Psychoanalysis and the Self: Toward a Spiritual Point of View

Abstract

One of the focus areas of Explore is the role of spirituality in health. This concern was shared by John E. Mack, MD (1929-2004), Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mack was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his 1977 biography of T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”), A Prince of Our Disorder. At the time of his death in 2004, he was speaking in England to the T. E. Lawrence Society Symposium. Returning from dinner, walking to the home at which he was staying in North London on the night of September 27, he was struck by a car driven by a drunken driver and died instantly. Dr. Mack’s interest in the spiritual side of human experience has been compared with that of fellow Harvard alum William James, the “father of American psychiatry.” And, like James, he became a controversial figure for his attempts to bridge spirituality and psychiatry. In attempting to nudge his profession toward a greater appreciation of the role of spiritual factors in health, Dr. Mack had his work cut out for him. Surveys consistently show that psychiatrists are among the most reluctant groups of healthcare professionals to consider a role for spirituality in mental and physical health. Yet his efforts, and those of many others, are bearing fruit. Medicine is being respiritualized on many levels, including the field of mental health. Dr. Mack focused on sleep and dreams early in his career. He later became an expert on the psychological effects of the nuclear arms race and became a passionate advocate for nuclear disarmament. He was always concerned with the psychoanalysis of the misunderstood or vulnerable—suicide-prone teenagers, teens troubled by the prospect of nuclear holocaust, and, later in his career, individuals disturbed by what they considered to be alien encounters. Although he was a tenured professor at Harvard, this particular interest led to an official review of his research methods. Fourteen months later, the investigating committee reaffirmed Dr. Mack’s academic freedom to study what he wished and to state his opinions without impediment. I knew Dr. Mack somewhat; our paths had crossed at conferences that explored themes related to consciousness and spirituality. He was cordial to the idea of nonlocal mind, about which I have written extensively. Prior to his death, he asked me to contribute a chapter to a book he was editing, which I did. The challenge to the contributors, John said, was to imagine what human experience would be like if we took nonlocal mind for real. The book project continues after his death and is nearing completion. The following paper by Dr. Mack is a template for a spiritual orientation in psychiatry, but it is much more than that. In it, Dr. Mack reveals his own majestic, spiritual worldview, his awareness of a global environmental crisis, and his sense of responsibility as a global citizen. “Explore” is derived from the Latin explorare, which means to search out, look into closely, examine carefully, and investigate, or to travel into an area previously little known to learn more about its natural features, inhabitants, and others. John E. Mack was an explorer of the first order. He was what some native peoples call a Big Man—the individual whose lofty dreams and visions should be heeded for the welfare of everyone else. Thus, we are honored to reprint this paper of his in Explore, and we are grateful to the John E. Mack Institute for permission to do so. Further information about Dr. Mack, and additional articles by him, are available at http://www.johnemackinstitute.org. —Larry Dossey, MD Executive Editor, EXPLORE Not very long ago I had a dream So bright and glowing it startled me Into a great glow of transcendental joy. The dream? Everything around me black as sin I, walking toward some unknown goal, My body virginal in youth and pure, Naked, rosy and quite beautiful. And from me emanated shining light; While all about me I could dimly see Small swarthy men with evil weaponry, Arms thrust out to mutilate and kill, Ready to slash through my integrity. But as they came within my numinosity They melted into darkness and were gone And I walked on, untroubled and serene. —Harriet Robey aged 90, Freudian trained psychiatric social worker, “reared without belief in God.” August, 1991.