Conversations with the Soul

I reviewed the first volume of Andrew's papers in last summer's issue, and this volume is just as insightful, wise and compassionate. The foreword by Anne Baring highlights the contemporary catastrophic loss of soul and sense of the sacred, which both she and Andrew feel is at the root of today's epidemic of mental health challenges in a materialistic and consumerist society that has no room for this dimension of life and leaves us feeling alienated and disconnected. Surveys now show that one in six of UK adults are experiencing a common mental health problem in any given week, so Andrew asks the question: 'could it be that modernity, with its incessant materialistic and secular pursuits, is this changing people from their spiritual core and the innate values of truth, beauty and goodness?' In my view, the answer is indeed yes, which makes this such an important volume in terms of spiritual care.

A chart on p. 49 gives an overview of current mainstream psychiatry, dominated as it is by biological and pharmaceutical treatments with an emergence of mindfulness and CBT into the mix. The third strand he identifies is analytical psychology derived from Jung, who had a personal encounter with and understanding of the spiritual and the sacred and whose work is reflected in transpersonal therapies including many featured here such as spirit release, past life memories and soul-centred psychotherapy. If the ego has an important role during the first half of life, the soul sets the agenda for the second, as Jung himself observed when he remarked that all his patients in the second half of life were seeking a spiritual outlook (Andrew remarks in one talk that 'while the ego seeks to be loved, the soul's desire is to love'). This search is underpinned by a quest for healing and wholeness, which Andrew addresses in a number of these papers. Nor does he lose sight of the human condition, asking how much of our suffering is intrinsic and how much self-created. We come to appreciate this in some of the many case histories recounted. He expresses this beautifully at the end of an essay on recovery and well-being: 'as the soul does not pass judgement, our patients will not feel judged. Because the soul is compassionate, our patients will be helped to forgive themselves and others. And, because the soul knows only love, our patients are helped to heal.' (p. 121)

Pioneers like Andrew require moral courage in order to take a stand against the prevailing materialistic outlook. This is apparent in what he has to say about healing, past life memories and spirit release. These last two areas imply survival and reincarnation, neither of which is possible within a mainstream view. In cases where spirit release is the appropriate intervention, conventional psychiatrists risk misdiagnosis and corresponding mistreatment, which is part of the larger picture that pathologises spiritual emergence. This has even been noted in a statement by the WHO which states that 'this reductionism or mechanistic view of patients as being only a material body is no longer satisfactory. Patients and physicians have begun to realise the value of elements such as faith, hope and compassion in the healing process.' (p. 40) His own account of his past life memories makes fascinating reading, including the phenomenology of death representing floating out of the body, which is pretty much universal. What matters is the insight gained rather than the literal truth of the episodes. He also recounts a powerful consultation about his heart valve with Stephen Turoff ostensibly bringing through 'Dr Kahn', after whose treatment his doctor was surprised that his measurements had all improved.

If the vocation of doctors is under stress, so is the health system as a whole. Andrew presents an interesting analysis of the NHS in terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs showing how at every level - physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualisation - these needs are unmet, with a corresponding demoralisation within the system and general undermining of trust. He also observes that, 'from an archetypal perspective, Western medicine is a triumph of the analytical masculine mind' and has created a corresponding imbalance, as the cultural work of Iain McGilchrist highlights. It remains to be seen whether the higher proportion of women medical students coming into the system creates a radical shift or whether these women are moved into their own masculine aspect.

The recent Mystics and Scientists conference addressed the theme of technology, spirituality and well-being - here there is a pertinent contribution on technology and the soul in the 21st-century and the rise of techno-pathology mediated by screens and video games as well as the hazards of social media. Prescriptions of Ritalin for ADHD increased from 325,000 in 2011 to nearly 1 million in 2015. The statistics he quotes are alarming as children grow up in a world of things rather than people, undermining the development of their social skills in the process. Andrew also identifies a breakdown of trust in terms of disinformation, citing the cover-up of geo-engineering projects in climate manipulation as an example (www.geoengineeringwatch.com). Many mainstream sources would put this down to wacky conspiracy theory, and I identified with Andrew when he says that he finds himself caught between this accusation and the scepticism of normality - as I have remarked elsewhere and in a book on conspiracy theories in books in brief below, the use of this label has been very effective in stifling debate.

For me, the take-home message of the book as a whole is the importance of widening the scientific and medical view to embrace the soul and spirituality, both as a reality and as a significant factor in therapeutic interventions. Andrew's life work has been devoted to this cause as the contents of this inspiring book amply demonstrate. It will hopefully encourage other psychiatrists and physicians to follow in his footsteps and take up the torch.