Prophecy, Madness, and the Holy Spirit:
St. Joan of Arc, the White Rider of Revelations, Prophets, and Assassins - Integration of Political and Religious Processes of the Mind!
There is a fine line between "Illusion & Truth!" - and - "Madness & Genius!"
And some people in this world, a couple of whom I have met, through have no choice of their own, must walk that fine line time and again because of the way they are "made."
The Roman poet Virgil, in Book VI of his Aeneid, describes the frenzied mindset of the Cumaean Sibyl while prophesying - very similar to the descriptions of the ecstatic prophesying of the Delphic Oracles.
While at the door they paused, the virgin cried:
"Ask now thy doom!—the god! the god is nigh!"
So saying, from her face its color flew,
Her twisted locks flowed free, the heaving breast
Swelled with her heart's wild blood; her stature seemed
Vaster, her accent more than mortal man,
As all th' oncoming god around her breathed...
Perhaps applicable to the mindset of the American Nemesis of Ten commandment monuments. Michael Reed, who has knocked down ten commandment monuments in both Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Setting the Stage: Ultra Brief "Spiritual" Personal Biography
As Jean MacPhail, an author and scholar, observes - my personal spiritual-psychic experiences are unique in part because they are documented and they relate to events outside myself. On top of that they are consistently perceptions of political “threats to the group” as it were much like the alarm calls of animals – plus all the interpretations are reasonable. That being said as it says in Corinthians people’s gifts relate to their talents and personality. The highlights from my forty years of what truthfully would best be described as somewhat haphazard spiritual-psychic experiences would be these experiences:
1. 1981 call I made to the FBI in Toledo, Ohio warning of an impending attack on President Reagan,
2. the notarized, exceptionally detailed, "What a nightmare - Mustard Seed" warning-spiritual epiphany from October 18, 1981. Details: group fabricating bombs, money -twice, New York, death, woman, the title "What a nightmare" identified Weathermen terrorist manifesto
3. call to the CIA warning about 9/11
4. recent email to Baltimore, MD FBI agent McElwee warning of the Nashville bombing on 12-25-2020 which occurred on two months later on 12-25-22, Christmas day.
Link to a list of experiences with over a dozen documented: Brief Overview of some Precognitive Dreams - Pattern of Connecting with Certain Personality Types & Perceptions of threats to the group with support from Bem's Successful Precognitive Experiments
https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/overview-perceptions-dreams
That is set out so one knows I do see "things" from a spiritual perspective, not many have.
Reasonable Beliefs & Normalcy
What many people don't understand is that, consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have spiritual and spiritual-psychic experiences. As Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. From my forty years of experience plus serious research, I believe I can safely say that the biggest problem with spirituality id that spirituality got entangled in abstractions. As Brian Josephson the first Welshman to win the Nobel prize observed, academics and scientists seem to frequently be fixated on the "supernatural" - which is really only an abstraction - a maladaptive stereotype really.
Common sense and good judgment would appear to dictate that the "Human Brain would process unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing,.... huh? The first would be studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James in his 1902 classic work The Varieties of Religious Experience goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that Jung emphasized that different experiences create different worldviews. experiences shape a person's reality.
“Spiritual” People and the Processing of Social-Political Signals
Michael Reed: "I’m the rider on the first white horse in Revelations"
1, No Ten Commandments Monument Is Safe from the Wrath of Michael Reed
Michael Reed: "I’m the rider on the first white horse in Revelations"
The title above is the title of an article June 28, 2017 by Drew Schwartz in which he stated that “In 2014, he destroyed a Ten Commandments statue in Oklahoma. On Wednesday, he came for one in Arkansas. On Tuesday, an evangelical Arkansas state senator unveiled a brand new statue of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol in Little Rock. But in the early hours of Wednesday morning, some guy rammed into the thing with his car and reduced it to a pile of rubble.
He was also responsible for ramming into Oklahoma's controversial Ten Commandments monument back in 2014, Tulsa World reports. He later apologized and was reportedly diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder shortly after. Charges were never filed.
In a telephone interview with the Arkansas Times, Michael Reed, who is charged with destroying the Ten Commandments Monument at the Arkansas Capitol less than 24 hours after it was erected, said of driving his Dodge Dart into the granite tablet, “I meant to do it, fully well.” “I just couldn’t help myself,” Reed said. “I knew God told me I needed to run the car into it.” “I did it because I fully believe I’m the rider on the first white horse in Revelations,” Reed said." Reed also has knocked down a Ten Commandments Monument in Oklahoma, as well.
Reed had said that separation of church and state was also an issue and in the case of Oklahoma, it turned out he was right. Other states have grappled with similar Ten Commandments controversies, including Oklahoma, which installed a 4,800-pound monument on its capitol grounds in 2012. By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post article, Why one man keeps ramming his car into Ten Commandments statues on government property, states that “In 2014, Reed rammed a car into that monument, Powell said. But it was replaced and stood on the capitol grounds until the state Supreme Court ruled it had to be removed, according to The Washington Post’s Abby Phillip.”
