ADHD Theology - Rough Draft and notes

Gift of Adult ADD
Lara Honos-Webb
‘many psychologists have drawn a direct connection between creativity and the unconcious’ (102)
the author goes on to say that these impulses are an extension of our ‘tribal belifes’ that often don’t jibe with contemporary culture. How many times have we heard an artist – rapper, heavy metal, film and theater etc – say that their art is their therapy. That they are able to express and explore those aspects of their personality that could not otherwise come to light.
Contemporary society and its moraes orders people into groups of ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ along the lines of social mores and status quo. To often than not the status quo is set up to maintain a system of power and priveldge. As it has been said science – and I would add the status quo – does not set out to prove something new but to prove what is.
But along with the prophets of the Hebrew Bible we are able to engage in that radical act of creativity rooted in truth telling. Here the creative and the unconscious overlap in such a way to enable justice. For the person of faith creativity of this sort allows us to reach beyond tradition and into the ‘spirit of the law’ and speak out for those who have been ignored and over looked.
THIS SORT OF CREATIVITY IS AN IMPULSE TO BREAK THE RULES AND THE STATUS QUO. In this it is not only prophetic but spirit filled. It is an Upper Room experience of impulse control rooted in truth telling. The world and its injustices are dependent on good people remaining quite. But when the Upper Room breaks into our world – through creative and impulsive truth speaking – we see places of resisitance enter the community in such a way as to enable new conversations.

Dark side of impulses, caused between by tension between expression and repression of impulses (pg 103)
Repression causes violence in the world as we know it. Sexual repression leads to self-hatred and self-destruction. Artistic repression can lead to a dead soul. Prophetic repression leads to a dead world. The night side of an ADHD impulse can lead to destructive and implusive behaviour. The bright side can give life to our prophetic voices.
Humanity suffers from a soul disease by which its members will not speak out in prophetic voice for justice and against inequality. When we do it is usually a stifled voice – born of the faddishness of the cause or is a stagnant voice not backed up by authentic change in societal behavior. It is not enough for us to sit around our thanksgiving dinners and say North Americans must consome less. We must actually consume less.