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Question

Isn't this emphasis on health and spirituality kind of self-centered? What about service in one's spiritual world?

Answer

Point well-taken. Any form of spiritual practice can become one-sided. However, please don't confuse healthy love of self with selfishness. When I love myself, I treat my body with respect and take care of it. When I was in Catholic grade schools, the nuns always used to talk about how the body was a "temple of the Holy Ghost." Unfortunately, their focus too often was on deterring sexual exploration. In a broader sense, though, it is a positive notion -- to treat one's body and therefore one's health as sacred.

But if one's spirituality is only inner-directed, whether that focus is on health or contemplation, then the axis of service, of connecting with others, is missing. Complete spirituality has both a vertical (person-to-God) and a horizontal (person-to-person) axis. Service, too, can become one-sided. I consult often with persons of service, courageous individuals working as missionaries, trying to help immigrants, etc. Often these folks are so immersed in service that their inner spiritual light is fading and they become burned out. So healthy spirituality includes attention to self as well as attention to one's neighbor.

03/15/98

Richard B. Patterson is a clinical psychologist in private practice in El Paso, TX. He is the author of three books on psychology and spirituality.