The second of the three classical "ways" of spiritual formation is
"illumination." In many traditional formulations it is described as
coming after the first way, which is “purgation” (see below), and as preceding the third way, which is “union.”
In our book on Transforming Spirituality, Steve and I argue that these are
not linear steps but interrelated moments within an ongoing process of
intensification.
Nevertheless, we can see how illumination does follow purgation in a
sense. When the structures of life become disturbed in such a way that one is willing to face the fact that particular ways of relating are hurting
others or oneself, then one is opened up to the possibility of
interpreting the world differently. More than this, one discovers the need for one’s very way of intending to be transformed.
We tend to prefer homeostasis, and will do what it takes to maintain equilibrium, as long as everything is OK or we can at least
repress the feeling that something is wrong. But purgation pushes us out of equilibrium, and we recognize that we are not in control, that we have not understood the world appropriately, that we need some new insight or way of seeing that can help us move toward health and wholeness.
The term illumination fit well during periods of history in which (neo)Platonic conceptions of knowledge dominated, since the main metaphor for knowing was light. This is still with us today in expressions like “I saw the light” or “that lecture was enlightening.”
The way in which purgation and illumination are tied together is hinted at by St. John of the Cross in Dark Night of the Soul:
“[The soul] does indeed receive light from this Divine light; but the soul cannot see at first, by its aid anything beyond what is nearest to it, or rather, beyond what is within it – namely, its darknesses or its miseries, which it now sees through the mercy of God, and saw not aforetime, because this supernatural light illumined it not.”
Moving beyond this medieval model of psychology, we can still make the connection between purgation and illumination. Sometimes purgation brings little illuminations, like seeing that a particular idea was inadequate or a specific act is problematic.
At other times, however, the illumination may involve a more intense reconstruction of one’s WAY of seeing.
Once a young man came to me, and asked for counsel about his struggle with his sexual urges. He despised the way he saw other men treating women, viewing them as sexual objects, but was even more horrified that he saw this attitude in himself. He was beginning to fear that this urge was simply who he IS, and that he had no way to escape it. He was wondering whether to just give in to this desire, since he saw no way out.
Yet, he really didn't want to because he felt that following such urges indiscriminately was not "right."
We talked about many things, but my explanation of the difference between the id, the ego and the superego was actually the most helpful. Set aside for now the problems with Freudian psychology, and focus on the basic insight of the self-relationality within consciousness.
I suggested that his id was the source of these desires, and this was natural since he was a member of a species that had evolved precisely because males of the species had the desire to copulate with female members. Then I pointed out that this alone is not who he is. “He” was struggling with this desire, which meant that the desire did not completely define “him.” I suggested that his superego was mediating to him a sense of ethical regulation, indicating that acting on these desires without any restraint would not in fact lead to a healthy self or social life. The superego was also “part” of him. The “ego” functions as an organizing agency to hold the two together, so to speak. (I know this was simplistic… it was a young person not trained in psychology.)
The point is that “he” was not simply the id, but a complex relation relating itself to itself in the relation as it relates itself to others.
The change in his face was the most astonishing transformation I’ve seen in a single counselling setting.
He had come in extremely distraught, ready to give up, viewing himself as hopelessly caught by this desire.
He left smiling and beaming with joy. He came to see… he was illuminated… The experience of facing the need for purgation opened him up to a new sense of roominess within his very being, which opened up new possibilities for shaping his intentionality in relation to others, especially young women.
These intense experiences of illumination require deeper purgation, but they are all the more transformative.
One of the implications is for ecclesiology. If we create social structures that do not allow people to go through purgation… deep, serious, painful struggle… then we cut off the possibility for deep transformation.
Here I am with Al Dueck, Professor of Integration at the Fuller School of Psychology. We've all had some great conversations over the last three days, and I have enjoyed myself thoroughly. 
This Thursday I am heading off to the island of Lesbos, Greece, for a week-long conference with my colleagues here at Agder. We will be staying at Metochi monastery (for pix, see the link on the right sidebar below).