In light of the widespread support of Christian leaders such as the Evangelical leader and preacher of Love and Jesus Christ Billy Graham - for Trump who is an avowed and flagrant racist , I would say that - in the case of Michael Reed - he was likely truly a vehicle at the time for the Holy spirit. Everyone acknowledges that Trump and the Right Wing extremists have divided America like never before. A survey show3ed most Americans thought America is divi8ded now worse than even during the Vietnam War and many expected violence before Jan 6 assault of the capital. It couldn't be clearer that St Gregory of Nyssa was absolutely correct when he said that abstractions can become idols - even when it comes to God.
Canaries in the coal mines!
A lot of people like Michael Reed - if you listen to what is left unsaid as well as what is said, are often like Canaries in the coal mine. Miners used to take canaries into coal mines because they could detect lethal gases present in the coal mines - which killed the canaries of course. In light of the substantial backing by Christians - including that wonderful Evangelical Billy Graham who preached love backed Trump because Trump who is a raving flagrant racist - it is crystal clear -to me - that Michael Reed was in fact truly "hearing" the Holy Spirit.
Tillich, the theologian, makes the point that, historically, Christians periodically, retreat into the fortress of morality. Of course, there is a huge difference between righteousness and morality. Morality is in a pragmatic sense – the “group’s” beliefs about right and wrong – which engenders the group behaviors involved with the ingroup-outgroup syndrome. An article pointed out that in the 1970’s Evangelicals weren’t really associated with Republican right-wing politics, but all that began to change in the 1980’s. Christian leaders, including not only many Evangelical leaders, but also Anglican, Missouri Synod Lutherans, a large number of Catholic leaders (especially in America it seems) began to use the bully pulpit to demonize gays.
In the end the Christian leaders’ emphasis on morality culminated in much of Christianity backing Trump – who has to be the farthest thing from “Christian” one could possibly imagine. Christ emphasizes that you will know the Holy Spirit by “Truth” several times and Trump is an utter pathological liar. Trump’s hate speech and racist rhetoric incited many right-wing hate crimes and violence. In 2017 and 218, hate crimes increased by 17%, and in both years, there was a huge spike in right wing extremist terrorist acts and shooting sprees.
Of course, there is a direct correlation between the Trump inspired No Mask Madness taken up as Gospel by so many right-wing Christian extremists, and the fact that by all measures there is a very large and disproportionate number of Americans who dies form the Corona virus compared to most European countries. By one estimate an excess number totally 100,000 Americans who died from the corona virus compared to Canada. However, the critical point is that the Christian No Mask madness violates (deliberately) Christ’s core Teaching “Love on another!” (John 13:34) Minimally that “commandment” would require some concern and care for others. In the final analysis, what is hideously ignorant about the No Mask Madness sit hat there is no reason – or rhyme – for acting in ways that endanger others as well as oneself. The No Mask Madness is utterly and absolutely Senseless. So, yeah..in my view, it is clear that Reed was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The retreat into the fortress of their fake and hypocritical morality cost Christianity and Christ’s teachings dearly.
I must confess that because of my personal notarized, precognitive, and detailed "Mustard Seed" transcendental spiritual-psychic experiences, who I believe is an expression of the Holy Spirit my perception is that connectivity and collective consciousness are integral with the Holy Spirit, in my view. So, to me, it makes perfect sense that Michael Reed was indeed, in a sense, responding to God's will.' In any case, in view of the extremely controversial social and political issues connected with "Christianity" in contemporary society, it would seem very likely that Michael Reed, who did hear voices was reacting to political stimuli that he translated into voices.
In talking with people who have spiritual experiences, several have related that their experiences are quite challenging at times. I have met several that I feel I could honestly say walk that fine line between madness a divine insight, between illusion-delusion and truth. Some are very creative. Reed appears to have been one of those people. He does relate struggling with voices that he hears from time to time. “He [ Reed] also detailed one incident where voices told him to crash his car into other vehicles, but instead he wrecked on a highway median. In the past, he’s walked into federal buildings to spit on portraits, made threats against former president Barack Obama and set money on fire, according to the World.”
Reed's Final statement would seem to be: “I’m a firm believer that for our salvation we not only have faith in Jesus Christ, but we also obey the commands of God and that we confess Jesus as Lord,” he says in the post. “But one thing I do not support is the violation of our constitutional right to have the freedom that’s guaranteed to us, that guarantees us the separation of church and state, because no one religion should the government represent.” Having experienced some of the powerful forces and emotions involved in spiritual-psychic experiences I find it very easy to sympathized with Michael Reed's situation. Spirituality is not all sweetness and light. Being different most often results in ostracism - being excluded and marginalized to say the least.
