It does not require deep psychological or spiritual insights to understand basic relationships between feeling good and doing good. When we feel good—healthy, happy, successful—we are then more likely to do good for other people. This could be why charities increase their solicitations during holidays and not at tax time. Generosity and worry may be contradictory. We usually do what we feel like doing.
There are other aspects of feeling good and doing good which are important to both our psychological and spiritual well-being. There are “feel good” teachings of religion. If you believe that God always loves you, as most religions teach, and you love God, as all theistic faiths urge, that does feel good. Conversely, if you believe no one loves you and you cannot truly love another, then a psychotherapist might help. “Feel good” mysticism, however, is superficial at best and deceitful at worst. The goal of feeling good is misguided.
The capacity for doing good is seldom an objective of therapy, yet therapists recognize that the inclinations to do bad can be signs of a disturbed person. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is not just a teaching of the sacred scriptures, it is also common sense. It might be simply summarized as “what goes around, comes around,” an idiomatic expression of the laws of karma. Morality is one foundation for almost all of the traditions of mysticism, too.
Does a mystic always “feel good” and “do good?” That depends on the context. During an experience in union with the divine, it is quite sure that a mystic feels good...albeit unconsciously. In those intuitive insights which precede, and usually follow, such spiritual oneness, mystics are certain that they must do good. It is not only a moral teaching, or a social code, but the acceptance of the unity of all beings makes it the unquestioned right mode of conduct.
Those who pursue the mystical quest to “feel good” are deluding themselves from the outset. Unfortunately, there will be a lot of not feeling too good on the path to spiritual awareness. There will be much confusion: Which way to follow, how best to practice, what pitfalls to avoid, many false preconceptions, and some equally false experiences. The good feeling of being in the divine essence is only incidental to the conscious union with it. It is often felt later.
There are some who believe that “doing good” will hasten their progress toward enlightenment. No and yes. If doing good actually enhances your self-image, satisfying your ego and ennobling you as an individual, then all of your acts of goodness will not advance your quest. If your good deeds are sacramental, done in hopes of obeying the divine will*, and you have no other selfish motivations, they can lead you to realizing oneness with the divine.
When you feel good while doing good, or after, then it is probably not selfless action. When you do what is right because it is right, even if it requires personal sacrifice and may not feel very good at the time, you might be on the way to, for and of the divine. “I just want to be happy” is not an objective of mystics. “I want everyone to be happy” is an unrealistic goal. Happiness can result from feeling good and doing good, but should not be the motive by itself.
Learning how to “feel,” deeply, is good. The feeling of divine Love, a profound emotion which can