If you imagine the professional path as a direct trajectory that needs to be mapped along with other possible activities, then, perhaps, the path of the esotericist will not intersect with anyone as often as with a psychologist. Why is this so? And what will be the relationship at these intersections?
In fact, I personally know many practicing psychologists who are wonderful in various esoteric directions. Today we even see the results of a successful synthesis of these systems. But where does this topic come from, in general?
It seems to me that the esotericists themselves dislike psychology, because they have an absolutely wrong idea about it. For many of them, there is no difference between psychology and psychiatry. It seems to them that the task of any psychologist is to catch an esotericist in irrationality, which will automatically be equal to recognizing him/her as crazy. Psychiatry, which is a field of medicine, does not really have an entirely friendly relationship with esotericism. And this happens primarily not because psychiatrists are alarmed by the esoteric subculture itself, but because many of their patients with serious mental disorders present their pathology in esoteric language. In such cases, it is very difficult not to put an “equal” sign between esotericism and mental pathology.
But does this mean that a dialogue between esotericism and psychology is impossible? In my opinion, it is not only possible, but also urgently needed. Here are some reasons. Esotericism has never had a common standard, representing a huge disparate mass of trends, views and practices. The lack of a standard in practice, of course, causes a lack of standards in teaching. If a person has a desire to learn esotericism, he/she does so at one’s own peril and risk. Even if people enter to study with some teacher who promises esoteric knowledge and results, then this teacher rarely has the necessary pedagogical and psychological knowledge to competently bring the student to the promised result. The absence of any control multiplies the risks. Therefore, a person feels that something went wrong when he/she has already managed to get serious psychological trauma.
I have always been alarmed by trends in esotericism, which forbid their students to simultaneously acquire psychological knowledge. Why ban? Of course, if this trend threatens the health and mental well-being of a person, then such a concealment is understandable. It is usually said that all psychology is contrary to all esotericism. But there is no more absurd statement. There is no contradiction at all, but there are two different languages that describe the same processes.
Immersion in esoteric learning and even reading literature without parallel psychological work on oneself, I consider quite dangerous. It’s not even a question of the teacher’s conscientiousness. The fact is that many esoteric practices shatter a person’s unconscious as much as possible, which rises and covers consciousness in a wave. This is the strongest psychological load for which you need to be prepared. Immersion in esotericism without accompanying psychological work on oneself seems to me to perform the most difficult acrobatic stunt without belay. You can get lucky, but sometimes it all ends in tears. Psychology excellently grounds the esoteric practitioner. The psychologist helps to comprehend and be aware of what is happening, which helps to correctly integrate the knowledge gained.
I don’t know how important this is to my colleagues, but it would be important for me to understand whether the mystical experience I received is really such, or if it has more of a psychiatric element due to stress, trauma or burnout. If this is not important, then, indeed, there will be a little sense from psychology. But if, nevertheless, your own development and safety are important, then it would be good to move forward consciously, while simultaneously strengthening your psyche.
I am sure that many esotericists do not even realize how much esotericism and psychology are similar to each other. Yes, they are based on different initial principles, but the format of work, the nature of processes, ethics and, most importantly, the subject in the person – they are the same. Is it really not interesting to know how a neighboring discipline solves the same questions and problems that face an esotericist in his/her practice? The task is not to define right and wrong, but to enrich your inner world with another descriptive model, which in difficult moments will help you comprehend and react correctly in a particular esoteric situation.
Personally, I see practically no conflict between esotericism and psychology. But I see numerous examples of such a conflict between individual psychologists and esotericists. One’s own dislike for the opponent is accelerated to the scale of an interdisciplinary conflict. However, more often than not, everything is much more modest. It’s just that someone’s personal experience and psychological defenses do not allow a person to look at the world around him with slightly different eyes.
In my experience, I was incredibly lucky at one time to develop in parallel in an esoteric and psychological direction. If they asked me if I would like to change something, I would answer that in no case. I see great prospects from the synthesis of these two systems, despite all the seeming contradictions. Psychology has emerged as an independent discipline not so long ago. But during this time, it showed such a rapid development that it would be strange not to take advantage of these achievements and not integrate them into the esoteric subculture. Will esotericism stop being esoteric from this (as some practitioners are afraid of)? Not at all. On the contrary, the esoteric subculture can become more applied, meaningful and sustainable.
Henadzi Bialiauski