Coronavirus and the Limitations of Secular Wellbeing

It is hardly worth mentioning that due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many of us around the world are now in some form of isolation, or at the very least, reducing our contact with others we aren’t immediately living with. This pandemic has led to enormous disruptions in our daily lives. Because of the unprecedented nature in the way governments, businesses and people have been acting, at least in the lifetime of virtually all of us, anxiety levels have risen exponentially as unpredictability and uncertainty of the future, not to mention the relative deadliness of the virus, harms our minds. It is no surprise that there has been an upsurge in seeking help to improve general wellbeing. Indeed, according to a report from the BBC, 1.3 million people have enrolled in a Yale course called “The Science of Wellbeing”.

Upon reading the article, I was surprised to find that there were no revolutionary ideas that science had picked up on to improve happiness levels. There was nothing new whatsoever. In fact, every single religion has said the same thing for thousands of years. Namely that happiness cannot be found in circumstance or in material wealth, it has to be internally cultivated.

I find that there is something of an arrogance to science when it comes to the same conclusions as religions on matters of psychology. Scientists will often refuse to acknowledge that meditation or practicing gratitude, for example, has benefits unless it has been proven by their method, as though it is only valid path towards truth. And then there is no recognition that perhaps the religious tradition has something valuable to say about the nature of people and what makes us tick.

With that being said, I have found that secular approaches to wellbeing have a number of difficulties and despite all of our efforts and advances in the physical sciences and modern psychology, we seem to be more anxious and consumed with mental problems than ever. The rampant panic-buying that we’ve experienced lately is a testament to this claim that science has not solved our problems.

Science, although having made enormous leaps in reducing physical pain and consequently physical suffering, it hasn’t really reduced suffering as a whole. Our suffering has merely moved from being predominantly physical to psychological. And because science has not really dealt effectively with conscious lived experience, as it has a tendency to reduce everything to biochemical neurological processes, it has largely failed to tackle life as actually experienced nearly as effectively as the variety of spiritual traditions in the world. This is perhaps one area where Stephen Jay Gould’s idea of “Non-overlapping magisteria” between science and religion is most pronounced. Religion has been dealing with the human condition as lived experience for thousands of years, it might just know what it’s talking about, even though it doesn’t use the empirical method.

To return to the BBC article mentioned above, neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas suggests three ways to improve your wellbeing quickly, and unsurprisingly, all three have been long existent in a number of religious traditions:

1. Mindfulness
2. Connecting with others
3. Practicing gratitude

Mindfulness, as is common knowledge, is derived from Buddhist meditative practices and is designed to still the chattering mind that constantly worries about the future and the past. It is intended to bring an inner harmony so that one can perceive nirvana in the present moment and the smallest things of life. Although not a Buddhist himself, William Blake summarised this attitude best: “To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour”. Present-centred mindfulness can cultivate a more focused and calm attitude toward life that appreciates the subtle sensations and little things we too often ignore.

Connecting with others is a near universal aspect of our biology and not specifically a religious phenomenon. However, the emphasis on community and interconnection and being with others is so thoroughly ingrained in religious traditions and espoused as a means of wellbeing that in a sense, communion with others can be considered a religious idea, especially in relation to the personal betterment of one another. We are frequently told by religious traditions to value family and companions and treat others well since they also contain the sparks of divinity within themselves. Most rituals are designed to be done with others, not individually, and as such has bonded communities and people together through indescribable hardship.

Finally, any follower of particularly the Abrahamic religions will be well aware of the value of practicing gratitude. The Book of Psalms is filled with remarks about thanking God and glorifying Him for his works. Christians, Jews and Muslims of all traditions are encouraged to thank God for all the blessings he bestows on them in life. But often not only the blessings, but also the sufferings that they must endure, which leads me to my major issue with secular wellbeing.

