I recall back in March of 2005 that I was traveling to Tampa, Florida for a lecture. On the leg of the flight from Philadelphia to Tampa, I happen to notice that Cornel West was on the same flight, also scheduled to deliver a talk in the Tampa Bay area. I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. West briefly at the baggage claim. I have been particularly inspired by Cornel West's desire to detail the oppression of the African American community as well as to promote unity. In addition, I am aware that Cornel West is involved in the democratic socialist movement and fervently speaks out on injustice, promotes equality and diversity, and seeks an end to class and racial divisions. I share a common background with Cornel West in that we both have been involved in the academic study of religion but also share a common zeal for social activism. I hope that his message continues to be heard.
Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
KINGSTON, PA AUTISM CONSULTATION Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.,B.C.S.A.,DAPA- is a highly sought after psychotherapist, Existential Psychoanalyst, autism specialist, social activist, speaker,and author. Dr. Edmunds's work is devoted to drug free, relational approaches for children, adults, and families undergoing extreme states of mind, autism and trauma. Dr. Edmunds can be reached for consultation at batushkad@yahoo.com. Dr. Edmunds' private practice is in Kingston and Tunkhannock, PA.
Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D,B.C.S.A.,DAPA.
e-mail: batushkad@yahoo.com
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
RADICAL THERAPY
I have been particularly supportive of the concepts of "Radical Therapy" which was initially instituted by Claude Steiner. The premise of Radical Therapy is that persons are essentially good, however social conditions lead us to alienation. As a result, we begin to develop irrational and often self defeating behaviors. Radical Therapy seeks to explore the role of oppression in our lives. The role of the radical therapist is to journey with others in uncovering our oppression, seeking to make change in the world, and providing support and restoration of the concept of community.
When I wrote EXPERIENCE:THE SOUL OF THERAPY, I argued that those who are considered to be 'mentally ill' are actually individuals where meaning has been lost, and that the true meaning of psychotherapy means the 'healing of the soul'. Now putting aside religious terminology, we can look at the soul as that essence of what it means to be human. It is our role to journey with each other, to understand the human condition, and to do our part to alleviate suffering.
The ideas of radical therapy in addition to being in line with my spiritual view of the positive capabilities of humanity also ties in with my political ideology. In ROOTS OF DISTRESS, I identified the methods of communication within families and the social processes that lead people to emotional distress. That is, I more clearly laid out the role of oppression in our lives today. I consider myself a Libertarian Socialist, and here is why- First, many so called forms of socialism which failed were actually based on totalitarianism, therefore, they did not respect human rights and dignity. So, when I say libertarian, I am stating the need for freedom of thought and expression and the support of basic human rights. Socialism has been misunderstood and some have tried to make it appear as a negative word. Socialism implies that goods are held in common and are democratically controlled. Therefore, if we follow this in its true spirit, we could address class divisions, racism, poverty, and all the various injustices because we would be working towards a society where everyone is respected and has equal opportunity and their basic needs are met. It is disgraceful that we live in a nation with enormous wealth yet we still must address the problems of hungry children and homelessness.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
When I wrote EXPERIENCE:THE SOUL OF THERAPY, I argued that those who are considered to be 'mentally ill' are actually individuals where meaning has been lost, and that the true meaning of psychotherapy means the 'healing of the soul'. Now putting aside religious terminology, we can look at the soul as that essence of what it means to be human. It is our role to journey with each other, to understand the human condition, and to do our part to alleviate suffering.
The ideas of radical therapy in addition to being in line with my spiritual view of the positive capabilities of humanity also ties in with my political ideology. In ROOTS OF DISTRESS, I identified the methods of communication within families and the social processes that lead people to emotional distress. That is, I more clearly laid out the role of oppression in our lives today. I consider myself a Libertarian Socialist, and here is why- First, many so called forms of socialism which failed were actually based on totalitarianism, therefore, they did not respect human rights and dignity. So, when I say libertarian, I am stating the need for freedom of thought and expression and the support of basic human rights. Socialism has been misunderstood and some have tried to make it appear as a negative word. Socialism implies that goods are held in common and are democratically controlled. Therefore, if we follow this in its true spirit, we could address class divisions, racism, poverty, and all the various injustices because we would be working towards a society where everyone is respected and has equal opportunity and their basic needs are met. It is disgraceful that we live in a nation with enormous wealth yet we still must address the problems of hungry children and homelessness.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
Sunday, July 12, 2009
LESSONS FROM LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA BY MUMIA ABU JAMAL
More Lessons from Luzerne County, PA
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
Recently, a piece was produced on the scandal in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County, where two judges pleaded guilty for playing their parts in a kickback scheme that netted them over two-and-a-half-million bucks.
The beneficiaries of their hustle were private juvenile prison builders, owners and investors (oh—and themselves, of course.)
The losers were hundreds of Luzerne County’s children, kids who were treated like cattle, as they were shuffled through so-called “courts”—without counsel—where so-called “judges” sent them away from their parents, their siblings, and their fellow students (for acts as benign as passing notes, or sending fresh emails) to private prisons for profit!
While the judges pleaded guilty to relatively minor charges, some other officials at the court, from county clerk to deputy court administrator have followed the judges in plea agreements.
What is utterly remarkable is how easily and effortlessly these judges did their thing, in stark violation of the state’s Juvenile Act, with virtual impunity, for almost a decade!
One must wonder; where were the lawyers looking out for the interests of these kids? Or were they so cowed, so shocked, so shaken by a “long train of abuses” that they were silenced by the ugliness of corruption, and the aura of fear?
Pennsylvania law allegedly provides protections for children, including the right to counsel (even if they couldn’t afford it,) and a legal presumption that all kids should remain with their families. As a general rule, a child shouldn’t have been detained unless she posed a danger to others, their property, or herself. There are exceptions to this rule, and they were whether the child was charged with committing major felonies, like robbery, rape or murder.
There was apparently another exception—whether or not Presiding Judge Mark Ciavarella or Senior Judge Michael Conahan wanted to make some quick bucks.
They were subject to a higher law—get money!
What the Luzerne County scandal has shown us is that what happens in many courts is both a business and a mystery. For millions of Americans, the law is a puzzle written in Latin, one unable to decode.
It also shows us that sometimes the criminal is sitting on the bench, wearing a black robe.
—PrisonRadio.org, March 2, 2009
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
Recently, a piece was produced on the scandal in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County, where two judges pleaded guilty for playing their parts in a kickback scheme that netted them over two-and-a-half-million bucks.
The beneficiaries of their hustle were private juvenile prison builders, owners and investors (oh—and themselves, of course.)
The losers were hundreds of Luzerne County’s children, kids who were treated like cattle, as they were shuffled through so-called “courts”—without counsel—where so-called “judges” sent them away from their parents, their siblings, and their fellow students (for acts as benign as passing notes, or sending fresh emails) to private prisons for profit!
While the judges pleaded guilty to relatively minor charges, some other officials at the court, from county clerk to deputy court administrator have followed the judges in plea agreements.
What is utterly remarkable is how easily and effortlessly these judges did their thing, in stark violation of the state’s Juvenile Act, with virtual impunity, for almost a decade!
One must wonder; where were the lawyers looking out for the interests of these kids? Or were they so cowed, so shocked, so shaken by a “long train of abuses” that they were silenced by the ugliness of corruption, and the aura of fear?
Pennsylvania law allegedly provides protections for children, including the right to counsel (even if they couldn’t afford it,) and a legal presumption that all kids should remain with their families. As a general rule, a child shouldn’t have been detained unless she posed a danger to others, their property, or herself. There are exceptions to this rule, and they were whether the child was charged with committing major felonies, like robbery, rape or murder.
There was apparently another exception—whether or not Presiding Judge Mark Ciavarella or Senior Judge Michael Conahan wanted to make some quick bucks.
They were subject to a higher law—get money!
What the Luzerne County scandal has shown us is that what happens in many courts is both a business and a mystery. For millions of Americans, the law is a puzzle written in Latin, one unable to decode.
It also shows us that sometimes the criminal is sitting on the bench, wearing a black robe.
—PrisonRadio.org, March 2, 2009
THE ODDITIES OF RELIGION
THE ODDITIES OF RELIGION is presented below, the book can be ordered from
http://stores.lulu.com/voice4kids
Professor Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D. is a psychotherapist, lecturer, and author and founder of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry. Previously ordained in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he now promotes an existential humanist viewpoint. His text below details his personal experiences with religion and provides a critical perspective. Dr. Edmunds received his Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of Florida. He completed a Master of Arts in Theology from the University and Scranton and holds a Doctorate of Education in Community Counseling from Argosy University of Sarasota.
CHURCH WITH MAMMAW
When I was 4 years old, I had my first encounter with the realm of religion. I was dressed in white shorts with matching white dress shirt and tie. I accompanied by great grandmother to the services at First Baptist Church in Apollo Beach, Florida.
I went to a summer camp at the YMCA in Town N' Country in Tampa for a few weeks. This YMCA later burned down and the land was bought by Buddhists who turned it into a Temple. When I was 18, I visited this Temple with my mother and brother. We were treated with much warmth and compassion by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who offered us food and conversation.
THEY JUST WANT OUR MONEY….
When I was six years old, living in St. Petersburg, Florida, my mother insisted that I attend a Lutheran summer camp with my cousin, Jonathan. Even though I was only six years old, I recall telling my mother “they just want money” as every week they would send envelopes home asking for donations. The envelopes had Jesus’ face on the front, and on the back boxes to check for how much money you were intending to donate to the church. Each day we had to go to the church to sing religious songs, one that still stands out in my mind had the line, “and the devil can just sit on a tack, sit on a tack, sit on a tack.” As I look back on this, I see how we early on indoctrinate children to believe in this mythology and unfortunately it takes root and often shapes their entire worldview for life. I believe that children should be encouraged in developing values which are intrinsic to us as human beings, but should not be forced or coerced to adopt a certain set of beliefs. I noticed among many friends who
were forced to attend their Bar Mitzvah, or first Holy Communion and Confirmation, or whatever ceremony only did this to fulfill an obligation and rarely were seen in the church ever again thereafter.
NO RELIGION DOES NOT MAKE A HELLION
From age six to thirteen, I was not raised with any particular religious tradition. But this did not cause me to become an unruly hellion of a child. My teachers noted me to be a well mannered, bright young man who was able to resolve conflicts and interact well with peers. Religion was not important during this period, but my mother certainly encouraged the development of values.
SCREAMING HALLELUJAH IS NOT A RELIEF FOR ME
When I turned 13, this would be a turning point, and my curiosity in religion would be peaked by an encounter with a kind gentleman who worked across the hall from my mother. This gentleman had Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I remember him struggling up the stairs with braces on his legs and he appeared to suffer much, yet there was a joy about him and he always had kind words to say to others. He did not complain about his struggles as many would do
but seemed able to accept his condition. I wondered about him, and as I grew to know him, he invited me to attend his home church as well as a Messianic Hebrew congregation he often frequented.
The church he attended was a Full Gospel church. As I entered, there was a band set up on the side of the pulpit. At the beginning of the service, people began yelling , shouting, and clapping as they sang “Hallelujah, Bless His Holy Name, Hallelujah, He will always be the same.” The minister was loud and boisterous, it was actually a bit of a frightening experience. Even more frightening was my encounter at the Messianic Hebrew congregation. This group appeared to be a blend of Pentecostalism with Jewish trappings. At a study group, I sat next to an elderly woman who began writhing in her chair looking as if she was having a seizure and babbling incomprehensible words. I would be told that this was a “manifestation of the Spirit.” I would be told that they were the ‘true Jews’ because they had accepted the Messiah whereas the others had rejected him and that we each had a calling to bring Israel to Christ. Their criticisms of the Jewish community only made more curious to know if what they were saying was accurate. Who were these people that they kept criticizing and who had rejected the Messiah? Why would they reject the Messiah? Was their something wrong with them? What did they believe? There must be a reason why they did not believe the same way. So I began attending a Reform synagogue and also visited a Conservative synagogue in Fort Collins, Colorado.
TIPSY RABBIS, HEBREW LESSONS, AND L’CHAIM
For about a year, I never missed a Shabbat service. I attended many of the Bar Mitzvahs of friends. And I recall the time being accidentally thrown into the wall by the Rabbi who was a bit tipsy and who let go of me too fast while dancing during Simchat Torah. During the summer, I enrolled in a Beginner’s Hebrew class and I had the opportunity to meet a scribe who was completing a new Torah scroll. I began reading the Hebrew Bible and various Biblical commentary, particularly Rashi, and hear I found a completely different account of what the Messiah would be like and an understanding of why they did not accept the Christian viewpoint. Many of my questions were answered, but I had to admit that I did not find Judaism particularly appealing and it appeared obvious that because I was not born into this faith that I was not made to feel overly welcome. I would encounter Judaism again about 10 years later when in Scranton and living near a community of Orthodox Chasidic Jews.
THE KOSHER PATROL AND GOD WANTS THAT LIGHT OFF!
I remember stopping into a Jewish deli in Scranton with a friend for lunch. He ordered a bowl of chicken soup and a cup of coffee. He put creamer in his coffee, and as soon as he did, the waitress (as if she was the kosher police watching him on surveillance) dashed over and took the cup away explaining he could not drink that if he was having chicken soup. I then began to ask, does God smile upon people more who do not mix meat and dairy? Another time, on the evening of Shabbat, I noticed that Orthodox Jews would cross the road when they came by my house. I wondered- did I do something wrong and was not aware of it? Is there a problem with my house? I was bold enough to ask why they performed that action and the response was that I had an automatic porch light and if it came on that would violate the rules of the Sabbath. So, God does not like automatic porch lights. Keep it off and you will be blessed.
ALLAH ABHORS FARTS
At age 15, I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encountered Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. As I mentioned some of the strange rules with Judaism, I found some of the same with Islam. There were certain guidelines about being ‘pure’ before prayer. I was given a handbook on what nullifies ‘wudu’ (the cleansing before prayer), one of them was breaking wind. So, if you fart before prayer, you need to wash again, if you fart during prayer, you have to do your prayer over. Allah does not like farts. More distressing was the fact that I saw women treated as second class. At the mosque, they were sent to the basement and were apart from the men. At dinners, they ate separately and only interacted with the men to serve their food. They had little voice. During Juma’a prayer on Friday one time, it was taught about the pleasures awaiting those who enter Paradise, but most of these pleasures were reserved for men, and the description of Paradise seemed much like a drunken orgy. It appeared to me that Muhammad was taking fragments of the religions at the time to consolidate power and bring unity to the Arab world, thus he was a radical political leader, a warlord and dictator.
MORMON BROWNIES ARE TASTY
During my high school years, I was friends with a Mormon girl who when I moved back to Florida from Colorado I decided to keep in touch with. I stayed with my grandfather for a week and gave her his address. Though, my family later located elsewhere, the Mormon missionaries ended up with this address and for almost 6 months each week would look for me and bring brownies. My grandfather would take the Brownies and never told them we were not living there, I guess after awhile they must have figured it out. When traveling through Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, I noticed a small shrine on the side of the road. Curious, I stopped to find that it marked the supposed site where John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith. Wow! Here I had been working in Tunkhannock, PA on the banks of a holy river, and I never knew it! How mistaken I was to think that the Susquehanna was just a smelly, polluted river! I began to think, maybe it might be like the Ganges, if I drink the water, I might be cured or healed, or go to Heaven. I remember my Mormon friend explaining to me this concept of people becoming spiritual beings to inhabit planets. Her mother had been wedded to her father in a Temple wedding, so by virtue of this, they were married eternally. However, the woman he presently remarried after the mother’s death was only wedded in the church itself, so their marriage would end at death. She also explained to me how she had baptized some of my relatives by proxy. This is why they keep genealogical records so they can baptize dead folks and give them the opportunity to become Latter Day Saints once they are dead. I think Elvis is a Mormon now.
