[ RELIGION ]
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY
KIP AOKI / KAOKI@STARBULLETIN.COM
The horrifying terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, sent thousands of people to churches. In the aftermath, many questioned their religious beliefs. Many are still struggling to understand: Where was God in all this? Is God indifferent to evil?
Struggle is not a bad thing, said psychologist Robert Grant, whose specializes in post-traumatic stress. "It is essential to a faith experience. It is painful, but with proper accompaniment it can lead to a more profound experience of faith.
"In most spiritual traditions, to develop and deepen our relationship with God, we have to modify or revamp earlier images of God. But these are difficult transitions and usually are not voluntarily undertaken."
The Oakland, Calif., consultant is called to help victims and survivors of natural disasters. He trains and advises military, emergency, international relief and religious personnel who go to war zones and disaster scenes, as well as help victims of sexual abuse and other violence.
What is rare in his profession is Grant's attention to the spiritual as well as psychological well-being of victims.
"As a nation we have a lot of healing we need to do around this event still," said Grant in a telephone interview Thursday.
He will speak in Honolulu tomorrow on "The Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Trauma." His talk at 4 p.m. at Chaminade University Mystical Rose Oratory is free and open to the public.
The Catholic institution timed this presentation in the annual Mackey Marianist Lecture series to coincide with this week's anniversary of the 2001 terror attack.
"What they are trying to do now is to offer the general public some tools to deepen and to hold and work through the implications 9/11 had for their future and for their spiritual life," Grant said.
"There are fragments of the experience all over our lives, and unless we expand our frames of reference to include these fragments, they are going to plague us and make us suffer for years and years.
"The major thing that happens in these events is, the taken-for-granted ways that we characterize reality or human nature or even our images of God are challenged or damaged by experiences of trauma. The understandings of God are often thrown up for grabs or even destroyed. There are a lot of questions that people start asking.
"Most people don't realize that is happening. It affects the sort of culturally influenced values that we don't challenge until they don't work. As long as they work, we just use them to guide us down the road of life." Without some reflection or direction, "we can become anxious and go into nihilism where there is no meaning, nothing makes any sense."
The psychologist said he doesn't have a remedy for all people. "I will describe a journey people are struggling with as a result of Sept. 11. I like to lay out the playing field. The solution becomes clear when the terrain is laid out."
The psychologist would definitely not endorse those who are saying let's not talk about it anymore. When he speaks of "proper accompaniment" for the journey, he means finding someone to talk to, particularly someone who has endured trauma and grown from the experience.
"I will suggest to set up small faith-based sharing groups, to meet, reflect upon how individually they have all been affected by 9/11.
"We are not always the direct recipient, but we are affected by what our neighbors or our compatriots go through. Something of the magnitude of 9/11 has affected every American. For example, in Hawaii, veterans of Pearl Harbor had flashbacks; this was the first time since then we have been attacked. And a lot of immigrants came here thinking it would be safe; they freaked out because they are not safe here."
Grant believes it helps people to hear the stories of others who have faced trauma, struggled and found new access to their spiritual path. "St. Francis was a prisoner of war. He had his breakthrough during that experience of helplessness and powerlessness. He cracked open to understand his deeper self."
The psychologist will present workshops for health care, emergency response and religious professionals who deal with trauma victims, including sexual abuse and other violence.
The sessions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the campus will be based on his book "The Way of the Wound," on the spiritual and psychological impact of trauma and transformation.
The cost is $20 for each day. Call 735-4801 for information.
Remembering 9/11
Island churches and temples will observe the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.-- The temple gong at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1727 Pali Highway, will be rung at the attack times, 8:46 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. A 6:30 p.m. service will remember the lives lost.
-- "Pray for Peace" will be the theme of the 7 p.m. community service at Unity Church of Hawaii, 3608 Diamond Head Circle.
-- The doors will be open during the day for private reflection at several churches including Central Union Church's Atherton Chapel, Harris United Methodist Church, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and St. Andrew's Cathedral.
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calendars and events.