Michael Reed: "The rider on the first white horse in Revelations"
It is crystal clear in retrospect that Michael Reed was 100% correct and the Southern/Western Christian church has become for all practical purposes the American Church of White Supremacy
"Between January 1 and July 14, 2021, at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict access to the vote. These laws make mail voting and early voting more difficult, impose harsher voter ID requirements, and make faulty voter purges more likely, among other things. More than 400 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions." (Voting Laws Roundup: July 2021 https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021)
Essays written and posted explaining the underlying causes of racism
Tolstoy was the first really to realize the power of emotions connected with patriotism (and group related instincts)
While nearly everyone has heard of the famous Russian novelist Lev Tolstoy, author of the iconic novel War and Peace, not many know that Lev Tolstoy was also a radical Christian. He founded Tolstoyanism which was a religious movement in Russia as well as internationally which was persecuted for its radical pacifist, antiwar, and anti-military position. Tolstoy was probably the ultimate pacifist. Tolstoy eventually became such a pacifist he believed that prisons and punishment for crimes went against Christ’s teachings.
“It was the disastrous [1903] Russo-Japanese War which finally brought an end to end to Imperial hubris. The Foreign Ministry and the armed forces had stagnated under Nicholas II…. The stagnation was born of an unmerited complacency…… When war broke out Tolstoy was distressed by feelings of patriotism which he did not feel able to suppress, and he started riding to Tula several times a week to read the latest telegrams. Naturally, he soon put pen to paper. In his article “Bethink Yourselves” , Tolstoy exhorted his fellow-Russians to remember Biblical texts like Luke 13:5 (‘If you do not bethink yourselves, you will all perish.)” (p. 399 Tolstoy: A Russian Life Rosamund Bartlett Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York 2011)
Warning to US Congressmen and Senators
In September 2016, I wrote Congressman Ruppersberger explaining that Trump's blatant and flagrant racist rhetoric (first against Mexicans, then the NFL players taking a knee, and finally the 4 minority and duly elected Congresswomen known as the Squad) that there would be an increase in hate crimes and right wing white supremacist extremist terrorism. The FBI statistics (which may be understated show and increase of 17% in hate crimes in both 2017 and 2018 as well as a severe spike in right wing extremist terrorism. Furthermore, in my letter I cited articles showing that police profiling is a fact and reality in America.
If the World wants Peace, "We" Need to Outlaw the Ingroup-Outgroup Syndrome: Ideologies and Instincts - Incredibly Powerful Emotions are Generated by Group-Related Instincts
https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/instincts-and-ideologies
McDougall's Group Mind - the "Unreasoning Impulsiveness" of Groups Very Relevant to Current Events - But, Group Mind was Excluded by Allport's Taboo (1927) of All Social Consciousness. https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/mcdougall-group-mind
New Theory of Social Identity - Explaining Scapegoating & The Ingroup-Outgroup Syndrome of Social Identity Theory PLUS Powerful Emotions of Unconscious Processes from Group-Related Instincts
https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/new-theory-social-identity-scapegoating
Scapegoating from 1890's - Learning from the Systemic Anti-Semitism In Medieval Europe
https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/anti-semitism-europe
Underlying Causes of Racism: Human History, in a sense, has been a History of Conflict with Outgroups with Genocide after Genocide after Genocide!
https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/underlying-causes
2, St. Joan of Arc - Rising to Rescue France in an Hour of Need
Around the age of 12 or 13, Joan of Arc apparently began hearing voices and experiencing visions, which she interpreted as signs from God. During her trial, she testified that angels and saints first told her merely to attend church and live piously; later, they began instructing her to deliver France from the invading English and establish Charles VII, the uncrowned heir to the French throne, as the country’s rightful king. The Maid asserted that a bright light often accompanied the visions and that she heard the voices more distinctly when bells sounded.
Joan Arc, also called the Maid of Orleans, claimed to have received visions of the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, as well as Saint Catherine of Alexandria spoke to her and told her to go to the French King Charles VII so that Joan could, presumably, with God's help, be able to recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The, yet uncrowned, King Charles VII sent Joan with a relief force to Orleans to assist against the Siege of Orleans. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several quick victories followed with led to Charles VII's being officially crowned at Reims. These immediate victories following the entrance of Joan of Arc would seem o suggest that her presence did definitely make a difference, and, not long after that, led to long-awaited final French victory. Furthermore, it would seem crystal clear that the source of her voices that led her to seek out King Charles VII seem definitely linked to political stimuli.
