Why Spirituality?

(Start of a new book).

Previously Raymond Pattison wrote about his ten years as a monk in India. Then about spiritual matters with foundation spiritual philosophy derived from ancient Indian writings. After leaving India in 1976 Raymond became a mental health professional, qualifying in 1980.

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In the previous book Therapeutic Journey to Self-Realisation there was a focus on traditional Spirituality connected with some mental health perspectives. Some writing was about therapy involving depression, anxiety and addiction, etc., using the labels of mental health disorders. The preferred view was that mental health is inclusive in our Journey as a Waymarker on ourroute.It doesn’t define us, only advises where we are. (Mental health in its entirety is inseparable from life in its entirety).

Now only realisation and enlightenment are sought as this new books outcome. If we have a higher state of being both spiritual and live in the world, as both human and transcendental, then we are:

Practically Enlightened or Realistically Realised

For this book we meet Alex who contacted me via my website, to better follow his spiritual path with some advice about practices, Alex also was dealing with some long standing issues – especially severe anxiety. However we quickly established a weekly “session” where we placed mental health into the context of the wider picture of real spiritual practice which transcends all of Life and the Universe.

Here (in following blogs), are partial transcripts of what we said followed by some summaries.

The transcripts may have a note on who is the speaker.

(The summaries are AI generated)

N.B. Summaries relate to the complete conversation. Part two of the conversation follows in blog 6 – pt 2

What Inner child? Part one

A

I want to ask your opinion. Under the pressure of, you know, specialists. I decided to increase some medication. Oh, yeah. I need to keep the body. I need to keep the body walking.

R

We don’t need to “keep” the body at all. The body will keep itself. Unless you commit suicide, the body will keep going until it ends. And that’s the way it is. Some don’t want to keep the body. If they’ve got terminal cancer, they’d like euthanasia. Some religious people, say, you know, that’s bad. The body goes on until it dies, and you’re not allowed to do anything. It’s God’s will.

A

When I’m exhausted, I get Anxiety spasms.

R

I have a spasms from my bladder. Sometimes every hour, believe it or not, that I have to go sometimes. Then I would like to be out of this body anymore, because of who wants to keep going to the toilet every hour? But I’ve got a surgery coming up, so that might fix it all. So I’m not that worried.

We are just suffering basically. You’re trying to do what you can do – that’s all you can do. It’s human life – we’re just trying to get through the day

You know when you’re 25 or whatever, and you’re out there doing your stuff, it all seems very wonderful. You carry on and it’s all good, It’s just terrible if ypir in the middle of a war zone, or you’re in a famine, or you’re in a slum – then. It’s just terrible suffering and there’s no solution.

That’s where I come to with this inner child business. that you wanted answers for,. You talked about- healing the inner child.

Well, I’m sorry, the world doesn’t allow us to heal the inner child for billions of people. Billions of people. The world is not presenting anything. The kids in Ethiopia and Somalia are just dying of starvation. Forget about healing the inner child, you’re just going to die.

This is a modern day thing, you know, psychiatry, psychology, a first world problem – healing the inner child. For a lot of people, it’s a big thing because they’ve had trauma, they’ve had abuse, and they’ve had all these things going on for them. That’s a big thing. I agree with that. But for a lot of people in a lot of parts of the world, there’s no such thing. They don’t want to heal the inner child. They just want some food and some clean water.

A

Yeah, I got the message. That’s why I also decided not to dig it further. I open up the wounds, figure this out. It’s not just something that I can put under the carpet again. It’s something I need to learn to live with.
R

I think we need to go further into the inner child though, because in our modern world, most of us have access to some kind of treatment, therapy. Something, something, and you can look it up on the internet – the inner child, how to solve it. There’s lots of stuff out there. And psychiatry/psychology has all these options for a great many people to heal the inner child. I mean you asked me how you heal the inner child. Well what is the inner child?

A lot of people have addictions and they’re trying to heal the inner child. or they’re trying to get past their addictions or manage them. Can the inner child be healed? That’s the question I have. Is it possible? It’s very difficult. Does it need to be healed? Do we need to heal the inner child?

A

I believe now we don’t. Because there’s so much work. I figured out it’s just I will spend whole life writing myself letters and try to heal it, but… I have very simple approach that I decided to follow. It’s just to stay in the present moment.  Stay in the present moment with what I have and do the good ordinary thing, you know, before making a decision. Make a decision from the present moment, from a calm state. Be calm.

