Decentering Modern Psychology
Al hambra, Granada, Spain (الْحَمْرَاء)
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
— Rainer Maria Rilke
So many garish lamps in the dying brain’s lamp-show,
Forget about them.
Concentrate on the essence, concentrate on the Light.
In lucid bliss, calmly smoking off its own holy fire,
The Light streams towards you from all things,
All people, all possible permutations of good, evil, thought, passion.
The lamps are different,
but the Light is the same.
One matter, one energy, one Light, one Light-mind,
Endlessly emanating all things.
One turning and burning diamond,
One, one, one.
Ground yourself, strip yourself down,
To blind loving silence.
Stay there, until you see
You are gazing at the Light
With its own ageless eyes.
— Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi
The ego person in us cannot transform itself by its own force or will or knowledge or by any virtue of its own into the nature of the Divine; all it can do is to fit itself for the transformation and make more and more its surrender to that which it seeks to become.
— Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo is an Indian philosopher, Yogi, and Spiritual leader who integrated Eastern and Western Spiritual traditions, emphasizing human evolution toward Divine Consciousness.
In this quote, Sri Aurobindo explains that the ego cannot achieve transformation through its efforts. Instead, the ego must prepare itself by surrendering to a Higher Power, allowing Divine Grace to bring about the transformation. The ego's role is to be receptive, not the active agent of change.
INTRODUCTION
Mental health is soul health. It is about connection, community, creativity, and meaning, and yes, it is about spirituality, love, care, and safety. Despite capitalist-minded attempts, these can never become commodities. The soul cannot be bought and sold, although some may argue it can—usually the same ones who are "running" our world.
After nine months of intense study, I completed a postgraduate diploma in Islamic Psychology at Cambridge, UK, in July 2024. When I mention these two words—Islamic Psychology (I.P.)—side by side, they often trigger intense reactions. It can confuse some: How could religion or spirituality mingle with psychology? This response, at times, is misinformed by the collective shadow: hidden or apparent phobias around Islam post what I call 'the trinity': 9/11, colonialism, and Western Enlightenment, retroactively!
Others are intrigued by Islamic psychology vis-a-vis Sufism, a tradition that, in some aspects, is similar to the other mystical branches of the monotheistic traditions: Sufism, Islamic mysticism, Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, Gnosticism, Christian esotericism, are paths that explore the mysteries of the human soul and its relation to Divinity. The human soul (nafs) is not simply a layer or a stage but the infinite core that holds and simultaneously experiences the entire spectrum of human qualities, impulses, and struggles.
The soul is constantly in alchemical refinement, on its way to Enlightenment knowingly or unknowingly, towards the Divine (God).
It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is a collective shift towards integrating spirituality with psychology, drawing from monotheistic and non-monotheistic traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Indigenous worldviews. This shift underscores the importance of understanding the soul and its struggles as essential to mental health and well-being. Likewise, more people are engaging with New Age practices—including Tarot, astrology, crystal healing, meditation, and various rituals—reflecting a growing interest in consciousness and holistic approaches to well-being across diverse traditions.
Please make no mistake, however, that no matter how you approach it, institutional religion has undeniably left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche. This imprint can be constrictive, divisive, and limiting in ways we are only beginning to unpack. Unsurprisingly, mainstream psychology often recoils at terms like soul or Spirit, especially in its cognitive and behavioural branches. However, as I discussed in a previous blog on psychosis and spiritual awakening, the very word psyche in psychology paradoxically stems from the Greek word psykhē (ψυχή), meaning "soul," "spirit," or "mind." Over time, the term has evolved to refer more broadly to the mind and its functions.
Indeed, we are witnessing a profound paradigm pivot regarding how the allopathic (medical) model often insults our humanity and keeps us sick—both literally and figuratively! I am not suggesting we discard the medical model or psychiatry; instead, I am advocating for decentering it to allow for more creative solutions and non-Western frameworks to enter the conversation as equals, not as comparative detours.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), while crucial in establishing diagnostic criteria for mental health conditions, has turned into an identity game, encouraging acquiescence and conformity on the one hand and a jail-like system that locks patients into a victim mindset on the other. The common factor is the heavy focus on pharmaceuticals. Depending on the severity of one's condition, people may quickly end up on the streets.
