Living without Psychology

By Shareef

Career, love, security, family, country, social cause, reform, revolution, ideology, entertainment, self-reinvention, pursuit of the unknown. Have you ever noticed how these things shape the years and decades not only of our own lives but of humanity, right through old age, regardless of demographic, cultural, and professional differences? Have you ever noticed how all of us - the living, the ancestors and posterity - tread the exact same path across time, from generation to generation, century to century, without ever getting past that one common denominator: our own self-interest? And, what kind of society have we built around our self-interests? Not only are we not profoundly better people but we have also destroyed each other and the world.
Long with me, dear friend, to go beyond our self-centered psychological needs, including righteous ones as self-awareness and self-actualization, and to tap into what undoubtedly is the calling of our time: co-operation. At this critical juncture in human history, let us find out what it takes to bring about a level of co-operation unknown to humanity - in all fields including relationship, academia, diet, and environmental change - without which the world stands no chance.

This is not a spiritual self-help book but an invitation to free oneself from psychology, in all its traditional and modern forms, so that a new world is built right in the heart of our highly destructive society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shareef
• Release date: Jul 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9789948042358

Shareef

SHAREEF MOKDAD is a philosophy coach on a life mission to help bring about a revolution in the vital issue of co-operation. Stirring in his veins is an intense dissatisfaction with the status quo that weaves the fabric of our society and how we relate to the world - something that drives his urgency for radical change in daily human existence and for being one’s own student and teacher.

Book preview

Introduction

Creation and destruction. Take a good look at yourself. Take a good look at your life. If you must put your life in one of these categories, where would you put it in? Your whole life…which means what you have done so far in this world and what you long for in the years to come. Please, take a minute to question yourself, before you go any further. Which one is it? Creation or destruction.

As you ponder this question, let us begin differently…

What is it that we usually give others? Is it some of our material things? Is it some of our money, some of our land, some of our time? Is it some of our emotions, some sense of security, some sense of motivation, some sense of guidance? Is it education, the advancement of scientific disciplines, knowledge, a contribution to a better society? Is it championing a particular group’s rights? Human rights, perhaps? Is it reform and revolution? Is it wellbeing, faith and salvation that we give others? And, what is the end result? What have we nurtured? What world have we brought about? All of us, as inhabitants of this earth. Have we not nurtured competitiveness, ruthlessness, greed, material wealth, a temporary sense of physical and social security? Please, consider this. Please look around you. Look at yourself. Have we not nurtured violence, war, extreme poverty, starvation, disparity, environmental destruction, social and moral degradation? Or, are these issues disconnected from us?

Are we responsible for all of it? All of the world, all families, the whole of society, all the rivers and all the forests? Or, are we merely responsible for our little family, our own little world, our own little seas, our own little forests? Are we really disconnected from extreme poverty on the other side of the planet? If we are mainly concerned with our own family, who is then responsible for the rest of it? Governments? Politicians? Activists? World organizations? Scientists? Academics? This fragmentation in responsibility surely is the height of human folly. This fragmentation, which apparently comes from a much deeper source in the recesses of the mind, surely is the root cause of the destructive trajectory we have set for ourselves, our children and the world at large. This is not a sob story. Nor is it an intellectual endeavor, nor a new green movement, nor another call for reformation or renaissance…neither in the sciences, nor in the streets. Nor is this about the age we live in, the age of significant human impact on earth, dubbed the Anthropocene. This is far beyond all of this. Our only concern is this self-centered nature, which apparently also includes the myriad escapes from this same misery and destruction. Escape through self-help, self-salvation, self-awareness, self-moderation, self-control, entertainment, and family.

Reform, in all its types, apparently has never helped humanity, and in fact, even exacerbated the struggle and disorder within each one of us and therefore in society. Reform has not brought about the level of co-operation needed to solve the perpetual crises of the world, not even reform in psychology - which perhaps is the genesis of all past and present world crises. Psychology, which is the study, the pursuit of the psyche, the self, has had a detrimental effect on the planet and everything on it. It is as ancient as humanity itself. Even humanity’s pursuit for the great unknown is essentially another form of psychology, another form of pursuit of the self, another form of longing for self-immortality, whether ancient or modern. Can we put all of this completely aside? Can we put all forms of psychology, all forms of self-study, self-awareness, self-watchfulness, completely aside? Apparently, this is not easy.

