Trapped in Post-Christian Spirituality and Meditation Beliefs

Post-Christian spirituality and secularization of meditation beliefs in the West has transformed thinking God’s thoughts to thinking “right” thoughts, stilled thoughts, or no thoughts.

This article originally appeared in Canadian Atheist and is republished with the author’s permission. I’ve made some minor edits to the original.

By Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Scott is the Founder of Skeptic Meditations. He speaks from experience in entering and leaving Self-Realization Monastic Order, a Hindu-inspired ashram headquartered in Los Angeles and founded by famous Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. Here we talk about meditation beliefs, and Westerners who are Post-Christian and consider themselves atheist or spiritual but not religious.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You were in a cult-like group devoted to meditative practice and a monastic living. What was it? How did you become wrapped up in it?

Scott from SkepticMeditations.com: I was an ordained monk for 14 years in Self-Realization Fellowship Order, founded in 1920 by famous Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. It is essentially a Hindu-inspired religion with a heavy blend of Christianity. I discovered SRF and Yogananda while I was in college. As musician, at that time, I was looking for ways to be more creative, more intuitive. To tap into the hidden, unknown creative powers within myself. At a party, when the band took a break I spoke to my buddy’s Uncle who was a Yogi meditator. He recommended I read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Long story short: I read the Autobiography and had a “come to Yogananda” experience. At the time I felt that everything I wanted was promised to followers of Yogananda’s teachings, which were articulated by his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). Within 12 to 18 months I ran away leaving college, job, friends, and family without notice to go live at SRF Hidden Valley Ashram. My aim was to see if I could be an SRF monk for the rest of my life.

After two years as a resident-lay disciple at HV Ashram I was excepted into the Encinitas (San Diego County CA) Ashram for postulant (bootcamp) training for new monks. I was transferred 18 months later to the SRF Mother Center, the International Headquarters, on top of Mt. Washington, in Northeast Los Angeles.

I took Novitiate vows within two years and three years later took Brahmachari vows. Each vow required of the monk greater commitment to the SRF monastic vows of loyalty, obedience, celibacy, and simplicity to God, guru, and the SRF. My dream to become a monk eventually turned out a nightmare. Fortunately, I was able to leave.

Jacobsen: How did you get out of it, following from the previous question?

Scott: As life gets, it was complicated. After a decade and a half of struggling to make the monk life work, I realized the monastery wasn’t the right place for me. What I needed was to grow, to try new things. During the last couple years I’d secretly obtain and read books on escaping religious cults. Also, I hired a couple life coaches and talked over my challenges with a certified psychologist–all outside the ashram.

During my last few years in the ashram, I gradually worked up the courage and the resources to be able leave the Order, the ashram. Prior to leaving I cashed out my savings so I could rent an apartment in nearby Glendale. With the help of an ex-monk I bought a new car. I lined up some part-time work helping a friend in her business. What I discovered was the longer followers lived in the ashram the harder it was to leave. What held us from leaving were many fears: “Where will I go? What kind of work will do to support myself? Would the SRF’s threat of wandering lost in darkness for seven lifetimes for leaving the guru and his ashram come true?”  Fears, at first, often shot through my heart whenever I thought of leaving the ashram.

Fortunately my family and friends also gave me the psychological support I needed to leave. I’ve never regretted leaving.

Jacobsen: Now, with this foundation, the “I have been there” framework for this series. I want to delve into a variety of topics. For a first one, which was your idea in correspondence, the idea of post-Christian spirituality. What is it? Why is it a relevant, timely, and intriguing topic to you?

Scott: What I mean by post-Christian spirituality I’m referring to Western puritan ideals that transfer easily to Eastern spiritual worldviews, with aims of self-sacrifice, stilling thought, and emptying the mind. In the process of secularization, meditation turns from focus on god to mind cure. Post-Christian spirituality or secularization changes thinking God’s thoughts to thinking “right” thoughts, stilled thoughts, or no thoughts. As if  having no thoughts is something attainable. (Most of our thoughts are preconscious and always will be. I wrote about reasons why our unconscious in inaccessible in my post Meditation techniques offer illusion of control). Secularized meditation practices are often based on authoritarian frameworks of enlightenment. This is why I called it post-Christian or Western secular spirituality.

Jacobsen: These explorations post-Western Christianity can lead to many areas including meditation, yoga, Buddhism/Hinduism, the New Age philosophy, and Eastern cosmology. What are some cognitive-behavioural traps from the post-Western Christianity explorer’s side?

Scott: Lots of booby traps. We will never escape them all. But we can perhaps avoid falling into them endlessly. Everyone must untangle their own cognitive traps themselves. Looking to authoritarian leaders quickly becomes a trap. Underlying our cultural indoctrination, our schools and family upbringing, is a framework of Protestant puritan ideals, or of enlightened authorities or scientists who have all the answers. We are products of the culture of the West. Having atheist or secular beliefs does not automatically free us from our own preconscious reliance on authorities within the Christian-Western religious lens. The modern moral or ethic “work hard and you will succeed” or “control your thoughts and you control your destiny” are beliefs which must be taken on faith (in other words, are scientifically verifiable and rooted in myth or secular-religious authority).

Jacobsen: What are some of the traps from those who wish to bring those post-Western Christianity explorers into their particular fold?

Scott: The scientific research into the benefits of meditation are inconclusive. There is not even consensus among researchers on how to define mindfulness. Mindfulness is one another one of those benefits we have to take on faith. For meditation is a creed based on a value system which cannot be measured objectively. Faith is required, even if it is a secular-religious faith in the scientific authority. Yet, many people scan and read only the headline that says meditation is beneficial for everybody. It takes time and effort to dive deep into a topic like religion, meditation, or spirituality or morality. Whatever. Those are just labels. I think we should not take headlines and labels too seriously without first doing our homework and diving deep into the authority and faith underlying our premises and assumptions.

Jacobsen: Any final thoughts or feelings in conclusion?

Scott: Well, I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today. I enjoyed your questions and grappling with how to respond. I really like your conversational and interview style. I think back and forth dialogue is one of the best ways to try to understand ourselves and others. Thanks.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Scott.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

This article originally appeared in Canadian Atheist and is republished with the author’s permission and with my edits.

Photo credit: Kiran Foster, Flicker, (CC BY 2.0)