"Intellectual Fool" by Jan Jennings

In the interest of scientific understanding, we have dissected many pieces of what we think human beings are. In this millennium, our new task may be to put those pieces back together to realize the full potential of what it means to be human.

In the late 1800's, William James, the Father of American Psychology, investigated what he referred to in his writing as the "stuff" of consciousness. There were some who listened to his ideas about the interaction of mind, body and spirit in the human experience. Those who were open were mainly his students, but it was rare that fellow academics would even consider his ideas on "that" subject matter. Today, most psychology students are not encouraged to read James and understand his holistic insights. For the most part, they are only instructed to remember that he was the Father of American Psychology for their licensing exam.

Sigmund Freud became the next major figure for psychology, as he was interested in investigating the mind from his neurology background. He was fascinated with paralysis in the body when there was no physical cause as he tried to understand women with hysterical conversion reactions. He added kindling to the "fire-walking" powers of the mind to disconnect from the body, and introduced his notion of "the unconcious mind" with a different approach than William James. He introduced the concept that humans have psychological defenses. His own biases entered his new defense theory in that he, himself, became defensive with his student, Carl Jung. They clashed over Freud discarding any notion of higher consciousness and human spirit. Though Jung remained inclusive of all aspects of human consciousness, teachers rarely listen attentively to their students and he and Freud parted in their life journeys. Freud did admit just before his death, that if he had to do things over again, he would have developed more comprehensive theories like his student, Jung. Unfortunately, when teachers become too identified with their role, they may run out of time, before they open to learning from their students. After his death Freud was more frequently studied than Jung, as psychology was still a new science defending itself. It was an amazing paradox that those studying the mind's defenses, after Freud, became defensive like Freud, when confronted with aspects of consciousness that included spirit. Jung continued to expand in his holistic understanding of human experience, though relatively few listened.

In the late 1940's, BF Skinner went farther in the pseudo-security that comes in reductionism of what it means to be human. He introduced his idea that there was no "mind". There were only behaviors in the organism that were the result of "operant conditioning". Psychology, still defending itself as a new science, now could focus on behaviors that could be directly observed and consistently controlled using easily measurable data. The many cognitive/behavioral therapies we have today are offshoots from Skinner's theories. They have been effective in changing many maladaptive behaviors and improved the status of psychology as a "science."

Throughout all the many exciting insights and breakthroughs that have occurred in psychology, paradigmatic reduction also appears to have unconsciously taken place. Perhaps this has occured because psychology, unconsciously, wanted to exclude areas difficult to investigate that would require innovative methodologies for gathering measurable data. Each of us can experience something before we find ways to measure it scientifically. In physics, Einstein conceived of his Theory of Relativity, many years before his theory was proven in scientific methodology. In psychology what appears to have happened is that its founder, William James, had Mind, Body, and Spirit as integral parts of the human experience.   Then with Freud, Psychology lost its Spirit and finally with Skinner, Psychology lost its Mind.

Over the last 30 years, some professions such as psychology, neurology, physiology, and immunology have tried to come back together in their understanding what it means to be human. We have words like, "psycho physiological" therapist, for those who practice psycho (mind) physio (body) therapies. We have a word, "psychoneuroimmunology" where we put the psycho (mind) back together with the neuro (brain) back together with both affecting the immune system of the (body). Our words may be paving the way for reintegrating all that we are.

In this our new millennium, we are approaching again the much-needed comprehensive integration of knowledge from all our "ologies" moving us closer towards a more holistic understanding of ourselves. Temporarily, while we are reintegrating, perhaps we should coin the term, "PsychoPhysioSpirituality" (Mind, Body, and Spirit) to avoid the reductionism that has taken place since James and Jung in the early 1900's. In these early days of our new Millennium, perhaps we can relax our left brain style of knowing by immediately proving, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past by throwing away both experience and data because it is more difficult to acquire.

Einstein observed phenomena in his wordless right brain, long before he proved. He understood before there were any left brain proofs that energy and matter were different manifestations of the same thing. He further taught us that the observer does have an integral effect upon that which they are observing. As psychology can learn from Freud, if we are unconsciously defending against something that we do not wish to explore, chances are we won't explore it. From Skinner we can learn that throwing out the mind and unconscious, studying only behaviors, throws the baby out with the bathwater. From Skinner's own theory, we won't explore certain phenomena because there is no reinforcement for those behaviors of exploration if we are not open to experience them. Individually and as a species we cannot evolve until we are ready to. This is why the observer does have an integral effect upon that which they are observing. If they do not want to look at certain aspects of human experience, they will not even begin to see them, yet alone explore them.

Cyclically, in the early years of our second millenium, we may be finding ourselves back in history of the early 1900's, in investigating and understanding all that we really are. We are in the same territory of the original Mind, Body, Spirit explorations of William James, and rather than have history repeat itself, we may recognize that all the "ologies" are once again struggling to come together in a more unified paradigm. They do not have to continue defending against each other. They may unite with each bringing forth their part of the collective wisdom and knowledge we have acquired through all history past and present in our human experience.

Perhaps this time in history, we may allow the full paradigmatic and transformational shift in knowledge and experience to be more fully guided by the Divine through each of our Spirits fully active with our minds. Then we truly will "do no harm," in all our healing, teaching, and paradigmatic exploration. Those among us who already understand with vision that the "healer/patient" "therapist/client" and "teacher/student" are all constantly interchanging their roles with one another, already are assisting us in the extensive paradigm shifts. They have the humility to internally and experientially know this through the compassion for our species that comes from the heart and Spirit with or without their training in their own "ologies." They are humble, as they know that the apparent healer is also a patient, just as the apparent patient is also a healer. They are wise through their Spirit's wisdom to understand that the apparent teacher is also a student and the apparent student is also a teacher. As these lessons are reintegrated into all our learning in our educational institutions, in research and development that give direction and innovation to our corporations, and throughout all aspects of our daily living, we won't loose our minds, nor will we loose our Spirits.