THE PRIEST AT THE BAKERY AND OTHER STORIES
When I was in graduate school at the University of Scranton I recall there being an extensive discussion surrounding the idea of transubstantiation, that is the changing of bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ by the priest using the words of institution, “Take, eat this is my Body” and “Drink this all of you, this the My Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant.” One of the Jesuit priests gave a discourse on how that in Roman Catholic theology that it was the priest stating these words that were most important and which led to the transubstantiation. I then asked what would occur if a priest were to walk past and bakery and mutter these words, if all the breads in the bakery would then become the Body of Christ. I can think of many who would probably much rather enjoy stopping off at their local bakery for a Body of Christ than having to endure sitting through a Mass.
When I was actually involved for a time in the Roman Catholic Church (I had been baptized and confirmed at age 18 in St. Brendan’s Roman Catholic parish in Ormond Beach, Florida), I recall two stories involving my parish priest. Once, about 5 minutes before Mass, I was asked to bring the priest’s elderly mother over to the Church. I did not realize that she had locked the keys of the rectory inside. The priest began cursing at me and telling me I should have been watching his mother more carefully. Immediately after this tirade, he went up the altar steps to celebrate Mass. I have to admit I was a bit disgusted with him, but a few weeks later I guess retribution came as he was walking up the altar steps the bottom of his alb caught on fire. I along with others had to get cups of water to put the fire out. The priest was not injured and he carried on.
I had a discussion, once again in a theology class, over the Roman Catholic concept of divorce. I had personally known individuals who had been married, had children, and then later had their marriage annulled. In each of these situations they had paid vast amounts to the Church and the annulment process was heard by a tribunal of elderly Roman Catholic fuddy duddy clergy. I questioned what they would know about this marriage and divorce process to begin with and why it rested upon their authority to make a decision. Aside from that, I asked the question that if these people had their marriage annulled, and there were children involved, then this made the children illegitimate, as the annulment implied that no marriage ever actually existed. No one ever responded to this.
I also found the devotion to the “Sacred Heart” plainly unusual. I remember asking if we are going to pray to the Heart, why not the Sacred Spleen, or the Holy Gall Bladder? Beyond this, was the wax body parts I saw in some Italian churches and medals of body parts in the Greek church that were made and hung from an icon or placed in front of a statue to honor a particular ‘healing’.
I worked for a time as a chaplain in a nursing home. I found a lot of value in spending time with the elderly and it saddened me to see how for many of these folks their families were often absent. Even more disturbing was the fact that many of these people were lifelong members of churches, were considered in ‘good standing’ and even while in the nursing home would often send donations to the churches. I came to learn from the activities director that they had spend almost 6 months with no success trying to get a Roman Catholic priest to come and minister to these persons. I offered my services and was well received. I basically became an inter-faith minister. It did not matter to me the belief system of those I was dealing with, I was not looking for some future or even present reward. I looked mainly at that it was the right thing to do to be with these people, lend them an ear, and be comforting to them. I hope that someone will do the same for me when I am elderly. However- this situation caused me some trouble, let me explain:
At the time I was serving as a chaplain I was still attached to an Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. I was told that I was to only minister to those of the Orthodox faith, and that I was to ask each person of their background before I ministered to them. I found this unfortunate and absurd, and in my rebellious and stubborn spirit, I refused to acquiesce. This was one of the last straws that led me out of the Orthodox Church entirely. There were many other issues, let me begin with that-
DO NOT MAKE THE PRIEST ANGRY AT PASCHA!
I first became interested in the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Having been in the Roman Catholic Church, I was taught that Orthodoxy was our sister Church. I visited a Greek Orthodox parish for the Divine Liturgy at Easter. It was a beautiful service with wonderful chanting, sweet smelling incense, brilliant Iconography. I was very impressed by the aesthetics as well as the historical nature of Orthodoxy. However, this very first visit to the Orthodox Church would be very telling and sum up a lot of my later objections. During the middle of the service, the priest interrupted the service and began yelling, “Sit down! Sit down! When you are standing it makes me nervous, and when I get nervous, I get annngggggry! And you do not want the priest angry at Pascha!” I could not believe my ears. I somewhat ignored the outburst and continued to take in the rest of the service.
A few years after this experience, I was ordained as a deacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I recall encountering a Bishop who was a very haughty man who enjoyed having the people kiss his hand and certainly thought he was ‘all that’ because of his rank and title. It was my first Paschal service serving as a deacon and I had invited my family. The Metropolitan Archbishop was present, a jovial old fellow. I explained to him that my relatives were not Orthodox and would just be observing. He seemed fine with that, however the other bishop began pushing them into unfamiliar rituals and scoffed at them when they did not oblige. For instance, the Gospel book was presented for the congregation to venerate by kissing it. The bishop, having been told my family would only be observers, had the Gospel book shoved into their face. The bishop just stood there waiting for them to kiss it. My uncle politely nodded his head but would not kiss it. He later remarked to me, “I guess we are just not book kissers.” The following year, I was ordained to the priesthood. It would be soon after that I would spend some time in monastic life. While the time for contemplation and reflection was of value, I later began to question the real value of what I was involved in. How is spending my life in isolation from others really making any impact in the lives of others? In concluded it was not, and that was largely how I later entered the counseling field.
SAINT OR OLD SENILE MAN WHO CHASES PEOPLE WITH CANES?
At one monastery, I had a number of interesting experiences (if you have not noticed, a lot of my experiences have been ‘interesting’). First, I walked into a room where there were chairs to sit, and also in this room was a small bed, more of a cot, with a picture on it. I was very curious as to what this was all about, so I asked the Abbot-Bishop of the Monastery. He explained to me that a Russian bishop had lived and died there and that had been his bed. He later went on with stories about how this Bishop could bi-locate and he had performed other miracles and that he was definitely a saint. At that moment, a nun (who I had great admiration for her boldness and willingness to tell it how it is) whispered to my friend, Deacon Zacharias, “nah, he was just an old senile man who used to chase me with his cane.” Deacon Zacharias later jokingly told me that if I did not behave in the monastery that this Russian Bishop’s hand would creep across that bed and grab me!
THE PUTTING OUT OF THE LIGHTS CEREMONY
In this same monastery, I would experience what I came to turn the ‘putting out of the lights’ ceremony. It was Orthodox Christmas Eve. We had just finished the services for the evening and I left the monastery to stay in a hotel as I would be visiting my grandparents who were in town. Deacon Zacharias stayed behind at the monastery for the night. As I was leaving the church after services, I noticed a woman with a scowl walking in. I thought, I wonder who she is, never seen her before, and man, she looks rather unhappy. Well, the next morning, I would discover that this woman had to be escorted out of the Church by police as she went into the Church to smash things and kept repeating, “I am the devil, I must put out the lights.” Deacon Zacharias has always been a great friend of mine and he is autistic. His response to this situation I found hilarious, but it worked. He informed me that he told her “you do not have any devil, and if you do, maybe I can smack it out of you.” He said it was then that she actually stopped her bad behavior in the church and stopped trying to smash things. It was thereafter the police came and took her away. I later found out that the Abbot had met this woman before and had performed some sort of exorcism ritual over her. Obviously it did not work, but Deacon Zacharias’ plan to ‘get the devil out of her’ certainly did!
KISS A HAND TO USE THE PHONE
I went to visit a Greek Monastery in New York City. After the Liturgy, I was invited to lunch. The Archbishop was seated on a platform above everyone else. I was told that when I approached the bishop I was to bow my head, fold my hands, and say “Evlogeite, Master!” (Bless, Master), and after receiving a blessing and kissing his hand I could take my seat. I wanted to use the telephone while there, but told I would have to go through the same ritual (I decided the call was not that important). We were seated by rank. So, the supposedly more important you were the closer you got to sit to the Archbishop. I was not that important, so we sat towards the end of the table. The nuns did not eat with us, they only brought the food and wine. And boy was there much wine consumed by a group of monks! Basically, I was appalled by this hierarchical nonsense and saw no purpose in it other than men behaving arrogantly and using presumed authority to control and manipulate others. I would later learn that these bishops were involved in a scam involving a supposedly weeping icon. These two ‘monks’ were millionaires! I later learned of other scams of similar nature, one at a Russian monastery in Texas where they later admitted that their claims of having a weeping Icon was plain fraud.
I did have a very positive experience meeting the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but this too would latter be shattered. I went to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio and the Patriarch was visiting. Many of the women had tattoos of crosses on their foreheads and they would cover their mouths after receiving communion. The service was similar to a Greek Orthodox liturgy but there was drumming included. I was invited to lunch and spoke with the Patriarch who appeared kind and down to earth. However, I would later learn that there was a schism in the Ethiopian Church and that this Patriarch had been accused of capitulating to an oppressive regime in Ethiopia. This sort of thing also happened in the Russian Orthodox Church, where compromise of principles occurred frequently.
The worst of the worst was to discover that a Greek Bishop I had spoken with many times, and who people held in esteem, was guilty of molesting a child. This sort of thing is one of the worst travesties I can think of, because in the church, young people are unfortunately taught that their clergy are representatives of God. If they are taught to put faith in these people and see them in this pivotal role and then this trust is shattered, just imagine what this must do to a person. It was after this incident that I began to really have my doubts about remaining in the Orthodox Church, and it was the things that happened as a chaplain that I mentioned prior that I decided to finally depart.
THE FAT MONK TEACHES THE ‘MIDDLE WAY’ AND THE BUDDHIST NUN SAYS GIVE ME YOUR MONEY
I later decided to study Buddhism to some extent, and began attending Buddhist meditation courses and visiting a Temple. I had previously encountered Buddhism when I was 18. The YMCA I had attended as a child had burned down and the Vietnamese Buddhists bought the property to turn it into a Temple. I visited there on a number of occasions. I visited once with my aunt and cousin, and another time with my mother and brother. The visit with my aunt and cousin was the most unusual. We entered a building that looked like a warehouse from outside yet was very beautiful inside. There was a large golden statue of Buddha and above It was a halo-like light that pulsated and almost put me into a trance. The room was filled with incense as each member of the Temple would place three sticks of incense in a pot before the image of Buddha. The service was long. We sat on the floor, and then would bow over and the leading nun would hit this wooden object in shaped of a fish with a mallet. I do remember that the meditations repeated ‘namo” frequently. One of the nuns knew no English. She came to my aunt and said, “You, Buddha” and then pointed to her eyes, ears, nose, and then put her finger in her mouth, each time saying, “Buddha”. My aunt was plainly confused. We later found and English speaking nun to explain. She said the nun was trying to tell my aunt that she had the Buddha nature and all the senses are part of the Buddha nature. My next visit would be with my mother and brother and it was the festival honoring Buddha’s birth. I met a kind Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has studied in a Christian seminary. We had wonderful conversations and I found him a truly humble person.
However, as this monk was humble and kind, I saw other sides of Buddhism. At a Temple in New York, I decided to visit just for the day. They were having a three day conference that I was not aware of. I told one of the nuns that I was only staying for the afternoon and she said that would be fine and that I could make a donation of whatever I chose to cover my meal and the meditation class for that day. I went to an office to register and give my donation and met another nun, who argued with me that I needed to pay the entire fee for the conference. This of course occurred ironically after a lecture that was given on non-attachment and selflessness. Go figure.
A few months after this, I attended a meditation class and the topic was on the Middle Way. Again I was confused, as the monk giving the talk was morbidly obese, barely fitting into his robes. He reminded me of the Ho-Tei (the fat laughing Buddha) and I could not really take him seriously when he spoke on the Middle Way as it certainly did seem to me that he was applying that concept.
In recent news, the treatment of the Buddhist majority of the Muslim minority in Myanmar is appalling. These people are barely staying alive and are outcast. This is what religion often does. It creates unnecessary barriers, and these barriers lead to suffering.
WHAT DO THE CARDS REALLY SAY?
When I was about 16, I was traveling with my grandmother through the Orlando area and we came across a small town known as Cassadaga. This is the site of a spiritualist community where they practice mediumship. My grandmother told me it was be interesting if I met with one of their spiritual teachers and she would pay for the time spent with them. I agreed because I was curious myself as to what would transpire. The buildings were old and there was moss covering many of them, it certainly had a creepy feel. I met with a woman named “Delilah”. Delilah proceeded to have me take regular playing cards and divide them into various sections. Somehow from this she was able to relate to me information about my past, present, and future. She told me I was a very old soul, that I would move to the Northeast, and that I was a monk in previous lives. Now, for some they automatically would say, well, you did move to the Northeast, and wow, you became a Comparative Religion scholar, so you must have been a monk in some ‘former life’. What I have concluded now, particularly in light of my psychological training, is this woman perceived my intellect (the old soul part), and she knew of my interest in various beliefs so she just capitalized on that. As far as moving to the Northeast, yes, that did occur, but that was far removed from her prediction, and based solely on coincidence. I am quite sure that if I make up details about a person, that it is likely one of those details might fit.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA AND RAMA LAMA DING DONG
When at the University of Florida, I frequently encountered the Hare Krishna’s. I had to duck from their Frisbees that they would be throwing in the square at the University. The Krishna’s served a great lunch and it was cheap. It was mainly various curries and vegetable goo. I did not realize it at the time but later found out that this food was offered in a ritual in the Temple before being served to students and others. I went to their Temple as I was exploring the Krishna’s for a course I was taking. When I entered, I was taken back by a wax statue of their deceased leader, Swami Prabhupad. It was very realistic looking. The service began with people playing a harmonium and chanting in Sanskrit, and then a curtain being opened and incense being waved before a statue of Krishna that eerily had large, dark eyes. The chanting continued. After the food was offered, it would be served to the congregants. I remember one man there who identified as an atheist. One of the Krishna’s asked, “why do you keep coming to the Temple if you do not believe?” He responded, “Because you keep inviting me, and the food is pretty good.” The Krishnas could be seen every Friday on the street corner dressed in pink or orange robes, jumping, chanting, and handing out flowers and cookies. As I got to know a few and after visiting their Temple a few times, I caught on to a number of things. Though they espoused no drug use, this was common. Most of the members were college drop-outs. So, their tactic was to hang around the campus, look for students who were struggling and convince them that their problems will be solved by chanting the names of Krishna!
‘REIGNING’ ON MY EVANGELICAL FRIENDS PARADE…
A friend encouraged me to attend with her an evangelical community church. This kind of church is typically connected to what some would term “Jesus Freaks”. I had experienced this sort of thing before. When in college, I had been invited to this sort of thing. I saw a lot of hypocrisy. One of the leaders of the college group was giving teachings against pre-marital sex and various “Christian values” only a few months later to become pregnant and be unmarried. The church made her resign. I was sure too that one of the leaders who I actually thought was one of the few with sincerity was gay though he never acknowledged this and the church was adamantly opposed to gays. I later had this person as a professor, and discovered that I was correct in my assessment.
So, as more a matter of appeasement, I went with my friend to her church. I told her that I already knew what would occur. She then told me, ‘well, if you know everything, tell me what is going to happen.” I said, “Well, they will have a loud, obnoxious band that will start out singing ‘The Lord reigns, The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice!’ and then after that the minister who will be loud and boisterous will say something about us needing to be saved by Jesus, and the more music, and then we go home.” She said, “No, that’s not what they do!” We arrived at the church, and you guessed it, the first song was the “Lord Reigns”. I cracked a smile at which my friend whispered, “Shut up!” Then, right on schedule, came a spiel about accepting Jesus in our hearts. More songs, and then we went home.
STOMPING AND SHRIEKING
Similar to this was my experience in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. One of my friends was the pastor of a congregation and he asked me to stop in for a visit. At the beginning of the service were four large African American women all dressed in white who began singing and spinning until they reached the front of the church where they began stomping out a beat and then sang, “You gotta get your life in order, cuz Jesus is coming!” During the sermon (I cannot imagine how the pastor could concentrate) two ladies passed out on the floor and began shrieking. Then another lady started jumping in the pew yelling, “Glory! Glory!” The emotionalism ran wild. I later learned from a few honest congregants that it was the same ladies who passed out and screamed, each week. I guess it was to be expected.