R

That’s good. If you’re a human being, you will have an inner child, you will have a trauma from birth, you’ll have experiences, assault to bullying or whatever it is. And that’s minimal. Many people will have way more than that. And you can’t change that, because it happened. I went to India and I didn’t heal my inner child. I abandoned my inner child. I threw it away and changed my identity. So I wasn’t who I was. I came back to who I was. That’s one way of doing it. You walk through the door and you say, no, gone. I’m not going to do that anymore. That’s kind of a, renunciation way of doing it, you know, become a monk or a nun or something. It doesn’t work either. Sorry. You can’t get rid of your inner child. You can’t get rid of your trauma. You can’t get rid of all this stuff. You can help it. And we might spend years and years and years trying to make things a bit better. No. We want a solution this moment. Right this moment. For everything. Is that impossible? Possible. Well, it is. There is a solution this moment. It’s already available. We just have to tap into it. Just have to tap into it. That’s the key.

Nobody wants to tap into it, because it comes with a huge price. You know, I’ll charge you $5,000,000 to get the secret here. I’ll give you the key. It’s $5,000,000. No, it isn’t. The secret is to go past your ego identity and that costs you nothing, because it’s nothing to do with me. I can’t charge you for that. But nobody wants to do that. Nobody, because human beings, they don’t want to do that. Nobody. Why would they? They’re human beings in the world. Nobody wants to do that. Because it’s going way beyond the pain. It’s going through the pain to another dimension. And nobody will do that. Nobody. No body. no mind, because when you do that the body-mind ceases to exist. You become dead. Well, not right dead, kind of dead. And who wants to be dead? Nobody wants to be dead.

And that’s the problem. You can’t sell this product to anyone because people will say it’s madness They’re not going to buy it even if it’s for two cents. Even if you suffer enough you get to rock bottom and then you go into rehab And then you say, I’ve changed, I’ve got God, I’ve got Jesus, and the next day you’re out there in the nightclubs, whatever you do. Yeah. That’s how it goes, round and round and round. So it doesn’t matter if you get to rock bottom. People say you get to rock bottom and then you’ll get the higher power, but it’s not true. Getting to rock bottom doesn’t fix the problem.

You have to get to rock bottom and then meet the right teacher who will make things worse than rock bottom. To do the mantra properly means you have to leave the rock bottom and lose everything, basically. Lose everything. You don’t have anything. And nobody wants to do that, because then you’re dead. So that’s the answer to the inner child healing. Sorry, that’s not very therapeutic. Get rid of the inner child. No, no, nobody will do that. Nobody will accept that in psychiatry, therapy, whatever. Nobody. I will because simply it’s a Maya mind problem. It’s a delusion created phenomena. It’s a phenomena of the body-mind and we experience our lives, many lives, all of which are suffering, until we decide to say, I’m finished.

Now we to go to the AI. summary of the full conversation. The second half follows the Summary.

Summary 1

The dialogue explores profound reflections on human suffering, inner child healing, ego identity, and spiritual awakening. It challenges conventional therapeutic approaches, asserting that true healing of the inner child is impossible because the trauma and ego identity are deeply ingrained mind phenomena. Instead, the speaker advocates for acceptance and living in the present moment, emphasizing meditation, mantras, and bodily awareness as practical tools for managing pain, suffering, and life’s inherent difficulties. The conversation also touches on death, reincarnation, spirituality beyond organized religion, and the limitations of modern psychiatry and psychology. Ultimately, the message is to stop searching for external solutions and instead embrace the present, transcend ego identity, and connect with cosmic consciousness.

Highlights

    The inner child and trauma cannot be truly healed; acceptance and presence are key.

    Meditation and mantras help keep attention in the body and transcend suffering.

    Suffering is created by the mind; pain is a natural body signal.

    Psychological time (past and future) fuels suffering; living in the present reduces it.

    Ego identity must be abandoned or transcended to end psychological suffering.

    Spiritual awakening is feeling unity with cosmic consciousness, beyond ego and identity.

    Practical guidance and teachings are essential for spiritual practice, but no quick fixes exist.

Key Insights

    The Illusion of Healing the Inner Child: The concept of healing the inner child is described as a modern, Western, first-world phenomenon that doesn’t apply universally, especially in contexts of extreme suffering like famine or war. Trauma is lodged in the amygdala and the subconscious, making cognitive healing incomplete. The speaker asserts that attempts to heal the inner child often prolong suffering by keeping individuals psychologically tied to past trauma.

    Psychological Time as Suffering’s Root: Suffering arises not from physical pain but from psychological time—the mind’s fixation on past wounds and future fears. By constantly revisiting or anticipating trauma, the mind creates layers of suffering that are not present in the moment. The remedy is to anchor oneself in the now, which eliminates the mental constructs that fuel suffering.

    Transcending Ego Identity is Necessary but Difficult: The ego, especially the identity attached to it, is a protective but limiting construct formed in childhood. True liberation requires surrendering this identity, a process that often involves “dying” to the self. This is painful and rare because it challenges core survival instincts. Without this surrender, healing and awakening remain partial.

