We often forget that Psychology (“talking about the Soul”, etymologically speaking) is a complex, global and fascinating world.
It covers very different aspects of reality: it develops continuous scientific research from which all psychologists draw and which serve as a touchstone to give solidity to all the knowledge that is accumulating.
And it also continually investigates, among everything that human knowledge offers, about what can be useful for people to improve their lives
Therefore, Psychology is constantly evolving, creating and shaping knowledge, concepts and techniques that are based on the most recent discoveries and also on all the knowledge, techniques and experiences accumulated by humanity.
But there is another aspect: Psychology is not only a branch of knowledge. It is also a way of being and being in the world, a living and vibrant perspective that is constantly evolving for each person.
Main myths about this form of Psychology
It is curious that if we say, for example, that there is a Buddhist psychology, it seems very normal to us. But if we say that there is a Christian Psychology, we find the most disparate attitudes. And that is due to a multitude of prejudices that we carry.
It is not true because over the centuries, a large amount of knowledge, experiences and techniques have been accumulated that can be useful not only to Christians of any confession, but also to people of any religion and to agnostics and atheists.
2. Christian knowledge is retrograde and closed
This prejudice is due to ignorance of reality. Christian thought is a continuous hive of ideas and proposals, of new approaches and people who always seek to go one step further in the search for knowledge. Many people, at this very moment, are working so that the enormous amount of knowledge accumulated in so many centuries of history can serve humanity, whatever it believes in.
3. If we talk about psychotherapy, the Christian approach does not solve all problems
True, as long as we keep in mind that There is no single current in the world of psychotherapy that serves to solve all problems
What is it reflected in practice?
Christianity has a lot to contribute to the world of Psychology. Throughout its centuries of history, it has accumulated a series of resources, techniques, knowledge and ways of doing things, which, when adapted and updated, can be invaluable tools for human development.
But we cannot finish the article without giving some practical examples.
It is well known that In the business world, the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola have had a very deep impact Adapted and modernized, they are used today in many business courses and seminars. And its philosophy is studied in various faculties, without it being necessary for its participants to be Christians.
It’s also booming the resource of spiritual retreats in Christian monasteries retreats aimed at all types of people who want to organize their lives and learn to relocate what is truly important.
Lastly, I will mention that there are multiple groups made up of people who are rediscovering the world of silence and meditation with the help of techniques that Christian hermits already used many centuries ago The benefits of these practices are countless.
And we could go on and on giving examples, such as the enormous fascination that monastic life is arousing lately, the new uses in psychotherapy of metaphors and images from the gospels in psychotherapy…
Perhaps the most important step we must take to benefit from this enormous wealth of knowledge is to put aside our preconceived ideas and ask ourselves what is the legacy that so many people dedicated to the cultivation of the inner world have left us Certainly, Christian psychology is more alive than ever and we will see that it contributes more and more to our lives.