HI HO TIBERIO, SHE IS OUR GRACIOUS ONE…
When I was in Junior High School, my teacher, Mrs. Tiberio, was instructing us about Greek mythology. She entered the room wearing a Greek goddess outfit. Our assignment was to create a myth ourselves. So, I convinced a number of my peers to write the myths about Mrs. Tiberio. We developed some rather creative, but outlandish stories of the feats of Mrs. Tiberio. We also (maybe irreverently) developed a Trinity. Her first name was Marilyn, and she wore her hair up in a bun at all times. So, we came up with Marilyn, Agnes, and the Holy Hair Bun. I have to admit I cannot remember where Agnes fit in. And of course, we wrote hymns, such as “Hi Ho Tiberio”, and “Marilyn, we pray along.” We probably got a bit carried away with things, but it was great fun, and as I look back now on much of the absurdity of religion, I think I might have enjoyed remaining a “Tiberioist” than encountering much of the things I have.
THE LIES PARENTS TELL…
One of my clients who was six years old at the time had just discovered the fraud of Santa Claus. The question he asked next came rather unexpected, he told his parents- “If you lied to me about this Santa Claus stuff, how do I know you are not lying to me about God?” A very valid question, particularly for a child. I am very pleased that my mother allowed me the opportunity to explore various beliefs but she also encouraged certain values. I believe it is wrong for beliefs to be imposed upon any person, particularly children. What we should be teaching our children is not convoluted mythologies, but how to interact with other human beings, how to be compassionate, how to be caring. And in this our desire to be ‘good’ should because it is the right thing to do, not because we fear Hell or we await some glorious place in the sky or elsewhere.
MY CONCLUSIONS
Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiosity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others; however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality; it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can often be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to transform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will.
Hopefully, we can come to a realization of just what it means to
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Professor Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D. is a psychotherapist, lecturer, and author and founder of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry. Previously ordained in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he now promotes an existential humanist viewpoint. His text below details his personal experiences with religion and provides a critical perspective. Dr. Edmunds received his Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of Florida. He completed a Master of Arts in Theology from the University and Scranton and holds a Doctorate of Education in Community Counseling from Argosy University of Sarasota.
CHURCH WITH MAMMAW
When I was 4 years old, I had my first encounter with the realm of religion. I was dressed in white shorts with matching white dress shirt and tie. I accompanied by great grandmother to the services at First Baptist Church in Apollo Beach, Florida.
I went to a summer camp at the YMCA in Town N' Country in Tampa for a few weeks. This YMCA later burned down and the land was bought by Buddhists who turned it into a Temple. When I was 18, I visited this Temple with my mother and brother. We were treated with much warmth and compassion by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who offered us food and conversation.
THEY JUST WANT OUR MONEY….
When I was six years old, living in St. Petersburg, Florida, my mother insisted that I attend a Lutheran summer camp with my cousin, Jonathan. Even though I was only six years old, I recall telling my mother “they just want money” as every week they would send envelopes home asking for donations. The envelopes had Jesus’ face on the front, and on the back boxes to check for how much money you were intending to donate to the church. Each day we had to go to the church to sing religious songs, one that still stands out in my mind had the line, “and the devil can just sit on a tack, sit on a tack, sit on a tack.” As I look back on this, I see how we early on indoctrinate children to believe in this mythology and unfortunately it takes root and often shapes their entire worldview for life. I believe that children should be encouraged in developing values which are intrinsic to us as human beings, but should not be forced or coerced to adopt a certain set of beliefs. I noticed among many friends who
were forced to attend their Bar Mitzvah, or first Holy Communion and Confirmation, or whatever ceremony only did this to fulfill an obligation and rarely were seen in the church ever again thereafter.
NO RELIGION DOES NOT MAKE A HELLION
From age six to thirteen, I was not raised with any particular religious tradition. But this did not cause me to become an unruly hellion of a child. My teachers noted me to be a well mannered, bright young man who was able to resolve conflicts and interact well with peers. Religion was not important during this period, but my mother certainly encouraged the development of values.
SCREAMING HALLELUJAH IS NOT A RELIEF FOR ME
When I turned 13, this would be a turning point, and my curiosity in religion would be peaked by an encounter with a kind gentleman who worked across the hall from my mother. This gentleman had Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I remember him struggling up the stairs with braces on his legs and he appeared to suffer much, yet there was a joy about him and he always had kind words to say to others. He did not complain about his struggles as many would do
but seemed able to accept his condition. I wondered about him, and as I grew to know him, he invited me to attend his home church as well as a Messianic Hebrew congregation he often frequented.
The church he attended was a Full Gospel church. As I entered, there was a band set up on the side of the pulpit. At the beginning of the service, people began yelling , shouting, and clapping as they sang “Hallelujah, Bless His Holy Name, Hallelujah, He will always be the same.” The minister was loud and boisterous, it was actually a bit of a frightening experience. Even more frightening was my encounter at the Messianic Hebrew congregation. This group appeared to be a blend of Pentecostalism with Jewish trappings. At a study group, I sat next to an elderly woman who began writhing in her chair looking as if she was having a seizure and babbling incomprehensible words. I would be told that this was a “manifestation of the Spirit.” I would be told that they were the ‘true Jews’ because they had accepted the Messiah whereas the others had rejected him and that we each had a calling to bring Israel to Christ. Their criticisms of the Jewish community only made more curious to know if what they were saying was accurate. Who were these people that they kept criticizing and who had rejected the Messiah? Why would they reject the Messiah? Was their something wrong with them? What did they believe? There must be a reason why they did not believe the same way. So I began attending a Reform synagogue and also visited a Conservative synagogue in Fort Collins, Colorado.
TIPSY RABBIS, HEBREW LESSONS, AND L’CHAIM
For about a year, I never missed a Shabbat service. I attended many of the Bar Mitzvahs of friends. And I recall the time being accidentally thrown into the wall by the Rabbi who was a bit tipsy and who let go of me too fast while dancing during Simchat Torah. During the summer, I enrolled in a Beginner’s Hebrew class and I had the opportunity to meet a scribe who was completing a new Torah scroll. I began reading the Hebrew Bible and various Biblical commentary, particularly Rashi, and hear I found a completely different account of what the Messiah would be like and an understanding of why they did not accept the Christian viewpoint. Many of my questions were answered, but I had to admit that I did not find Judaism particularly appealing and it appeared obvious that because I was not born into this faith that I was not made to feel overly welcome. I would encounter Judaism again about 10 years later when in Scranton and living near a community of Orthodox Chasidic Jews.
THE KOSHER PATROL AND GOD WANTS THAT LIGHT OFF!
I remember stopping into a Jewish deli in Scranton with a friend for lunch. He ordered a bowl of chicken soup and a cup of coffee. He put creamer in his coffee, and as soon as he did, the waitress (as if she was the kosher police watching him on surveillance) dashed over and took the cup away explaining he could not drink that if he was having chicken soup. I then began to ask, does God smile upon people more who do not mix meat and dairy? Another time, on the evening of Shabbat, I noticed that Orthodox Jews would cross the road when they came by my house. I wondered- did I do something wrong and was not aware of it? Is there a problem with my house? I was bold enough to ask why they performed that action and the response was that I had an automatic porch light and if it came on that would violate the rules of the Sabbath. So, God does not like automatic porch lights. Keep it off and you will be blessed.
ALLAH ABHORS FARTS
At age 15, I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encountered Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. As I mentioned some of the strange rules with Judaism, I found some of the same with Islam. There were certain guidelines about being ‘pure’ before prayer. I was given a handbook on what nullifies ‘wudu’ (the cleansing before prayer), one of them was breaking wind. So, if you fart before prayer, you need to wash again, if you fart during prayer, you have to do your prayer over. Allah does not like farts. More distressing was the fact that I saw women treated as second class. At the mosque, they were sent to the basement and were apart from the men. At dinners, they ate separately and only interacted with the men to serve their food. They had little voice. During Juma’a prayer on Friday one time, it was taught about the pleasures awaiting those who enter Paradise, but most of these pleasures were reserved for men, and the description of Paradise seemed much like a drunken orgy. It appeared to me that Muhammad was taking fragments of the religions at the time to consolidate power and bring unity to the Arab world, thus he was a radical political leader, a warlord and dictator.
MORMON BROWNIES ARE TASTY
During my high school years, I was friends with a Mormon girl who when I moved back to Florida from Colorado I decided to keep in touch with. I stayed with my grandfather for a week and gave her his address. Though, my family later located elsewhere, the Mormon missionaries ended up with this address and for almost 6 months each week would look for me and bring brownies. My grandfather would take the Brownies and never told them we were not living there, I guess after awhile they must have figured it out. When traveling through Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, I noticed a small shrine on the side of the road. Curious, I stopped to find that it marked the supposed site where John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith. Wow! Here I had been working in Tunkhannock, PA on the banks of a holy river, and I never knew it! How mistaken I was to think that the Susquehanna was just a smelly, polluted river! I began to think, maybe it might be like the Ganges, if I drink the water, I might be cured or healed, or go to Heaven. I remember my Mormon friend explaining to me this concept of people becoming spiritual beings to inhabit planets. Her mother had been wedded to her father in a Temple wedding, so by virtue of this, they were married eternally. However, the woman he presently remarried after the mother’s death was only wedded in the church itself, so their marriage would end at death. She also explained to me how she had baptized some of my relatives by proxy. This is why they keep genealogical records so they can baptize dead folks and give them the opportunity to become Latter Day Saints once they are dead. I think Elvis is a Mormon now.
THE PRIEST AT THE BAKERY AND OTHER STORIES
When I was in graduate school at the University of Scranton I recall there being an extensive discussion surrounding the idea of transubstantiation, that is the changing of bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ by the priest using the words of institution, “Take, eat this is my Body” and “Drink this all of you, this the My Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant.” One of the Jesuit priests gave a discourse on how that in Roman Catholic theology that it was the priest stating these words that were most important and which led to the transubstantiation. I then asked what would occur if a priest were to walk past and bakery and mutter these words, if all the breads in the bakery would then become the Body of Christ. I can think of many who would probably much rather enjoy stopping off at their local bakery for a Body of Christ than having to endure sitting through a Mass.
When I was actually involved for a time in the Roman Catholic Church (I had been baptized and confirmed at age 18 in St. Brendan’s Roman Catholic parish in Ormond Beach, Florida), I recall two stories involving my parish priest. Once, about 5 minutes before Mass, I was asked to bring the priest’s elderly mother over to the Church. I did not realize that she had locked the keys of the rectory inside. The priest began cursing at me and telling me I should have been watching his mother more carefully. Immediately after this tirade, he went up the altar steps to celebrate Mass. I have to admit I was a bit disgusted with him, but a few weeks later I guess retribution came as he was walking up the altar steps the bottom of his alb caught on fire. I along with others had to get cups of water to put the fire out. The priest was not injured and he carried on.
I had a discussion, once again in a theology class, over the Roman Catholic concept of divorce. I had personally known individuals who had been married, had children, and then later had their marriage annulled. In each of these situations they had paid vast amounts to the Church and the annulment process was heard by a tribunal of elderly Roman Catholic fuddy duddy clergy. I questioned what they would know about this marriage and divorce process to begin with and why it rested upon their authority to make a decision. Aside from that, I asked the question that if these people had their marriage annulled, and there were children involved, then this made the children illegitimate, as the annulment implied that no marriage ever actually existed. No one ever responded to this.
I also found the devotion to the “Sacred Heart” plainly unusual. I remember asking if we are going to pray to the Heart, why not the Sacred Spleen, or the Holy Gall Bladder? Beyond this, was the wax body parts I saw in some Italian churches and medals of body parts in the Greek church that were made and hung from an icon or placed in front of a statue to honor a particular ‘healing’.
I worked for a time as a chaplain in a nursing home. I found a lot of value in spending time with the elderly and it saddened me to see how for many of these folks their families were often absent. Even more disturbing was the fact that many of these people were lifelong members of churches, were considered in ‘good standing’ and even while in the nursing home would often send donations to the churches. I came to learn from the activities director that they had spend almost 6 months with no success trying to get a Roman Catholic priest to come and minister to these persons. I offered my services and was well received. I basically became an inter-faith minister. It did not matter to me the belief system of those I was dealing with, I was not looking for some future or even present reward. I looked mainly at that it was the right thing to do to be with these people, lend them an ear, and be comforting to them. I hope that someone will do the same for me when I am elderly. However- this situation caused me some trouble, let me explain:
At the time I was serving as a chaplain I was still attached to an Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. I was told that I was to only minister to those of the Orthodox faith, and that I was to ask each person of their background before I ministered to them. I found this unfortunate and absurd, and in my rebellious and stubborn spirit, I refused to acquiesce. This was one of the last straws that led me out of the Orthodox Church entirely. There were many other issues, let me begin with that-
DO NOT MAKE THE PRIEST ANGRY AT PASCHA!
I first became interested in the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Having been in the Roman Catholic Church, I was taught that Orthodoxy was our sister Church. I visited a Greek Orthodox parish for the Divine Liturgy at Easter. It was a beautiful service with wonderful chanting, sweet smelling incense, brilliant Iconography. I was very impressed by the aesthetics as well as the historical nature of Orthodoxy. However, this very first visit to the Orthodox Church would be very telling and sum up a lot of my later objections. During the middle of the service, the priest interrupted the service and began yelling, “Sit down! Sit down! When you are standing it makes me nervous, and when I get nervous, I get annngggggry! And you do not want the priest angry at Pascha!” I could not believe my ears. I somewhat ignored the outburst and continued to take in the rest of the service.
A few years after this experience, I was ordained as a deacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I recall encountering a Bishop who was a very haughty man who enjoyed having the people kiss his hand and certainly thought he was ‘all that’ because of his rank and title. It was my first Paschal service serving as a deacon and I had invited my family. The Metropolitan Archbishop was present, a jovial old fellow. I explained to him that my relatives were not Orthodox and would just be observing. He seemed fine with that, however the other bishop began pushing them into unfamiliar rituals and scoffed at them when they did not oblige. For instance, the Gospel book was presented for the congregation to venerate by kissing it. The bishop, having been told my family would only be observers, had the Gospel book shoved into their face. The bishop just stood there waiting for them to kiss it. My uncle politely nodded his head but would not kiss it. He later remarked to me, “I guess we are just not book kissers.” The following year, I was ordained to the priesthood. It would be soon after that I would spend some time in monastic life. While the time for contemplation and reflection was of value, I later began to question the real value of what I was involved in. How is spending my life in isolation from others really making any impact in the lives of others? In concluded it was not, and that was largely how I later entered the counseling field.
SAINT OR OLD SENILE MAN WHO CHASES PEOPLE WITH CANES?
At one monastery, I had a number of interesting experiences (if you have not noticed, a lot of my experiences have been ‘interesting’). First, I walked into a room where there were chairs to sit, and also in this room was a small bed, more of a cot, with a picture on it. I was very curious as to what this was all about, so I asked the Abbot-Bishop of the Monastery. He explained to me that a Russian bishop had lived and died there and that had been his bed. He later went on with stories about how this Bishop could bi-locate and he had performed other miracles and that he was definitely a saint. At that moment, a nun (who I had great admiration for her boldness and willingness to tell it how it is) whispered to my friend, Deacon Zacharias, “nah, he was just an old senile man who used to chase me with his cane.” Deacon Zacharias later jokingly told me that if I did not behave in the monastery that this Russian Bishop’s hand would creep across that bed and grab me!
