Yesterday, I began addressing the “healing of the subconscious.” Before delving further into the subject, I would like to quote a verse from Psalm 19: “Who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults.” (Psalm 19:12). Although, in this case, it refers to faults involving guilt, we can adapt these words and direct them as a request to the Lord: “Deliver me from the chains of which I am unaware. May they not have dominion over me!”
The following example will help us understand what I mean by “healing the subconscious.”
A few years ago, while in Latvia, a small Baltic country in Eastern Europe, I noticed a deep sadness in the eyes of a group of faithful people during a talk with them. I asked them openly why they looked so sad. At first, I received no response.
Since I knew something about the history of Latvia, I knew the country had suffered greatly, both under Nazi occupation and Soviet communism. I asked those present if they could tell me what consequences of those times remained in their souls. They had probably never asked themselves that question! However, they gave me two answers that deeply revealed the reality.
The first was, “We are distrustful.” The second was, “We feel worthless.”
This example shows how negative experiences that have not yet been healed mark the subconscious. These people were unaware that these negative feelings could largely be a consequence of the Nazi and Communist occupations they suffered. These two political and ideological systems—hostile to God—resorted to espionage and treated people in the occupied areas as if they were inferior. Therefore, it is logical that this difficult period, if not overcome, continues to affect a large part of the population, especially the elderly, leaving deep scars on their souls to this day.
We must get a concrete idea of the aftermath. Maybe we know people with inferiority complexes or who are distrustful. Perhaps we experience such feelings ourselves, which manifest primarily in our interactions with others. In such cases, interpersonal relationships lack the necessary freedom and considerably limit the naturalness of our interactions.
Now, what healing process offers God?
First, it would be good for us to become aware of the wounds and false beliefs (such as “you are worthless”) that burden our souls. We can ask the Lord to reveal them to us. Once we identify the problem, we can offer it to God in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to heal us. But even if we don’t know the root of the problem, we can simply ask the Lord to free us from all the chains binding our inner selves.
In Latvia’s case, those affected must strive to regain trust, knowing the current situation is different and they are no longer surrounded by spies who could betray and denounce them. Feelings of mistrust must be restrained by reason, remembering that the situation is no longer the same. Even more importantly, they must be touched by the Holy Spirit so that mistrust dissolves and is replaced by a positive attitude toward life, sustained by trust in God.
As for inferiority complexes, we must deeply internalize that our value lies in being desired, loved, and redeemed by God. This is essential! If we do not become aware of this certainty, if it does not penetrate our feelings, then we will become dependent on what others think of us and on their affection. Even if people treat us badly, our value comes from God, not from people. Reading and internalizing biblical passages that tell us how much we are worth to God will help us heal from these complexes.
I have given this example to clarify what I mean by “healing the subconscious.”
Within the limited scope of daily meditations, I can only advise you to ask the Lord to descend into your subconscious as well and heal whatever still needs to be healed. Perhaps then, things that bind and weigh us down will come to light. If this happens, we must bring it before the Lord consciously and ask the Holy Spirit to touch it. Then, perhaps the Lord will break the chains that still bind us, even if we are unaware of them, and grant us freer expression as people redeemed by Christ.
To conclude this last part of this topic, I have asked for the song “Shen khar venakhi” by Harpa Dei to be played. We have often sung it at our concerts and invited people to open their inner wounds to the beauty of the song, even those they may not be aware of. I would like to do the same here on this path of reflection!
Meditation on the day’s Gospel: https://en.elijamission.net/no-false-safety-3/