3, Charles Guiteau, Garfield's assassin
There does seem to be some historical irony at work in some of the assassination. President Garfield who wanted to reform the corrupt practice of patronage, in which incoming presidents would assign and determine who would hold all the jobs and offices in the government, was shot and killed by a disgruntled office seeker. John Hinckley, who at the time was without question mentally insane, was completely obsessed with an actress, shot president Reagan, who was an actor, and contribute by far the most money ever contributed to psychiatry in California’s history as Governor.
James Garfield (1831-81) became president in March 1881 and was assassinated in September of that same year, making his tenure in office the second-shortest in U.S. history, after William Henry Harrison. Charles Guiteau, the assassin believed himself to be a loyal Republican and a “Stalwart” felt his work had been instrumental in getting Garfield elected. Ironically, although a victim of the patronage system because Garfield had denied him a job, he became convinced that Garfield’s plan to eliminate the patronage system would actually destroy America. So, a political motive was reinforced and aggravated by a 'spiritual or religious' perception.
In the end, Guiteau came to believe that God had told him to kill the president and that, in truth, what he would be doing, is not killing Garfield but “removing” Garfield. At his trial, Guiteau vehemently insisted that although, technically, he had been legally insane at the time of the assassination because ‘God had taken away his free will’, he was not actually, in truth, “medically insane.” While this is not as clear a 'case' as it were, it does show that political stimuli do interact with religious processes - for better or worse - so it is a parallel situation - and so may reflect some light on the issue.
4, John Flammang Schrank: Attempted Assassination of Theodore Roosevelt
The 1912 Presidential Election Campaign was a very controversial and emotionally charged Election, so social signals and political stimuli, during that campaign, though mostly unconscious as Emile Durkheim argued which unconscious psychologists like Bargh now confirm, would likely have been powerful and emotionally striking.
After a bitter and volatile confrontation between Roosevelt and Taft at the Republican Convention, Taft won renomination. Roosevelt, highly upset by Taft's political views, then formed the Bull Moose Party - a third party. Roosevelt's followers held a separate convention and nominated Theodore Roosevelt for President on the newly created Progressive Party. A generally accepted "norm" - based only on tradition and not constitutional law, was that a president could serve only two terms. Taft attacked Roosevelt on that issue - which may have possibly further 'agitated' Schrank's emotional state.
On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt campaigned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Schrank attempted to assassinate Roosevelt. After Theodore Roosevelt finished his meal, he left the hotel and went to get into an open car. When Roosevelt stood to acknowledge the cheering of the assembled crowd, Schrank acted. Schrank actually did, in fact, shoot Roosevelt. However, completely by random chance, coincidence or fate, the bullet "pinked" Roosevelt's chest as Roosevelt explained it, only after hitting first his steel eyeglass case, then Roosevelt's 50-page speech titled "Progressive Cause Greater Then Any Individual" which he was folded neatly in his jacket pocket. Schrank definitely had some delusions, and at his trial he was declared criminally insane. What happened is that Schrank had come to believe that he was an 'avenging angel' after being visited by the ghost of William McKinley, who told Schrank to avenge his assassination by Leon Czolgosz. Another account was that in a dream, Schrank saw McKinley rise from a coffin and point at Roosevelt, who was wearing a monk's robe.
Assassination in America does have some rather interesting ironic twists in its history. As I mentioned earlier, Garfield who was a 'reformer' of the patronage system was assassinated by Guiteau who had been victimized and 'wronged' by the patronage system. I always found it ironic, almost poetic justice, that a Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan, was assassinated by a an individual completely delusional in his obsession and complete infatuation with the Hollywood actress (Jodi Foster), and on top of that president Ronald Reagan gave record, even over the top, amounts of money to the 'psychiatric industry' while a governor of California. The irony of Theodore Roosevelt's assassination attempt was that Theodore Roosevelt came to office after Leon Czolgosz, a socialist-anarchist assassin. So Theodore Roosevelt's assassin being motivated by the ghost of McKinley does seem a bit historically ironic. I studied assassination trying to find historical patterns, and in some cases it does appear that an event such as patronage change does lead to a reaction. Or in JFK's case, the conflict between JFK and communist Russia clearly was an influence in motivating former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald into action. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps the bay of Pigs may have put Oswald over the edge. I should mention that Ruby murdering Oswald later, though considered by some to be some kind of conspiracy, actually has two other precedents of people who have murdered assassins or attempted to murder them.
In studying assassination what I found most striking about McKinley's assassination is that while almost all other assassinations back-fired (i.e such as Lincoln's assassination which led directly to a very brutal repression of the south after the war), When Roosevelt took over after McKinley he enacted some labor friendly legislation, the Fair Deal, and so on. The labor-capital conflict prior to Roosevelt had been very bloody and socialism was gaining ground and revolution was in the air. A view of history from a distance would seem to show that Theodore Roosevelt had a dramatic and positive effect on the labor-capitalist conflict. I can't help but wryly query whether McKinley, being a staunch capitalist may not have actually sent his ghost to haunt Schrank.