THE PUTTING OUT OF THE LIGHTS CEREMONY
In this same monastery, I would experience what I came to turn the ‘putting out of the lights’ ceremony. It was Orthodox Christmas Eve. We had just finished the services for the evening and I left the monastery to stay in a hotel as I would be visiting my grandparents who were in town. Deacon Zacharias stayed behind at the monastery for the night. As I was leaving the church after services, I noticed a woman with a scowl walking in. I thought, I wonder who she is, never seen her before, and man, she looks rather unhappy. Well, the next morning, I would discover that this woman had to be escorted out of the Church by police as she went into the Church to smash things and kept repeating, “I am the devil, I must put out the lights.” Deacon Zacharias has always been a great friend of mine and he is autistic. His response to this situation I found hilarious, but it worked. He informed me that he told her “you do not have any devil, and if you do, maybe I can smack it out of you.” He said it was then that she actually stopped her bad behavior in the church and stopped trying to smash things. It was thereafter the police came and took her away. I later found out that the Abbot had met this woman before and had performed some sort of exorcism ritual over her. Obviously it did not work, but Deacon Zacharias’ plan to ‘get the devil out of her’ certainly did!
KISS A HAND TO USE THE PHONE
I went to visit a Greek Monastery in New York City. After the Liturgy, I was invited to lunch. The Archbishop was seated on a platform above everyone else. I was told that when I approached the bishop I was to bow my head, fold my hands, and say “Evlogeite, Master!” (Bless, Master), and after receiving a blessing and kissing his hand I could take my seat. I wanted to use the telephone while there, but told I would have to go through the same ritual (I decided the call was not that important). We were seated by rank. So, the supposedly more important you were the closer you got to sit to the Archbishop. I was not that important, so we sat towards the end of the table. The nuns did not eat with us, they only brought the food and wine. And boy was there much wine consumed by a group of monks! Basically, I was appalled by this hierarchical nonsense and saw no purpose in it other than men behaving arrogantly and using presumed authority to control and manipulate others. I would later learn that these bishops were involved in a scam involving a supposedly weeping icon. These two ‘monks’ were millionaires! I later learned of other scams of similar nature, one at a Russian monastery in Texas where they later admitted that their claims of having a weeping Icon was plain fraud.
I did have a very positive experience meeting the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but this too would latter be shattered. I went to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio and the Patriarch was visiting. Many of the women had tattoos of crosses on their foreheads and they would cover their mouths after receiving communion. The service was similar to a Greek Orthodox liturgy but there was drumming included. I was invited to lunch and spoke with the Patriarch who appeared kind and down to earth. However, I would later learn that there was a schism in the Ethiopian Church and that this Patriarch had been accused of capitulating to an oppressive regime in Ethiopia. This sort of thing also happened in the Russian Orthodox Church, where compromise of principles occurred frequently.
The worst of the worst was to discover that a Greek Bishop I had spoken with many times, and who people held in esteem, was guilty of molesting a child. This sort of thing is one of the worst travesties I can think of, because in the church, young people are unfortunately taught that their clergy are representatives of God. If they are taught to put faith in these people and see them in this pivotal role and then this trust is shattered, just imagine what this must do to a person. It was after this incident that I began to really have my doubts about remaining in the Orthodox Church, and it was the things that happened as a chaplain that I mentioned prior that I decided to finally depart.
THE FAT MONK TEACHES THE ‘MIDDLE WAY’ AND THE BUDDHIST NUN SAYS GIVE ME YOUR MONEY
I later decided to study Buddhism to some extent, and began attending Buddhist meditation courses and visiting a Temple. I had previously encountered Buddhism when I was 18. The YMCA I had attended as a child had burned down and the Vietnamese Buddhists bought the property to turn it into a Temple. I visited there on a number of occasions. I visited once with my aunt and cousin, and another time with my mother and brother. The visit with my aunt and cousin was the most unusual. We entered a building that looked like a warehouse from outside yet was very beautiful inside. There was a large golden statue of Buddha and above It was a halo-like light that pulsated and almost put me into a trance. The room was filled with incense as each member of the Temple would place three sticks of incense in a pot before the image of Buddha. The service was long. We sat on the floor, and then would bow over and the leading nun would hit this wooden object in shaped of a fish with a mallet. I do remember that the meditations repeated ‘namo” frequently. One of the nuns knew no English. She came to my aunt and said, “You, Buddha” and then pointed to her eyes, ears, nose, and then put her finger in her mouth, each time saying, “Buddha”. My aunt was plainly confused. We later found and English speaking nun to explain. She said the nun was trying to tell my aunt that she had the Buddha nature and all the senses are part of the Buddha nature. My next visit would be with my mother and brother and it was the festival honoring Buddha’s birth. I met a kind Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has studied in a Christian seminary. We had wonderful conversations and I found him a truly humble person.
However, as this monk was humble and kind, I saw other sides of Buddhism. At a Temple in New York, I decided to visit just for the day. They were having a three day conference that I was not aware of. I told one of the nuns that I was only staying for the afternoon and she said that would be fine and that I could make a donation of whatever I chose to cover my meal and the meditation class for that day. I went to an office to register and give my donation and met another nun, who argued with me that I needed to pay the entire fee for the conference. This of course occurred ironically after a lecture that was given on non-attachment and selflessness. Go figure.
A few months after this, I attended a meditation class and the topic was on the Middle Way. Again I was confused, as the monk giving the talk was morbidly obese, barely fitting into his robes. He reminded me of the Ho-Tei (the fat laughing Buddha) and I could not really take him seriously when he spoke on the Middle Way as it certainly did seem to me that he was applying that concept.
In recent news, the treatment of the Buddhist majority of the Muslim minority in Myanmar is appalling. These people are barely staying alive and are outcast. This is what religion often does. It creates unnecessary barriers, and these barriers lead to suffering.
WHAT DO THE CARDS REALLY SAY?
When I was about 16, I was traveling with my grandmother through the Orlando area and we came across a small town known as Cassadaga. This is the site of a spiritualist community where they practice mediumship. My grandmother told me it was be interesting if I met with one of their spiritual teachers and she would pay for the time spent with them. I agreed because I was curious myself as to what would transpire. The buildings were old and there was moss covering many of them, it certainly had a creepy feel. I met with a woman named “Delilah”. Delilah proceeded to have me take regular playing cards and divide them into various sections. Somehow from this she was able to relate to me information about my past, present, and future. She told me I was a very old soul, that I would move to the Northeast, and that I was a monk in previous lives. Now, for some they automatically would say, well, you did move to the Northeast, and wow, you became a Comparative Religion scholar, so you must have been a monk in some ‘former life’. What I have concluded now, particularly in light of my psychological training, is this woman perceived my intellect (the old soul part), and she knew of my interest in various beliefs so she just capitalized on that. As far as moving to the Northeast, yes, that did occur, but that was far removed from her prediction, and based solely on coincidence. I am quite sure that if I make up details about a person, that it is likely one of those details might fit.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA AND RAMA LAMA DING DONG
When at the University of Florida, I frequently encountered the Hare Krishna’s. I had to duck from their Frisbees that they would be throwing in the square at the University. The Krishna’s served a great lunch and it was cheap. It was mainly various curries and vegetable goo. I did not realize it at the time but later found out that this food was offered in a ritual in the Temple before being served to students and others. I went to their Temple as I was exploring the Krishna’s for a course I was taking. When I entered, I was taken back by a wax statue of their deceased leader, Swami Prabhupad. It was very realistic looking. The service began with people playing a harmonium and chanting in Sanskrit, and then a curtain being opened and incense being waved before a statue of Krishna that eerily had large, dark eyes. The chanting continued. After the food was offered, it would be served to the congregants. I remember one man there who identified as an atheist. One of the Krishna’s asked, “why do you keep coming to the Temple if you do not believe?” He responded, “Because you keep inviting me, and the food is pretty good.” The Krishnas could be seen every Friday on the street corner dressed in pink or orange robes, jumping, chanting, and handing out flowers and cookies. As I got to know a few and after visiting their Temple a few times, I caught on to a number of things. Though they espoused no drug use, this was common. Most of the members were college drop-outs. So, their tactic was to hang around the campus, look for students who were struggling and convince them that their problems will be solved by chanting the names of Krishna!
‘REIGNING’ ON MY EVANGELICAL FRIENDS PARADE…
A friend encouraged me to attend with her an evangelical community church. This kind of church is typically connected to what some would term “Jesus Freaks”. I had experienced this sort of thing before. When in college, I had been invited to this sort of thing. I saw a lot of hypocrisy. One of the leaders of the college group was giving teachings against pre-marital sex and various “Christian values” only a few months later to become pregnant and be unmarried. The church made her resign. I was sure too that one of the leaders who I actually thought was one of the few with sincerity was gay though he never acknowledged this and the church was adamantly opposed to gays. I later had this person as a professor, and discovered that I was correct in my assessment.
So, as more a matter of appeasement, I went with my friend to her church. I told her that I already knew what would occur. She then told me, ‘well, if you know everything, tell me what is going to happen.” I said, “Well, they will have a loud, obnoxious band that will start out singing ‘The Lord reigns, The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice!’ and then after that the minister who will be loud and boisterous will say something about us needing to be saved by Jesus, and the more music, and then we go home.” She said, “No, that’s not what they do!” We arrived at the church, and you guessed it, the first song was the “Lord Reigns”. I cracked a smile at which my friend whispered, “Shut up!” Then, right on schedule, came a spiel about accepting Jesus in our hearts. More songs, and then we went home.
STOMPING AND SHRIEKING
Similar to this was my experience in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. One of my friends was the pastor of a congregation and he asked me to stop in for a visit. At the beginning of the service were four large African American women all dressed in white who began singing and spinning until they reached the front of the church where they began stomping out a beat and then sang, “You gotta get your life in order, cuz Jesus is coming!” During the sermon (I cannot imagine how the pastor could concentrate) two ladies passed out on the floor and began shrieking. Then another lady started jumping in the pew yelling, “Glory! Glory!” The emotionalism ran wild. I later learned from a few honest congregants that it was the same ladies who passed out and screamed, each week. I guess it was to be expected.
HI HO TIBERIO, SHE IS OUR GRACIOUS ONE…
When I was in Junior High School, my teacher, Mrs. Tiberio, was instructing us about Greek mythology. She entered the room wearing a Greek goddess outfit. Our assignment was to create a myth ourselves. So, I convinced a number of my peers to write the myths about Mrs. Tiberio. We developed some rather creative, but outlandish stories of the feats of Mrs. Tiberio. We also (maybe irreverently) developed a Trinity. Her first name was Marilyn, and she wore her hair up in a bun at all times. So, we came up with Marilyn, Agnes, and the Holy Hair Bun. I have to admit I cannot remember where Agnes fit in. And of course, we wrote hymns, such as “Hi Ho Tiberio”, and “Marilyn, we pray along.” We probably got a bit carried away with things, but it was great fun, and as I look back now on much of the absurdity of religion, I think I might have enjoyed remaining a “Tiberioist” than encountering much of the things I have.
THE LIES PARENTS TELL…
One of my clients who was six years old at the time had just discovered the fraud of Santa Claus. The question he asked next came rather unexpected, he told his parents- “If you lied to me about this Santa Claus stuff, how do I know you are not lying to me about God?” A very valid question, particularly for a child. I am very pleased that my mother allowed me the opportunity to explore various beliefs but she also encouraged certain values. I believe it is wrong for beliefs to be imposed upon any person, particularly children. What we should be teaching our children is not convoluted mythologies, but how to interact with other human beings, how to be compassionate, how to be caring. And in this our desire to be ‘good’ should because it is the right thing to do, not because we fear Hell or we await some glorious place in the sky or elsewhere.
MY CONCLUSIONS
Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiosity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others; however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality; it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can often be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to transform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will.
Hopefully, we can come to a realization of just what it means to
WHY SOCIALISM by Albert Einstein
Why Socialism?
By Albert Einstein
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This essay was originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949).
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Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is.
Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific knowledge. It might appear that there are no essential methodological differences between astronomy and economics: scientists in both fields attempt to discover laws of general acceptability for a circumscribed group of phenomena in order to make the interconnection of these phenomena as clearly understandable as possible. But in reality such methodological differences do exist. The discovery of general laws in the field of economics is made difficult by the circumstance that observed economic phenomena are often affected by many factors which are very hard to evaluate separately. In addition, the experience which has accumulated since the beginning of the so-called civilized period of human history has—as is well known—been largely influenced and limited by causes which are by no means exclusively economic in nature. For example, most of the major states of history owed their existence to conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country. They seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of education, made the class division of society into a permanent institution and created a system of values by which the people were thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social behavior.
But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called “the predatory phase” of human development. The observable economic facts belong to that phase and even such laws as we can derive from them are not applicable to other phases. Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future.
Second, socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end. Science, however, cannot create ends and, even less, instill them in human beings; science, at most, can supply the means by which to attain certain ends. But the ends themselves are conceived by personalities with lofty ethical ideals and—if these ends are not stillborn, but vital and vigorous—are adopted and carried forward by those many human beings who, half unconsciously, determine the slow evolution of society.
For these reasons, we should be on our guard not to overestimate science and scientific methods when it is a question of human problems; and we should not assume that experts are the only ones who have a right to express themselves on questions affecting the organization of society. Innumerable voices have been asserting for some time now that human society is passing through a crisis, that its stability has been gravely shattered. It is characteristic of such a situation that individuals feel indifferent or even hostile toward the group, small or large, to which they belong. In order to illustrate my meaning, let me record here a personal experience. I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind, and I remarked that only a supra-national organization would offer protection from that danger. Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”
I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind. It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days. What is the cause? Is there a way out?
It is easy to raise such questions, but difficult to answer them with any degree of assurance. I must try, however, as best I can, although I am very conscious of the fact that our feelings and strivings are often contradictory and obscure and that they cannot be expressed in easy and simple formulas.
Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their conditions of life. Only the existence of these varied, frequently conflicting, strivings accounts for the special character of a man, and their specific combination determines the extent to which an individual can achieve an inner equilibrium and can contribute to the well-being of society. It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is, in the main, fixed by inheritance. But the personality that finally emerges is largely formed by the environment in which a man happens to find himself during his development, by the structure of the society in which he grows up, by the tradition of that society, and by its appraisal of particular types of behavior. The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon society—in his physical, intellectual, and emotional existence—that it is impossible to think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society. It is “society” which provides man with food, clothing, a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought, and most of the content of thought; his life is made possible through the labor and the accomplishments of the many millions past and present who are all hidden behind the small word “society.”
It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the individual upon society is a fact of nature which cannot be abolished—just as in the case of ants and bees. However, while the whole life process of ants and bees is fixed down to the smallest detail by rigid, hereditary instincts, the social pattern and interrelationships of human beings are very variable and susceptible to change. Memory, the capacity to make new combinations, the gift of oral communication have made possible developments among human being which are not dictated by biological necessities. Such developments manifest themselves in traditions, institutions, and organizations; in literature; in scientific and engineering accomplishments; in works of art. This explains how it happens that, in a certain sense, man can influence his life through his own conduct, and that in this process conscious thinking and wanting can play a part.
Man acquires at birth, through heredity, a biological constitution which we must consider fixed and unalterable, including the natural urges which are characteristic of the human species. In addition, during his lifetime, he acquires a cultural constitution which he adopts from society through communication and through many other types of influences. It is this cultural constitution which, with the passage of time, is subject to change and which determines to a very large extent the relationship between the individual and society. Modern anthropology has taught us, through comparative investigation of so-called primitive cultures, that the social behavior of human beings may differ greatly, depending upon prevailing cultural patterns and the types of organization which predominate in society. It is on this that those who are striving to improve the lot of man may ground their hopes: human beings are not condemned, because of their biological constitution, to annihilate each other or to be at the mercy of a cruel, self-inflicted fate.
If we ask ourselves how the structure of society and the cultural attitude of man should be changed in order to make human life as satisfying as possible, we should constantly be conscious of the fact that there are certain conditions which we are unable to modify. As mentioned before, the biological nature of man is, for all practical purposes, not subject to change. Furthermore, technological and demographic developments of the last few centuries have created conditions which are here to stay. In relatively densely settled populations with the goods which are indispensable to their continued existence, an extreme division of labor and a highly-centralized productive apparatus are absolutely necessary. The time—which, looking back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively small groups could be completely self-sufficient. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that mankind constitutes even now a planetary community of production and consumption.
