Sacred Psychology
A Global Perspective
Samuel Bendeck Sotillos [+–]
Psychotherapist
Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, PsyD, LMFT, LPCC, CCMHC, NCC, CPRP, CCTP, MHRS, is a
practicing psychotherapist who has worked for many years in the field of mental health and social services. His focus is on comparative religion and the intersection between culture, spirituality, and psychology. His works include The Quest For Who We Are: Modern Psychology and the Sacred (2023), Paths That Lead to the Same Summit: An Annotated Guide to World Spirituality (2020), Dismantling Freud: Fake Therapy and the Psychoanalytic Worldview (2020), and Behaviorism: The Quandary of a Psychology without a Soul (2017). He edited the volume, Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy (2013), and his articles have appeared in numerous journals and periodicals. He lives on the Central Coast of California.
practicing psychotherapist who has worked for many years in the field of mental health and social services. His focus is on comparative religion and the intersection between culture, spirituality, and psychology. His works include The Quest For Who We Are: Modern Psychology and the Sacred (2023), Paths That Lead to the Same Summit: An Annotated Guide to World Spirituality (2020), Dismantling Freud: Fake Therapy and the Psychoanalytic Worldview (2020), and Behaviorism: The Quandary of a Psychology without a Soul (2017). He edited the volume, Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy (2013), and his articles have appeared in numerous journals and periodicals. He lives on the Central Coast of California.
Psychology today pathologizes all aspects of the human condition without ever examining its own ills, which have caused it to become fragmented. People from non-Western backgrounds are often adversely affected by the limitations of the discipline, and often avoid treatment altogether. By contrast, a true “science of the soul” has existed for millennia in all the world’s diverse spiritual cultures. Although a plethora of modern therapies are now available, they are hindered in their efficacy by having become entirely divorced from sacred reality. This work argues that it is necessary to restore this “science of the soul” by drawing on the perspective of non-Western wisdom traditions as understood since time immemorial. Examples are given of the fundamental differences that are found between modern psychology and the traditional psychologies of various religions, which also existed in the West prior to the Enlightenment era. Furthermore, it will be shown how non-Western philosophy can help rehabilitate an authentically healing psychology in support of promoting sound mental health in our afflicted modern culture. Sacred psychologies, therefore, afford us the best opportunity to tackle the innumerable challenges that confront human beings today, such as trauma, mental illness, addiction, death, and the meaning of our lives.
Series: Global Philosophy
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Since the inception of psychology as a distinct field of study in the modern West, it has been widely regarded as the only valid form of this discipline, supplanting all other accounts of the mind and human behavior. The modern West is unique in having produced the only psychology that consciously severed itself from metaphysics and spiritual principles. The momentous intellectual revolutions inaugurated by the Renaissance and the European Enlightenment further entrenched the prejudices of its purely secular and reductionist approach. Yet, across the diverse cultures of the world, we find spiritual traditions that embrace a fully-integrated psychology, unsullied by the limitations of the modern scientific method. It is only by grounding psychology on a foundation of sacred and universal truths—found in all traditional civilizations—that we can begin to restore a true “science of the soul” that addresses the entire gamut of human needs and possibilities.
Chapter 2
Birth as Theophany [+–]
The birth of the human being into terrestrial existence is itself an expression of the mystery of manifestation and ultimately of the human condition. It is something that, in the present day, is often taken for granted and insufficiently contemplated. If we do not reflect on the nature of birth and death, can we truly say that we know ourselves or that we understand the meaning and purpose of life itself? This essay looks at how the distinct religious and spiritual traditions understand birth as a Divine Disclosure.
Chapter 3
Trauma, which has become a hallmark of everyday life in the modern world, forms part of the broader mental health crisis that afflicts society today. It also, arguably, reflects a lost sense of the sacred. Throughout humanity’s diverse cultures, suffering is understood to be intrinsic to the larger fabric of life in this world; trauma, therefore, is a direct consequence of not being able to properly integrate suffering into one’s life. However, this is not to simply equate suffering with trauma, or trauma with illness. The prevalence of acute traumatic suffering has always been a major cause of disbelief in religion. Yet the increased weakening of faith in the modern world has provoked a particularly severe spiritual crisis, which could be dubbed the “trauma of secularism.” Through recourse to traditional metaphysics, we can begin to understand the transpersonal dimension of this phenomenon and thus accurately assess, diagnose, and provide adequate treatment. It will be argued that healing and wholeness cannot take place outside the purview of a “sacred science,” the spiritual dimension of which transcends the limitations of mainstream psychology and its profusion of profane therapies.
Chapter 4
The epidemic of mental illness has become a global crisis. According to the WHO, some 450 million people around the world are currently suffering from mental illness, and 1 in 4 will at some point in their lifetime suffer from a mental health issue. In an era that prizes empirically verifiable evidence-based treatments, it is puzzling that much of what constitutes psychopathology and its psychogenesis or etiology remains a mystery. Psychosis remains elusive for modern science. This essay focuses on examining modernistic and traditional notions of psychosis or extreme states of mind as informed by the world’s religions in order to better understand this phenomenon.
Chapter 5
The global rise of addictions in the modern world is alarming. What the discipline of modern Western psychology fails to recognize is the connection between the loss of a sense of the sacred and the rise in addiction and mental illness. Due to the spiritual desolation prevalent in the present day and its traumatizing effects, the human search for wholeness and healing is all too often diverted into destructive and dysfunctional behaviors. It is only a spiritual approach to the science of the soul that allows psychology to restore the categories of Spirit, soul, and body, along with their corresponding degrees of reality. This paper examines the root causes of addiction in order to better understand the collective search for wholeness and healing. The objective of the study is to propose a more integrative approach to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of addiction.
Chapter 6
In the teachings of many world religions, one often finds the injunction to die before you die. This refers to a psycho-spiritual process made possible through a traditional “science of the soul” which confers purification, illumination, and spiritual reintegration. This ‘alchemical’ transformation serves to provide true healing, and to restore the wholeness of our primordial nature as human beings.
