“Welcome Home” is the frequent greeting to Soldiers returning from war.
It is also a fond greeting to those Veterans who have recovered from Post Traumatic Stress. A traumatic experience may cause the mind to dissociate from the body. Trauma recovery brings all those shattered, scattered pieces of self back home, to themselves. This last week of Lent, I am on a journey home.
The word “metanoia” keeps appearing.
Both in print, in words, and in my own quiet and meditative time, reflecting on Lent. Metanoia refers to repent. The Greek words for metanoia are “meta” meaning beyond, and “nois” meaning mind. A more accurate translation is “move beyond the mind”. In moving beyond the mind, the heart opens. The Islam word for repent is “tauba”, the moment of the turning of the heart when the soul remembers its divine origin. The soul remembers the way Home.
In my adolescence my friends and I would have conversations about what we would be giving up for Lent, as a time of sacrifice. We mostly were in agreement that we would once again give up chocolate. As an adult I am becoming more and more called to repent, to turn around and change directions.
Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, writes “The real job is to lay the groundwork for a deep change of heart on the part of the whole nation so that one day it can really go through the “metanoia” we need for a peaceful world.” In his soon to be released book, Dr. Basil Savitsky refers to metanoia as the central mission guiding his book, Humanity 3.0. The three facets of metanoia are discipline, generosity and paradox. The divine quality of Trust weaves together these three facets of metanoia.
Remembering our way Home is changing the direction we are going.
We need companions on the journey. An OASIS Community of Practice has been created from Humanity 3.0, for the fellow sojourners to lean into together, attending to what emerges as we learn from the field. The WE space is the medicine, healing and growing in wisdom and compassion. This work cannot be done alone.
I look forward to sharing more of Humanity 3.0 and the OASIS Community in the future. If you are feeling the pull, and are interested in learning more, you may contact me here.
