Losing Faith vs. Gaining Perspective: How Trauma and Loss Can Create a More Spacious Form of Spiritual Awareness Excerpted from Turning the Corner on Grief Street by Terri Daniel Most people, when faced with trauma and loss, will use some aspect of religious functioning to cope (Schuster et al., 2001, qtd. in Harris), or will search for a way to understand the event based on cultural or religious assumptions. Reactions can vary widely on a spectrum that includes embracing closely-held religious ideas more fervently to abandoning spirituality altogether (Harris 2008, 17). Because trauma, grief and loss can fracture one's beliefs about good and evil, security, the nature of God and one's place in the universe, re-evaluation of these beliefs has the potential to produce tremendous personal growth, both psychologically and spiritually. This essay will address the changes in spiritual perspective that can result from a traumatic experience, and the idea that "loss of faith" is not a loss at all, but a remarkable opportunity for spiritual and emotional expansion. Ryan LaMothe (1999), in Trauma and Development: A Faith Perspective, explains, “The reality of belief, trust and loyalty always takes place in relation to their counterparts; disbelief, distrust, and infidelity… Even in the best of times and relat ionships there are moments and perceptions of broken promises, experiences of distrust, and thoughts of disbelief, requiring participants to make decisions towards restoring or abandoning trust and fidelity” ( 375). LeMothe explains that a developing infant begins life with a sense that the world is made up of "me objects," and that the shift to recognizing "not me" objects is fraught with anxiety (Winnicott, 1971, qtd. in LeMothe). As the infant begins to recognize "not-me" objects, he/she discovers that a "global or undifferentiated environmental mother" cannot be relied upon to provide security, continuity, and cohesion (380). LeMothe equates this conflict to a "belief in omnipotence" that is ultimately challenged. If one's religious beliefs include a supernatural "parent" that is supposed to provide this type of security and protection, these beliefs cannot help but be shattered by traumatic or negative experiences. Van der Kolk (1987, qtd. in Grame, 31) states, "The essence of psychological trauma is the loss of faith that there is order and continuity in life. Trauma occurs when one loses the sense of having a safe place to retreat within or outside oneself to deal with frightening emotions or experiences." When trauma survivors discover that the protective mother could not keep them from harm, a crisis of faith can present an opportunity to see the world in a new way. Comparing Spiritual, Religious and Atheistic Views If faith is defined by a belief that God rewards us for piousness by protecting us from harm, then that faith will certainly be challenged when harm occurs. By contrast, a more self-empowered form of spirituality might suggest that rather than being controlled by a God that acts as a