue that, in addition to this, we also might do well to consider the more direct outcome of interest, which is well-being or happiness.

Some more specific points the authors make follow:

Although gross national products have risen across the world in the past 50 years, well-being has not followed the same trajectory. “For instance, depression rates have increased 10-fold over the same 50-year period, and rates of anxiety also are rising. . . Indeed, . . . the average American child in the 1980s reported greater anxiety than the average child receiving psychiatric treatment in the 1950s.” In fact, “by age 30, about 65% of the women born in 1950 had had one depressive episode, whereas fewer than 5% of the women in the 1910 cohort had had such an episode by the time they were 30.” In contrast, the Old Order Amish (living in Pennslyvania) have a 5-year prevalence rate of depression of only .5%.

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