Counsellors’ Skills in Existentialism and Spirituality

Jesus Christ occupies the central place in his thought; however, he did not make explicit verbal references to Christ in his teachings or writings in Christological terms. "What was needed was not so much a discourse about Jesus Christ but a spiritual outlook in life that was certainly Christ-centred" (Nayak, 2007, p.78). Through the generations, Christianity has been reduced to a set of labels through the over-development of theologising and conceptualising, particularly in Europe. As a result the mystical experience has diminished and a catechism of knowledge is in place which no longer seeks to kindle the fire for discovering and experiencing God (Nayak, 2007, p.80). "The fact is that you are surrounded by God and you don't see God, because you 'know' about God. The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept. You miss God because you think you know. That's the terrible thing about religion. That's what the gospels were saying, that religious people 'knew' so they got rid of Jesus. The highest knowledge of God is to know God as unknowable...The one who knows, does not say; the one who says, does not know" (De Mello, 1990, p.102). According to De Mello, to really know Christ is to be transformed by what one knows (De Mello, 1982, p.112). The writer recalls a question once posed by a spiritual healer during a talk he was giving Dublin in 2006: "If we were all rounded up and brought to court accused of being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?" People have become desensitised to the plight of their neighbour, which begs the question 'who is my neighbour?' Jesus came for all men, therefore, all men are my neighbour, including those of another religious orientation. If, as De Mello quite accurately points out, we cannot love the brother we can see, how can we ever love the God we cannot see? De Mello's attitude and approach to prayer mirrored that of Brother Lawrence's spiritual insights into the heart of God, "He is within us; we don't need to seek Him elsewhere" (Lawrence, 1982, p.54). As with De Mello, Scripture revealed to him his body's spirituality: "it says my body is God's temple, the spirit's dwelling place". Whilst pondering on the meaning of these lines, De Mello enters into dialogue with God about the body and listens as God speaks to him (De Mello, 1984, p.24). Brother Laurence in his writings reveals that the heart is a chapel into which we can go anytime to talk to God and believes it is a serious mistake to think of prayer time as being different from any other time: "the most perfect union with God is the actual presence of God. Although this relationship with God is actually spiritual, it is quiet dynamic because the soul is not asleep, but powerfully excited" (Lawrence, 1982, p.65). The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore once wrote, "God wants his temple built of love, but men bring stones" [internet, p.6]. Available at: http://users.tpg.com.au/adsligol/tony/tony2.html. [Accessed 19 March 2011]. De Mello was willing to open his heart and discover for himself God's message, seeking depth and personal understanding in his attempt to communicate with the Divine: The spiritual man searches all things, even the deep things of God. For by this general and simple wisdom is understood that which the Holy Spirit says through the Wise Man, namely: That it reaches wheresoever it wills by reason of its purity; that is to say it is not restricted to any particular object of the intellect or affection (St. John, 2003, p.59). God speaks to the soul by a single act of contemplation which can never be fully comprehended by the human intellect or understanding. The writer resonates with the sentiments of St. John that through an awakening of the senses, God draws us to him and once strengthened and nurtured he draws "forth the soul from the life of sense into that of the spirit" in which faith, hope and love will be required to sustain life in the Spirit (St. John, 2003, p.25). De Mello's writings appear to be in line with the teachings of St. John: "You must learn to move out of the area of feeling, sensing, loving, intuiting. That is the area where contemplation is born and prayer becomes a transforming power and a source of never-ending delight and peace" (De Mello, 1978, p.17). God is now leading us to another road, a road based on contemplation as opposed to meditation, sustained through trust in God. It is not the way of reason, imagination, or meditation but the way of blind faith through perseverance in prayer. It requires no effort other than to be aware, attentive and alert to the presence of God in the here and now, moment by moment. Kahlil Gibran, in his book The Prophet, questions so aptly "what is prayer but the expression of yourself into the living ether?" (Gibran, 1926, p.89). In his introduction to Sadhana, De Mello makes reference to a Hindu guru who taught him that the art of prayer was simply a matter of breathing in and out: "The air you breathe is God. You are breathing God in and out. Become aware of that, and stay with that awareness" (De Mello, 1978, p.7). Summary The research has shown that De Mello was indeed fearless in his search for the truth. His great devotion to the Catholic faith became the bedrock which afforded him the mystical freedom to journey in faith into unfamiliar territory, seeking out what was good and true in spiritual practices from Eastern culture in an attempt to complement Christian and Western approaches. In doing so, De Mello's intercultural approach sought to understand, experience and highlight the spiritual richness of humanity. Religion, according to De Mello, is geographical, influenced and conditioned by the culture from which it emerges, whereas spirituality, as shown by the research, is universal, it embraces all people to include Christian, non-Christian and doubters alike. The spirit is present not only in that which is spiritual but in all things that are human "nothing human is foreign to the Spirit" (Dych, 1999, p. 26). The research provides a clear delineation of De Mello's approach to spirituality, inciting man to wake up, be alert and allow God to act. Man is encouraged to embark upon a journey towards awareness, becoming ever more attuned to the present where the presence of the Spirit is visible and at work in all of creation, enabling a 'break out' into reality. Man's spontaneous reaction to the immanent presence of God leads to a life lived in prayer, awakening the heart of man and allowing the transforming power of God reshape and remould that individual as He wills. Before one embarks upon such an inner journey, one must realise that God is beyond words, concepts, or doctrinal formulas. God is the known unknown and life is forever a mystery to the human mind. All that is needed is trust and faith in God, captured so eloquently in De Mello's chosen epitaph: all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well!