Questioner: Erika Category: Catholics Private: No Subject: mind x soul Question: Hello Padraig! when to know when someone needs a psychological help or needs help with his soul, spiritual help? There is a difference between problems related to the soul and problems related to the mind? How to know? thank you, Erika Answer: Hi Erika, Its very good to hear from you again. I am sorry I did not reply sooner as I was off on a retreat in the middle of nowhere praying. I am just curious if Our Lady is appearing in Brazil as I have not heard about anything there and she seems to be appearing everywhere? Just me being nosey!! You ask the most difficult interesting question which I had to go away and pray about, not because I had nothing to say but because I had so much and I did not want to write a book for an answer which might only confuse things! This question centers on Spiritual Discernment and how to Discern the true from the false. Consider such discernment as being like a layer of little silk sieves through which we pour the liquid of our spiritual experience. The first layer is the Tradition of Holy Mother Church, thus we test in the fire of the Church's teachings. Next we pour it through the sieve of scripture. Then we test it through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and our conscience. For instance does it bring us peace, joy, inner healing, courage and so on.... But we for we who follow Our Blessed Mother I think the bring question is, does it bring us humility? Or, to phrase it another way does it place us right with God? That God is all and we are nothing but God's hand servants? I will come back to this Marian approach later. I think ,as Catholics we must be very.very careful of a lot that modern psychology. A good fruit does not fall off a bad tree and much of the models used are founded on the premise that Religion is self delusion and the Existence of God a Myth. Models like this crush the Spirit and mislead. At the furthest parameters outright mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia for instance are just so interesting because they often involve religious obsession. Even in outright pathologies such as rare cases of Demonic Possession their seems to be a kind of counter obsession with religion. I sometimes think there is a holiness about all this, that perhaps those we might label 'mad' are in fact saner in many ways than we are. Consider the case of Jesus, for instance who even His own relatives wanted taken into care!! But I am wandering. I wouldn't really want to go into the pathologies connect with mental illness, but they are often grounded in somatic causes such as disturbances in the brains neuro chemicals. What maybe cause most concern for those who follow the path of prayer are illusions and self deceptions that often find their roots in self deception. I find this model to be helpful in discernment. Take whatever phenomenon you are concerned with and treat it as follows. Imagine you are on a train and a completer stranger enters your carriage. He sits down and gives you some advice. Say he says to you, 'Erika, I think you should go away and live in the jungle for a while' Now how to you deal with such a thing. Well its mostly a matter of gentle common sense. Like Our Lady you take this proposal away in your heart to store it up and after a period of prayerful reflection you reach your conclusion. You discern. But this should be a gentle, trouble free answer as to whether the stranger is right of wrong. A gentle process, I emphasize not troubled, anxious, or flying about everywhere like a mad fly!! Well the same thing with spiritual experience. As to the likeness between the mind and the Spirit I give you this model. Consider the mind as being like a pyramid. At its bottom layers it is closer to the somatic, the body. Thus parts of the mind are concerned with seeing, hearing and so on. But at its highest levels the mind centers on the Spirit. This is the center of the soul and the mind, the will. The Will to love or not to love,to choose to follow God or not to. In this inner sanctum or stronghold we are most like God's Holy angels. Another way to look at the Mind is as the Chalice in which your Spirit rests. But as pure light which shines through and transcends the mind. Imagine a beaker of light, glowing. While I was praying over this I note that there is a lady who is to be a great teacher and friend to you in the future , its good to know of such things so we are set for them when they come. Watch out for her as she will be a great gift of God for you. I see you have another interesting question Erika but I'll answer it tomorrow in case I tap my fingers off. May God Bless you and lead you in His love. I sense you are a chosen soul. I'm praying for you. http://www.motheogodforum.com/portal.ph ... tify=login
