Sunday, March 1, 2015

Healing and Meditation

 
 
 

LET THE WAVES WASH OVER ME
 
Robert Trabold
 
 
In the distance, I hear noise
waves crashing onto the surf
washing over sand.
They are constant - unending
sand is washed - washed.
So white - clean!
I pray!
 
I want waves to wash over me.
I too need washing – healing
past memories of the hard times in my life
suffering – abandonment – treason.
 
I sit at shore - let waves
wash over me.
Let them wash away - heal memories
images – faces – voices.
 
As the water recedes, sand is at peace
clean.
I need same peace – rebirth – cleanliness!
Sea is grace of God
divine water will wash me – wipe away
heal biting memories.
 
Hurt will lessen – peace
will come to me
washed sand is always new
my hope also!
 
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HEALING AND MEDITATION
 
 
Robert Trabold
 
 
 
            The relationship between meditation and healing ultimately goes back to the New Testament where one aspect of Jesus’ work was to travel through Galilee doing wonders and healing people of their sicknesses. There are numerous stories in the gospels describing Jesus reacting to sick people, such as, healing the lepers, laying his hands on individuals and his touch healing people with all kinds of illnesses, curing the paralytic at the pool who waited many years for a miracle and ultimately also raising people from the dead, such as, the son of the widow of Naim. Jesus was manifesting the mercy of God who lifts us up and heals us of our illnesses. This ministry of Jesus was not particular to Him because we know of the work of numerous wandering preachers in Galilee around this time who had a similar ministry of healing people.
 
            When we get close to the Lord and experience His presence in contemplative prayer, it is a time for us to ask His help in healing our own infirmities. Since we are in intimate contact with Jesus in meditation, we pray also for other sick people asking Him to extend his mercy and heal them. In this way, we are continuing the ministry of Jesus which expressed itself in the years of his work in Galilee. A startling example of the healing ministry of Jesus is a visit to the large pilgrimage shrines in the world, such as, Lourdes in France, Fatima in Portugal, St. Anne of Beaupré in Québec, Canada, etc. People leave behind visible signs of their healings, such as, crutches and other medical equipment now not needed.  Individuals make a pilgrimage in prayer and ask for such healings and many are answered. Here we note the connection between healing, prayer and meditation expressed in the act of pilgrimage.
 
            A more direct and particular connection between healing and mediation is manifested in contemplative prayer. As we grow in our contemplative path and enter into the silence and peace of God’s presence, our defense mechanisms go down and feelings and emotions of our past life emerge into our consciousness.  They have been buried possibly many years and now come into our awareness. We are bombarded with these past emotions and find it hard to rest in God’s presence. We must now ask God to heal us of these feelings and help us let go of them so that we can have the peace in our conscious and unconscious self to enter into a union with the divine which is the goal of contemplative prayer. These feelings and emotions can be very old and go back into our childhood and they are the baggage we carry in our unconsciousness due to our being human.
 
            For example, we may have within our unconsciousness feelings of hurt and anger from the various injustices and hard and difficult things people have done to us in our life. With such pains, we all experience it hard to forgive and we hold grudges. Secondly, we may be haunted with our own mistakes in life, missed opportunities to love, our constant pride and selfishness – all things that we find it hard to face. Thirdly, as humans, we like to dominate and control the things that come into our life. We get angry when things do not go our way; we cannot let go. In face of such emotions and others which are part of our life, we ask Jesus to heal us of these and discard them. He is the one who can cure us of these deep emotions and give us the strength to let them go. We will then have a new freedom to grow in a peace within ourselves so that we can enter the divine union which is the goal of contemplative prayer. This healing can take a long time because these feelings and experiences may be deeply embedded in our unconsciousness. It can also be that we have to consult a counselor who can help us come to grips with these emotions. We may need to talk them out with someone so that eventually we can let go of them and be healed of their disturbing presence. It depends on how serious they are and what damage and upheaval they caused in our past.
 
            As a result, the healing that takes place in contemplative prayer is a particular one dealing with our emotions and feelings that we carry with us in our unconscious. This is part of the human condition and we can look forward to Jesus to help us unload these and to get rid of this unwanted psychological baggage in our life. In contemplative prayer, we are participating in a very definite divine therapy. Jesus is working to make us free people so that we can have the peace and tranquility to enter into union with Him. It is just another dimension and aspect of His healing ministry that we see in the New Testament.
 
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