What is Illuminarias.com About?
Here is a short version: Illuminarias starts by describing itself as an “evolving series of essays.” True enough. Growth, evolution, change, are some of the basic and enduring themes of our mysterious world (and the universe). My focus encompasses commentary on current happenings and on the deeper, long range trends I see. The perspectives that help organize my observations include 35+ years as a psychotherapist, an on-going, dynamic relationship with Alfred North Whitehead’s Process Philosophy and John B. Cobb’s Process Theology, a keen interest in social justice, occasionally a sense of humor (a bit on the dry and sardonic side), a long-standing interest in neuroscience and biological psychology, and a passionate appreciation for aesthetics. I also love my family and my cats. And chocolate.
Here is a longer version (though both versions stand on their own): One of the most beautiful traditions in the Southwest is the displays of luminarias during the holiday season at the end of the year. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, one can see thousands of these soft lights created by lit candles placed in sand at the bottom of small brown paper sacks and set side by side along curbs.
The streets of this city become transformed into gentle, peaceful, meandering pathways to a larger, more mysterious beauty, giving rise for some to a palpable sense of the sacred.
There may be truth in the claim by some of the city’s old timers that Santa Fe has been responsible for bringing this tradition to the attention of a much larger audience, for today luminarias can be found in many cities in the US and not just in the Southwest.
Many cultures and religious traditions have focused on the promise of light at the darkest time of the year. The use of luminarias is an exquisite variation of this primal need that must be one of the deepest yearnings in the human soul, and likely a powerful craving in all that can be called alive.
Light does many things: It is the ultimate source of energy for all life. For those creatures who have vision, light enables us to see danger and therefore better protect ourselves. It also makes it possible for us to find food, to make tools and shelter, to see and experience the beauty of creation.
Before the abundance of electricity, the night was far more threatening. Enemies, real and imagined, could not be seen easily. Harmful animals and insects that could be avoided easily during the day were dangerous in the dark.
On a more abstract level, our rational, observing, analytical mind can and does provide much illumination, liberating us from the darkness of ignorance and fear, throwing light on superstitions and beliefs formed in the back of the cave at midnight.
Consciousness or awareness is a tool of the light; in a real sense, it is a form of light, for it enables us to see into and between things in ways that are simply impossible without this mode of perception.
In the dealings we have as human beings with each other in all the various arenas of society, light ultimately is essential. Whether in politics, finance, the corporate and industrial world, the military, the judicial legal system, education, agriculture, religion, health care, the government at all levels, and more – the worst abuses are planned and executed beyond the pale of light; and then they remain hidden like toxic waste for as long as possible, poisoning the body of society with lies, duplicity, treachery, virtually ensuring that the travesty will happen again.
Yes, I realize that this is framed in a dramatic fashion, but the most egregious acts of humankind in my lifetime have been dramatically horrible. Yes, I also know that personal privacy is essential as well; and sometimes institutional privacy is necessary. But when someone is planning to act, or to refrain from acting, and the outcome will be harmful to others who lack knowledge of what is happening, is this not a time for light? I think in most cases, particularly if we are to be the victim of the harm, we would say yes.
Human beings, particularly those with significant power to influence or even determine the fate of others, are nearly always faced with the dilemma of acting on behalf of their own relatively narrow interests vs. the interests of the greater good, the Common Good. Doubtless, there are situations where the difference between the two may not at all be clear.
When someone acts against his or her self-interest and aids the well-being of others, this person is heralded as a hero. Heroes, unfortunately, seem to be rare; the Medal of Honor winner is the exception, not the norm.
But where can one find a hero in more typical dilemmas, such as when a night shift worker accidentally contaminates the company’s widget snacks and knows that they will make many people ill or even die, but he desperately needs this new job to feed his twin babies? What happens if the company’s management knows they cannot cover the losses of the recall, that the company will be bankrupt, 100s of people in a poor community out of work?
It would take a strong person with a clear sense of ethics to overcome the natural tendency to take care of his or her own in these situations. This tendency to take care of “kin” seems to be a deeply human trait, born in the days of small clans and tribes I suspect.
What this means is that groups of human beings, acting in concert, being on the same team, often do an extraordinarily poor job of holding themselves accountable for misbehavior, for all sorts of crimes, large and small. This has been demonstrated in my field (mental health) in dramatic ways with predominantly male therapists exploiting female clients sexually. We see it with those in the financial market today where a handful of people were not prevented from destroying the modest wealth of millions of people and laying whole communities to waste by the loss of taxes on property and income. We’ve seen this in the military on the part of many nations. We’ve seen it in law enforcement and in our churches, and in many other places.
All of this, then, is what drives and informs my passion for this personal expression I am calling Illuminarias. I write about what sticks in my mind, what causes me irritation, what makes me afraid, anxious, concerned, what seems to be wrong or unfair and unjust.
I have always been socially concerned. Like many, I wanted to be President when I was much younger. But I went into psychology and theology instead and have been a full time practicing psychotherapist for more than 35 years. All of this informs what I write about and gives me a broad arena from which to choose a topic.
I’ve hesitated for a long time in starting up what is called a blog in today’s web world. Part of the reason is that I have never liked the sound or look of that word; it sounds and looks like something that got stuck in someone’s throat or that is clogging up a pipe. I know that sounds petty, but how things sound and how they look have always been important to me. But it also is naïve of me to think I have or could have any influence to change a term that has become, as they say in law, “a term of art” –i.e., something that is a term unique to the field. So, this is officially a blog.
The other reason for hesitation, and a common one for anyone proffering his or her own writing as worthy of the time and attention of others, is whether what I have to say and how I say it is of any interest or value to others. Much of what convinced me to proceed further has been the positive feedback I’ve received from the columns I’ve written for Fresno’s Community Alliance on the topic of “Progressive Religion.”
So, for now, this is a launch! Thank you for taking the time to read this. And, yes indeed, I am open to feedback.
Peace and blessings, always.
David Roy