It just works.

I’m currently reading “Inside out revolution” by Michael Neill, by recommendation from two friends. I’m about halfway through, and this far it’s been an emotional challenge to read. Not because It’s a roller coster in emotions and insights, but because I’m constantly angry.

The book is, at least this far, a pretty regular self-help book. It states that you’ll be able to feel better from the teachings it holds, teachings about what’s called the 3 principles. The 3 principles are mind, consciousness and thought. An over simplification of the message of the book this far is something along the lines of:

You’re thinking too much, and giving your thoughts too much importance. Raise consciousness to a higher level and become more mindful.

Oh, and keep my rage in mind whilst reading that.

The thing that makes me angry is the constant getting back to how consciousness is an elevator that will take you to an another perspective, while at the same time saying that we’re all good as we are. That feeling happy doesn’t need to be hard work, but raising your level of consciousness will make you happy, and that takes some work.

To me, the whole thing is an individualised version of what Christianity thought us. Instead of feeling guilt over doing something that our priest said we should do, we go to a coach instead. Instead of god, we’ve got mind, which seems to be just about everything that you are. And so on.

I don’t need to further state how this just doesn’t add up for me. BUT. And this is a giant fucking BUT. The teachings seem to work. People seem to feel better from following them.

This is something that I’ve been struggling with since I first heard about mental hospitals using all kinds of spiritual methods to treat their patients. I was super sceptical, and then I read about how much better the patients are doing there.

I don’t need to understand it, or even believe it, but it works.

Just that simple fact that it can change someones life to the better, makes it worth it to me not to do my best to dismantle the method instantly. Both the mental hospitals and the 3 principles are beyond me, and they might need to be so for some time.

Whilst writing this, the thought occurred to me that the same argument could be made for religions and cults. That people in those communities might think they’re better off, whilst really being manipulated. That’s not going to better for them in the long run. Ultimately it comes down to what we believe to be best, what evidence we have to support that, and how we then communicate the belief. I’d rather not become a militant atheist just because I don’t believe religion is the way to go in many cases.

With that being said, what can you find that possibly works, that you don’t understand? It might be a relationship, a method, a therapy form, an art or something completely else.