WillSpirit!

Planning to treat people with acupuncture forces me to weigh my philosophical views. My ideas about reality evolve month by month, and new information leads to frequent adjustments in outlook. For years I’ve worked to combine my science education, my medical background, and my transcendent experiences into a consistent framework. In taking up a healing modality that straddles the line between medicine and spirituality, I feel renewed motivation to reconcile my mundane and transcendent attitudes.

People have strong views about these subjects, whether they hold traditional religious beliefs or modern secular convictions. Whatever I write should be seen as provisional and personal to me. Aside from arguing for tolerance, I have no desire to change anyone’s views. Some people feel emphatic about the correctness of their own perspective, and see little reason to take seriously the views of those who disagree. The only thing I know for sure about spiritual questions is that nobody has unassailable answers. It is surprising that many hold so tightly to their opinions, when it is impossible to be sure about the ultimate nature of reality.

I grant that there are statements that can be made with some certainty. Although I respect literalist interpretations of biblical stories, I cannot see how they could be strictly true. Every religion with concrete views of its scriptural tales feels equally passionate, but the various detailed accounts of creation and deity contradict each other. How could one body of humanity be completely right, and all the others wrong? The fact that biblical stories are so similar in general outline but so different in detail also gives cause to be cautious about taking them too literally. Too many different cultures tell of virgin birth, resurrection, and raising the dead, and yet attribute these miracles to very different historical figures. Either such supernatural events were once surprisingly common, or the deeper metaphor is what matters, and not the details of the stories. This is Jung’s view, of course, and I see much value in it.

On the other side, some who claim to stand on science would deny all mystical happenings. They might accept metaphor, but they would never go so far as Jung and believe in serendipity or a collective unconscious. This is certainly a supportable view, but not so supportable as to categorically and for evermore rule out strange happenings. For people like Dawkins, Hitchens, and Dennett, it is decidedly inconvenient that at the smallest and largest scales the universe behaves quite oddly. Scientists rightly balk at the way New Age spokespeople stretch the findings of quantum mechanics to fit their spiritualism, but it cannot be denied that the uncertainty principle, quantum entanglement, and observer dependence open the door to strange possibilities.

My starting point is therefore that both literalist interpretations of scripture and unremittingly materialist interpretations of science are misguided. The true nature of reality must lie somewhere between the two extremes. As usual, I take a cautious middle position, which usually means alienating all sides. But with my tiny blog audience I don’t imagine much uproar will result. I may lose a subscriber or two, but hopefully those who remain and remain interested will find something of value in what I write.

This is more than an intellectual exercise. For those who suffer from depression and other forms of despair, spiritual beliefs can be lifesaving. To picture the universe as a cold, random machine with no larger order, which was the view I long held, can be quite grim. On the other hand, the human heart can be uplifted by belief in a more meaningful and directed cosmos.

Granted, if the universe had been proven to be without soul and made up only of particles randomly interacting, it would have to be accepted. But that conclusion, though widespread, is premature and biased. It comes out of a metaphysical presupposition, and is not scientific fact. There is room, thankfully, for a more expansive view. Not that richer perspectives are provable, either, but within limits they remain consistent with reality as so far observed. Personally, I prefer to take the more generous view. Provided I find the energy to continue, I will explore these possibilities in posts to come.