Voices: Internal and External

Many classics, up until about the 1970s, made frequent reference to the Voice of Conscience.
Everyone was supposed to have it, some ignored it to their peril.
The politician had it, police had it, the prisoner had it...
Until there came Freud, Pavlov and the study of the animal side of human.
Then the animal side was glorified, became unshakled from what was honored by the older generations in the US, the past Economy of Thrift, into a new Economy of Credit and insatiable spending. At the same time that the instinct side of the human being was emphasized by APA, the labeling of pathologies rampant in the "social animal" became the funding ground for studies that filled the DMV-I to IV. Money went to where attention was given to mental instability, unrestrained drive for instant gratification and the never ending craving for fun (or extended childhood).

Now plain old sadness is no longer normal, or even the social construct of a society where few have someone to talk to. Those who have a family member, a father or a mother, to talk to are few and apart.
Everyone for herself, individualism made people more far apart in their conversations. Some have found an outlet by corporatizing life´s sad experiences. Pathologizing all sadness has been good for the economy. Just watch the TV ads and you will see how many products there are for distracting people from the voices of sadness. Some people would buy anything before sitting with their sadness.

What happened to the Voice of Conscience?
Try speaking to anyone about hearing it, and the popular perception, the social construct is that it relates to a pathological type of paranoia with several ramifications. Under the spell of Clinical Psychology, humanity´s high ground has devolved. But this does not mean that Clinical Psychologists have not contributed greatly to the well being of all people. Clinical psychologists have contributed greatly to the upliftment and support of people in danger of slipping in a sub-human mental condition. Where Clinical Psychology has failed, in my humble opinion, has been in separating the suffering of those whose sensibilities are spiritual and call for an above than normal standard of categorization, as the result of good and unselfish reasons to be sad for the human condition of self and others.

While Clinical psychology has failed to uplift those who have experienced normal and need to go beyond, Humanistic psychology has inspired and uplifted many. But Humanistic Psychology sounds like the secularized spiritual ladder to a Healthy Conscience, and it has not received much attention or mega funding. I hope we notice the trend in funding for that which defines human suffering as abnormal, as opposed to a normal response of an intelligent, sensible and healthy mind in need to find solutions for self and others. Since voices internal or external have to do with the content or interpretation of the mind, our social mental health has had enough of the sick agenda and we have now a good opportunity for questioning if all suffering is unwanted, or leads to depression, or it is the mark of a sentient heart that feels for the ails of our times and for others. When we start paying attention to spiritual sensibility in sadness or even depression, there will be great hope for the people who see beyond the superficial distractions of society and there will be a dignified definition for the voices of human caring as in:

sadness, as spiritual crisis;
aging, as the value of experience to inspire the young;
youth, as the vibrancy of life to collaborate with the aging;
intergenerational relations, as field work of Legacy;
sustainability in community, as spiritual ideal;
conversations about religion and politics, for testing our humanity and expanding our minds;
and many more exercises for recapturing the nobility and goodness of the human spirit.

If Psychology is by definition is "the study of the mind", I wonder if the study is meant to promote the health or is it meant to popularize and classify the voices of conscience: internal and external, as illness?

The Importance of Holding an Ideal