Old Testament Prophecy:
Perceptions of Threats to the Group & Prophecy as Shaping Human Consciousness
It needs to be emphasized that the Prophet Jeremiah, actually, made very few "prediction-prophecies," one of them being a warning about "a foe from the north," as well as the length of time for the exile in Babylonian captivity. Of course, even a moment's reflection on the role of prophecy-predictions, would reveal immediately that, "God would not put a prophet on earth, solely and entirely for the purpose of making predictions" Putting a prophet on earth to simply make predictions would be, on the face of it, incredibly stupid.
From studying prophecy which focused on Jeremiah, my conclusion is that an appropriate analogy for prophecy might be a metaphor to horse drawing a cart or wagon filled with goods. In this metaphor the prophecy-prediction part "energizes" the prophecy. In the Old Testament the books of the prophets all include in one fashion or another the story or "narrative" of the prophet - what actions the prophets took and the prophetic 'displays especially relative to authority.
A relatively new school of thought in psychology is Narrative Psychology. Studies show that early in childhood people learn to tell stories or narratives in communicating with others, and further, studies found that narratives are natural aspect of providing 'structure' for people and shaping the 'orientation' for an individual. In this metaphor the narrative would be the cart containing the goods. Finally, the "message" or "meaning" - usually the word of God - would be the goods being transported in the cart.
In view of the history Judaism, it would seem evident that prophecy did in fact shape human consciousness, collective consciousness, or state of mind - which in turn determines the general "orientation" or purpose and direction of 'the people.' The 'state of mind' or esprit de corps of the marines, for instance, in fighting at the battle of "Chosin Reservoir" in the Korean War when they were outnumbered ten to one, was vital for their survival. In fact, it could easily be argued that the Old Testament Prophets were responding to perceptions of threats to the group in that they all, one way or another, addressed 'deficiencies' in the 'state of mind' of the Jewish people - which, one way or the other, was vital to Jewish well-being and survival. On top of that prophecy which in that day and age was definitely a psychological weapon, was frequently used, as I see it as a way to intimidate enemies - and strengthen the Jewish esprit de corps.
Many 'Christians' seem to think somehow that 'prophecy' is dead. However, when you take prophecy as a function to shape human consciousness and provide 'orientation' it is clear that psychologists and social scientists in contemporary society, in that they are authorities on the human mind, human consciousness, and ways of thinking definitely shape human consciousness. In that sense, then psychologists are, in fact, prophets and what they write is 'prophecy' in one form or another. My research indicates that the "good prophets-psychologists" are the ones that talk about spiritual and spirituality as being creative, creating meaning, and pivotal in human consciousness.
Brief Overview of Historical Predictions-or-Warnings of Assassinations
Spiritual Processes are Integrated (at times) with the Processing of Social-Political Signals!
While, "psychic" warnings or predictions of assassinations appear to be the only truly consistent type of documented illustrations in history, across the centuries, there are a rather limited number of documented illustrations of predictions of deaths of leaders or assassinations:
1. The assassination of President John Kennedy: Jeane Dixon tried to warn JFK through a DC socialite who had been on his inauguration committee. This is documented only because one of her biographers interviewed the socialite.
2. The assassination of Julius Caesar, whose assassination was predicted by a seer-high priest. Also, his wife experienced an awful and very bloody nightmare the night before his assassination. Both of these are historically documented which is historically documented.
3. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln who had a nightmare about his own assassination in which he had dreamed that he saw his casket lying in state in the White House. It is historically documented because he told his cabinet about it a short time before he was assassinated.
4. Catholic Saint Liguori, who went into a coma as his leader, the pope was on his death bed.
5. The prophecy-prediction of the assassination of Assyrian King Sennacherib documented as a prophecy in the Old Testament. "Be not afraid of the words you have heard [Sennacherib’s threat], by which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear news, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land." (2 Kings 19:6b-7).
6. Nostradamus' famous quatrain 35 that purportedly related to the death of a French king at a jousting tournament, while talked about in letters of ambassadors to France, is now argued by two French scholars (I spent a school year in France, but I've forgotten all my French so I couldn't check it out) to have been first published after the event of the French King's death, so I can't really claim it as a "documented" illustration. I would re-emphasize that there are letters from ambassadors at the time that appear to indicate some truth to Nostradamus' claim).
Processing of Political-Social Signals
The parapsychologists Dean Radin and Daryl Bem, both agree that instinctual processes are likely involved in many spiritual-psychic experiences. My argument is that I am responding to [unconscious-psychic] social signals and political stimuli - as opposed to making predictions. While the human mind is incredibly complex, it crossed my mind one day while thinking the spiritual-psychic question one day, that some (or perhaps a specific class of schizophrenics) 'schizophrenics' might be internalizing social signals and political stimuli and "translating' signals and stimuli into "voices" or "messages." Of course, St. Joan of Arc came to mind immediately. Further, on reflection, there are several other examples of assassins who take action because they feel they are acting for 'God,' which while it does reflect a "dark side" of spirituality, still indicates a definite inter-connection between processing of social-political signals and the processes involved in spiritual and religious beliefs.