Diagnosis and trauma becoming central to one's identity is problematic. I include myself as an example: I received different mental health diagnoses, and while they informed my journey, I refuse to let them define me. Healing comes, I learned, from a continual state of self-acceptance and understanding that diagnoses are part of my story but not the entirety of it or who I am. We must challenge the mental illness narrative and embrace the fullness of our humanity, recognizing that we are far more interesting than clinical labels.
ISLAMIC PSYCHOLOGY & TRANSPERSONAL THERAPY
Islamic Psychology can benefit anyone, not just Muslims, because, after all, it is a map for the soul, only with different cartographical conventions.
Like other spiritual psychologies, I.P. provides tools to explore and create meaning, drawing from revelation, hadith, and a deeply rooted scholarly tradition, Islamic philosophy. As I will discuss in Part 2, Islamic philosophy is inspired by Greek philosophy, Indian yogic traditions, Chinese medicine, astrology and astronomy. I.P. did not emerge to proselytize but rather to join and add to the conversation of what it means to be human. Mentors in the field advise practitioners not to mention or use the term "Islamic Psychology" in the therapy room. The task is to find creative alternatives and tools for navigating burdensome, complex, modern predicaments.
On the other hand, transpersonal psychotherapy is an offshoot of transpersonal psychology (Abraham Maslow), considered the fourth force of psychology. It first appeared in the late 1960s in the United States, preceded by the behaviourist school (B.F. Skinner), the second psychoanalytic (Sigmund Freud), and the third humanistic (Carl Rogers). The transpersonal field arose to address questions about consciousness that usually belonged to theological debates within a religious container.
Both transpersonal psychology or therapy and Islamic Psychology shift from a symptom-focused approach to one that honours the client's broader journey, including spiritual and existential dimensions, thus offering options that extend beyond the limitations of conventional approaches like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I cannot count the number of times potential clients, during consultation calls, express frustration after years of CBT, saying the same thing: "It worked in the beginning, but then I started to feel gaslit by my therapist."
CRITIQUE OF WESTERN PSYCHOLOGY
Modern psychology stems from Western thought and one of its main appendages: Cartesian duality. The rise of scientism and an overreliance on evidence-based approaches (as mentioned above) and psychopharmacology now face significant criticisms. In his book. In his book The Cognitive Behavioural Tsunami, British group psychoanalyst Farhad Dalal argues that it often reduces human complexity to quantifiable results and overlooks the relational depth needed in therapy. Other critics, like Ian Parker, have also pointed out that CBT can be overly prescriptive, neglecting the individual's lived experience and their struggles' cultural or socio-political contexts, furthering isolation.
Concerned with Western psychology and its blindspots, Dr. Malik Badri, often called the "father of modern Islamic psychology," published The Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists in the 1970s. Though later critiqued, his work was groundbreaking and remains influential today. Dr. Bedri identified the domineering nature of Western thought on the Muslim psyche as it metastasized with globalization and resource usurpation.
Decentering Western psychology allows the indigeneity of Islamic Psychology and other non-Western worldviews to emerge in full complexity. After all, I.P. is rooted in the Islamic world's cultural, spiritual, and ethical fabric. It is not an adaptation of Western thought but an organic and holistic tradition that naturally evolved from within the intellectual ecosystem of Muslim civilization through centuries of scholarship aligned with the spiritual and ethical principles of the Quran and Hadith.
FOUNDATIONS OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY
In 1968, Abraham Maslow and Anthony Sutich first defined transpersonal psychology in a paper titled "Transpersonal Psychology: An Emerging Force." This definition focused on humans' higher needs, marking the beginning of a growing body of work. Over the years, numerous definitions emerged, with some papers offering over 40 distinct interpretations. In fact, towards the end of his life, Maslow, as he studied peak and religious experiences, added the concept of transcendence to the apex of the pyramid of needs. Most mainstream psychology textbooks taught in universities fail to mention this fact.
Nonetheless, key figures in the transpersonal field have distilled three core themes: transpersonal psychology as beyond-ego psychology, integrative or holistic psychology, and psychology of transformation. Beyond-ego in that the field encompasses transpersonal experiences or extraordinary states of consciousness such as near-death, mystical, psi-phenomenon, and out-of-body, defined as transcendent and unitive and their healing elements.
