Who Needs Light? is a prescription for what ails "the general suffering public" in our families and communities throughout the world's philosophically Cartesian cultures where thought is seen as more valuable than emotion. Beginning with infant brain development, the author identifies startlingly familiar influences of Darkness from a new point of view-that of the difference between Head People and Heart People. The book includes a guide which defines the characteristics and habits of Abusive Personality Types. In lay terms, it shows how to identify and avoid these archetypal "Children of Darkness" wherever one might find them. Dr. May uses case studies, meditative exercises, original poetry, science and oral history to lead us stepbystep through the oppressive forces of materialism, selfcenteredness and authoritarian religions which have shaped our presentday civilization. Her final vision is one of hope and radical spiritual evolution.

WHO NEEDS LIGHT?

By Kathryn E. May

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Kathryn E. May, PsyD
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-0701-0

Contents

THE SNAKE...................................................................................................5TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................9ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................13INTRODUCTION................................................................................................17PART I: BECOMING A SELF: THE WAR WITHIN.....................................................................21Chapter One_A NEW-BORN LIGHT................................................................................25Chapter Two_THE ROOT OF OUR MISERY..........................................................................40PART II: LIFE IN THE CULTURE OF UNHAPPINESS.................................................................61Chapter Three_A SUFFERING SOUL..............................................................................65Chapter Four_HOW A SIT-DOWN STRIKE BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE....................................................76Chapter Five_A TEACHING GUIDE FOR THE ADULT CHILD: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR ABUSIVE PARENT.........................88PART III: THE DEVELOPING MIND...............................................................................97Chapter Six_ENCODING THE CHILD..............................................................................99Chapter Seven_FEELING LIKE A CHILD..........................................................................108Chapter Eight_LEARNING TO BE BLIND..........................................................................121Chapter Nine_WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET...............................................................134Chapter Ten_CLAIMING YOUR BODY, PUTTING DOWN ROOTS..........................................................148Chapter Eleven_THE FORKED PATH..............................................................................158PART IV: DANGEROUS LIAISONS.................................................................................165Chapter Twelve_THE MOTHER OF ALL ADDICTIONS.................................................................168Chapter Thirteen_KILLING MARIA..............................................................................184Chapter Fourteen_CHILDREN of DARKNESS.......................................................................194Chapter Fifteen.............................................................................................232Chapter Sixteen_TO BE OR NOT TO BE..........................................................................238Chapter Seventeen_LESSONS WE LEARN IN A REALLY BAD RELATIONSHIP.............................................257PART V: THE LOVE WARS: TAKING CHILDHOOD INTO RELATIONSHIPS..................................................265Chapter Eighteen_LOVESICKNESS...............................................................................268Chapter Nineteen_THE GOODNESS AND MERCY TRAP................................................................274Chapter Twenty_HOW TO RAISE AN ABUSER.......................................................................288Chapter Twenty-One_PLAYING ON THE DARK SIDE.................................................................303PART VI: ABUSIVE INSTITUTIONS...............................................................................309Chapter Twenty-Two_HOW SCHOOLS, POLITICS, SCIENCE, RELIGION AND DESCARTES LED US ASTRAY.....................312Chapter Twenty-Three_AYN RAND AND MACHIAVELLI: APOLOGISTS FOR GREED AND POWER...............................336Chapter Twenty-Four_VIOLENCE IN THE STREETS.................................................................356Chapter Twenty-Five_THE CHRIST WE NEVER KNEW................................................................372PART VII: TRANSCENDING THE PAST.............................................................................379Chapter Twenty-Six_START A PEACE MOVEMENT...................................................................380Chapter Twenty-Seven_HOW CAN I GET OVER IT?.................................................................392Chapter Twenty-Eight_LEARNING FORGIVENESS...................................................................416Chapter Twenty-Nine_ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE....................................................................426Chapter Thirty_LEAD WITH AN OPEN HEART......................................................................429Chapter Thirty-One_AWAKENING................................................................................442Chapter Thirty-Two_EARTH AS MOTHER..........................................................................466Chapter Thirty-Three_CREATING A NEW SOCIETY.................................................................485BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................493

Chapter One

A NEW-BORN LIGHT

From the swales in the dales of the Yorkshire trails To the swamps of the Southern bayou, The voice of disdain rings out in my brain, "Dim your light, Child. We deny you."

Children look up to the adults who raise them. It does not matter whether those adults are kind, honest and forthright, or whether they are mean, vicious abusers. A young child will hold a parent in awe, without judgment, even when the parent's actions may cause the child physical or emotional pain. A child simply tries to get along, to survive, and will do whatever necessary to accomplish it. Since their powers of analytic thinking do not begin to develop until after age six, children will simply do their best to make sense of their environment with the limited knowledge and brain power they possess. These childhood beginnings also determine the cultural lens through which they will later view the world. It is vital to understand the early beginnings which shaped our personalities when we view our later emotions and actions.

The Case Against Children

Every child comes into the world wanting to be accepted and welcomed. However, in the Western world, we have imposed an implicit philosophy which goes something like this: Children are unruly, selfish, destructive little creatures who must be disciplined, controlled, corrected and punished if they are ever to be acceptably civilized. If your parents don't do it, then your teachers will. Overlaying this authoritarian attitude toward children is an increasingly libertarian attitude toward adult behavior. This sometimes spills over into extreme indulgence toward children's needs. (Perhaps we can bribe this hopelessly unruly kid into behaving.) Thus, the average child is likely to be whip-lashed during a regular day between punitive and authoritarian discipline at school or in the neighborhood, and excessive indulgence in toys, technical devices, food treats and pampering at home. The contradiction is dizzying to children.

Our most intolerant attitudes toward children seem to have evolved from an amalgam of some of the most conservative and harsh elements which each of us brought with us from our own childhoods Perhaps these moralistic and controlling attitudes inspired the current American pendulum swing to physical overindulgence and pampering. Of course there are exceptions, glowing examples of creative and inspired parenting and teaching, but sadly, a large number of Americans tend to look at children with attitudes on a scale from...