And, have you ever watched something without knowing what you are watching? Have you ever watched something without knowing that you are watching? Which is to watch without a past, without a watcher. As simple as it may sound, watching without a past, without a watcher, has rarely happened in human history, except perhaps with a very few, and so it is clearly not easy. We must. We must put aside all psychology, for the consequences are obviously dire if we don’t.

As two friends, may we go on a journey together and discuss the possibility of bringing about a complete ending to the whole field of psychology, not socially, not academically but within each one of us? This is real philosophy. Philosophy is not what we have been taught. It is not an intellectual, mental pursuit or obsession with truth - as few ancient Greeks once laid down and as academic posterity still has not challenged. Real philosophy is a passion for, an urgency for what is true, in the layperson’s daily life.

So, may we find out together what it means to totally uproot psychology from our lives, question the possibility for this age-old pursuit of the self to come to a complete end, in our daily existence? May we long together for a radically different kind of giving - a giving of our whole heart, our whole mind, our whole being, not only to our immediate surroundings but to the world at large?

May we long for real co-operation among ourselves, as citizens of this world - not mere inhabitants - and see if we can bring about a truly creative rather than destruction civilization, possibly for the first time in history?

So, now. Creation and destruction. Which one is it? Is creation your choice by default…or by this writer’s spiel, perhaps? Is it creation that you long for? The creation of a co-operative society, a better world? The creation of wellbeing for the people around you, for yourself, your family and the world at large?

Please don’t. Please don’t go for creation. Come with me on this journey and let us find out together the importance, nay, sheer urgency for destruction, for only by destroying the status quo - the psychological status quo, including all romantic notions about creation - can true creation be borne. Come, let us find out whether psychological destruction is in fact the only true beginning.

This is not another counterculture movement.

Part I

Through the

Slippery Slopes

Poverty & Truth

The other day, during a conversation about poverty and dignity, we asked ourselves whether the poor are condemned to a life of misery, a life of struggle, a life of seeking more, a life of comparison…comparison in relation to the past, comparison to one’s past livelihood, comparison to the neighbor, to the better car, the better house, and so always being caught in comparison, caught in this inner and outer struggle. Or, is it possible, if one is poor, to be materially poor and yet be so completely full of joy, full of dignity…in the midst of poverty, in the midst of a deteriorating society, in the midst of the world that we are living in? I say, it is absolutely possible. Obviously, one must be able to provide enough food for one’s family, one must provide shelter, and academic education even if not in the best schools or the best universities. Why should the basic pursuit of these things mean eternal misery, eternal sorrow, without joy, without inner dignity? May we please go into this a little. I feel it is very important because, even in this day and age, poverty and extreme poverty are still prevalent across the world, and apparently on the rise. It is a fact that must be dealt with by the poor, obviously, but also by the rich and those in between. Those who are not poor cannot keep hiding from poverty and extreme poverty. It is unacceptable, I hope, to continue sweeping it under the rug or justifying it to oneself in endless ways, such as in almsgiving, philanthropy, or some popular theory about how everything is relative. It is unacceptable to keep saying that life is relative, that the poor are happy with little, the rich with more, and so on. Is this issue of interest to you? Is it of interest to those who are not poor…to the well-off?

You know, material riches, to be well-off materially, socially, economically, to be able to put one's children in the best schools, the best universities, to set them up for the best possible careers, to give alms to the poor…all of this, surely, does not make for sane, healthy living, does it? One need only look at oneself to see this. Please watch your own life. Forget the poor for the time being. Watch your own life, your own struggles, ambitions, career aspirations. One need only look at the story that is oneself to see that all of these things do not make for sane, rational living. In fact, they probably make for…well, you know what they make for, don’t you? We are in it, are we not? Surely you don’t need me to tell you what kind of world we have brought about. Do you?

