Sunday, August 12, 2007

A psychiatrist and the 'Our Father'

I suppose it could be looked at in a psychoanalytic way. "Pater noster," it is 'our' father, not 'my.' It was said of art but, sotte voce it might be heard, religion can be a 'regression in the service of the ego.' Here, the individual accepts his participation as an equal in a community of believers and humanity. 'Deuspater', 'Juppiter' he was to the Romans, more distant than 'Paternoster.' 'Qui es in caelis;' who rules beyond the operation of our ego. 'Hallowed be thy name;' we shall accept with love and respect your will/rules. 'On earth as it is in heaven;' we shall accept the rules, prohibitions of our own superego as remodeled by the perception of the Church as binding for proper action and not seek rebellion as instead proper for the (my) ego. 'Give us this day our daily bread;' typically felt to acknowledge An outside agency as being capable for providing the basics of life, it can also mean, in the context of G-d as the superego, 'allow the ego to find attractions and sustenance, or let our rules be not so severe as to destroy the ego.' 'And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;' those who we wished to have an identity in our lives of our choosing but have chosen not to be, in a sense, our property but have 'trespassed,' broken the bounds of our assigned property, let us forgive them as you (have), who have remained here with your wishes for our identity regardless of our non conforming. 'Lead us not into temptation;' let this alliance of ego and superego not be overrun by instinctual forces. 'But deliver us from evil,' the destruction of the self or emotionally sustaining others, ideas/objects. 'Amen;' so be it.

No comments: