He publishes four or five books a year, which are sold all over the world. When Anselm Grun decided to become a Benedictine monk and retire from the world 44 years ago, nothing foreshadowed that he would maintain such a close relationship with him. The strength of what he says is in the ability to connect faith and psychology, depth and personal development. As an exception, Anselm Grün received us at his abbey in Bavaria.
Psychologies: What explains your deep interest in psychology?
Anselm Grün: Until the age of 24, I was more interested in philosophy, in particular Heidegger, Sartre… But in 1968, a period of existential crisis began in our abbey. The rituals seemed to have lost their meaning, everything seemed somehow outdated. I myself experienced an emotional crisis, I doubted whether I had chosen the right subject of my studies, whether I was ready for the upcoming spiritual path? I needed to show will and discretion, and I was captured by a special friendship with one woman. That is why I became interested in group psychotherapy and the links between psychology and spirituality, in particular the work of Jung. Several times I went to a three-week course at the center of existential psychology in the Black Forest, where I was engaged in meditation, body practices, creativity, relaxation …
Was the monastic life easier or more difficult than you imagined when you took the monastic vows?
A.G.: At first, of course, I was afraid of life in a closed world, but in reality it turned out to be completely different from my fears. Having overcome the crisis, I realized that the path of monasticism helps me find a certain balance between loneliness and life in the community, prayer and work … This helped me to stay in life. And then, thanks to the fact that I am engaged in psychological assistance, I have a lot of contacts with the outside world. I never imagined that I would receive so many invitations, that the need for help would be so great.
When you are called a “monk psychotherapist”, do you agree with this?
A.G.: I define myself with the German word Seelsorger – “one who takes care of the soul.” I am someone who heals the soul, but at the same time also understands psychology. At first I worked with young people who could not cope with their problems, and then we began to receive various people in our abbey who came here for support. We also have the Recollectio-Haus, a special home that hosts priests and nuns in crisis for three months. As a spiritual guardian, I work there with lay psychotherapists – two men and one woman, trained in different schools (humanistic psychology, gestalt, behavioral therapy). I myself also meet with my supervisor every one and a half months.
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What are these church people suffering from?
A.G.: From depression and doubts about your vocation. They doubt that they have chosen the right path, conflicts arise in their communities, or they are at odds with themselves. Having discovered homosexual inclinations in themselves, they do not know how to cope with it … In general, the same difficulties as in worldly life!
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How do you combine psychological knowledge and faith?
A.G.: There are two kinds of faith: faith that is “properly functioning” (it promotes health) and faith that is an escape from reality, especially from our own inner reality. Here psychology helps a lot: thanks to it, the believer does not turn away from the movements of his own soul, from self-knowledge. Running away from ourselves can only harm us. Take, for example, fear – I can try to fight it, expecting God to remove it, but if I have not found its cause, if I have not done the necessary psychological work, then it will not work. We need to understand what this fear is connected with, what expectations are behind it. The role of psychology is for the believer to be sincere, so that he does not hide anything from himself. Our self-image and the image of God are inextricably linked, so if we have a negative, unhealthy self-image, then we also imagine God wrong. Everything that I bring to God, I must first find in myself.
What is the “correct” faith?
A.G.: It is based on trust in life, on the feeling that we are in the hands of the Lord and we do not need to rely on the praise and recognition of others. To believe in God is also to believe in man. My faith is expressed in how I behave with other people. Many priests preach about God, but if at the same time they look at a person pessimistically, then they do not have real faith!
You rely on the writings of the Desert Fathers and St. Benedict. What is their deep healing power?
A.G.: The desert fathers observed all human passions and emotions and thought about how to keep them in check without suppressing them. And the charter of St. Benedict sets the framework for monastic life, it describes its rituals in great detail. These rites and austerities create a special sacred time, separated from the world, it expands the heart and opens it to spirituality. Spirituality is a big heart. We have all emotions, all passions, but we also have a place of peace, silence, which we must be able to reach. Jesus himself said, “The kingdom of God is within us.” In this place where God resides, I am free from the judgments of others, from their expectations, no offense can hurt me, I am healthy and whole, and it is in this place that my true, original “I” is located.
How can we get to such a place within ourselves?
A.G.: We need to tell ourselves that within us there is this space of freedom – this already helps. Still need rituals. There are church rites full of wisdom, but everyone can work out their own. I sometimes offer one ritual at the end of a speech. It’s just a gesture: cross your arms over your chest. This is a good evening ritual meaning “I close my inner door.” Of course, it is useful to meditate for 20-30 minutes, but not everyone can do it. And such a simple ritual takes one or two minutes and allows you to start the next day in a different way. Rites are needed just in order to “open or close your inner door” when necessary. They give us the feeling that we ourselves live our own life, and not it controls us. And it is not so important what this ritual consists of! One young mother told me that for her such sacred time is the five minutes that she spends in the bath. There is no need to do something complicated, just any ritual must be performed with full awareness of what we are doing.
You call stress a “spiritual disease.” What do you have in mind?
A.G.: Stress is associated with the inability to measure. I work too hard because I can’t say no and I’m afraid that I won’t be loved. It is not the work itself that causes stress, but the bad sources from which we draw strength for its performance – perfectionism, self-compulsion. If I draw strength from the Holy Spirit, I can do a lot without exhausting my strength, because I am free from the feeling that I need to prove something, that I must do everything perfectly. The image of the cross shows us that within us there is good and evil, conscious and unconscious, shadow and light. He shows us our wholeness, and we need to embrace these opposites, (re)unite them in ourselves. We must accept all facets of our individuality.
What saying of Christ inspires you the most?
A.G.: “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (Gospel of John 10:10). In my books, I often talk about “real life.” It comes when I free myself from the labels that others or myself have put on me, when I manage to find my deep “I”. She encourages me to live in the present, being fully present in what I do. By establishing a daily routine, we help to ensure that there is order within us too. Finally, in order to achieve true life, we must understand what illusions we need to give up. We often expect too much from life. Should it always be heavenly? We need to have courage and humility, to descend into the depths of ourselves and accept ourselves, finally recognizing that we are “average”. Only by mourning all that has not come true, you can see your inner potential.
But what then is the role of faith?
A.G.: You can never know in advance what will heal us: a psychotherapist, a word, a medicine, a God who is a mystery in itself. We must humbly accept everything. Faith does not mean seeing life in a rosy light, it means trusting God’s will. It means telling yourself that life doesn’t bring me everything I want, and yet accepting it. The good news of Christianity is a realistic message, not an ideal. In the image of the cross, embracing death and resurrection, this message says that everything can be transformed, pass from darkness into light. Resurrection is here and now. That’s all I hope for.