I have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers, the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and for the most part are, the private property of individuals.
For the sake of simplicity, in the discussion that follows I shall call “workers” all those who do not share in the ownership of the means of production—although this does not quite correspond to the customary use of the term. The owner of the means of production is in a position to purchase the labor power of the worker. By using the means of production, the worker produces new goods which become the property of the capitalist. The essential point about this process is the relation between what the worker produces and what he is paid, both measured in terms of real value. Insofar as the labor contract is “free,” what the worker receives is determined not by the real value of the goods he produces, but by his minimum needs and by the capitalists’ requirements for labor power in relation to the number of workers competing for jobs. It is important to understand that even in theory the payment of the worker is not determined by the value of his product.
Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of the smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital, the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.
The situation prevailing in an economy based on the private ownership of capital is thus characterized by two main principles: first, means of production (capital) are privately owned and the owners dispose of them as they see fit; second, the labor contract is free. Of course, there is no such thing as a pure capitalist society in this sense. In particular, it should be noted that the workers, through long and bitter political struggles, have succeeded in securing a somewhat improved form of the “free labor contract” for certain categories of workers. But taken as a whole, the present day economy does not differ much from “pure” capitalism.
Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers’ goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.
This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men, in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political problems: how is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of bureaucracy be assured? Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition. Since, under present circumstances, free and unhindered discussion of these problems has come under a powerful taboo, I consider the foundation of this magazine to be an important public service.
—All material © copyright 2000 by Monthly Review
By Albert Einstein
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This essay was originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is.
Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific knowledge. It might appear that there are no essential methodological differences between astronomy and economics: scientists in both fields attempt to discover laws of general acceptability for a circumscribed group of phenomena in order to make the interconnection of these phenomena as clearly understandable as possible. But in reality such methodological differences do exist. The discovery of general laws in the field of economics is made difficult by the circumstance that observed economic phenomena are often affected by many factors which are very hard to evaluate separately. In addition, the experience which has accumulated since the beginning of the so-called civilized period of human history has—as is well known—been largely influenced and limited by causes which are by no means exclusively economic in nature. For example, most of the major states of history owed their existence to conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country. They seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of education, made the class division of society into a permanent institution and created a system of values by which the people were thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social behavior.
But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called “the predatory phase” of human development. The observable economic facts belong to that phase and even such laws as we can derive from them are not applicable to other phases. Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future.
Second, socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end. Science, however, cannot create ends and, even less, instill them in human beings; science, at most, can supply the means by which to attain certain ends. But the ends themselves are conceived by personalities with lofty ethical ideals and—if these ends are not stillborn, but vital and vigorous—are adopted and carried forward by those many human beings who, half unconsciously, determine the slow evolution of society.
For these reasons, we should be on our guard not to overestimate science and scientific methods when it is a question of human problems; and we should not assume that experts are the only ones who have a right to express themselves on questions affecting the organization of society. Innumerable voices have been asserting for some time now that human society is passing through a crisis, that its stability has been gravely shattered. It is characteristic of such a situation that individuals feel indifferent or even hostile toward the group, small or large, to which they belong. In order to illustrate my meaning, let me record here a personal experience. I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind, and I remarked that only a supra-national organization would offer protection from that danger. Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”
I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind. It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days. What is the cause? Is there a way out?
It is easy to raise such questions, but difficult to answer them with any degree of assurance. I must try, however, as best I can, although I am very conscious of the fact that our feelings and strivings are often contradictory and obscure and that they cannot be expressed in easy and simple formulas.
Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their conditions of life. Only the existence of these varied, frequently conflicting, strivings accounts for the special character of a man, and their specific combination determines the extent to which an individual can achieve an inner equilibrium and can contribute to the well-being of society. It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is, in the main, fixed by inheritance. But the personality that finally emerges is largely formed by the environment in which a man happens to find himself during his development, by the structure of the society in which he grows up, by the tradition of that society, and by its appraisal of particular types of behavior. The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon society—in his physical, intellectual, and emotional existence—that it is impossible to think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society. It is “society” which provides man with food, clothing, a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought, and most of the content of thought; his life is made possible through the labor and the accomplishments of the many millions past and present who are all hidden behind the small word “society.”
It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the individual upon society is a fact of nature which cannot be abolished—just as in the case of ants and bees. However, while the whole life process of ants and bees is fixed down to the smallest detail by rigid, hereditary instincts, the social pattern and interrelationships of human beings are very variable and susceptible to change. Memory, the capacity to make new combinations, the gift of oral communication have made possible developments among human being which are not dictated by biological necessities. Such developments manifest themselves in traditions, institutions, and organizations; in literature; in scientific and engineering accomplishments; in works of art. This explains how it happens that, in a certain sense, man can influence his life through his own conduct, and that in this process conscious thinking and wanting can play a part.
Man acquires at birth, through heredity, a biological constitution which we must consider fixed and unalterable, including the natural urges which are characteristic of the human species. In addition, during his lifetime, he acquires a cultural constitution which he adopts from society through communication and through many other types of influences. It is this cultural constitution which, with the passage of time, is subject to change and which determines to a very large extent the relationship between the individual and society. Modern anthropology has taught us, through comparative investigation of so-called primitive cultures, that the social behavior of human beings may differ greatly, depending upon prevailing cultural patterns and the types of organization which predominate in society. It is on this that those who are striving to improve the lot of man may ground their hopes: human beings are not condemned, because of their biological constitution, to annihilate each other or to be at the mercy of a cruel, self-inflicted fate.
If we ask ourselves how the structure of society and the cultural attitude of man should be changed in order to make human life as satisfying as possible, we should constantly be conscious of the fact that there are certain conditions which we are unable to modify. As mentioned before, the biological nature of man is, for all practical purposes, not subject to change. Furthermore, technological and demographic developments of the last few centuries have created conditions which are here to stay. In relatively densely settled populations with the goods which are indispensable to their continued existence, an extreme division of labor and a highly-centralized productive apparatus are absolutely necessary. The time—which, looking back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively small groups could be completely self-sufficient. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that mankind constitutes even now a planetary community of production and consumption.
I have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers, the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and for the most part are, the private property of individuals.
For the sake of simplicity, in the discussion that follows I shall call “workers” all those who do not share in the ownership of the means of production—although this does not quite correspond to the customary use of the term. The owner of the means of production is in a position to purchase the labor power of the worker. By using the means of production, the worker produces new goods which become the property of the capitalist. The essential point about this process is the relation between what the worker produces and what he is paid, both measured in terms of real value. Insofar as the labor contract is “free,” what the worker receives is determined not by the real value of the goods he produces, but by his minimum needs and by the capitalists’ requirements for labor power in relation to the number of workers competing for jobs. It is important to understand that even in theory the payment of the worker is not determined by the value of his product.
Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of the smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital, the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.
The situation prevailing in an economy based on the private ownership of capital is thus characterized by two main principles: first, means of production (capital) are privately owned and the owners dispose of them as they see fit; second, the labor contract is free. Of course, there is no such thing as a pure capitalist society in this sense. In particular, it should be noted that the workers, through long and bitter political struggles, have succeeded in securing a somewhat improved form of the “free labor contract” for certain categories of workers. But taken as a whole, the present day economy does not differ much from “pure” capitalism.
Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers’ goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.
This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men, in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political problems: how is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of bureaucracy be assured? Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition. Since, under present circumstances, free and unhindered discussion of these problems has come under a powerful taboo, I consider the foundation of this magazine to be an important public service.
—All material © copyright 2000 by Monthly Review
PROGRESSIVE SITES
http://themilitant.com THE MILITANT
http://socialistworker.org SOCIALIST WORKER
http://socialistviewpoint.org THE SOCIALIST VIEWPOINT
http://wsws.org ICFI
http://socialistworker.org SOCIALIST WORKER
http://socialistviewpoint.org THE SOCIALIST VIEWPOINT
http://wsws.org ICFI
THOUGHTS ON RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
When I wrote ODDITIES OF RELIGION, I humorously addressed some experiences within religious traditions that I saw as irrational. Now, I must clarify that in this I am not being completely antagonistic towards religion or spirituality. I have met many ethical and compassionate people who are religious. My point is that having religion does not imply that one will be ethical, it is not a guarantee and that there exists within religious traditions many absurd and arbitrary rules and conditions. I believe we need to be more critical in our thinking and so even those who are religious I would urge to explore more carefully why they believe what they do. I think we all need to examine our beliefs and why we hold to them. One can stand in awe of nature, the stars, the wonderful things within life itself, and not necessarily be religious as well. In the past, maybe we needed more of mythology to comfort us, to give us explanations, to decrease our angst, but as we become more aware of our world and there become more rational explanations, then we have less need for these mythologies. However, I do worry for some what we choose to replace our former religions with. For example, I have argued that psychiatry has become a replacement religion. It provides a creed, offers its 'sacraments', and tries to reduce angst for some. However, I would argue that psychiatry is often lacking in rational science and objectivity and can be at times just as irrational as other religions. I have stated that ethics must always proceed technology, so as we begin to use objective science and we develop new insights, it must always be combined with ethics, and what is for the betterment of humanity.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
Friday, July 10, 2009
CENTER FOR FREE AND CRITICAL THINKING AND ACTIVISM
The Center for Free and Critical Thinking and Activism was established in 2008 by noted psychotherapist, Comparative Religion Scholar, activist, and author Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
The Center's purpose is to promote scientific inquiry, exploration of philosophical concepts, examination of comparative religion, and mythologies. In addition, the Center promotes holding beliefs based on logic and reason rather than ascribing to dogmatism, authority, or tradition. The Center encourages the skeptical questioning of ideas, concepts, beliefs, and authority.
The Center also encourages social activism. The Center is committed to erasing oppression in all its forms and is dedicaed to radical democracy where racism, class divisions, and inequalities cease and where there is true justice, not just for an elite few. We work for the liberation of oppressed persons, for basic human rights, cultural freedom, and ecological responsibility.
We oppose imperialism and militarism. We struggle against corporate exploitation of workers and the disadvantaged.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF THE CENTER, PLEASE E-MAIL
batushkad@yahoo.com
The Center's purpose is to promote scientific inquiry, exploration of philosophical concepts, examination of comparative religion, and mythologies. In addition, the Center promotes holding beliefs based on logic and reason rather than ascribing to dogmatism, authority, or tradition. The Center encourages the skeptical questioning of ideas, concepts, beliefs, and authority.
The Center also encourages social activism. The Center is committed to erasing oppression in all its forms and is dedicaed to radical democracy where racism, class divisions, and inequalities cease and where there is true justice, not just for an elite few. We work for the liberation of oppressed persons, for basic human rights, cultural freedom, and ecological responsibility.
We oppose imperialism and militarism. We struggle against corporate exploitation of workers and the disadvantaged.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF THE CENTER, PLEASE E-MAIL
batushkad@yahoo.com
Friday, July 03, 2009
NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA REGIONAL AUTISM ACCEPTANCE PROJECT
Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D., noted psychotherapist and author of NAVIGATING THROUGH THE MAINSTREAM has developed the Northeast Pennsylvania Autism Acceptance Project. The objective is to provide lectures, workshops, and trainings to parents, educators, special education departments and others that are focused on promoting autonomy, understanding, tolerance, inclusion, self-determination, and meaning in the lives of autistic and developmentally different persons. To arrange a consultation or seminar, contact DoctorEdmunds@DrDanEdmunds.com
or view the http://geocities.com/voice4autism
AUTONOMY
UNDERSTANDING
TOLERANCE
INCLUSION
SELF DETERMINATION
MEANING
or view the http://geocities.com/voice4autism
AUTONOMY
UNDERSTANDING
TOLERANCE
INCLUSION
SELF DETERMINATION
MEANING
Thursday, July 02, 2009
T-SHIRTS, POSTERS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
T-Shirts and Poster containing quotes from Dr. Dan L. Edmunds' various books includinng ROOTS OF DISTRESS and THE ODDITIES OF RELIGION
is now available to be ordered at
http://zazzle.com/humanepsychiatry
is now available to be ordered at
http://zazzle.com/humanepsychiatry
THE ODDITY OF RELIGION: DR. DAN L. EDMUNDS' NEW BOOK HUMOROUSLY CHALLENGING RELIGIOUS DOGMATISM
Dr. Dan L. Edmunds' new book offers a humorous look at religious dogmatism. Dr. Edmunds had served as a chaplain and is a scholar of Comparative Religion who has had firsthand experiences with multiple religious traditions, therefore he is quite adept in explaining religious belief and also showing the irrationality of much of it. Dr. Edmunds is iconoclastic, but at the same time, he leaves us with encouragement and means to truly embrace life and to live as ethical human beings.
THE ODDITY OF RELIGION can be ordered through:
http://stores.lulu.com/voice4kids
Below is an excerpt from this recent book:
FROM DR. EDMUNDS NEW BOOK, 'THE ODDITIES OF RELIGION' (2009) At age 15, I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encountered Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. As I mentioned some of the strange rules with Judaism, I found some of the same with Islam. There were certain guidelines about being ‘pure’ before prayer. I was given a handbook on what nullifies ‘wudu’ (the cleansing before prayer), one of them was breaking wind. So, if you fart before prayer, you need to wash again, if you fart during prayer, you have to do your prayer over. Allah does not like farts. More distressing was the fact that I saw women treated as second class. At the mosque, they were sent to the basement and were apart from the men. At dinners, they ate separately and only interacted with the men to serve their food. They had little voice. During Juma’a prayer on Friday one time, it was taught about the pleasures awaiting those who enter Paradise, but most of these pleasures were reserved for men, and the description of Paradise seemed much like a drunken orgy. It appeared to me that Muhammad was taking fragments of the religions at the time to consolidate power and bring unity to the Arab world, thus he was a radical political leader, a warlord and dictator.
During my high school years, I was friends with a Mormon girl who when I moved back to Florida from Colorado I decided to keep in touch with. I stayed with my grandfather for a week and gave her his address. Though, my family later located elsewhere, the Mormon missionaries ended up with this address and for almost 6 months each week would look for me and bring brownies. My grandfather would take the Brownies and never told them we were not living there, I guess after awhile they must have figured it out. When traveling through Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, I noticed a small shrine on the side of the road. Curious, I stopped to find that it marked the supposed site where John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith. Wow! Here I had been working in Tunkhannock, PA on the banks of a holy river, and I never knew it! How mistaken I was to think that the Susquehanna was just a smelly, polluted river! I began to think, maybe it might be like the Ganges, if I drink the water, I might be cured or healed, or go to Heaven. I remember my Mormon friend explaining to me this concept of people becoming spiritual beings to inhabit planets. Her mother had been wedded to her father in a Temple wedding, so by virtue of this, they were married eternally. However, the woman he presently remarried after the mother’s death was only wedded in the church itself, so their marriage would end at death. She also explained to me how she had baptized some of my relatives by proxy. This is why they keep genealogical records so they can baptize dead folks and give them the opportunity to become Latter Day Saints once they are dead. I think Elvis is a Mormon now.
When I was in graduate school at the University of Scranton I recall there being an extensive discussion surrounding the idea of transubstantiation, that is the changing of bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ by the priest using the words of institution, “Take, eat this is my Body” and “Drink this all of you, this the My Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant.” One of the Jesuit priests gave a discourse on how that in Roman Catholic theology that it was the priest stating these words that were most important and which led to the transubstantiation. I then asked what would occur if a priest were to walk past and bakery and mutter these words, if all the breads in the bakery would then become the Body of Christ. I can think of many who would probably much rather enjoy stopping off at their local bakery for a Body of Christ than having to endure sitting through a Mass.
