Meaningfulness of Life Events In the View of Quran and Unity-Oriented Psychology Approach: A basis for the Design of Affective Artistic Practices

Identification and understanding of meaningfulness of life events is one of the most fundamental issues in the quality of human life and its positive changes which also has always had an important role in his mental health and life satisfaction. This study by surveying meaningfulness of life events in Quran and unity-oriented psychology, aims to achieve a conceptual structure, so that effective artistic practices and programs could be designed on its basis to be used in the psychological interventions.
Some psychologists such as Alport, Frankl and Maslow consider meaningfulness of life as the most important factor affecting positive psychosocial actions. So it can be said that giving attention to the meaning of life has been very much considered in the field of psychology. The answer given to the question of “meaning of life” affects our life experiences and everyday practices. It is creation of meanings that makes sense of the world to us and specifies the path of our life in the world; thus true achieving of it decreases the level of negative emotions (such as depression and anxiety) and also reduces the risk of mental illnesses, so that the “Meaning Therapy” (MT) is considered as one of the main interventions in psychology. Although meaningfulness of life is a subjective perception and mental cognition; but it depends entirely on the attitude of man to life, and religion is the factor that gives direction to the attitude and worldview of an individual. As a result, the necessity of examining religious psychology is also felt.
In Islam, the Holy Quran has repeatedly expressed the divine goal in meaningfulness of life and giving meaning to the living of human beings. It has stated - in the verses of belief through the explanation of this principle and in the verses of the commandments and ethics by mentioning the way of meaningful life- that it is the wonder and psychological miracle of Quran. One of the psychological characteristics of Quran is its consideration of its goal-oriented and immortal human conduct which is reminiscent of human attachment to the One Being and his origin “God Almighty” which he ultimately will return to (Al-Baqarah, v. 46). The forgetfulness of this connection leads to separation from the true self, forgetting oneself and fear of loss and insecurity which are the main root of concerns and fundamental anxieties (al-Hashr: 19 and al-Yunus: 62).
Unity-oriented psychology as a new meaning-oriented approach in psychology based on religious knowledge with the centrality and theoretical framework of the concepts of the unity of being and the Quranic teachings, and relying on the unity-oriented transcendent wisdom and by its use, has tried to make a unitary connection between the self of person, his environment and the changes. So that; one can get a positive perception of his life events_ which are the natural causes of his developmental stages_ leading to the constructive change of himself/herself. This monotheistic and religious attitude to the nature of man and the universe describes all the changes and subtleties of individuals in how to respond to the need for one's own monotheistic connection in growth stages of life and considers the separation, lack of interconnectedness and weakening of its attachment in the stages of development as the main causes of anxiety and fundamental fear and the origin of many mental disorders.
Hence, by examining the issue of meaningfulness of life events based on Quran and unity-oriented psychology and the concept of monotheistic outlook toward life experiences and events, it was concluded that in order to objectify, materialize and better adapt to the life events, respectively, three indicators are derived from it: 1. “unity-oriented recognition and acceptance of life events”, referring to verse 23 of Surah al-Hadid, and related concepts in unity-oriented psychology to create a balanced and meaningful life with reminiscent of the lack of ecstasy in joys and lack of disappointment and frustration in plights; 2. “the conjunction of opposite pluralities” on the basis of the verses 5 of surah al-Yunus, verse 3 of surah al-Molk and other verses referring to the conjunction of divine guidance such as the chain loops, and interpretation of the same concept in unity-oriented psychology with an emphasis on the continuity of any incident with the past, future, nature and environment, and the adventures before and after it; 3. “giving meaning to multiplicities of life” referring to verse 216 of Surah al-Baqara, and the concept of the existence of the purpose and wisdom of good and the constructive cultivation of all that occurs, with the intention of opening up and guiding man to purity and consciousness and discovering himself towards progress, prosperity and enlightenment of the path in the unity-oriented attitude.
On the other hand, since the main attribute of religious and Islamic art in Iran has monotheistic foundation, and art is also considered in the unity-oriented approach as a facilitating tool for opening the way for the influence of positive imagination and receiving inspiration and intuition on the mind and makes the clients see their status in an integrated mode and get consistent with the events of life; as a result, artistic design, media and artistic techniques (design, painting, collage, photography, sandbox, etc.) could be used in this regard. Hence, each of the three indicators deduced from unity-oriented psychology and the teachings of Holy Quran in the context of the concept of a unitary attitude in experiences and events of life can be the basis for designing artistic exercises, so that by the use of unity-oriented art, one could give meaning to his/her life events and by removing negative effect of some events, their positive role in the growth and life balance could be found. In this approach; by unitary narrative of his/her life and doing artistic and unity-oriented practices in accordance with the extracted concepts and along with their interpretation by the viewpoint of Quran and unity-oriented psychology approach, one could be able to explain what she/he has perceived from life events and adapt them with examples of his/her own life.