As one walks through this beautiful green land, one can’t help feeling overcome by it. There is so much beauty in this world. So much beauty in nature. So much beauty in the natural world, not only in the birds, the trees and the mountains, but in humanity…in the human being. There is so much beauty in sane living…away from what thought has put together, away from all the chicanery that you and I have built, year upon year, millennia upon millennia. But unfortunately, this beauty can only be seen, it cannot be sought, it cannot be conjured, it cannot be invoked by any way, by any method, by any hint of willpower, by any attempt or effort whatsoever. See it for yourself, don’t take anyone’s word for something like this. See for yourself, whether all psychological effort is futile. And it seems that to see this, to notice the subtle efforts, subtle attempts of the brain, is a difficult thing to do. Not that it requires a certain discipline or a certain process, but difficult in an elusive sense. Beauty seems to elude us. Although it may verbally sound fairly simple to say that any attempt of the brain, of the mind, of thinking is futile and can only breed more misery, the fact of the matter is that we are always caught in effort, and beauty eludes us most of the time, at least. Perhaps as long as the self is there, this simple fact cannot be seen. Again, please don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. See for yourself what it takes to watch, to observe. See what unravels.

If you are watching, and if you are watching very carefully, you are bound to notice a presence, which is oneself, behind all attempt, behind all seeking of beauty, behind all the misery around, behind the rational and irrational fears. You are bound to notice a controller of sorts, always in operation, always interested in self-preservation. Watch closely. See. Be curious about what the nature of the self is, not only about who one is, not only what one’s idiosyncrasies and inclinations are, but watch beyond that, if you can. Do watch the idiosyncrasies but also watch beyond. Watch, question the actual fabric of oneself, question what this entity really is, this entity that we have taken for granted for so long. (It looks like we have reached a difficult juncture on this hiking trail. How lovely this weather is atop this beautiful mountain…secluded from humanity and yet bustling with life). Perhaps only when there is a careful consideration of the nature of oneself, all of the self will be revealed in that instant, in that very moment. Perhaps only then can beauty, which surely is beyond oneself, have an abode in the brain just as beauty has an abode outside the brain. And so, the whole thing - beauty - is but a singular glorious movement without any boundaries, without any borders between oneself and the world around, which really means that one is the world. One is the other. This is not a romantic idea. This is not spirituality. This is not positive thinking. And this is not a mantra, nor is it an advice, nor a quote by the wise. And, apparently, beauty in itself brings with it an ending of fear, an ending of the irrational psychological fears which society encourages us to indulge in and to analyze - to psychoanalyze. Then only, if one is watching deeply, can one, can the mind, can the brain, can the brain cells themselves, no longer be capable of harm, and so of being harmed, of being hurt. Do you understand? We are talking about an incapability of corruption, and so an incapability of being corrupted, of being hurt psychologically, which in itself means an incapability of inflicting harm on the other and on one's body, on one's organism. I hope you understand this because this is rather a marvelous thing; to be in a state where you cannot hurt the other, you cannot hurt a single thing, including the organism, the heart, the brain, the lungs. It is really an incredible thing because it's an entirely different matter than all the nonsense that we have been fed and that we ourselves have sought…all of it: addiction, moderation, anger management, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, positive psychology, psychoanalysis, meditation, mindfulness, and all that fancy nonsense. Moderation seems to be a trendy word nowadays…they say you should have everything in moderation. That's nonsensical, is it not? And as nonsensical as it may be, most of us still practice, still indulge in moderation. Should poison also be taken in moderation? Should sanity? Perhaps the starvation of hundreds of millions? Should that be taken in moderation as well? Or, should we be moderate in one place and not moderate in others? Who draws the line? How hypocritical and political! If moderation is a good thing it should be like the air we breathe…not only applied in certain areas but a need for survival! Shouldn’t all of this nonsense be put aside completely, radically, extremely even?