The integrative model of the psyche deemphasizes the ego-self praxis, pays attention to the body, ecological and social environment, and more existential questions about meaning and why we are here. It also creates space that allows transformative aspects that point towards the higher potential and value of being human that can translate into service, hopefully impacting education, business, mental health, etc.
Unlike traditional psychotherapies, which emphasize resolving psychological conflict and managing symptoms, transpersonal psychotherapy integrates and redefines these conflicts as multilayered paradoxes that give life meaning. It aims to connect individuals with more profound aspects of their being and higher consciousness as it incorporates tools such as mindfulness, dream analysis, breathwork, somatics, and practices: spiritual or otherwise.
Since the term "spirituality" has become suspect in modern culture, "transpersonal" has emerged as a proxy in psychology over the past twenty years, as mental health professionals increasingly recognize the connection between spiritual life and mental well-being.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MODERN MENTAL HEALTH
During the 1980s and 1990s, and with the backdrop of modern warfare, mental health fell by the wayside as consumer consumption equated to happiness. Even organized religions became about material goals and transactional divinity. In Part 2, I will discuss the rise of more rigid versions of Islam, especially during the 1990s, as I witnessed it firsthand and collectively. (Please sign up for the newsletter.) Unfortunately, significant damage and fragmentation of the human psyche ensued.
Our collective awakening comes after deep scars, with institutional religion and scienctism as culprits. As materialism falters, consciousness evolution is turning towards realizing our Divine nature.
Sigmund Freud, a key figure in the psychoanalytic school, vehemently tried to distance himself from anything he considered "unscientific," even going so far as to jeopardize his ties with one of his most prominent students, Jung, who challenged his oedipal complex model by naming the profound human need for God. Ironically, Freud himself was influenced by Jewish thought. His exploration of the unconscious parallels Kabbalistic teachings about the hidden layers of the self. Psychoanalysis relies on a concept that is inherently unquantifiable and mysterious, the very realms Freud sought to avoid publicly.
Moving beyond Freud, Jung developed analytical psychology, boldly venturing into the transpersonal through archetypes and mythology. Around the same time, Edmund Husserl (1919) pioneered phenomenology, Carl Stumpf (1919) contributed to Gestalt psychology, and Rudolf Steiner (1921) founded anthroposophy, advocating for holistic education. While these figures explored realms beyond the ego, a notable reluctance exists to address the deeper metaphysical frameworks. Perhaps here is where a line is drawn between religious scholarship and psychology.
THE DEATH OF GOD
When Fredrich Nietzsche famously declared that "God is dead," he was not anticipating militant atheism or celebrating the loss of religious structures. He was lamenting a profound cultural shift. By emphasizing scientific rationalism, Nietzche declared that modernity had effectively eroded the moral foundations that once gave life meaning. His statement was a warning—a recognition that society would face an existential crisis where nihilism reigns, a purposeless apathy.
AFTER THE "DEATH OF GOD" Neitschzhe predicted that humanity would need to find new ways to construct meaning and values. this deeper reflection has been lost in much modern thought, AND SO disconnection from the human soul.
Transpersonal psychology is now being invoked in many spaces and, at times, misapplied; at its core, the Transpersonal requires surrender. Something I struggle with still. Every time I think I did, new layers of surrender emerge.
THE Modern psyche greatly resists surrender, a key reason for our ailment.
I still see it in myself (when forgetfulness seeps in) and others around me: a state of survival and fear that looks like anxiety, regardless of whether someone is religious or spiritual. In fact, at times. people who identify as religious may find it uncomfortable to admit that they, too, get anxious sometimes and maybe even lose faith for a bit.
The Arabic word for human is insaan إنسان from the root word نَسِيَ (nasiya), which means "to forget." We are meant to forget. We are then meant to remember. Every time we remember again, the depth of our remembrance (thikr) expands, and the depth of heedlessness abates. Very ouroboros. It is being a human-being.
Nonetheless, the most important heed is that when we disconnect from our soul and emotions due to trauma or otherwise, and because consciousness is a felt-sense experience, the quality of our lives shifts, sapping our aliveness and covering up the Source of sustenance.