    Mantras and Meditation as Practical Tools: The speaker highlights the use of mantras and meditation to keep attention grounded in the body and present moment. While mantras don’t directly remove pain, they help transcend it by shifting awareness beyond the ego. This is not a quick cure but a lifelong practice that requires guidance and perseverance.

    Spirituality Beyond Religion and Therapy: While religion and therapy offer frameworks for understanding suffering and identity, neither fully addresses the existential truth of the human condition. The speaker embraces a universal cosmic consciousness that transcends religious labels and psychological constructs, encouraging individuals to experience this reality through feeling rather than intellectualizing.

    Acceptance Over Resistance: The dialogue stresses the importance of accepting life’s impermanence, suffering, and limitations. Rather than fighting or endlessly trying to “fix” the inner child or ego, acceptance allows one to live authentically with pain and imperfection, reducing additional suffering caused by resistance.

    The Role of AI and Modern Tools: There is a cautious optimism about AI’s potential to synthesize and clarify ancient wisdom and modern insights. AI might help cut through misinformation and offer practical summaries, yet ultimate healing and awakening remain deeply personal and experiential journeys beyond technology.

Extended Analysis

The conversation provides a raw, unfiltered exploration of the human psyche’s paradoxes. It challenges the prevailing optimism of psychology and self-help culture by confronting the brutal realities of trauma, illness, and existential despair. The speaker’s personal experience with cancer and physical suffering underscores the urgency of finding ways to live with pain rather than eradicate it.

The rejection of the idea that the inner child can be healed is provocative. It suggests that therapeutic efforts might trap people in cycles of revisiting trauma, thereby preventing true freedom. Instead, the speaker advocates for a radical abandonment of this psychological baggage—not through denial, but through a profound shift in awareness that transcends identity, trauma, and ego. This is not an easy path and not one many will choose, as it requires “dying” to the self.

Meditation and mantra practice serve as practical vehicles for this transformation. By focusing on bodily energy and sound vibrations, individuals can gradually pull attention away from the restless mind and psychological time. This bodily centering is vital because the mind is fundamentally embedded in the body; healing or transcendence must involve the whole being.

The text also addresses the limitations and contradictions within religious and therapeutic frameworks. While these systems provide meaning and support, they often fall short of the ultimate spiritual truth that “there is no ego, no inner child, no outer child—there is just energy and consciousness.” This aligns with non-dual philosophies found in Hinduism, Buddhism, and mysticism.

The speaker’s frank discussion about death, suffering, euthanasia, and the meaninglessness of life resonates with existential philosophy. Acceptance of death as an inevitable, indifferent event frees one from the illusion that life’s pains must be “fixed.” Instead, life is embraced in its impermanence and mystery.

Finally, the conversation acknowledges the practical challenges of spreading this wisdom, especially to younger generations whose lives are dominated by distractions and disconnection from their bodies. The speaker calls for incorporating mindfulness and attention practices into early education to cultivate presence and resilience.

Conclusion

This dialogue offers a profound, sometimes unsettling perspective on human suffering, healing, and spirituality. It rejects simplistic solutions and encourages a deep, present-moment awareness supported by meditation and mantra practice. Healing the inner child is reframed not as a goal but as an illusion; true freedom lies in transcending ego identity and psychological time. While the journey is difficult and lonely, it connects individuals to a universal cosmic consciousness beyond all labels and limitations.

Summary 2

This document appears to be a transcript of a conversation, likely intended for use in a book. The speakers discuss a variety of topics, including the nature of wisdom, the role of AI, practical approaches to well-being, and the process of creating a collaborative book. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

    Wisdom and Modern Therapies: The conversation touches on the vast history of wisdom, contrasting it with modern therapies like CBT and ACT, which are seen as relatively recent developments. There’s a suggestion that AI could potentially help rediscover ancient wisdom.

    Attention and Children: The lack of attention and focus in children is addressed, suggesting that the current educational system may contribute to this issue [9]. The speaker advocates for simple methods to help children focus, such as paying attention to the body.

    Mantra and Pain: The effectiveness of mantras in relieving pain is discussed. It’s suggested that mantras may not be a quick fix for pain relief but can be helpful over time with understanding the power of sound. The importance of living through physical experiences, even painful ones, is also mentioned.

    The Guru and Inner Guidance: The conversation concludes with a spiritual reflection, emphasizing the importance of inner guidance and light, referencing the Guru and the roles of mantras in navigating delusion and desires. The speakers encourage listeners to stop searching externally and to “just do,” trusting that the answers are already within.

Here are three question prompts based on the document:

    How do the speakers plan to balance practical advice with more philosophical or “waffly” content in their book series?

    What specific techniques or approaches do the speakers suggest for helping children improve their attention and focus?

    According to the speakers, what is the role of mantras in managing pain and how does this compare to conventional pain relief methods?