Spellbound: A Journey into the Unknown
Adam Sandler, Tattoos, and the weird world of my mind.
I invite you into a journey with me. It is a journey in a very strange land. It’s a quick journey – just a few sentences. I am going to share with you an experience while reading Dr. Daniel Lieberman’s book Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind.[1] This a journey of my unconscious mind.
It went like this: I was reading Spellbound. While reading, I received a text from a friend. “Anyone interested in seeing Adam Sandler? His comedy tour is coming to Portland in October.” My unconscious took over and my mind wandered as I was reading.
Adam Sandler. He’s funny. Surprisingly, he’s a good basketball player. Hey, basketball! The FIBA basketball world cup ended recently. Team USA didn’t do too well. I think Devin Brooker is going to join in the Olympics. He’ll help for sure. Does he have any tattoos? Ja Morant got some crazy back tattoo that required four artists working at the same time. His tattoo is weird. The art from his tattoo reminds me of playing Nintendo with Ryan in middle school. Ryan. Miss that guy. I should call him. I remember him being a picky eater. I’m hungry.
That all happened within 10 seconds without me realizing my mind was wandering. I snapped out of it and continued reading even though this mental processing happened while reading.
My mind is a weird place. But before you make a snap judgment, I would argue that your mind is also a very strange place. If we walked through the land of your unconscious mind for a minute, we too would say, “Whoa. Weird.”
What’s ironic is that this was real-time engagement with what Lieberman wrote about in his book. For this blog post, I will summarize Lieberman’s Spellbound and write about the implications of his content for spiritual formation into the likeness of Jesus.
Spellbound Summary
We live in a culture that values science and reason above all. The empirical and rational is true. We don’t pay much attention to magic and fairy tales. But Lieberman, who is deeply influenced by C.G. Jung and pulls from his work throughout Spellbound, argues we are missing out.
Lieberman points out that our ego (conscious “self”) is just a part of us and, in comparison to our unconscious, it does far less thinking. The ego processes 10-60 bits of information per second. Our unconscious processes 11 million per second.[2]
The unconscious is mysterious and unnational. We, as post-Enlightenment Westerners, have great difficulty accepting and gleaning wisdom from the unconscious.[3] Lieberman argues that the ancients were far more equipped to deal with the unconscious. They did not minimize the spiritual realm. And they utilized magic and myth to make sense of the mystery of the unconscious.
As humans, we need story. We desire transcendence. But these are longings that science cannot provide. To become whole, we need to not ignore our unconscious mind, even though our unconscious is mysterious and irrational, but recognize our unconscious, listen, name our unconscious thoughts and experiences, and integrate our unconscious into our “self”. This is the path to transcendence[4]:
Figure 1 – Lieberman’s diagram of the journey to transcendence.
Invitation for Spiritual Formation
Lieberman gives meditation as a key action step for moving along the journey to transcendence. In Christian vernacular, transcendence is understood as “union” with God. In writing about knowing God with our “heart,” Dr. Bruce Demarest, a voice in Christian Spiritual Formation, writes, “Heart knowledge means loving God with all our faculties of thinking, intuiting, willing, feeling, and relating. It’s a knowledge formed by personal connection and lived experience, not by intellectualizing alone.”[5] Particularly in the Evangelical tradition, we have settled for intellectual “knowing” through Biblical knowledge, but have not engaged in the inner work God invites us into. It would be wise for Christians to critically yet openly heed Lieberman’s invitation to mindfulness, but do so in partnership with the Spirit of God. In so doing, we can become aware of our unconscious, name it (particularly our sin struggles, trauma and insecurity), and become renewed from the inside out. Meditation, union with God, is key to increasing awareness of our unconscious, thus becoming more whole.
[1] Daniel Z. Lieberman, Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind (Dallas, TX: BenBella Dooks, Inc, 2022).
[2] Ibid. 14-15.
[3] Ibid. 22.
[4] Ibid. 215.
[5] Bruce A. Demarest, Satisfy Your Soul: Restoring the Heart of Christian Spirituality (Colorado Springs, Colo: Navpress, 1999), 96.
About the Author
David Beavis
David is Australian by birth, was raised in Southern California, and is the Youth and Young Adults Pastor at B4 Church in Beaverton, Oregon. David and his wife, Laura, live in Hillsboro with their dog, Coava (named after their favorite coffee shop). M.A. Theology - Talbot School of Theology B.A. Psychology - Vanguard University of Southern California10 responses to “Spellbound: A Journey into the Unknown”
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I love you took us on a journey of your thinking! I could see this all playing out as if I was there! Thank you for finding meaning in this read!
This last part: It would be wise for Christians to critically yet openly heed Lieberman’s invitation to mindfulness, but do so in partnership with the Spirit of God. In so doing, we can become aware of our unconscious, name it (particularly our sin struggles, trauma and insecurity), and become renewed from the inside out. Meditation, union with God, is key to increasing awareness of our unconscious, thus becoming more whole.
What are ways that you find to meditate? Do you have a specific spot, time, ect?
Hey Alana,
Yes, every morning after breakfast. And it’s the same spot. I’m a creature of habit. It’s focused on Scripture meditation (currently going through the common lectionary). It’s the most critical part of my day. I do not know where I would be without this rhythm.
Fascinating glimpse into your mind, David! I appreciated how you tied Lieberman to spiritual formation, especially the emphasis on knowing God with our heart instead of just our head. Did Spellbound give you any new insights for your ministry with young adults? I’m wondering if/how you help them incorporate this aspect of their faith…
Hey Laura,
Nothing specifically for how this affects my ministry with young adults. I think I first have to ruminate on how this affects spiritual formation into Christ-likeness. Then I’ll start to incorporate this content into my pastoral care appointments.
It’s so funny to take time and document how our thoughts go from one place to the next. Loved that your post started out silly and highlighted the truth of how rarely we slow down and trace that!
I was also drawn to his observations on loving-kindness meditation. It’s been so fascinating to see the Christian language and overlap that’s used in Peterson’s work and now Lieberman’s. I had written in my notes that loving-kindness mediation costs us something, but I couldn’t remember why I wrote that down from the book. I think maybe your definition of meditation clarifies that for me, as union with God means recognizing the cost Jesus paid, and it comes only with death to self.
Amazing as always, Dr. Beavis. I can relate to the journey you described in many ways, even before sleep my mind is often processing a million things and the only thing that will calm it down is meditation, prayer, and awareness that it is even taking place.
Great post, summary, and examples. Well done. Did you make it to Sandler?
Hey Michael, unfortunately we did not. But with all the busyness of life right now, that’s probably a good thing.
You know, I read recently that sleep is also a critical part of this process. As you have a million things on your mind, sleeping is a very active (not passive) way of filing your thoughts and resetting your brain. I don’t know why, but your comment made me think of that.
David, I totally own that my mind is a weird place! What a great way to interact with the book.
“Meditation, union with God, is key to increasing awareness of our unconscious, thus becoming more whole.”
I love this! It amazes me that as we learn more about the brain, science proves what God told us thousands of years ago in Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Thank you Becca! I agree, it’s amazing how science is often “catching up” to what the ancient wisdom of worshippers of YHWH.
David,
I loved the journey into your mind! My mind wanders all of the time, so I can certainly relate.
Meditating on the word of God, really spending the quality time just thinking on it, is very valuable. It’s a spiritual discipline that is not often taught.