Call of Conscience and Self-Love

This week, we will be exploring the moral concept of call of conscience and the psychological concept of self-love. Specifically, we want to understand how these two are connected to each other and to our mental health. Our discussion will be based on two short texts by two giants in the field of psychotherapy:

Readings (Click to Download):

1. Abraham Maslow – Towards a Psychology of Being (3 pages): Maslow first compares Freud's idea of the superego as the authoritarian conscience and Fromm's idea of conscience within a humanistic ethics. He goes on to question whether mental health equals absence of symptoms, for sometimes distress owing to moral demand may be "healthier" than numbness.
2. Irvin D. Yalom – Existential Psychotherapy (8 pages): Existential guilt is good for you! For it is how you can find your way back to your conscience. These pages include actual examples of clinical cases from which you can learn the healing journey from self-hate to self-love.

You are encouraged to read them before the meeting for more fulfilling engagement, but you are not required to do a textual analysis like an academic.

Guiding Questions:

• How do you understand the call of conscience? What are some related concepts you can think of?
• Have you had instances where you have listened or failed to listen to your conscience? What did you feel afterwards?
• What insights did you gain from Bruce's story?
• How may you change your outlook to improve your mental health according the readings (so far)?
• (questions circling back to session 1 and 2)

Following Up:
This meeting is the third part of a three-part series, with each session building on the last:
(1) Self-alienation as Original Sin (completed)
(2) Resentment and Forgiveness (completed)
(3) Call of Conscience and Self-Love (this session)

Therefore, we’ll be referring to the key points from our previous session and explore how they are related to this week's topic. If you attended the previous session, we encourage you to continue the journey with us. If you didn’t attend, don’t worry! We will provide a brief recap at the start to ensure everyone is on the same page.

#integrity #authenticity #humanpotential #selfactualization #selfesteem #selfworth #selfrespect #selfcontempt #selfhate #existentialguilt

Support the Group:
Even though I am keen to hold this space, it demands time and platform fees. If you find value in this space, please consider a monthly donation of $5-20. One-time donation is also welcome! (Donate via e-transfer: info@artofhumaning.co or via PayPal)

Stay in Touch:
Feel free to contact me if you want to suggest or request a topic for group discussion. You are also welcome to send me a DM for personal opinions or questions you don't feel comfortable sharing in the group.

This event is brought to you by Leanna of Wiser Mental Health, another meetup group in Toronto. Leanna is a philosophical counsellor in training for spiritually integrated psychotherapy. She has a Master’s degree in philosophy and is a meditator in the Theravada Buddhist/Vipassana tradition. Check out her Group for philosophically and spiritually integrated mental health support.