Fun with words
What's a paradigm, and why is it psychospiritual?
Paradigm
An example or pattern; a model of the world; a narrative about how and why things are the way they are; a worldview, an archetype, a belief system. Your paradigm, your story about your life, is what makes you, you.
Fun (and somewhat tragic) facts about paradigms
- As children we largely complete our worldview by about seven years of age; we've decided what is "true."
- As humans, we generally aren't inclined to question what we've already defined as true.
- …which is why stubborn, long-term, painful problems always require a shift in paradigm.
Did you say "psychospiritual"?
Indeed. Our paradigms live in the basement of our less-than-conscious mind, approving or disapproving of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Usually a major upset, such as sickness, loss, a breakup or another shock, makes our assumptions about "how things are" fall apart.
Recovery involves witnessing that dismantling and consciously rebuilding a more generous, kind and accurate account of how things are now. Because our belief systems include our ideas about the Intelligence (for many, "God") that gave rise to life, they shape what we think about ourselves at the most essential level.
That is our psychospiritual paradigm.