In My Case, Spirituality & Mental Health Always Crossed Paths, Thus Leading To My Own Inner Peace
I found my own inner peace over the years as a mental health consumer, inner peace was very much apart of my life as I grew into my manhood, my schizophrenic issues just made my evolutionary course to Spirituality a little more challenging. Having being exposed to my religious apparitions/hallucinations in my early twenties, I was always left with a lot to think about regarding my spiritual beliefs. The preferred treatment for schizophrenia was always medication, spiritual counseling was never part of the treatment I received from the Medical Professionals that I dealt with. Even although I always claimed that I experienced certain types of visual religious apparitions/hallucinations (a/h). I often felt that I should have received some spiritual counseling from Medical Staff around my a/h. If you look at the history of Psychiatry, Sigmund Freud did not respond very positively to religion, drawing Medicine away from concepts of Spirituality. Bridging my own gap between the two with my own pursued sort of spiritual needs, I was always able to feel an inner peace for most of my life. In the "bp Canada" magazine, summer of 2006, volume 1,Number 4, (a bipolar consumer publication) there is a very good article on this very subject of Mental Health and Spirituality. I came across the magazine while attending my Psychiatrist's appointment for follow up with research I am part of on schizophrenia, through Montreal's McGill Medical Teaching Services. The magazine was in the clinic's waiting room and made for some interesting reading material pre-appointment. It is only now that the Medical Profession is taking a realistic look at the positive values of Spirituality in Mental Health. I searched out and always tried to maintain my inner peace with my personal spirituality that I believed in over the years. Like I mentioned in my last post, I was strongly influenced by the United Church of Canada teachings in my youth, through out my College years as an Officer Cadet in the Canadian Coast Guard studying engineering sciences, my only real praying was done on Remembrance Day for our War Vets that did not come back. I did have my Baptismal Bible with me in College, along with my Grandfather's Bible that he carried on him during his years of service in World War I, it always meant something to me due to my Grandfather being one of seven from his Battalion that survived the Battle of Somme in France. The Bibles spent time with me out to sea, always on my cabin book shelf, just in case I needed to turn to them for spiritual reasons. Reflecting back, I can see how they were there for me as a sort of spiritual force with out me reading them, power of believing I guess. They lead me to a vacation in the land of my parents heritage, Scotland. Playing with concepts of god was always part of my life, even in my drunken stoopers. In Ayr, Scotland, I met this young Lassie that I drank and danced with, then got creative with writing her a small pro, "Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow, say your prayers and let your belly fill with a ghost of olde!". Her name was Mary and I played with her intellect on what might Joseph have done to created a "Virgin Mary", I figured that it did not happen just out of the blue. I inspired her to pray for something I think and if it ever happened to look me up in Canada somehow under the signed name on the coaster for her personal pro, "Doctor Goober". I did not have the complete pen name with "Modesty" yet. After serving in the Canadian Coast Guard, I worked in the off shore oil industry, this is where a more spiritual types of experiences transformed my life into a person being diagnosed with schizophrenia. With returning to Montreal, the place of my youth, medicated to control a religious type of psychosis that was my schizophrenia. I was soon followed by the Montreal General Hospital and in the Day Center Program for Mental Health Consumers, medicated and searching for spiritual answers to my past. I wrote in a posting quite some time ago about reaching out to a Psychiatrist of Yiddish decent through art therapy. So I produced my first religious a/h in art, looking for help on the subject matter I had to deal with. No matter who had the final call on the validity of my claim, it was a very touchy issue to deal with. I have fond memories of the Psychiatrist at the time, leading the group in the Day Program to Notre Dame Cathedral here in Montreal, for a tour of the Museum and the carved wooden statues in the Cathedral its self. Looking at it now, my attending Psychiatrist of the time, played both sides of the coin, leaving me to build my faith with the price of time. I remember enrolling in Concordia University for a semester during this period as well, taking a beginners course in Theology and a writing course. It kept me flexing the muscle of the mind as I like to put it, the Theology course was under Jesuit teaching from the Catholic Church. Reflecting on the memory of my first class, the instructor with a Doctrine in Theology, asked us to introduce ourselves while commenting on why we took the course. When it was my turn, I responded with my name and saying "To help find myself". The dogma I got back was, "You will not do it here". Discouraging at first yes, then again the course was very influential in helping me grow spiritually over the years, did the Doctor of Theology believe in reverse psychology like my Canadian Coast Guard training, with now seeing what seemed like that was how my Psychiatrist of the time treated me as well. I went on to graduate from the Day Center and go into a Government of Canada back to work training program. At this time, I took a second writing course where I ended up doing a research paper on the Tarot cards, leading me to grow spiritually in a more empowering direction. I developed my own personal belief system around the Tarot cards over the years by applying engineering logic to the subject of Tarot card use. I still turn to the system of card use I put together, along with my now grown collection of Holy Books, when troubled spiritually with aspects of my life, while trying to maintain an inner peace. My variations of styles that my a/h from my schizophrenia have brought to me other idealogies that may not have come to me other wise, it did help me grow spiritually with the basic spiritual foundations that I had instilled in myself after my parents guiding hand. One time at St. Joseph's Oratory, when I went to the place with a patch over my eye for a scratched cornea, I took the eye patch off in a semi-psychotic state in prayer. I then went back to the Hospital emergency and got my eye tested. There was nothing wrong with my eye, there was no more scratched cornea. With a focusing test for reading the chart of letters, I had a pink a/h on the chart. I told the Doctor in emergency everything I did, including the visit to the Oratory and taking off the eye patch. That eye patch was put on early in the morning in the same emergency room, I went back late afternoon. The Doctor could not explain it, I have the medical records to prove my claim. I do not recommend anyone doing this, I could always ride on empty with my power of prayer, like I wrote, I was in a semi-psychotic state. Aristotle's Philosophy and Anthropology by other writers on the human beginning were powerful tools for guiding my hand with my personal beliefs as well. When we were coming out of the caves, we were believing in some sort religious system by the relics that we have been digging up. Religious concepts has carried us through time and now it is being re-introduced into the Mental System for its therapeutic value of consoling when there is not much else. One time that I was in the General's Psychiatric Ward, I read a articale from the Montreal newspaper "The Gazette", that was posted on the bulletin board. The clipping circumvented idealogies that when persons in the Mental Health System have family power of prayer backing them, they fare better than those that do not. My parents always prayed extensively for me through the years, I think Mom even spent some overtime at it for me. Spirituality is a path to self discovery and education that no man or woman should be denied, organized religion is a powerful force, so are the many rituals of the Holy Houses of the World. I once discussed power of prayer with a Muslim Psychiatrist, while getting an emergency side effect prescription at the Montreal General Hospital. The result was, you can create ritual and prayer over anything, it is just what you do with it, in a good verses evil World.