Unfortunately, most of us Westerners know more about our mind than our human spirit. We also know a little about Western psychotherapy. We might know it ignores the human spirit. Since we aren’t taught to know our spirit, we lack awareness of it. We don’t know much about it, especially its anatomy. Our lack of awareness of our human spirit isn’t our fault. It’s a feature of Western culture that we were raised in. In Western culture, we’re viewed dualistically, as having only a body and a mind, and not a spirit. The purpose of this post is to bring awareness to our human spirit and its anatomy. Aspirations, instincts, emotions, moods, wordless knowing, and personal character are features of our spirit’s anatomy. Let’s begin with noting the difference between our mind and spirit.
Mind and Spirit
The purpose of Life Therapy Education is to attend to, serve, and care for your human spirit so that you may live a healthier, happier life, fulfill the life-affirming desires of your heart, and realize your dream and joy.
There are three key differences between Western psychotherapy and Life Therapy Education. First, the focus of psychotherapy is your psyche or mind: its structure, function, and processes. The focus of Life Therapy Education is your thumos or human spirit: its nature, anatomy, functions, and character.
Second, the location of your mind is in your head. The location of your spirit is in your heart—not your physical heart, your emotional heart that’s in the center of your chest.
Third, you have no felt experience of your mind; that is, you do not feel it in your head. You do have a felt experience of your human spirit. For example, it tightens your chest when you’re anxious, feels heavy when you’re depressed, and expands with warmth when you’re receiving or giving love.
Your Human Spirit
Your thoughts, memories, and imaginings are the work of your mind. The work of your spirit is to make and keep you alive. Your spirit is the difference between being alive and being dead. As long as you have your spirit, you live. Because of it your body and mind live and function as well.
The Anatomy of Your Human Spirit
The anatomy of your spirit includes your natural aspirations toward life, health, and realizing your dreams, your instincts, your emotions and moods, your wordless knowing, and your character. Let’s consider each of those features of your spirit’s anatomy.
Aspirations Toward Life, Healing, and Happiness
Your spirit’s aspirations are how your spirit directs the course of your life. It naturally inspires you to live your best life, heal yourself, and do what gives you joy. These aspirations also guide you to know the life-affirming desires of your heart and to realize your dream and joy. Realizing your dream and joy is the purpose of your life. It’s what you’re here to do.
Instincts
Instincts are your spirit’s prompts to do what keeps you alive. These instincts prompt you to eat, drink, work, create, play, rest, have sex, and sleep. They play an essential role in keeping you alive.
Emotions
Emotions are upstirrings of your spirit. They inform you about what you’re experiencing and fuel your life-affirming responses. For example, fear informs you that your life is at risk and fuels your response to protect yourself.
Anger informs you that you’ve been wronged and fuels your response to stand up for yourself and make things right. Sadness is your spirit’s response to an undesired loss, especially the death of a loved one. It directs you to withdraw and grieve.
Your other emotions—contentment, guilt, gladness, disgust, desire, gratitude, and disappointment—also inform you about what you’re experiencing and fuel the action you take in response.
All of your emotions are positive. There are no negative emotions. However, many have been led to believe otherwise. That said, some emotions are more pleasurable than others.
Moods
Moods are prolonged emotions. They’re responses to your physical feelings and your mental evaluations of your experiences. For example, viruses and other infections often lower your mood. So do negative evaluations of yourself, others, and the world. However, appreciative and optimistic thoughts tend to lift and improve your mood.
Wordless Knowing
Your spirit’s wordless knowing lets you know, for example, that you’re forgetting something or best avoid a particular person or place. You refer to it when you say, “It seems like I’m forgetting something,” and when you say, “My heart says one thing and my head another.” You do well to go with your heart because you always regret it when you don’t!
Wordless knowing also includes the felt experience of someone violating your personal bubble. You know that bubble around your body. When people get too close, you feel it.
Knowing who’s calling or texting you before you answer or read their text is yet another form of wordless knowing. Wordless knowing is knowing things without knowing how you know them.
Character of Human Spirits
Character is the quality of your spirit. Different people have different characters. You already notice others’ characters when you say that someone is mean-spirited, has a sweet spirit, a sunny disposition, or ice in their veins. How would you describe the character of your spirit?
While everyone is unique, some of us do have similar characters. We tend to be born with a particular character that is ours for life. That said, we still have choice. We still choose what we say and do. We are responsible, that is, we’re able to respond for ourselves and to others. Our character doesn’t rule us; we rule our characters.
Conclusion
Now you know more about your human spirit. You know what it is. It’s what makes and keeps you alive. You know it differs from your mind. And you know the basics of its anatomy. Its anatomy includes your aspirations, emotions, moods, wordless knowing, and character.
When You’re Ready to Learn More About Life Therapy Education and How It Supports Your Healing and Growth, BOOK a FREE Online 30-Minute Initial Consult HERE.
I look forward to seeing you and learning how I can help.