There has been a controversy in the field of psychology for some time now about what is primary - thought or feeling. This controversy has not been out in the open very much because of the prevalence of authoritative writings which are in favor of the assumption that first we feel and then we think. Paracelsus said: ``Nihil est in intellectu quod primum non fuerit in sensu,'' which means, ``Nothing is in the mind that has not been first in the senses.''

It is true that in human experience everything begins with sensory perception; in other words, our five senses provide us with information about what seems to be. Therefore, it is natural to come to the conclusion that first we perceive, or feel, or sense, and then we think.

What has been said until now would seemingly settle the whole controversy right at this point. However, let us not jump to premature conclusions. Things are not as simple as they appear. We must realize that there is more to human consciousness than just sensory input. If man were just under the influence of sensory perceptions, he would be nothing more than a computer. But there is much more to man. For instance, we mentioned phenomenological perception. Sensory perceptions give us information only about the material world, our apparent environment. But they cannot discern thoughts and affective states. However, phenomenological perceptivity goes beyond the five senses and makes it possible for us to be aware of qualities of thought and the mental climate which surrounds us. Even with closed eyes we can know if someone loves us; we can be aware of a loving presence. Similarly, we can be aware of envy, jealousy, competitiveness, tension, hatred. There is a deeper sense of awareness which we are capable of and which computers don't have. There is, then, more to us than just sensory information.

Going beyond phenomenology, there is a whole universe of inspiration, inspired thought, creative intelligence, which comes into consciousness through suprasensory channels. For example, a teacher may be with a class of students and not know what to talk about. But pretty soon an idea may appear in his awareness in response to subliminally perceived needs. We speak of ideas obtaining in consciousness. The word ``obtain'' has special interest for us, for it indicates a process of receptivity. Creative ideas are received into consciousness from a transcendent source. We speak of God as Cosmic Mind, the infinite source of creative ideas.

Metapsychiatry goes beyond traditional psychological thinking about man as a stimulus-response organism. The oriental religions speak of the process of opening the ``third eye,'' dharma, prajna, paramita, etc., which corresponds to our concept of the process of awakening to spiritual consciousness which makes man available to inspired wisdom, creative intelligence.

Wisdom is not intellectual. Education cannot provide man with wisdom. A well-educated man may be well-informed, but he is not yet a wise man. He can become a wise man only if his consciousness is spiritualized. This makes him a different man, a man who is tuned in on a source of higher intelligence which is God. And the more he is tuned in on this intelligence, the more creative, the more loving, the more harmonious and healthy he becomes. Interestingly enough, he becomes healthier not only emotionally and mentally, but also physically, and this is very important. Otherwise Metapsychiatry would have no justification for its existence.

Now let us come back to the question as to what is primary - thought or feeling? As stated before, sensory perceptions occur as a result of external stimuli. In psychiatry they are called exteroceptive stimuli in contrast to enteroceptive or proprioceptive stimuli, which refer to internal perception. While it is true that in the human experience everything starts with sensory perceptions, it is quite different with feelings, emotions, and moods.  Feelings are byproducts of thought processes. Feelings, emotions, and moods arise as a result of our interpretations of sensory data. For instance, let us imagine two people walking in the forest. Suddenly one of them stops, breaks out in a cold sweat, starts trembling, and points with his finger at an object in front of him, being frightened and speechless. The other man standing beside him is peaceful, unafraid, and smiling. He looks at his friend, then moves over to the object in front of them, reaches down and picks up a dried piece of wood. Now what happened here? Two people received the same sensory stimulus but one of them interpreted it as a snake, and the other as a twig. The feelings, emotions, and psychological reactions which followed were clearly manifestations of thought processes which expressed the particular way the sensory stimulus was interpreted. So we say that there is a difference between feelings, emotions, and sensory perceptions.

This process is analogous to the process of digestion. Just as bowel movements are byproducts of digestive processes, feelings and emotions are byproducts of thought processes. There are some people who become very involved with and unduly interested in their excrements. And there are many who become unduly concerned with their feelings and emotions. Individuals who are unduly concerned about their bowel movements are in danger of developing intestinal dysfunctions; individuals who are unduly preoccupied with their feelings and emotions tend to become emotionally disturbed. We can say, ``Where a man's `treasure' lies, there shall his problems be also.'' In order to be healthy, we must treasure spiritual values, such as love, harmony, beauty, goodness, intelligence, generosity, peace, assurance, gratitude, etc.

Let us consider what happens if in psychotherapy a patient is led to study his feelings and emotions. The therapist is repeatedly inquiring about how the patient feels, helping him to observe the minutiae of his affective states. Such a patient is being unwittingly indoctrinated and mentally anchored in a self-concern. This is not going to be very helpful to him.

In Metapsychiatry there is a technical term for this kind of mental preoccupation; it is called ``self-confirmatory ideation,'' which means thoughts are constantly reverting to the self, and seeking to find a certain sense of security in self-awareness. Self-confirmatory ideation is the essential basis of all pathology. This is a universal human inclination out of which proceed endless forms of problems, illnesses and suffering. Therefore, in Metapsychiatry we seek to save man from this proclivity by helping him to discover transcendence.

Transcendence can be defined essentially as rising above self-confirmatory ideation. In traditional psychological thinking it has been observed quite early that self-confirmatory ideation is not conducive to health. Freud called it narcissistic thinking. Narcissism is, of course, one of the most blatant forms of self-confirmatory ideation. Consequently, the assumption was that the remedy would be to help the patient to become concerned with others instead of with himself. The idea was to guide the patient to establish meaningful relationships with others. However, this is just another pitfall and exercise in futility, for another is just another self. Self-confirmatory ideation is interest in self, in one's own self. In meaningful relationships we become additionally interested in the self of another. The result is a compounding of self-confirmatory ideation. We can only be unselfish for selfish reasons. To be selfish or to be unselfish is the same.

Orthodox psychoanalysis focuses attention on the self and calls it the study of intrapsychic processes. Reformed psychoanalysis focuses attention on interpersonal relationships, which is an extension of the interest in the self and is still mired in futile preoccupations with the mystery of the self. So the extent of this reasoning is shallow, primitive, and horizontal.

Horizontal thinking means thinking in terms of self and other, or self and society, or self and environment. The existential psychotherapist Binswanger speaks of  Eigenwelt, Mitwelt, and Umwelt, which mean the world of self, the world of relationships with others, and the world of relationships with the environment. But this is still horizontal thinking. As long as our thinking is horizontal, we have not attained a realization of the Transcendent.

In transcendence we rise and expand our conscious awareness into the full-dimensional mode of thinking, and the context of our reasoning includes God, Love-Intelligence, the Source of all energy, wisdom, love, power, freedom, and creativity. Once we attain a transcendent perspective on reality, everything changes, just as when we climb up on a mountain, the view is entirely different than it was in the valley. As man attains the realization of his full potential, the various concepts which previously were considered very scientific and important lose their validity, and life is seen entirely differently. For instance, the concepts of interpersonal relationships and marital relationships disappear, and in their place there emerges a discovery of joint participation in the good of God, which makes harmonious coexistence possible.