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Re-Education
by Dan Joseph

Psychotherapists have a variety of ways that they perceive clients. It’s actually quite fascinating to see how different are the perceptions. Let me give a few examples this.

A therapist with a medical orientation might look at a client and say:

"You are quite sick. You have a number of psychological disorders."

On the other hand, those with a Freudian approach might say:

"You’re basically repressed. You need to confront your buried feelings and memories."

Adlerians and other humanists would say:

"You’re neither sick nor repressed. You’re simply discouraged, and need some support."

And then there are those in the "learning theory" camp. These folks say:

"The problem is that you’ve been taught poorly. What you need is a re-education."

I’m of the latter two schools of thought – particularly the final one. Let me explain why.

Alternatives

We may or may not come into this world as "blank slates" – with completely open and unwritten-upon minds. However, there’s no question that we’re confronted with a set of ideas early in life. These ideas are reinforced over and over as we grow older, until few people question them anymore. They become the fabric of our "reality."

We are taught, for example, things like:

True love is a rare thing.

You’re basically all alone in the world.

If you act in certain ways, you’ll be acceptable. Otherwise, you’ll be rejected.

If you look a certain way, you’ll receive approval. Otherwise, you won’t.

Everyone around you may be a threat.

And so on. This is a remarkably depressing, anxiety-producing set of teachings. There is no way that someone could buy into this learning and not feel depressed or anxious, to some degree.

These ideas are everywhere. Even if you had an idyllic, trouble-free childhood, a few thousand television or magazine ads would probably be enough to twist your thinking.

If you look closely, you’ll see that we're bombarded with these types of messages in subtle ways almost around the clock. It’s stunning to realize their ubiquity.

And yet, there is hope. Even though these ideas might be deeply entrenched in our minds – and constantly knocking on the door – we can begin to learn anew. This is what spiritual teachings offer us.

A Course in Miracles, for example, offers an alternative to the ideas above. It says:

There is a limitless amount of love within you and everyone else. You can begin to unblock this love, and let it flood the world.

You are never alone. You are spiritually connected to every living thing.

You are not only perfectly acceptable – you are perfectly loved. No one can reject you.The most that other people can do is keep their own hearts closed.

You have divine approval, which is an aspect of divine love. This isn’t affected by how you look, what you accomplish in the world, or what other people think of you.

People may act unlovingly toward you, but this is an expression of their own sense of weakness. You have an inconceivable amount of strength within you. As you get in touch with it, all sense of threat will fade.

Replacing the learning-of-the-world with this type of spiritually-inspired learning is the goal of A Course in Miracles. I sometimes refer to the process as "counter-programming." The world tries to teach us that we are limited, incomplete, and fundamentally flawed – but we, having grown weary of these messages, can turn to a new alternative.

I will be the first to admit that this re-learning process can be quite challenging. As I mentioned, the thinking of the world sweeps back in at every chance it can. And even those around us – themselves taught poorly – will try to reinforce the thinking of the world.

And yet, there is a saving grace: We can help each other to learn anew. Just as we, as a culture, perpetuate the teachings of the world, so can we choose instead to strengthen a new set of ideas.

Think how lovely it would be to share ideas like: You are loveable, regardless of your appearance or accomplishments or anything else. We are in this together. I will never leave you. We have no separate interests. All is forgiven.

I see healing as re-education. The world teaches us that we are flawed, limited, weak, and alone. Healing occurs as we drop this teaching, and turn to a new set of ideas. We can teach and learn that we are loved, forgiven, whole, and connected. As we do this, the thinking of the world turns gradually toward Heaven.

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