GOD NEVER DIED
Some would argue that one of the early formulations of transpersonal psychology can be found in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902); William James laid the foundation for the scientific study of religious and mystical experiences, asserting their validity as phenomena worthy of inquiry. His work profoundly influenced psychology and philosophy, bridging the gap between subjective spiritual experiences and the empirical study of human consciousness.
Building on this foundation, Stanislav Grof (1988) pioneered holotropic breathwork and expanded psychedelics in therapeutic settings, offering profound insights into non-ordinary states of consciousness. His extensive contributions in the laboratory revealed these states' transformative and healing potential, positioning them as essential to understanding the full spectrum of human experience. (I shall address the topic of psychedelic-assisted therapy in a separate journal entry).
Ken Wilber (1977) developed mappings of the spectrum of consciousness and created a comprehensive system that integrated psychology, spirituality, and philosophy. However, critics contend that while Wilber’s model was groundbreaking, it may have inadvertently isolated transpersonal psychology, positioning it as a distinct discipline rather than embedding it within the broader scientific discourse.
Jorge Ferrer, a prominent figure in transpersonal psychology, is best known for his groundbreaking book Revisioning Transpersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality. Ferrer critiques the traditional discourse in transpersonal theory, proposing instead a participatory approach to spiritual experiences. He emphasizes that spiritual truths are not fixed, hierarchical, or universally predetermined but arise dynamically through relational engagement between individuals, cultures, and the cosmos. This paradigm shifts the focus from static, solitary transcendence to a collaborative and pluralistic exploration of the sacred.
Ferrer’s vision starkly contrasts Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory, which emphasizes hierarchical development through distinct stages of consciousness, culminating in nondual awareness. Wilber frames this progression as largely universal, situating individual experiences within a structured, pre-existing theories in developmental psychology.
Wilber defends his model as a comprehensive and inclusive framework, arguing that it avoids "spiritual flatland," where depth is lost in favour of relativism. However, Ferrer critiques this approach as overly linear and reductionist, suggesting it risks privileging certain traditions or experiences as "higher" or "more advanced," thereby marginalizing alternative ways of knowing.
Wilber’s personal life adds nuance to his theoretical stance. Having experienced significant trauma, including the loss of his first wife, Wilber’s quest for structure and coherence in his work might reflect a psychological need for order. His recent alignment with right-wing ideologies has drawn criticism, raising questions about how unresolved personal biases may influence his theories. The debate between Ferrer’s participatory approach and Wilber’s hierarchical framework highlights broader philosophical divides about whether universal truths or pluralistic interpretations should shape transpersonal psychology.
Regardless, the mesmerizing nature of Wilber’s work and how he classifies and reclassifies complex ideas never ceases to amaze me. It is quite alluring for the modern mind.
Moving past one of the most important debates in the field, transpersonal psychology must integrate its insights into a broader scientific dialogue, engaging with fields like neuroscience and evolutionary biology—not to diminish its spiritual essence but to enrich its credibility and reach. By embracing both the empirical and the transcendent, the field can illuminate the profound connection between consciousness and the sacred.
Karen Armstrong’s journey offers a powerful reflection of this truth. After leaving the convent, she spiralled into profound depression and struggled to reconcile her spiritual longing with the disillusionment she felt toward institutional religion. Yet, as she recounts in her memoir The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness, she found her way back to a life of meaning and purpose through reimagining the sacred. Her journey out of despair was not a rejection of God but a rediscovery of a more expansive and compassionate understanding of the Divine. Armstrong’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring potential for growth, even in the face of profound disillusionment that requires courage, openness, and a willingness to find the sacred in new and unexpected places.
Lastly, my critique is not of cognitive behavioural therapy or psychiatry per se but of how they are often applied in ways that neglect deeper needs. Did you know that principles resembling modern CBT were practiced centuries ago? I didn’t either—until I encountered the work of Al-Balkhi, a 9th-century Islamic philosopher who developed detailed methods for managing emotional and cognitive health.
This exploration of Islamic Psychology and transpersonal therapy lays the groundwork for further inquiry. In Islamic Psychology & Integrative Psychology, we delve into Al-Balkhi’s serious contributions, alongside other thinkers of his time, unpack transpersonal therapy, and explore a case study that highlights its transformative potential.
Thank you for reading!
If you have any comments, questions, or corrections, please