We shun away from the word extreme, do we not? We are afraid of this word. One really feels there is an infinite difference between the extremism that the world knows and the capacity to live extremely differently…extreme in the complete sense…a capacity to live in a way that man has never known how to live before…to live outside of the sphere of the known. This is not blasphemy. This is not following or reciting somebody else’s words, no matter how truthful their words may be. And I hope you won’t recite, or follow anybody’s words either. (There is real beauty in this land, every land). One hopes this year will be extremely different than all years past. One really hopes that the individual - not society - will live extremely differently than all the other years. Society is never a starting point because, the fact is, we - you and I - have built society.

Truth is a most difficult thing to impart. It’s probably an impossibility for something true to be imparted from one human being to the other. This may be because of how the brain watches and listens with all its image-making functionality. Unfortunately, the brain, we, can only see an image, an idea of something true, which, surely, is no truth at all because truth is a living thing, is it not? Just as these clouds, these mountains are a living thing, so is truth. You cannot grasp it. You cannot put it in words and surely you cannot impart or bring it to life in another human being. You know, truth may not actually have a single path, truth may actually be completely traceless, and yet at the same time the very living and dynamic nature of truth, the very impossibility of truth to be put in words, makes truth something so afresh that truth may appear to have myriad paths, subjective paths, leading to it. Does true meaning really have a path leading to it, let alone many? Is one looking for a road to truth, whether one road or many? Is one deeply seeking true meaning? Please don't. This is not what is meant by the living and dynamic nature of truth. Truth is surely not subjective. There is not my truth and your truth, is there? Beauty, truth, is for everybody. It is for the rich, as it is for the poor. It is beyond class. It's for everybody. It is not only for the very few…the very few who have inspired others over the centuries. Truth is for the common man and woman. It is really so. In fact, truth, beauty, is obviously in spite of the common man and the common woman.

And, it is only in truth, that poverty can be revealed for its true nature and therefore brought to a complete end, perhaps for the first time in human history. Only in truth can this be done. Intellectuality and reform cannot bring a complete end to poverty…all poverty…the whole of poverty. They never have. Intellectuals and reformers, on all sides of the socio-political spectrum, have endlessly tried to bring an end to material poverty. What have they achieved? Is there less poverty, less starvation in the world? Is the working man and woman struggling less? The right wing has brought about free trade and the pursuit of profit. Did it eradicate poverty? The left wing has tried to reform the right. It has brought about so-called revolutions in doctrines and in the streets. Did it eradicate poverty or bring about fairness to the working man and woman? And, not only do we try to reform the opposing ideology, but also our own ideology. Within the left wing itself, conservatives have toyed with notions about poverty and wrote volumes about the philosophy of poverty. Reformed leftists, on the other hand, did the exact same thing. They have merely toyed with other notions about poverty and have been merely concerned with opposing and reforming the conservatives. They have fought back and wrote about the poverty of philosophy. In the tug of war between their philosophy of poverty and poverty of philosophy, neither side has ever made a lasting impact on material poverty, let alone deal with the whole issue, the whole truth of poverty. On the contrary, all sides - the right, the left and the center - have built up armaments and killed millions of people, thereby exacerbating the people’s struggle. And, what has counterculture - the culture opposing and resisting all this - ever really done, other than try and drug its struggle away through material and spiritual means?

Throughout history, has any group, has any democracy, has any ideology, has any form of resistance brought about an end or even alleviated poverty, alleviated struggle? Are you only considering your own home, your own neighborhood, your own country? What about poverty on the other side of the planet? And, apart from material poverty, what about mediocrity? Isn’t mediocrity part of poverty? To live a mediocre life, isn’t that poverty? To live the way we live, to eat the way we eat, to work the way we work, to educate our children the way we do, to relate the way we relate, to be insular the way we are insular, to belong, to believe, to be ambitious…isn’t all of that mediocrity and poverty? We are this world. The world we live in is our own doing. It is not some other group’s doing nor is it something mysterious. And so, is it possible for us to end the whole issue of poverty…poverty of gifts, poverty of spirit?

