Above the Conscious Mind

I recently found a wonderful pocket size book while rummaging through the shelves of a local Op shop the book was called Buddha by Manuela Dunn Mascetti.

The book itself is an illustrated introduction to the story of Buddha, and includes the regular prayers, blessing and mantras that one would expect.

However rather unexpectedly one of the chapters talks about “The psychology of Buddhas” and it discusses the paradigm of psychology of Buddhism vs the psychology of the west.

It states the main differences between the two schools of practice is the following:

Western psychology studies the layers beneath the conscious mind whereas the psychology of Buddhism focuses its attention on the direct experiences we have with the layers above the conscious mind.

This statement gave me much to think about.

One of the things I have always found a little uncomfortable with the practice of traditional psychology for healing mental health is the necessity to delve deep beneath our conscious mind to uncover the root causes of our emotional pain.

This in fact is one of the main reasons I chose to practice holistic health for healing as I believe that we can all heal ourselves from emotional pain and suffering through more gentle holistic healing methods that re-connect us to our spirit which is above our conscious mind.

Whichever way we choose to heal ourselves, we all share the same goal to find the answer to our own happiness. It is a personal quest each of us are on. Reconnecting with our mind, our body & our spirit, forming deeper connections with the universe is sure to help bring us one step closer to achieving this ambition. And it may also unintentionally bring us one step closer to becoming Buddha (that is one who has become enlightened).

Wishing everyone happiness health & healing in 2024!

Maria Wrenn
Holistic counsellor/Reiki practitioner