A Virus is Not Just a Virus:  Part II - Organism Symbiosis

A typical virus microbe is an organism.  It fights to remain active.  If its progress is halted or function threatened, it will "evolve" via a process called mutation.  Its structure will shift to allow it a fresh entry and to resist the methods used to halt its reproduction (e.g. a vaccine).  When its function runs its course, many viruses become dormant in some form and can re-emerge at a much later time as another kind of illness.   This is a complex metamorphosis and not one that I have studied in enough detail to develop in a blog.  I do know my limitations.  

I have chatted with two virologists over the years in order to better understand how viruses function in general.  Being a Priest who was charged with the well-being of a community of people, I have always made every effort to be informed and equipped to deal with public health issues that would affect that well-being.   Remembering that my center-field discipline is theology and the spiritual journey of the faith community, most of my time and energy has been applied to the ongoing study and development of those specific skill sets of vocation.  

In the mid-1980s I recognized that human behavior and integrated dialogue with a diversity of behavioral patterns in a community were not simply a matter of the application of theological scholarship.  I also needed to embrace skills and resources that could meet behavioral challenges and the varieties of neuroses that created and sustained those behavior patterns.  I began doctoral level studies in the discipline of "Pastoral Theology"... the integration of psychology with the disciplines of applied theology and spiritual direction. I completed all the course work and initial written requirements for a doctoral degree but did not complete the dissertation phase due to our mother's death,  the birth of a child and the details that followed both.  I got overwhelmed and dropped the academic work to stay focused on parochial responsibilities.  

In 1988, I attended a one-day seminar with Dr. Edwin Friedman...a Jewish Rabbi who had studied under Dr. Murray Bowen at Georgetown University and was a licensed practitioner in Family Systems Theory and Family Emotional Process.  That seminar opened me to an entirely new set of possibilities.  My BA in psychology focused on the work of Dr. Abraham Maslow.  I studied under Dr. Sidney Jourard at the University of Florida.  I had done post-grad work with two Episcopal Priests who had studied at the Jungian Institute in Zurich, Switzerland.  I thought I had all I needed.   Far from the truth!

In summary, I studied under Rabbi Friedman from 1988 until his untimely death in 1996.  He had a special "Three Times/Year" program for clergy to learn Bowen Theory and develop practical application models for family process in Church and Synagogue.   There were a number of Episcopal Priests in the two groups of 25 that met at Ed's office for five days each session (his office was a converted house in a near downtown Bethesda, MD neighborhood).   I count these years, that group, and Dr. Friedman as a deep blessing for giving me truly rich tools for parochial leadership and leadership development within the faith community.  

Symbiosis::  The living together of two dissimilar organisms in more or less intimate association or close union.  This interactive behavior is beneficial to both (or all) in said relationship(s).

Because we humans have been gifted with the capacity to discern and make choices within a complex framework, no two of us have identical life experiences and families of origin that modeled the manner in which we make choices or see the world around us.  Part of our matrix of creation has gifted us with the capacity to choose from a number of options confronting us.  We model our parenting, education, and peer associations in applying methods for making choices.  However, not all conditioning is good for us.

 Michelangelo:  The Imparting of the Imago Dei to the Primal Human creation.  Sistine Chapel

The creations stories of Genesis speak of the moment in which the Holy One sees humankind as prepared to receive the Grace of "Imago" and, thus bestowed within this creature the capacity to reflect  the Mind of God and see clearly that desire and direction for which we were created.  The development of "Mind of Mankind" included the divine capacity to choose.  Our ego structure got in the way and, Bazinga, we have what has traditionally been called "Original Sin"....making choices that are contrary to Divine Initiative and Direction.  

Primal Symbiosis is interactive behavior with the Holy One.  I am leaving out a lot of complex and oft confusing theological terminology and concepts of "ensoulmnent."  Suffice it to say that my term, "Primal Symbiosis" is the relationship we have with God as both a gift and an expectation of reflected Grace (Divine Love).   Over time, we humans have been more like step-down transformers....replacing the primal gift with our own concepts regarding relationship, love, and acceptance.  Inter-personal relationships (attempted symbiosis) become more like contracts with expectations for a prescribed set of behaviors and levels of power.   We are not born with original sin, but we catch on to it at a fairly early age, because we are conditioned to behave at a level of being far below that of the Primal Gift of Life.

So, enough of ground level theologizing and psychologizing (I combined both above).  

Truth is, I think about these things a lot, when I am not engaging in the stuff of everyday life and routine.  On a "socio-biological" level, what we have become....I fear....is something of a virus within the context of created order.  "We have not done those things which we were designed to do; and we have done those things which have disrupted or broken what had been given us to steward (caretaker of creation)."  I put this in quotes because it is a highly edited part of the General Confession of the Book of Common Prayer (1928):  "We have done those things which we ought not to have done; and we have not done those which we ought to have done; and there is no health in us..."  For this essay, I like my version a little better.  It is more the expression of the journey rather than an indictment of the moment.  

When is a virus not just a virus?  When the virus morphs into a conscious, cognitive life form:  A human being that has lost touch with his/her soul...the True Self.

Be well and be safe, my friends!

Fred+