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80 SPIRIT AND THE MIND
for releasing one’s fear of nothingness into an ocean of infinite love, so that nothingness is transformed into love.2
If one believes that duality is a fundamental characteristic of reality and that we are basically mind— then the goal in treatment is to uncover unconscious childhood fears and interpersonal conflicts by the process of free association and the analysis of dreams and transference, so that they may be relived within the safety of the treatment process. Finding no reason for continued fear, the patient becomes free to experience a wider range of activities and greater personal gratification.
On the other hand, if we accept a reality beyond duality and see Universal Consciousness as being more fundamental than separate mind—if we accept that we can merge with the infinite—then we can see the possibility of a higher-order spiritual yearning to transcend all limitations and boundaries and to merge back into the ocean of Universal Consciousness.
We can then accept that there may be a legitimate time in therapy when this yearning expresses itself. And the first sign may be the awakening of mortal fear that reflects the mind’s struggle with the spiritual vision of impermanence/death -- heightening the yearning for transcendence.
Attempts at finding an earthly solution only avoid the problem. This is a yearning of a higher order, beyond the gratification of drives and instincts, beyond the stage of interpersonal relationships or strong personal identity, beyond pleasure and pain, beyond the objective world of the senses, and beyond mind and duality itself. It can be stilled only by a transcendental experience of unity.
What is required to address this spiritual issue is a revolutionary new approach to psychology and mind in light of spirit: knowledge about the way to transcend duality, an appreciation of the dynamics of mergence, the process of transforming pain and nothingness into love through the cultivation of devotion.2 Taught by all the major world religions, this path to transcendence is described briefly below.
TRUTH
First, we must have confidence in the truth: that the spiritual dimension exists; that Universal Consciousness exists; that man is capable of merging with divinity; that duality is transcended through love, that love is cultivated through morality, devotion and service. We must have faith that there is a dimension beyond mind and that its nature is boundless, unconditional love—love, which is much more than just an emotion or feeling. The love we’re talking about is the power that created the universe and keeps it in balance; the force that protects and sustains us; the process that inspires and enables us to reach out to the other with compassion, to give without desire for return; the path that allows us to break the bonds of self, merge with


































































































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