There is so much work to be done to bring about a society without crises, without struggle…work that has never been done before, a level of co-operation never known by humanity. And yet, apparently, it is spiritual poverty that is to be dealt with first. This is not a sermon.

The Organism & Co-operation

As one is walking in nature, walking in the city, in the village, in society, one greatly feels that it is enough to be the heart. Do know what I am talking about? It is enough to be one's actual, physical heart. To be the legs, to be the lungs, to be the brain, to be the hands. To be just that without the past, without anxiety, without desire to be something or somewhere else, whether a desire to be in a better place, in a better economy, a desire for better opportunities.

Is it possible to be the heart, the lungs, the brain, the legs, the arms, the hands, the eyes, the whole organism and nothing else, without a future, without a past, without any escape…without escaping, running off to a monastery at the top of some mountain? Is it possible to walk through society, through nature, through the office, without escaping society - that miserable rotten thing we have built - and to just be a beating heart, a throbbing mind, with silent eyes, with an incapability of being harmed, without escape from harm, and therefore an incapability of inflicting harm? And so, to just be. We are not merely talking about taking another one of our leisurely walks through the forest, nor another one of daily walks through society, through a business week, through a whole year. We are asking whether it is possible to walk through these same forests, these same streets, the same seasons, with nothing but a beating heart, which means without a self at all. We are asking, most profoundly, whether it is possible for the organism – the heart, the brain, the lungs – to walk without a self. Please see the significance of this question. See its verbal simplicity and yet sheer difficulty and elusiveness. Is it possible for the organism to just be the organism, without the past, without the future, without a psychological entity that is the self, as it is walking through life…as it is walking in the office, in the school, down the street, in the house…as one walks with friends, family, strangers even? Strangers, like you and I, people one does not have a clue about, people one does not know, one has never met, one has no experiences with, just like you and I. Can there be full communication, full communion among strangers…a deep sense of communion that is beyond any division, any label, any psychological entity…a state of mind where you and I are one, utterly one individual, one undivided entity? Has one ever felt that deeply? Not only towards one’s family or to a certain group - for that is surely not communion - but rather has one ever felt communion in one’s bones, which means to all humanity, to all strangers? Or, is something like this only to be read in spiritual, self-help books, only to be heard in talks by specialists, by gurus? By gurus we are obviously not referring to the few people who have walked this earth and shunned all notions of being teachers and gurus - if they ever existed. One feels it is absolutely possible to be in full communion with everybody, nay, it is a must even, it is necessary, it is inevitable, it is wonderful, it is to be so totally alive without any borders and yet without any movement of thought, except perhaps the movement of life itself, which is beyond all thought…a borderless movement of life that is perhaps the most magnificent, most marvelous thing in the universe, that many have talked about and yet so very few have embodied. A movement so magnificent surely must be embodied, not merely experienced, because all experience has an experiencer, a psychological entity that experiences and which apparently is always a hindrance to communion. But rather, to embody it with one’s whole being, deep under the skin, to be all-consumed by it, to let it find a permanent abode in the organism, in the very brain cells themselves without any trace of the past. Please, ladies and gentlemen, find out if this is possible. This is not some new-age rubbish. This is not spiritual vanilla. This is life. This is true psychology - which is the watchfulness of life, the watchfulness of the psyche, of truth, of beauty. True psychology is not a cold, analytical, professional affair. It is the watchfulness of beauty and there is no room in that for an ego, a spirit, an idea. This is not a crusade against the ego, a crusade against the self, for that surely is still part of the same spiritual or ideological non-sense. A war against the ego is obviously still ego. A war against the self is obviously still the self. There is obviously still an entity launching a war, is there not? So, we are putting all that non-sense away, hopefully.

It is good to be in nature, alone, and yet in full communion with the entire world. This world does not have to be the world that we have known. It does not have to be that world. We are not talking about social reform. We are not talking about economic, political, ideological or religious reform. This is not an idea and so it should not be repeated as one, but rather, please see that this world - which is obviously oneself - does not have to be