Contemporary evidence has established quite strongly the synergistic relationship between psychiatry and religion.
Several research findings have demonstrated that folks that have cultivated a deep spiritual life, as opposed to sick religiosity parade, are buoyant in mental health. This should not alarm anyone who is aware of the fact that all spiritual endeavours propel their adherents in the direction of self-transcendence.
Sigmund Freud was the first person to describe the mind we employ in our daily interactions as a tip of the iceberg while the bigger, more powerful and modulatory part of the mind lies below the tip as the subconscious mind.
He explained that the psychic force that drives the mind is the ID which functions through a primitive, unsocialised primary process thinking which functions in conflict with the conscious mind that seeks socialisation. This attendant intra-psychic conflict is, however, modulated in a way that the activity of the ID through the primitive primary process thinking is brought under the control of the conscious mind.
The control safety valve that provides the new, civilised and acceptable secondary process thinking is the conscience. This is the policeman of the mind that strives to enforce moral codes that should govern human life. It is also called the super ego because it strives to accommodate the ID with its primary process thinking into the practical realistic world of the ego. Interestingly, classical theological literature also sees man as being constituted of the spirit, the soul and the body. The spirit may represent what we call the subconscious mind, while the soul depicts the conscious mind. There is also the recognition of conscience as the interface between the soul and the spirit, with the intuitive perception as the voice of the spirit comparable to the activities of the ID that requires domestication by the soul or conscious mind through a synergistic process.
Stephen Covey, the legendary organisational behavioral expert, noted in his book, The 8th Habit, that the world’s greatest leaders have always had their sense of vision and voice evolve slowly as they sense human need and respond to their consciences in trying to meet that need. Violations of the moral codes of the conscience may be responsible for the pervasive mental health issues of the modern man and low quality of life of the underdeveloped countries. These violations invariably become potent factors of predisposition for mental illness, especially the abuse of hard drugs often used as palliatives to silence a nagging conscience.
Negative emotional states of unforgiveness, hatred, greed, bitterness, animosity, envy, jealousy, greed, inordinate ambition, sensual indulgence and materialism are products of the violation of moral code of the conscience, with grave consequences on the mental health.
The conscience, like the brain box of our modern cars, aircrafts and ships, are programmed to modulate the functions of their engines. When the brain box malfunctions, the engine cannot function optimally and may require reprogramming since it carries the operational coded software for modulating the engine.
The conscience functions this way as the inward moral code that guides the mind towards optimal functioning, with appreciable sound mental and physical health as by-products. It is also the guiding force to vision, discipline and passion as it stands in sharp contrast to a life dominated by ego.
Beyond the discovery of emotional intelligence, researchers have written extensively on the superiority of spiritual intelligence that is linked to the operations of the conscience. Spiritual intelligence is perceived as being the most fundamental of all intelligences because it provides guidance for them and helps to discern true principles that are part of our conscience, which are symbolised by the moral compass.
Covey further describes the conscience as the home of the moral compass that always points ‘true north,’ which guarantees moral authority that transcends religion, race and culture. Unlike IQ, which computers have, and EQ which exists in higher mammals, spiritual intelligence is tied strongly to the function of the conscience and thus uniquely human.
SQ empowers us to align our lives in the direction of wholesome meaning, vision and value which allows us to dream and to strive for the ultimate common good. True north principles are encoded in an unpolluted active conscience and are self-evident, self-validating natural laws.
They apply at all times and in all places and surfaces in the form of values ideas, norms and teachings that ennoble the people.
The lesson of history is that to the extent to which nations have operated in harmony with correct principles emanating from a good conscience, they have prospered. At the root of societal declines are foolish practices that represent violations of the moral codes of the conscience.
Nigeria is bedeviled by leadership in all spheres (even in the religious realms), with no regard for universal principles of the conscience, hence the reason for our underdevelopment and huge mental health issues.
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