On faith, hope, and possibility

The idea of faith invites us into treacherous territory, as we try to negotiate the lines between hope and fear, possibility and madness. Our faith can open up untold possibilities or, alternatively, can leave us at the mercy of forces of destruction. In psychoanalysis, we need to be able to make our way through this difficult terrain, which necessitates fine-tuning our capacities to build the requisite ground on which hope might become possibility. Both Bion and Lacan have attempted to articulate the importance of being able to move beyond whatever is ostensibly known in order to be able to consider and to envision new possibilities. I would contend further that faith, at times, creates the possibility of profound growth and transformation. Several vignettes are presented by way of exploring the potentially transformative quality of faith.