Commentary: Unconscious Spiritual Processes
Carl Jung, believed, along with Viktor Frankl and William James, that spiritual processes were largely unconscious-instinctual oriented processes. In fact, Carl Jung believed that “spirit” [spiritual processes] is an autonomous unconscious process. An Unconscious School of thought has recently emerged in psychology. In the article “The Unconscious Mind” by John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella, the authors state that, "By this definition of the unconscious, which is the original and historic one, contemporary social cognition research on priming and automaticity effects have shown the existence of sophisticated, flexible, and adaptive unconscious behavior guidance systems. These would seem to be of high functional value, especially as default behavioral tendencies when the conscious mind, as is its wont, travels away from the present environment into the past or the future." Later, the authors conclude, “In nature, the “unconscious mind” is the rule, not the exception.”
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson succinctly summarize research by cognitive science with the statement: “most of our thought is unconscious”- justified mainly by the necessity that to consciously process even the simplest thoughts, large amounts of unconscious processing that necessarily accompanies that. The neurologist, Eliezer Sternberg, puts it this way: As a behavior is learned, it become automatic in order to make it efficient and free up the cognitive processes. In his book, NeuroLogic, Sternberg observes, “The unconscious system in the brain pieces together fragments of our perceptions, anticipating patterns and filling in gaps when necessary… to devise a single, meaningful interpretation. It tells a story. The conscious system experiences that story but can also reflect on it and question it.”
In general Carl Jung viewed "the psyche" not as "an indivisible unity” but as a fusion or integrated synthesis to one degree or another of “relatively independent”… “psychic fragments” which Jung termed [unconscious] “autonomous complexes,” (CW8 582) Jung’s observation is consistent with discoveries by neuroscience and psychology. William R. Klemm Ph.D. states that “Functions are modular. Different networks have different and shifting primary functions, and some may be selectively recruited when their function is needed.” Jung stated that “From the psychological point of view the phenomenon of spirit, like every autonomous complex, appears as an intention of the unconscious superior to, or at least on a par with, the intentions of the ego. If we are to do justice to the essence of the thing we call spirit, we should really speak of a “higher” consciousness rather than of the unconscious, because the concept of spirit is such that we are bound to connect it with the idea of superiority over the ego-consciousness.” (in CW8: 643)
Fraser Watts, the religious scholar, noted that in one study of people who reported positively on the question of spiritual experiences, 24% of the people who reported positively were atheists. That would be a solid indication that Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and William James were correct in assessing spiritual experiences as primarily unconscious in nature. As William James said about spiritual beliefs, “Instincts lead, reason but does follow.” My own rather exceptionally detailed and “spiritual” (though it took decades) “What a nightmare” spiritual-psychic experience occurred at a time when consciously I not only did not believe in transcendental spirit or psychic, but my conscious beliefs were seriously antagonistic to spirituality of any sort at all. I would say I am living proof that Jung assessment was correct.
Of course, having a spiritual experience does not necessarily automatically and necessarily result in a cognitive belief in Transcendental spirit or ‘God.’ Watts cites a famous atheist who although he had an NDE experience definitely did not end up believing in afterlife. That isn’t surprising to me. It took me years and years of at times an intense internal struggle. I am probably the only person who had a twenty-year long identity-spiritual crisis. At one point, I even threw my “What a nightmare” document away. From my experience, I would say, there are a fair number of unconscious spiritual processes which a person can tap into which, while most times not a magic wand or miraculous, can be quite helpful and creative at times.
The Holy Spirit & Hypothetical Possibilities: A Collective Consciousness-Transcendental Intelligence
I should highlight that, since, in all cases that I am aware of, the Holy Spirit, in one form or another, clearly works through human consciousness, would seem, then, to be an integral part of Human Collective Consciousness. The Holy Spirit integrated into Collective Consciousness, then would be, at minimum, a psychological explanation of sorts for the "divine insights" of Joan of Arc and the 'Rider of the White Horse.'
