“The River Beneath,” the English translation of “rio bajo rio,” refers to one of the many names given to the archetype of feminine wisdom. We have chosen that name to denote the feminine dimension of spirituality in the gospel. We seek to explore the non-institutionalized nature of God’s ongoing identification with the poor and the oppressed. The domains of freedom and intuition, and the wild nature of the Spirit. The message of the cross as a liberating force in the face of the Empire.
Through this blog, me, a psychotherapist, and Lisa, Co-Director of Aurora Care Continuum and a MDIV, are trying to explore mental health through the perspective of poverty. I (Maria-Jose) have been struggling with this since the very moment I decided to make a career as a psychologist. The more I got into it, the more I realized that our field is designed to serve people in the upper middle-class. This comes as no surprise considering the context in which the discipline of psychology was born: in Viena, in the 1800’s along with the industrial revolution and the raise of the bourgeoisie. Even though I love my work as a counselor and I am aware that we all struggle with poverty, especially if we understand it as “broken relationships,” I wonder how can we serve those who have experienced poverty as a violation of their human rights.
Lisa, a post-colonial theologian who is passionate about nurturing and changing the church’s posture towards the poor, is continually surprised to find within scripture all of these creative, subversive, inclusive ways that Christ lived into the world. One of her greatest desires is to allow God to “happen” to her daily. Lisa believes that we all miss each other in our moments and her desire is to nurture an awakening to the beauty of each moment and each person, no matter who they are or what they did yesterday. Her art is meaning making and she wants to learn from you too: lisaetter@gmail.com
This blog is an open window to the exploration of healing from the view of the oppressed. It is an open dialogue, a conversation with a number of contributors who are journeying with us. Welcome, Lisa and I hope you join the conversation.