When I was actually involved for a time in the Roman Catholic Church (I had been baptized and confirmed at age 18 in St. Brendan’s Roman Catholic parish in Ormond Beach, Florida), I recall two stories involving my parish priest. Once, about 5 minutes before Mass, I was asked to bring the priest’s elderly mother over to the Church. I did not realize that she had locked the keys of the rectory inside. The priest began cursing at me and telling me I should have been watching his mother more carefully. Immediately after this tirade, he went up the altar steps to celebrate Mass. I have to admit I was a bit disgusted with him, but a few weeks later I guess retribution came as he was walking up the altar steps the bottom of his alb caught on fire. I along with others had to get cups of water to put the fire out. The priest was not injured and he carried on.
I had a discussion, once again in a theology class, over the Roman Catholic concept of divorce. I had personally known individuals who had been married, had children, and then later had their marriage annulled. In each of these situations they had paid vast amounts to the Church and the annulment process was heard by a tribunal of elderly Roman Catholic fuddy duddy clergy. I questioned what they would know about this marriage and divorce process to begin with and why it rested upon their authority to make a decision. Aside from that, I asked the question that if these people had their marriage annulled, and there were children involved, then this made the children illegitimate, as the annulment implied that no marriage ever actually existed. No one ever responded to this. I also found the devotion to the “Sacred Heart” plainly unusual. I remember asking if we are going to pray to the Heart, why not the Sacred Spleen, or the Holy Gall Bladder? Beyond this, was the wax body parts I saw in some Italian churches and medals of body parts in the Greek church that were made and hung from an icon or placed in front of a statue to honor a particular ‘healing’.
I worked for a time as a chaplain in a nursing home. I found a lot of value in spending time with the elderly and it saddened me to see how for many of these folks their families were often absent. Even more disturbing was the fact that many of these people were lifelong members of churches, were considered in ‘good standing’ and even while in the nursing home would often send donations to the churches. I came to learn from the activities director that they had spend almost 6 months with no success trying to get a Roman Catholic priest to come and minister to these persons. I offered my services and was well received. I basically became an inter-faith minister. It did not matter to me the belief system of those I was dealing with, I was not looking for some future or even present reward. I looked mainly at that it was the right thing to do to be with these people, lend them an ear, and be comforting to them. I hope that someone will do the same for me when I am elderly. However- this situation caused me some trouble, let me explain: At the time I was serving as a chaplain I was still attached to an Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. I was told that I was to only minister to those of the Orthodox faith, and that I was to ask each person of their background before I ministered to them. I found this unfortunate and absurd, and in my rebellious and stubborn spirit, I refused to acquiesce. This was one of the last straws that led me out of the Orthodox Church entirely. There were many other issues, let me begin with that-
I first became interested in the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Having been in the Roman Catholic Church, I was taught that Orthodoxy was our sister Church. I visited a Greek Orthodox parish for the Divine Liturgy at Easter. It was a beautiful service with wonderful chanting, sweet smelling incense, brilliant Iconography. I was very impressed by the aesthetics as well as the historical nature of Orthodoxy. However, this very first visit to the Orthodox Church would be very telling and sum up a lot of my later objections. During the middle of the service, the priest interrupted the service and began yelling, “Sit down! Sit down! When you are standing it makes me nervous, and when I get nervous, I get annngggggry! And you do not want the priest angry at Pascha!” I could not believe my ears. I somewhat ignored the outburst and continued to take in the rest of the service.
A few years after this experience, I was ordained as a deacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I recall encountering a Bishop who was a very haughty man who enjoyed having the people kiss his hand and certainly thought he was ‘all that’ because of his rank and title. It was my first Paschal service serving as a deacon and I had invited my family. The Metropolitan Archbishop was present, a jovial old fellow. I explained to him that my relatives were not Orthodox and would just be observing. He seemed fine with that, however the other bishop began pushing them into unfamiliar rituals and scoffed at them when they did not oblige. For instance, the Gospel book was presented for the congregation to venerate by kissing it. The bishop, having been told my family would only be observers, had the Gospel book shoved into their face. The bishop just stood there waiting for them to kiss it. My uncle politely nodded his head but would not kiss it. He later remarked to me, “I guess we are just not book kissers.” The following year, I was ordained to the priesthood. It would be soon after that I would spend some time in monastic life. While the time for contemplation and reflection was of value, I later began to question the real value of what I was involved in. How is spending my life in isolation from others really making any impact in the lives of others? In concluded it was not, and that was largely how I later entered the counseling field.
At one monastery, I had a number of interesting experiences (if you have not noticed, a lot of my experiences have been ‘interesting’). First, I walked into a room where there were chairs to sit, and also in this room was a small bed, more of a cot, with a picture on it. I was very curious as to what this was all about, so I asked the Abbot-Bishop of the Monastery. He explained to me that a Russian bishop had lived and died there and that had been his bed. He later went on with stories about how this Bishop could bi-locate and he had performed other miracles and that he was definitely a saint. At that moment, a nun (who I had great admiration for her boldness and willingness to tell it how it is) whispered to my friend, Deacon Zacharias, “nah, he was just an old senile man who used to chase me with his cane.” Deacon Zacharias later jokingly told me that if I did not behave in the monastery that this Russian Bishop’s hand would creep across that bed and grab me!
In this same monastery, I would experience what I came to turn the ‘putting out of the lights’ ceremony. It was Orthodox Christmas Eve. We had just finished the services for the evening and I left the monastery to stay in a hotel as I would be visiting my grandparents who were in town. Deacon Zacharias stayed behind at the monastery for the night. As I was leaving the church after services, I noticed a woman with a scowl walking in. I thought, I wonder who she is, never seen her before, and man, she looks rather unhappy. Well, the next morning, I would discover that this woman had to be escorted out of the Church by police as she went into the Church to smash things and kept repeating, “I am the devil, I must put out the lights.” Deacon Zacharias has always been a great friend of mine and he is autistic. His response to this situation I found hilarious, but it worked. He informed me that he told her “you do not have any devil, and if you do, maybe I can smack it out of you.” He said it was then that she actually stopped her bad behavior in the church and stopped trying to smash things. It was thereafter the police came and took her away. I later found out that the Abbot had met this woman before and had performed some sort of exorcism ritual over her. Obviously it did not work, but Deacon Zacharias’ plan to ‘get the devil out of her’ certainly did!
I went to visit a Greek Monastery in New York City. After the Liturgy, I was invited to lunch. The Archbishop was seated on a platform above everyone else. I was told that when I approached the bishop I was to bow my head, fold my hands, and say “Evlogeite, Master!” (Bless, Master), and after receiving a blessing and kissing his hand I could take my seat. I wanted to use the telephone while there, but told I would have to go through the same ritual (I decided the call was not that important). We were seated by rank. So, the supposedly more important you were the closer you got to sit to the Archbishop. I was not that important, so we sat towards the end of the table. The nuns did not eat with us, they only brought the food and wine. And boy was there much wine consumed by a group of monks! Basically, I was appalled by this hierarchical nonsense and saw no purpose in it other than men behaving arrogantly and using presumed authority to control and manipulate others. I would later learn that these bishops were involved in a scam involving a supposedly weeping icon. These two ‘monks’ were millionaires! I later learned of other scams of similar nature, one at a Russian monastery in Texas where they later admitted that their claims of having a weeping Icon was plain fraud.
I did have a very positive experience meeting the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but this too would latter be shattered. I went to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio and the Patriarch was visiting. Many of the women had tattoos of crosses on their foreheads and they would cover their mouths after receiving communion. The service was similar to a Greek Orthodox liturgy but there was drumming included. I was invited to lunch and spoke with the Patriarch who appeared kind and down to earth. However, I would later learn that there was a schism in the Ethiopian Church and that this Patriarch had been accused of capitulating to an oppressive regime in Ethiopia. This sort of thing also happened in the Russian Orthodox Church, where compromise of principles occurred frequently. The worst of the worst was to discover that a Greek Bishop I had spoken with many times, and who people held in esteem, was guilty of molesting a child. This sort of thing is one of the worst travesties I can think of, because in the church, young people are unfortunately taught that their clergy are representatives of God. If they are taught to put faith in these people and see them in this pivotal role and then this trust is shattered, just imagine what this must do to a person. It was after this incident that I began to really have my doubts about remaining in the Orthodox Church, and it was the things that happened as a chaplain that I mentioned prior that I decided to finally depart.
Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiosity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others; however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality; it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can often be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to transform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will. Hopefully, we can come to a realization of just what it means to be a human being and how precious our lives really are!
THE ODDITY OF RELIGION can be ordered through:
http://stores.lulu.com/voice4kids
Below is an excerpt from this recent book:
FROM DR. EDMUNDS NEW BOOK, 'THE ODDITIES OF RELIGION' (2009) At age 15, I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encountered Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. As I mentioned some of the strange rules with Judaism, I found some of the same with Islam. There were certain guidelines about being ‘pure’ before prayer. I was given a handbook on what nullifies ‘wudu’ (the cleansing before prayer), one of them was breaking wind. So, if you fart before prayer, you need to wash again, if you fart during prayer, you have to do your prayer over. Allah does not like farts. More distressing was the fact that I saw women treated as second class. At the mosque, they were sent to the basement and were apart from the men. At dinners, they ate separately and only interacted with the men to serve their food. They had little voice. During Juma’a prayer on Friday one time, it was taught about the pleasures awaiting those who enter Paradise, but most of these pleasures were reserved for men, and the description of Paradise seemed much like a drunken orgy. It appeared to me that Muhammad was taking fragments of the religions at the time to consolidate power and bring unity to the Arab world, thus he was a radical political leader, a warlord and dictator.
During my high school years, I was friends with a Mormon girl who when I moved back to Florida from Colorado I decided to keep in touch with. I stayed with my grandfather for a week and gave her his address. Though, my family later located elsewhere, the Mormon missionaries ended up with this address and for almost 6 months each week would look for me and bring brownies. My grandfather would take the Brownies and never told them we were not living there, I guess after awhile they must have figured it out. When traveling through Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, I noticed a small shrine on the side of the road. Curious, I stopped to find that it marked the supposed site where John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith. Wow! Here I had been working in Tunkhannock, PA on the banks of a holy river, and I never knew it! How mistaken I was to think that the Susquehanna was just a smelly, polluted river! I began to think, maybe it might be like the Ganges, if I drink the water, I might be cured or healed, or go to Heaven. I remember my Mormon friend explaining to me this concept of people becoming spiritual beings to inhabit planets. Her mother had been wedded to her father in a Temple wedding, so by virtue of this, they were married eternally. However, the woman he presently remarried after the mother’s death was only wedded in the church itself, so their marriage would end at death. She also explained to me how she had baptized some of my relatives by proxy. This is why they keep genealogical records so they can baptize dead folks and give them the opportunity to become Latter Day Saints once they are dead. I think Elvis is a Mormon now.
When I was in graduate school at the University of Scranton I recall there being an extensive discussion surrounding the idea of transubstantiation, that is the changing of bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ by the priest using the words of institution, “Take, eat this is my Body” and “Drink this all of you, this the My Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant.” One of the Jesuit priests gave a discourse on how that in Roman Catholic theology that it was the priest stating these words that were most important and which led to the transubstantiation. I then asked what would occur if a priest were to walk past and bakery and mutter these words, if all the breads in the bakery would then become the Body of Christ. I can think of many who would probably much rather enjoy stopping off at their local bakery for a Body of Christ than having to endure sitting through a Mass.
When I was actually involved for a time in the Roman Catholic Church (I had been baptized and confirmed at age 18 in St. Brendan’s Roman Catholic parish in Ormond Beach, Florida), I recall two stories involving my parish priest. Once, about 5 minutes before Mass, I was asked to bring the priest’s elderly mother over to the Church. I did not realize that she had locked the keys of the rectory inside. The priest began cursing at me and telling me I should have been watching his mother more carefully. Immediately after this tirade, he went up the altar steps to celebrate Mass. I have to admit I was a bit disgusted with him, but a few weeks later I guess retribution came as he was walking up the altar steps the bottom of his alb caught on fire. I along with others had to get cups of water to put the fire out. The priest was not injured and he carried on.
I had a discussion, once again in a theology class, over the Roman Catholic concept of divorce. I had personally known individuals who had been married, had children, and then later had their marriage annulled. In each of these situations they had paid vast amounts to the Church and the annulment process was heard by a tribunal of elderly Roman Catholic fuddy duddy clergy. I questioned what they would know about this marriage and divorce process to begin with and why it rested upon their authority to make a decision. Aside from that, I asked the question that if these people had their marriage annulled, and there were children involved, then this made the children illegitimate, as the annulment implied that no marriage ever actually existed. No one ever responded to this. I also found the devotion to the “Sacred Heart” plainly unusual. I remember asking if we are going to pray to the Heart, why not the Sacred Spleen, or the Holy Gall Bladder? Beyond this, was the wax body parts I saw in some Italian churches and medals of body parts in the Greek church that were made and hung from an icon or placed in front of a statue to honor a particular ‘healing’.
I worked for a time as a chaplain in a nursing home. I found a lot of value in spending time with the elderly and it saddened me to see how for many of these folks their families were often absent. Even more disturbing was the fact that many of these people were lifelong members of churches, were considered in ‘good standing’ and even while in the nursing home would often send donations to the churches. I came to learn from the activities director that they had spend almost 6 months with no success trying to get a Roman Catholic priest to come and minister to these persons. I offered my services and was well received. I basically became an inter-faith minister. It did not matter to me the belief system of those I was dealing with, I was not looking for some future or even present reward. I looked mainly at that it was the right thing to do to be with these people, lend them an ear, and be comforting to them. I hope that someone will do the same for me when I am elderly. However- this situation caused me some trouble, let me explain: At the time I was serving as a chaplain I was still attached to an Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. I was told that I was to only minister to those of the Orthodox faith, and that I was to ask each person of their background before I ministered to them. I found this unfortunate and absurd, and in my rebellious and stubborn spirit, I refused to acquiesce. This was one of the last straws that led me out of the Orthodox Church entirely. There were many other issues, let me begin with that-
I first became interested in the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Having been in the Roman Catholic Church, I was taught that Orthodoxy was our sister Church. I visited a Greek Orthodox parish for the Divine Liturgy at Easter. It was a beautiful service with wonderful chanting, sweet smelling incense, brilliant Iconography. I was very impressed by the aesthetics as well as the historical nature of Orthodoxy. However, this very first visit to the Orthodox Church would be very telling and sum up a lot of my later objections. During the middle of the service, the priest interrupted the service and began yelling, “Sit down! Sit down! When you are standing it makes me nervous, and when I get nervous, I get annngggggry! And you do not want the priest angry at Pascha!” I could not believe my ears. I somewhat ignored the outburst and continued to take in the rest of the service.
A few years after this experience, I was ordained as a deacon in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I recall encountering a Bishop who was a very haughty man who enjoyed having the people kiss his hand and certainly thought he was ‘all that’ because of his rank and title. It was my first Paschal service serving as a deacon and I had invited my family. The Metropolitan Archbishop was present, a jovial old fellow. I explained to him that my relatives were not Orthodox and would just be observing. He seemed fine with that, however the other bishop began pushing them into unfamiliar rituals and scoffed at them when they did not oblige. For instance, the Gospel book was presented for the congregation to venerate by kissing it. The bishop, having been told my family would only be observers, had the Gospel book shoved into their face. The bishop just stood there waiting for them to kiss it. My uncle politely nodded his head but would not kiss it. He later remarked to me, “I guess we are just not book kissers.” The following year, I was ordained to the priesthood. It would be soon after that I would spend some time in monastic life. While the time for contemplation and reflection was of value, I later began to question the real value of what I was involved in. How is spending my life in isolation from others really making any impact in the lives of others? In concluded it was not, and that was largely how I later entered the counseling field.
At one monastery, I had a number of interesting experiences (if you have not noticed, a lot of my experiences have been ‘interesting’). First, I walked into a room where there were chairs to sit, and also in this room was a small bed, more of a cot, with a picture on it. I was very curious as to what this was all about, so I asked the Abbot-Bishop of the Monastery. He explained to me that a Russian bishop had lived and died there and that had been his bed. He later went on with stories about how this Bishop could bi-locate and he had performed other miracles and that he was definitely a saint. At that moment, a nun (who I had great admiration for her boldness and willingness to tell it how it is) whispered to my friend, Deacon Zacharias, “nah, he was just an old senile man who used to chase me with his cane.” Deacon Zacharias later jokingly told me that if I did not behave in the monastery that this Russian Bishop’s hand would creep across that bed and grab me!
In this same monastery, I would experience what I came to turn the ‘putting out of the lights’ ceremony. It was Orthodox Christmas Eve. We had just finished the services for the evening and I left the monastery to stay in a hotel as I would be visiting my grandparents who were in town. Deacon Zacharias stayed behind at the monastery for the night. As I was leaving the church after services, I noticed a woman with a scowl walking in. I thought, I wonder who she is, never seen her before, and man, she looks rather unhappy. Well, the next morning, I would discover that this woman had to be escorted out of the Church by police as she went into the Church to smash things and kept repeating, “I am the devil, I must put out the lights.” Deacon Zacharias has always been a great friend of mine and he is autistic. His response to this situation I found hilarious, but it worked. He informed me that he told her “you do not have any devil, and if you do, maybe I can smack it out of you.” He said it was then that she actually stopped her bad behavior in the church and stopped trying to smash things. It was thereafter the police came and took her away. I later found out that the Abbot had met this woman before and had performed some sort of exorcism ritual over her. Obviously it did not work, but Deacon Zacharias’ plan to ‘get the devil out of her’ certainly did!
I went to visit a Greek Monastery in New York City. After the Liturgy, I was invited to lunch. The Archbishop was seated on a platform above everyone else. I was told that when I approached the bishop I was to bow my head, fold my hands, and say “Evlogeite, Master!” (Bless, Master), and after receiving a blessing and kissing his hand I could take my seat. I wanted to use the telephone while there, but told I would have to go through the same ritual (I decided the call was not that important). We were seated by rank. So, the supposedly more important you were the closer you got to sit to the Archbishop. I was not that important, so we sat towards the end of the table. The nuns did not eat with us, they only brought the food and wine. And boy was there much wine consumed by a group of monks! Basically, I was appalled by this hierarchical nonsense and saw no purpose in it other than men behaving arrogantly and using presumed authority to control and manipulate others. I would later learn that these bishops were involved in a scam involving a supposedly weeping icon. These two ‘monks’ were millionaires! I later learned of other scams of similar nature, one at a Russian monastery in Texas where they later admitted that their claims of having a weeping Icon was plain fraud.
I did have a very positive experience meeting the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but this too would latter be shattered. I went to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Columbus, Ohio and the Patriarch was visiting. Many of the women had tattoos of crosses on their foreheads and they would cover their mouths after receiving communion. The service was similar to a Greek Orthodox liturgy but there was drumming included. I was invited to lunch and spoke with the Patriarch who appeared kind and down to earth. However, I would later learn that there was a schism in the Ethiopian Church and that this Patriarch had been accused of capitulating to an oppressive regime in Ethiopia. This sort of thing also happened in the Russian Orthodox Church, where compromise of principles occurred frequently. The worst of the worst was to discover that a Greek Bishop I had spoken with many times, and who people held in esteem, was guilty of molesting a child. This sort of thing is one of the worst travesties I can think of, because in the church, young people are unfortunately taught that their clergy are representatives of God. If they are taught to put faith in these people and see them in this pivotal role and then this trust is shattered, just imagine what this must do to a person. It was after this incident that I began to really have my doubts about remaining in the Orthodox Church, and it was the things that happened as a chaplain that I mentioned prior that I decided to finally depart.
Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiosity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others; however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality; it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can often be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to transform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will. Hopefully, we can come to a realization of just what it means to be a human being and how precious our lives really are!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
DR. EDMUNDS RESPONDS TO POLICE SHOOTING OF EMOTIONALLY DISTRESSED WOMAN AND 'COPS AS COUNSELORS' ARTICLE- SCRANTON TIMES TRIBUNE JUNE 17, 2009
Regarding the June 14 article, "Cops as Counselors": We cannot expect police officers to have the training of a mental health professional. However, it is necessary that they be provided some training on addressing the needs of those in crisis.
It is unfortunate that because of this lack of training that the potential for unnecessary escalation of crisis exists. It is unfortunate as well to see how dismal the mental health system is, which often treats people in crisis as objects, not people. For many individuals in crisis, both police and mental health professionals use force and coercion rather than compassion.
I recall in my work with a young man experiencing an extreme state of mind where he had delusional thinking and the hearing of voices. When police became involved, this often made him more afraid and agitated. I sought to connect with him, to build a relationship of understanding, and to join with him where he was. It took patience, but this was always a more effective means of de-escalation.
I suggest that there be a team of individuals to accompany police to crisis calls, people who may be familiar with the person in crisis as well as those with an appropriate level of training in dealing with crisis.
Some may argue about the inherent cost of such a program. However, I think it would be a huge investment in people's lives and offset the expense of unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization.
Lastly, I must comment on the choice of interviewing NAMI representatives as spokesmen for distressed people. This organization purports to be an advocacy group for the mentally ill. However, after Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa requested information from this organization, it was learned that they receive vast funding from the pharmaceutical industry. This makes them spokesmen for that industry, not the true needs of those in distress.
DAN L. EDMUNDS Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
It is unfortunate that because of this lack of training that the potential for unnecessary escalation of crisis exists. It is unfortunate as well to see how dismal the mental health system is, which often treats people in crisis as objects, not people. For many individuals in crisis, both police and mental health professionals use force and coercion rather than compassion.
I recall in my work with a young man experiencing an extreme state of mind where he had delusional thinking and the hearing of voices. When police became involved, this often made him more afraid and agitated. I sought to connect with him, to build a relationship of understanding, and to join with him where he was. It took patience, but this was always a more effective means of de-escalation.
I suggest that there be a team of individuals to accompany police to crisis calls, people who may be familiar with the person in crisis as well as those with an appropriate level of training in dealing with crisis.
Some may argue about the inherent cost of such a program. However, I think it would be a huge investment in people's lives and offset the expense of unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization.
Lastly, I must comment on the choice of interviewing NAMI representatives as spokesmen for distressed people. This organization purports to be an advocacy group for the mentally ill. However, after Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa requested information from this organization, it was learned that they receive vast funding from the pharmaceutical industry. This makes them spokesmen for that industry, not the true needs of those in distress.
DAN L. EDMUNDS Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
Monday, June 15, 2009
I DOUBT IT: FROM BELIEF TO UNBELIEF
Recently, I wrote an essay detailing my experiences with various religious groups and my period of serving as a chaplain. I also commented on why I have come to a rejection of certain religious thought and conceptions. It was suggested to me to expand that essay into a book and I am presently undetaking that endeavor, with the title to be of the forthcoming work, "I Doubt it: From Belief to Unbelief"
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
Professor of Comparative Religious Studies and Human Services
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
Professor of Comparative Religious Studies and Human Services
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
RESPONSE TO SCRANTIN TIMES ARTICLE, 'COPS AS COUNSELORS"
Editor:
I am writing in regards to the article, "Cops as Counselors" (Sunday, June 14, 2009). We cannot expect police officers to have the training of a mental health professional however it is necessary that they be provided some training on addressing the needs of those in crisis. It is unfortunate that because of this lack of training that the potential for unnecessary escalation of crisis exists. It is unfortunate as well to see how dismal the mental mental health system is, which often treats people in crisis as objects, not people. For many individuals in crisis, both police and mental health professionals use force and coercion rather than compassion. I recall in my work with a young man experiencing an extreme state of mind where he had delusional thinking and the hearing of voices. When police became involved, this often made him more afraid and agitated. I sought to connect with him, to build a relationship of udnerstanding, and to join with him where
he was. It took patience, but this was always a more effective means of de-escalation. I suggest that there be a team of individuals to accompany police to crisis calls, people who may be familar with the person in crisis as well as those with an appropriate level of training in dealing with crisis. Some may argue the inherent cost of such a program, however I think it would be a huge investment in people's lives and offset the expense of unncessary psychiatric hospitalization. Lastly, I must comment on why the author of this article chose to interview NAMI representatives as spokespeople for distressed persons. This organization purports to be an advocacy group for the mentally ill however after Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa requested information from this organization, it was learned that they receive vast funding from the pharmaceutical industry. This to me, makes them a spokesperson for that industry, not the true needs of those in distress.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
I am writing in regards to the article, "Cops as Counselors" (Sunday, June 14, 2009). We cannot expect police officers to have the training of a mental health professional however it is necessary that they be provided some training on addressing the needs of those in crisis. It is unfortunate that because of this lack of training that the potential for unnecessary escalation of crisis exists. It is unfortunate as well to see how dismal the mental mental health system is, which often treats people in crisis as objects, not people. For many individuals in crisis, both police and mental health professionals use force and coercion rather than compassion. I recall in my work with a young man experiencing an extreme state of mind where he had delusional thinking and the hearing of voices. When police became involved, this often made him more afraid and agitated. I sought to connect with him, to build a relationship of udnerstanding, and to join with him where
he was. It took patience, but this was always a more effective means of de-escalation. I suggest that there be a team of individuals to accompany police to crisis calls, people who may be familar with the person in crisis as well as those with an appropriate level of training in dealing with crisis. Some may argue the inherent cost of such a program, however I think it would be a huge investment in people's lives and offset the expense of unncessary psychiatric hospitalization. Lastly, I must comment on why the author of this article chose to interview NAMI representatives as spokespeople for distressed persons. This organization purports to be an advocacy group for the mentally ill however after Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa requested information from this organization, it was learned that they receive vast funding from the pharmaceutical industry. This to me, makes them a spokesperson for that industry, not the true needs of those in distress.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
Sunday, June 14, 2009
PRISON ABOLITION
I am a supporter of the prison abolition movement. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate. There is vast racial and class disparity within this system and prisons have failed to provide anything rehabilitative to these individuals. There are countless individuals who have committed non-violent crimes who are separated from their families, languish without any skills, are put in settings where violence is actually promoted, not discouraged. We find many situations where a young, poor person will be sent to lengthy time in prisons, whereas those with the resources to hire extensive (and expensive) legal representation are not sent to prison. Many residential 'treatment' centers for juvenile offenders can be seen in the same way, they are not always rehabilitative but rather seek the young persons conformity. The efficacy of such programs are questionable and there have been countless documented abuses in these facilities, not to mention that many of these young persons are typically disadvantaged. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, in 2002 alone, states and the federal government spent more than $4.2 billion on residential treatment for children and youth with less than stellar outcomes. Program evaluations showed a very low rate of success for residential 'treatment' programs.
The disadvantaged are always the ones who are more likely to be psychiatrically drugged for reasons of social control and who are typically oppressed. I believe that we can find a more rehabilitative and restorative model of justice, and that we must focus our efforts on community based alternatives. In addition, if we focused more time and energy on the roots of crime, which largely is a social justice issue, and we transformed ourselves and how our society operates, particularly in regards to the disadvantaged, we would see a vast decline in crime. But as people feel hopeless and desparate, the chances of their entering into criminal actions for 'survival' remains high. When persons are released from prison, they are often set up for failure, as who wants to hire a convict? Thus, a cycle is started, and thr ruling class benefits, because these days the prison system has become a for profit industry. We must come to a greater sense of equality, fairness, and then it may be that what we term 'justice' may really arise.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
The disadvantaged are always the ones who are more likely to be psychiatrically drugged for reasons of social control and who are typically oppressed. I believe that we can find a more rehabilitative and restorative model of justice, and that we must focus our efforts on community based alternatives. In addition, if we focused more time and energy on the roots of crime, which largely is a social justice issue, and we transformed ourselves and how our society operates, particularly in regards to the disadvantaged, we would see a vast decline in crime. But as people feel hopeless and desparate, the chances of their entering into criminal actions for 'survival' remains high. When persons are released from prison, they are often set up for failure, as who wants to hire a convict? Thus, a cycle is started, and thr ruling class benefits, because these days the prison system has become a for profit industry. We must come to a greater sense of equality, fairness, and then it may be that what we term 'justice' may really arise.
-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com
Friday, June 12, 2009
MY ENCOUNTER WITH RELIGION
MY ENCOUNTER WITH RELIGION
by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
Professor of Comparative Religion and Human Services
Founder, International Center for Humane Psychiatry
When I was 4 years old, I had my first encounter with the realm of religion. I was dressed in white shorts with matching white dress shirt and tie. I accompanied by great grandmother to the services at First Baptist Church in Apollo Beach, Florida.
I went to a summer camp at the YMCA in Town N' Country in Tampa for a few weeks. This YMCA later burned down and the land was boughtr by Buddhists who turned it into a Temple. When I was 18, I visited this Temple with my mother and brother. We were treated with much warmth and compassion by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who offered us food and conversation.
My next encounter would be at a Lutheran summer camp that I attended with my cousin at my mother's insistence when I was 7. Even though I was only 7, I can remember to this day being disturbed by their frequently sending envelopes home with me asking for donations. This was on a weekly basis. I did not enjoy this camp, maybe even though a child I could read something about the insincerity of some of the people there. It was not until 13 that I attended any other religious service. A family friend with Lou Gehrig's disease invited us to two different groups he attended, one was a Messianic Hebrew congregation, the other a Full Gospel Church. This family friend was a man with a great heart, so I decided to attend with him. It was during this time, I encountered my first time seeing persons 'slain in the spirit' and 'prayer in tongues'. I did not find anything spiritually uplifting about what I saw at all but was actually terrified by what looked like a person having a seizure. I had some Reform Jewish friends at school, and after my exposure to the Messianic Hebrew Congregation, I wanted to see what authentic Judaism was. I attended Congregation Har Shalom in Fort Collins and participated in a summer course on learning Hebrew. I found many friends at the Temple, but felt in spite of this that there was some exclusivity because of my not being born and raised in a Jewish home. I spent two years attending the Temple, but finally decided that I did not fit into the Jewish community, though I had respect and admiration for Judaism. I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encounterd Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. My friend, Margaret, was a Mormon, and she often asked me to come to chuch dances and services from time to time. However, I never could accept the ideas of Joseph Smith being the restorer of the 'true' church or Jesus visting the Native Americans. I find them family oriented people, but their beliefs were too unusual for me to embrace. I recall meeting a man who was a Bah'ai and was interested in how they seemed to be sycretistic and read from many different scriptures. I attended Methodist, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches on various occassions with friends when invited. My family moved back to Florida. When I was a child, there was a YMCA that was in my neighborhood where I went swimming. and down the road from us was a Roman Catholic Church. I began volunteering there, and became involved in a ministry for the physically challenged. I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church after a period of study and inquiry. When I left for college, I remained an active and devout Roman Catholic, however I began to take great interest in the Eastern Rite. In Gainesville, there were no Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, so I attended the closest thing, a Greek Orthodox Church. I was enthralled by the beauty of the Liturgy and at the time was reading Eugira's diary, a 4th century account of the worship of Christians in Jerusalem. The worship I saw took me to that time and place. I began having discussions about Church history, Church Fathers, etc. with a group of Catholic and evangelical friends. We began attending Orthodox services. We formed into a campus mission and were eventually received by the Russian Orthodox bishop. I continued my degree in Religion and later petitioned to an Ukrainian Orthodox bishop to become a deacon in the Church. I was ordained to the diaconate in February 1996, only being 21. A year and a half later, at 22, I would be ordained to the priesthood. Prior to all this, while in college, I would be given the assignment of writing on a religious group for a class that we had never encountered before. There was a Hare Krishna temple in the area, so I chose to visit there. I remember entering a room and seeing a wax statue of Swami Prabhupada. Behind a curtain was an image of Krishna. The room was full of incense, bells were rung and food and flowers sat in fron of the image of Krishna. A small accordion was being played and bhajan being chanted. After, there was a meal and discussion on the Bhagavad Gita.
