The Soul of Medicine: Spiritual Perspectives and Clinical Practice

8. Eclectic Spirituality

CHAPTER EIGHT Eclectic Spirituality Elizabeth Spencer-Smith, M.D., F.A.C.R. A significant and growing minority of Americans describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” Their eclectic spirituality (ES) traces the alternate route, the scenic path to the ineffable. The term eclectic implies “ideal selection from many sources.” Thus, ES involves ongoing study of history’s many belief systems, free of the dictates of any. Followers prefer the open-ended to the structured and favor spiritual meandering over settling into one belief. The common thread of ES study is generic spirituality, or spiritual belief per se. But the prime appeal of ES is its focus on mystical and esoteric knowledge, both ancient and modern, especially having to do with arcane, untapped human potential. ES values the deceptively simple wisdom of ancient shamanism, the world’s first religion, currently reemerging as neoshamanism. ES likewise collects more recent spiritual thought from the human potential movements of the latter 20th century, including self-help, New Age, contemplative practice, and humanistic psychology. This melding of ancient and recent wisdom aids navigation of a precarious and complex modern world. Regarding the future of hu- 134 Major Traditions and Medicine manity, ES strongly encourages investment in human and global potential by seeking healing belief, overseen by spirit. Insights about Life and Healing In ES, any belief that supports well-being amid life’s challenges while also promoting both personal growth and the greater good is healing. Pursuit of belief at the expense of other humans is therefore disqualified. ES acknowledges that all the favored “abstracts” of life—personal growth, success, meaning, love, adjustment , sheer understanding, wellness, empowerment, and enlightenment— intertwine with well-being. These variably sought attributes are gained or lost through the choices we make. Sadly, much of human behavior undermines their pursuit, as well as the gains themselves. We fail to realize that we can willfully forge wellness and well-being. In ES, the effort of “tuning the spirit” quickly becomes intriguing, empowering, and fun. But first we must learn to focus attention on well-being per se. ES espouses the promotion of personal and global well-being through beliefs that engender healthy behaviors, always in concert with nature. Inspired by the healing beauty of the natural world, ES urges a rise above the human condition wherever possible in order to see humanity clearly, especially the sheer impact of human vicious cycles—or why it is that after taking a few steps forward, humans invariably slip more than a few steps back. This remains a compelling human mystery. ES embraces the entire cosmos throughout time. Any belief, conscious or not, is effected and affected through the interface between our inner and outer worlds. Hence the common ES statements “We are what we believe” and “We create our own reality.” Theoretical physics and ES metaphysics often share basic concepts: the biocentric universe theory, recently set forth by Lanza, similarly suggests that human consciousness is the filter that determines what we sense as reality. We “construct” the universe so unconsciously and effectively that it appears as the absolute “out there.” What we sense “in here” is exactly the same product (Lanza 2009). String theory postulates subparticular mass-energetic “strings” and 11 dimensions in its current attempt to reconcile the macrocosm (e.g., gravity) with the microcosm, including quantum mechanics . These hypothetical building blocks are reminiscent of the “fibers” of awareness energy and multiple dimensions of shamanism. Einstein spent 30 of his latter years pursuing a unified field theory, an unsuccessful attempt to rec- Eclectic Spirituality 135 oncile general relativity with electromagnetism. Although he explained the behavior of light in detail, he regarded the nature of light as the ultimate mystery (Greene 1999, 2004). To render the “cosmic” scope of ES manageable, this chapter will be limited to medically relevant “spiritual, not religious” pursuits, including spiritual psychology ; spiritual self-help; ancient shamanism and neoshamanism; contemplative practices, including guided imagery; and self-healing principles fostered by the New Thought and New Age movements. Though considered ES “subspecialties,” formal mediumship, Reiki, dream work, medical intuitive work, and the like lie afield of evidence-based medicine, where this writing centers. Traditional spiritualities also figure into ES and are covered by other chapters. The attempt here is to embrace and elucidate the broad basics of ES, akin to the general practice of medicine. Indeed, ES shares two basic intents of nearly every medical setting: to heal and...