I must say, in a sense I personally work backwards in my view and understanding of collective consciousness. My pivotal "What a nightmare - Mustard Seed" transcendental spiritual experience largely shaped and determined my understanding of collective consciousness. First it is clear I got information or data from a source outside my-self which had to be some kind of "Transcendental Spirit" or "Transcendental Intelligence." That would suggest, of course, some kind of collective consciousness -Transcendental Intelligence - or Transcendental Spirit
While there were a couple of examples of precognition in the Mustard Seed spiritual experience, it seemed readily apparent that "mental telepathy" was also involved. There is scientific experiments and evidence that support the existence of precognition and mental telepathy. Here is a link to a summary of scientific evidence: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/research-into-psychic-phenomenon
Collective Consciousness- A Consciousness-Internet
From the simple fact and existence of mental telepathy it would seem an inescapable conclusion, that there must be in some form or fashion a “collective consciousness” – at bare minimum a consciousness internet of sorts, by which the mind can sort and search for information (and I do seem to sort for political threats to the group). However, much of the information was political in nature - bringing the (largely) collective consciousness of Durkheim into play which Durkheim argues conveys "norms." Then, there is a lot of religious symbolism in the "Mustard Seed" and most likely Jung's Collective Unconscious would necessarily appear to be involved. So, the "collective consciousness - transcendental intelligence" that would appear to be necessary to explain my experience - and others as well - would appear to be incredibly complex.
When dealing with “psychic” phenomena, many speak of "Akashic Records" and the famous documented Christian psychic, Edgar Cayce frequently talked a about The Book of Life from where he got information. Yet, those concepts being, on the face of it, very static, would not fit my personal spiritual-psychic experiences – or, for that matter, the experiences of St Joan of Arc or the White Rider of Revelations. On top of that, partly due to my experience, my sense of it is that this transcendental Intelligence, not being static, would most likely have some kind of autonomous function. Of course, if someone hasn't had experiences like mine, they likely wouldn't buy into the concept. Yet both Edgar Cayce and the psychologist William McDougall talked about a "Group Mind" - so it would seem very possible that even in that limited sense the "Group Mind" - like some movements - would seem to have a life of their own.
From hearing others' experiences, many of which make my experiences look like a Sunday picnic, as well as having my own which is very complex, my understanding of human consciousness and collective consciousness when combined with the properties and principles of physics such as Quantum entanglement would yield almost unlimited theoretical possibilities - especially in the context of the idea of the Holy Spirit which is sometimes presented as a 'mover and shaker' as it were. So, in my mind, the collective consciousness - transcendental Intelligence inserting a "ghost experience" into Shrank's consciousness wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility - theoretically. Lastly I would mention that the collective consciousness would appear to me to be a very salient issue at the moment. If you look at contemporary psychic experiences (which would necessarily operate through the collective consciousness) since WWII compared to the last two thousand years it is literally day and night.
Link to my website: https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/
“The Unconscious Mind” by John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella
PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 3—Number 1 73 Copyright r 2008 Association for Psychological Science
Addendum: Materialist Doctrine: No Art, No Creativity, No Imagination, and No spirituality
The distortion of beauty and meaning by grotesque objectivity or equally grotesque irreality is, in the insane, a consequence of the destruction of the personality. Carl Jung, CW 15, Para 175
Rigid Adherence to the Arbitrary Quantification!
1, Kay Deux - Intense Displays of Emotion
Kay Deux, a social psychologist, is the first (and only to my knowledge “academic” to point out that the materialist doctrine is a serious problem for social psychology. Of course, being a psychologist in the academic environment, she never even hinted that the Materialist Doctrine is the culprit of a major problem. Kay Deaux, in her analysis of group related studies and theories, in her chapter in the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles observed that the exclusive use of laboratory experiments as the only tool of research “precluded” “affective displays.” In psychology, it is well known that emotions are notoriously subjective and not easily quantified. Kay Deux goes on to emphasize that “In contrast, natural groups, whether family, fraternity, or nation, are often the arena for intense displays of emotion and strong affective ties.” (p. 794 Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles edited by E. Tory Higgins and Arie W. Kruglanski)
2, Materialist Methodology: “Rigid Adherence to Arbitrary Quantification” & Racism
As Claudia Nielsen pointed out, the psychiatrist McGilChrist astutely observed that “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.” If one stops and thinks for a moment, and seriously considers the question, “Art” of course pops right out as a subject impossible to quantify or measure. Then of course Jung also pointed out that “creativity” is beyond the scope of scientific inquiry. Einstein – and Jung - both emphasized that right-and-wrong cannot be quantified either and are also beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.
On top of that, pretty much all of metaphysics, philosophy, as well as mysticism is far beyond the scope of science. Finally, imagination, by definition, is not measurable or quantifiable -especially using physiological methods. As Einstein observed, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." Several scientists among them Max Planck the iconic quantum physicist swear that imagination is what makes science tick – not rational analysis. The thought experiments of Einstein is what led him to discover curved space-time and the theory of relativity. In spite of all this time after time I encounter academics and college graduates who absolutely swear that the Materialist Doctrine is the answer to the meaning of Life and that they are guardians of science (and truth).