After my ordination to the priesthood, I visited monastic communities and lived monastic life for a time. I remember enjoying visting a small chapel in Tarpon Springs, FL. However, over time, I began to dislike the hypocrisy and authoritarianism within the Church. I recall many infightings and political disputes. I was particularly disturbed by the ethnic quarrelings I witnessed as well. Too make a long story short, I made my depature from active ministry, and began simply serving as a chaplain to the elderly. For a brief time I served as an interim pastor at a United Church of Christ, a group somewhat divergent from what I had been involved in, but compassionate people lacking a pastor at the time. Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiousity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others, however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality, it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can ofen be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to tranform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will.
by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
Professor of Comparative Religion and Human Services
Founder, International Center for Humane Psychiatry
When I was 4 years old, I had my first encounter with the realm of religion. I was dressed in white shorts with matching white dress shirt and tie. I accompanied by great grandmother to the services at First Baptist Church in Apollo Beach, Florida.
I went to a summer camp at the YMCA in Town N' Country in Tampa for a few weeks. This YMCA later burned down and the land was boughtr by Buddhists who turned it into a Temple. When I was 18, I visited this Temple with my mother and brother. We were treated with much warmth and compassion by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who offered us food and conversation.
My next encounter would be at a Lutheran summer camp that I attended with my cousin at my mother's insistence when I was 7. Even though I was only 7, I can remember to this day being disturbed by their frequently sending envelopes home with me asking for donations. This was on a weekly basis. I did not enjoy this camp, maybe even though a child I could read something about the insincerity of some of the people there. It was not until 13 that I attended any other religious service. A family friend with Lou Gehrig's disease invited us to two different groups he attended, one was a Messianic Hebrew congregation, the other a Full Gospel Church. This family friend was a man with a great heart, so I decided to attend with him. It was during this time, I encountered my first time seeing persons 'slain in the spirit' and 'prayer in tongues'. I did not find anything spiritually uplifting about what I saw at all but was actually terrified by what looked like a person having a seizure. I had some Reform Jewish friends at school, and after my exposure to the Messianic Hebrew Congregation, I wanted to see what authentic Judaism was. I attended Congregation Har Shalom in Fort Collins and participated in a summer course on learning Hebrew. I found many friends at the Temple, but felt in spite of this that there was some exclusivity because of my not being born and raised in a Jewish home. I spent two years attending the Temple, but finally decided that I did not fit into the Jewish community, though I had respect and admiration for Judaism. I was studying about the Middle East in Middle School, I was 15. As a project, I decided to interview some individuals at the local Islamic Center. It was here I encounterd Ali, a kind gentleman from Saudi Arabia. He later invited me to his home for dinner and introduced me to others in the Muslim community of Fort Collins. I spent another two years studying Islam, learning the Qur'an and Hadith. To this day, I still remember how to recite Surah Al Fatiha, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and Surah Al-Kauthar as well as how to chant the Adhaan. I began working for a man, Ahcene, from Algeria, and every Friday attended the congregational prayers with him.
Islam was a simplistic religion based on the oneness of God, however I must admit I was distressed and remain distressed about the militant nature of the religion. My friend, Margaret, was a Mormon, and she often asked me to come to chuch dances and services from time to time. However, I never could accept the ideas of Joseph Smith being the restorer of the 'true' church or Jesus visting the Native Americans. I find them family oriented people, but their beliefs were too unusual for me to embrace. I recall meeting a man who was a Bah'ai and was interested in how they seemed to be sycretistic and read from many different scriptures. I attended Methodist, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches on various occassions with friends when invited. My family moved back to Florida. When I was a child, there was a YMCA that was in my neighborhood where I went swimming. and down the road from us was a Roman Catholic Church. I began volunteering there, and became involved in a ministry for the physically challenged. I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church after a period of study and inquiry. When I left for college, I remained an active and devout Roman Catholic, however I began to take great interest in the Eastern Rite. In Gainesville, there were no Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, so I attended the closest thing, a Greek Orthodox Church. I was enthralled by the beauty of the Liturgy and at the time was reading Eugira's diary, a 4th century account of the worship of Christians in Jerusalem. The worship I saw took me to that time and place. I began having discussions about Church history, Church Fathers, etc. with a group of Catholic and evangelical friends. We began attending Orthodox services. We formed into a campus mission and were eventually received by the Russian Orthodox bishop. I continued my degree in Religion and later petitioned to an Ukrainian Orthodox bishop to become a deacon in the Church. I was ordained to the diaconate in February 1996, only being 21. A year and a half later, at 22, I would be ordained to the priesthood. Prior to all this, while in college, I would be given the assignment of writing on a religious group for a class that we had never encountered before. There was a Hare Krishna temple in the area, so I chose to visit there. I remember entering a room and seeing a wax statue of Swami Prabhupada. Behind a curtain was an image of Krishna. The room was full of incense, bells were rung and food and flowers sat in fron of the image of Krishna. A small accordion was being played and bhajan being chanted. After, there was a meal and discussion on the Bhagavad Gita.
After my ordination to the priesthood, I visited monastic communities and lived monastic life for a time. I remember enjoying visting a small chapel in Tarpon Springs, FL. However, over time, I began to dislike the hypocrisy and authoritarianism within the Church. I recall many infightings and political disputes. I was particularly disturbed by the ethnic quarrelings I witnessed as well. Too make a long story short, I made my depature from active ministry, and began simply serving as a chaplain to the elderly. For a brief time I served as an interim pastor at a United Church of Christ, a group somewhat divergent from what I had been involved in, but compassionate people lacking a pastor at the time. Through my experiences, I came to some conclusions- first, that my initial desire to explore and embrace religiousity was based on a desire to be benevolent to others, however religion does not always teach benevolence, religious people are not always benevolent, and that one does not need religion to be benevolent. I also began to see how that religion is used by some as a means of oppression. I witnessed many who went through various rituals because it was 'what they were supposed to do' but it lacked any real sense of meaning for them and in many instances these rituals lacked any real sense of rationality. This was the other conclusion I came to, that religion often lacks any rationality, it plainly at times makes no sense. I find it interesting how new religions can be criticized as "cults" by the 'mainstream' religions, yet these 'mainstream' religions belief systems can ofen be seen as rather 'far out' though because there is a vast number adhering to it, it has become accepted. If we talk about body thetans, we are looked at strangely. If we talked about talking bushes and virgin births, we are not. To me, if we are to discuss "God", then it would be all the physical laws and our own innate potential as humans to be benevolent to one another. I have found that people often are looking to escape from life, to reject their own nature, and to try to alter nature. Rather than live joyfully, they live in drudgery expecting some idealized future existence. And often fear and rewards are employed to 'keep people in check'. Religion may have served as purpose in a time where people were distressed and sought meaning and stories and myths provided them comfort. But now, when we have the ability to explore our world far beyond previous eras, and we have more vast tools to be rational and make sense of our world, then religion becomes less of something that individuals should need to turn to. However, it remains because many in power impose it, families impose it on their children, and some retain it because for social reasons, to benefit themselves, or because they cannot find meaning in rational ways. Often rather than seeking to help and support one another, or looking to tranform ourselves and our society, we await something from above to come and do everything for us, so we never take any real action, or we rattle of our laundry list of requests (or sometimes demands), hoping that they will be heard, and when nothing changes, we think, well maybe it was not the Divine will.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR HUMANE PSYCHIATRY PRINCIPLES
Below is the principles of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry, established in 2006 by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
The International Center for Humane Psychiatry was founded in 2006 by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D., B.C.S.A., and is an emancipatory movement of mental health professionals, psychiatric survivors, educators, activists, and others concerned about human rights in the mental health system.
Our work is to fight against oppression and coercion in the mental health system, to eradicate the hierarchical barriers between 'doctor and patient', to eliminate the medicalization of emotional distress, and to develop means of helping distressed persons where their autonomy, experience, and dignity is respected. We seek to return a conscience to the field of mental health and create an environment where people undergoing distress feel validated, empowered, and capable.
We believe in the power of the human spirit and each person's potential to be resilient. We believe that the forging of relationship is a key to emotional healing as well as the ability to help a person explore themselves, their world, society, and the human condition. We we seek to join with people in setting life goals, understanding the human condition and experiences without looking upon the person as defective. ICHP encourages involvement in issues related to social justice and believes that our working together to create a world free from poverty, greed, conflict, and discrimination will go a long way towards the development of true mental health.
We seek to be pro-active and preventative in our care for persons. We promote drug free, relationship based approaches for troubled and distressed children and adults and encourage the development and implementation of community based programs. We advocate for juvenile justice reform and for an education system that inspires a zeal for learning and is respectful of children's innate strengths and abilities. We believe in the development of community based options. We are opposed to force and coercion in the mental health system.
We seek to provide a place of sanctuary for people in crisis or undergoing extreme states of mind, where they can feel supported and validated, and not be subjected to any 'treatments' they do not desire. We believe distressed people thrive in environments that are non-threatening and they feel safe.
We collaborate with and offer consultation to parents, educators, and children and their families to develop relationship based approaches and problem solving towards resolving issues of distress, realizing that people are resilient and capable of healing from distress. We have been successful in helping individuals not have to resort to psychiatric drugs or to be able under the direction of their physicians significantly reduce their use.
We believe the key to this healing is by the forging of relationship and the construction of meaning. We believe that compassion is one of the highest ideals. We believe that psychiatric drugs do not teach new ways of living, thinking, loving, and being, whereas people do. We are particularly concerned about the vast prescribing of psychiatric drugs (many which carry warnings of suicidal ideation, violence, agitation, and aggression) upon individuals' well being. We are concerned about the unethical conflicts of interest existing between medical psychiatrists and the pharmaceutical industry.
We seek to provide to those individuals undergoing serious distress a place where they feel safe, secure, and can begin to begin the process of discovery and overcome fear and emotional chains.
We do not feel that locking individuals away in institutions solve human problems, rather it is through compassion, empathy, and seeking to understand our human condition that true mental health will arise. We believe that placing persons in mental hospitals is equivalent to incarceration however the distressed person has committed no crime, rather they are subject to a psychiatric ceremonial where the pschiatrist seen as 'sane', interrogates the person, makes a judgment, and then declares a sentence. We believe that psychiatric diagnosis often stigmatizes and limits opportunity for individuals. We believe that modern society is driving people 'mad' and that we must have radical transformation of ourselves and our values as well as return to a greater sense of community. We believe those who call themselves therapists must be actively involved in issues of social justice, helping end oppression and encourage liberation for marginalized persons. We recognize that distressed individuals must be treated as persons with respect and dignity. We believe in recognizing that even the most troubled persons and families have innate strengths. We believe that persons need to be given informed consent and not seen merely by a diagnostic label. We believe that ethics must proceed technology. We believe that bio-psychiatry has often used brutal methods (such as electroshock, insulin coma, toxic drugs, and lobotomy) and has evoked much harm in the lives of individuals and does not provide any true answers to the problems of life. We believe that there is no objectivity and science to the process of psychiatric diagnosis and that those diagnosed are often stigmatized and oppressed in society by virtue of this label.
We encourage drug free relationship based, problem solving, and holistic approaches and encourage individuals who choose to use helpful adjuncts such as meditation, acupuncture, tai-chi, and yoga. The International Center for Humane Psychiatry is one of few entities taking a strong stand on social justice issues and seeking to create a mental health system that does not treat people as objects, but persons.
We believe that it is also necessary for us to assume personal responsiblity and accountability for own own actions and choices and to not resort to the use of or embracing of labels to exonerate ourselves and institutions.
The International Center for Humane Psychiatry was founded in 2006 by Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D., B.C.S.A., and is an emancipatory movement of mental health professionals, psychiatric survivors, educators, activists, and others concerned about human rights in the mental health system.
Our work is to fight against oppression and coercion in the mental health system, to eradicate the hierarchical barriers between 'doctor and patient', to eliminate the medicalization of emotional distress, and to develop means of helping distressed persons where their autonomy, experience, and dignity is respected. We seek to return a conscience to the field of mental health and create an environment where people undergoing distress feel validated, empowered, and capable.
We believe in the power of the human spirit and each person's potential to be resilient. We believe that the forging of relationship is a key to emotional healing as well as the ability to help a person explore themselves, their world, society, and the human condition. We we seek to join with people in setting life goals, understanding the human condition and experiences without looking upon the person as defective. ICHP encourages involvement in issues related to social justice and believes that our working together to create a world free from poverty, greed, conflict, and discrimination will go a long way towards the development of true mental health.
We seek to be pro-active and preventative in our care for persons. We promote drug free, relationship based approaches for troubled and distressed children and adults and encourage the development and implementation of community based programs. We advocate for juvenile justice reform and for an education system that inspires a zeal for learning and is respectful of children's innate strengths and abilities. We believe in the development of community based options. We are opposed to force and coercion in the mental health system.
We seek to provide a place of sanctuary for people in crisis or undergoing extreme states of mind, where they can feel supported and validated, and not be subjected to any 'treatments' they do not desire. We believe distressed people thrive in environments that are non-threatening and they feel safe.
We collaborate with and offer consultation to parents, educators, and children and their families to develop relationship based approaches and problem solving towards resolving issues of distress, realizing that people are resilient and capable of healing from distress. We have been successful in helping individuals not have to resort to psychiatric drugs or to be able under the direction of their physicians significantly reduce their use.
We believe the key to this healing is by the forging of relationship and the construction of meaning. We believe that compassion is one of the highest ideals. We believe that psychiatric drugs do not teach new ways of living, thinking, loving, and being, whereas people do. We are particularly concerned about the vast prescribing of psychiatric drugs (many which carry warnings of suicidal ideation, violence, agitation, and aggression) upon individuals' well being. We are concerned about the unethical conflicts of interest existing between medical psychiatrists and the pharmaceutical industry.
We seek to provide to those individuals undergoing serious distress a place where they feel safe, secure, and can begin to begin the process of discovery and overcome fear and emotional chains.
We do not feel that locking individuals away in institutions solve human problems, rather it is through compassion, empathy, and seeking to understand our human condition that true mental health will arise. We believe that placing persons in mental hospitals is equivalent to incarceration however the distressed person has committed no crime, rather they are subject to a psychiatric ceremonial where the pschiatrist seen as 'sane', interrogates the person, makes a judgment, and then declares a sentence. We believe that psychiatric diagnosis often stigmatizes and limits opportunity for individuals. We believe that modern society is driving people 'mad' and that we must have radical transformation of ourselves and our values as well as return to a greater sense of community. We believe those who call themselves therapists must be actively involved in issues of social justice, helping end oppression and encourage liberation for marginalized persons. We recognize that distressed individuals must be treated as persons with respect and dignity. We believe in recognizing that even the most troubled persons and families have innate strengths. We believe that persons need to be given informed consent and not seen merely by a diagnostic label. We believe that ethics must proceed technology. We believe that bio-psychiatry has often used brutal methods (such as electroshock, insulin coma, toxic drugs, and lobotomy) and has evoked much harm in the lives of individuals and does not provide any true answers to the problems of life. We believe that there is no objectivity and science to the process of psychiatric diagnosis and that those diagnosed are often stigmatized and oppressed in society by virtue of this label.
We encourage drug free relationship based, problem solving, and holistic approaches and encourage individuals who choose to use helpful adjuncts such as meditation, acupuncture, tai-chi, and yoga. The International Center for Humane Psychiatry is one of few entities taking a strong stand on social justice issues and seeking to create a mental health system that does not treat people as objects, but persons.
We believe that it is also necessary for us to assume personal responsiblity and accountability for own own actions and choices and to not resort to the use of or embracing of labels to exonerate ourselves and institutions.
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