Keating Psychology

Keating starts off his book with an analogy of a house representing happiness—the experience of God’s loving presence—and that we have all lost the key to that house. (9) The unexpected part is that, no one knows where the key is. We can continue searching for it, but we’ll only be looking in the wrong places. The places with “more light pleasure, security, power, and acceptance by others.” (10) Momentarily, I thought about my own life reading this. I remember trying so hard to fit in with others when I was younger just so I can secure a sense of comfort to keep myself at ease. It aches me to think about this because something so superficial could never be happiness. I now see that I was simply going in the wrong direction in the pursuit for happiness. I noticed how clear Keating is when discussing situations like this one. Did Keating ever have a time in his life where he felt extremely lost? The analogies he makes about happiness are told in a way that we can relate it to ourselves, which makes me wonder if he has ever experienced feeling lost himself. …show more content…
After all, what kind of role could psychology play in the contemplative journey? He mentions that it provides clarity to areas of the human condition, namely, the unconscious. (12) This makes me ask, is it because of our self-conscious that we have a hard time finding happiness? I wonder if decisions would be easier to make if we weren’t hung up on choosing what we believe would give us the most pleasure in the end. Furthermore, Keating shows a clear connection between the human mind and mysticism, but also makes sure that mysticism is not replaced nor overpowered by the psychological components as he claims “the spiritual journey is more than a psychological process. It is of course primarily a process of grace.”