LINE OF THOUGHT

BASIC OUTLINE

Art is the expression of a relationship between a human and the universe.

Liturgy is the intense affirmation of the above that provides a meaningful guide within the    specific parameters of survival for either an individual or a group.

Art and “religion” before it is frozen into theology -- maybe called spirituality -- is an extension of identity, which is an active relationship between person and situation.

Material culture, used to record memory and to create metaphor, is the vocabulary and instrument of arts, including liturgy.

1.  The world needs some sort of way of thinking that will bring us together.  Since religions are institutional and ethnically and turf-based, we can’t reach unanimity on that level.  But we can go to the human experience of spirituality which is the kindler and heart of all religions and which is universal whereever there are human beings, even on the moon.  That is, instead of looking at the content, we can look at the structure, not the structure of the outer world but the structure of human experience.

2.  Spirituality is an experience of meaning in two ways: it confirms the identity of the person and validates participation in the group.

3.  Spirituality is not verbal.  Therefore, it cannot be approached primarily through words but rather through whole-body thinking which precedes, underlies, and expresses thought:  art, dance, music.  It has evolutionary value in that it promotes survival for the individual and the group.

4.  Spirituality is emergent.  When conditions are right, it emerges from the brain and body, called forth by sensory cues.  (See above.)

5.  Human development depends first on safety and then on attachment in order for the brain to stay in growth mode.  Otherwise it closes down in hiding and defense.  The liminality of Victor Turner et al provides this safety and attachment for adults to confirm, re-affirm, or convert their thinking.  

6.  What I’m calling liturgy is this art form.  It’s closest relative is theatre.  Actors study the skills for managing internal consciousness, even in multiple, and even in what are labeled dissociative states.  They learn to modulate emotional responses, to express inner emotion, to manage their bodies, to use empathy and emotional transferences, not to fear human extremes and excesses.

7.  How liturgy interacts with therapy.  The state arrived at by people who can use therapeutic self-management techniques, some of them very old, is close to the state that can be the goal of spiritiual enlightenment.  Liturgy can be a kind of therapy, reducing stress and providing a context for insight; likewise a therapy can become spiritual when people arrive at deep meaning with the support of the therapist.  In the case of a therapy group, it serves much the same function as a congregation, becoming a “holding community.”