Generally speaking, secular approaches to wellbeing attempt to avoid suffering, to hide from it and think of quick fix solutions to put a bandaid on a wound that is much deeper and will continue to fester if not dealt with properly. It’s something of a product of our modern culture with its short attention spans and desire for immediate gratification, I believe. What religions have done well is create world-views and practices that directly deal with the issue of suffering. One reason religions have been and continue to be so successful is for this very reason. Being so ancient, they have dealt with suffering in just about every form conceivable and as such have developed methods for dealing with it.

Mindfulness is fantastic and has benefits even by itself. But it is not the quick cure to all of your problems, like it is often touted. It needs to be combined with the rest of the Buddhist regimen to be truly effective. Buddhism aims to rid what it perceives as the root of all suffering: desire and all the harmful emotional states that derive from it such as greed, anger, anxiety and the like. Mindfulness is a means to become aware of these states of mind and to dissolve desire as one focuses on the present moment. Without a grounding in the teachings of the Buddha and the subsequent Buddhist tradition, mindfulness becomes simply a “feel-good” practice without any real lasting results that actually tackle the problem of suffering.

The practice of gratitude, similarly, is helpful for looking at the positive things somebody has in life. However, the secular practice of this tends to not be particularly holistic. It looks only at the positive aspects to be grateful for without dealing with the negative side. Suffering in a purely materialist world is largely meaningless and so there is nothing to be thankful for when it comes to undue difficulties. Moreover, with an indifferent universe, what or who is there truly to be grateful to? Everything is the product of random chance. In contrast, any religious system with a divine reality, there is a clear object to which one can direct their gratitude and as a result the practice becomes more genuine and empowering. Moreover, suffering has a concrete purpose in the workings of the universe in such a system, it is there to test you, to help build your character, to teach you lessons, to make one more selfless. Julian of Norwich, for example, prayed that she could partake in the suffering of Christ. This more holistic gratitude can be applied in a purely secular approach, though the metaphysical grounding is far more concrete in any religious tradition and makes more sense in one too.

One way to enhance the wellbeing of the individual in a psychological sense that spiritual traditions often encourage will likely remain untouched by the sciences and thereby the secular approach to life. This is the act of surrendering one’s will to the spirit of the universe. From personal experience, and the testimonies of many others, the act of consciously placing your fate in the hands of the universe, in a trusting, loving and natural way, brings on such a sense of peace, contentedness and freedom that no other method has brought me. This practice is central to Islam, the very name of the religion means “submission” as in submitting oneself to the will of God. Much of the purpose of Taoism is to aline yourself with the Way, to allow the Tao to flow through your being so that one can partake in wuwei, effortless action. Whether or not it is conceived of surrendering to the will of God, to be in harmony with the Tao, or to trust in the universe, no matter whether the divine is personal or impersonal, all are based on a worldview that conceives the universe as fundamentally benevolent and so therefore, it is worth entrusting your life to its workings. Unfortunately for a materialist, scientific worldview that conceives the universe as neutral and indifferent, such an act of surrender is simply irrational or even dangerous. Such an act of surrender and being content with whatever comes your way in life, approaching it with grace, if not joy, is far more difficult to do when all there is is matter devoid of spirit. I’ve written a little bit more about this point in an old blog post here.

Multiple studies suggest that religious and spiritual people are happier than their irreligious counterparts. This point is often ridiculed or dismissed by the more staunch advocates of secularism. They say that religious people are lying about their sense of wellbeing, or claim that they simply delude themselves through fantasies of a sky daddy who protects them. Perhaps, instead of making fun of religious people as being simpletons taking opioids, they may take the time to study what is it that is creating such a sense of wellbeing among the devout and spiritual. Science is confirming that a lot of these practices are beneficial to the mind, so why not be a little bit more open to it all? Because I think the greatest stumbling block for any purely secular approach wellbeing is that scientific methods are largely incapable of dealing with lived conscious experience, and there is simply no strong metaphysical grounding for which one can base a truly happy life in.

 

 

Images taken from:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

https://en.alkawthartv.com/news/107856