Of course, as Kay Deux emphasized, the Materialist methodology has some serious shortcomings – specifically citing the failure to recognize the “Intense Displays of Emotions.” On top of that, because social psychology obviously could not possibly mange to bring genocides – an expression of group-related instincts in outgroup conflicts, Social psychology also failed to bring to light the horrifically powerful emotions related to group-related behaviors in outgroup conflicts. Having basically the same limitations as social psychology, nor neuroscience or neuropsychology do not Emphasize that horrifically powerful emotions are at minimum a major characteristic of racism. In America, at this time the issue of racism has to be one of the most important issues in todays’ society and the powerful emotions connected with racism would be a very salient question in todays’ world.
The bottom line is the “Rigid Adherence” – or perhaps more accurately the complete fixation with Materialist Methodology’s “arbitrary principle of quantification” resulted in psychology overlooking an ignoring the historical evidence found in genocides which happen only too often with way too much predictability. The truth of it is that prejudice, discrimination, and persecution of “outgroups” has been going on for thousands – if not tens of thousands - of years in human history. Racism isn’t new, nor are the horrifically powerful emotions connected with group related instincts in outgroup conflicts. Yet, few people know much of anything about group-related instincts.
3, The Influence and Power of the Materialist Doctrine.
A lot of people are not aware of the extensive influence and power in academia of the Materialist Doctrine which holds that “There is No Spirituality” in this case. However, you know Spirituality is a problem in the academic social sciences and psychology, when you review "The Story of Psychology," which is a 700 plus page complete 'History of Psychology' textbook, written by Morton Hall, a well-known author on the subject of psychology (Anchor Books, 2007), and there is not a single reference to either meaning, spirit, spirituality, or even religion. Needless to say, “spirit” and spirituality can’t be quantified. The point is that due to the “Rigid Adherence” to “Arbitrary Quantification” also resulted in psychology overlooking and ignoring spiritual and religious beliefs which were prevalent for tens of thousands of years in human history. It is easy to prove the “Existence” of spiritual and religious beliefs. In human history, Stone Worship was prevalent from the Mesolithic Age to the Bronze Age. There are roughly 50,000 stone monuments of one kind or another in both Europe and North Korea. Some materialists argue that the one “supernatural” characteristic in Stone Worship that there is a spiritual force or energy in stones is sufficient to dismiss tens of thousands of years of religious beliefs altogether – but that it is not true. That would be throwing away the baby with the bathwater.
4, Carl Jung – The Prophet Of Consciousness
For the record, Carl Jung beat McGilChrist with his own mirror-image analysis almost one hundred years before McGilChrist when he stated: "This grasping of the whole is obviously the aim of science as well, but it is a goal that necessarily lies very far off because science, whenever possible, proceeds experimentally and in all cases statistically. Experiment, however, consists in asking a definite question which excludes as far as possible anything disturbing and irrelevant. It makes conditions, imposes them on Nature, and in this way forces her to give an answer to a question devised by man. She is prevented from answering out of the fullness of her possibilities since these possibilities are restricted as far as partible. For this purpose there is created in the laboratory a situation which is artificially restricted to the question which compels Nature to give an unequivocal answer. The workings of Nature in her unrestricted wholeness are completely excluded. If we want to know what these workings are, we need a method of inquiry which imposes the fewest possible conditions, or if possible no conditions at all, and then leave Nature to answer out of her fullness." (Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle p. 35)
5, The Question and Commentary!
I exchanged a couple emails with the chair of psychology at my old college. Asked her this question: Is this statement true or false? – “There is no spirituality.” Considering that this civilization has a highly sophisticated technology and an unbelievable and incredible science that includes particle accelerators, the Hubble telescope and every other type and variety of telescope imaginable, interplanetary space exploration vehicles as well as quantum entanglement and quantum tunneling, one would think the answers to that question would have been readily available at her fingertips. I got no answer.
The reason I got no answer is because the chair of psychology – and psychology in general – does not have the answer. Social Scientists - including psychologists – became so fixated – and academically intoxicated – in the Materialist Doctrine and the rigid methodology of physiological quantification that the science of psychology failed to follow scientific method as defined by Aristotle over two thousand years ago: 1. Gather the Facts; 2. Categorize the facts; 3. Analyze the Facts; 4. Draw Conclusions
Brief Sketch of Some Types of Spirituality
An essay that outlines different types of spirituality - an ultra-brief sketch of a categorization of types of spirituality.
the spirituality of compassion. The compassion principle and doctrine is in every major religion: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism (Upanishads), and Buddhism. There are 77.4 million American care-giver volunteers.
The spirituality of civic activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Tolstoy who had profound spiritual beliefs which served as inspiration, drive and endurance for these leaders.
The spirituality of a person grieving for a lost loved one.
The spirituality of a recovering addict - which is also very real and a frequent occurrence.
The spirituality of awe-wonder which has been studied tested and well proven - and advocated by Einstein, Sagan, Heschel and many other leaders.