Healing Ministry 1
Volume 13, Number 4, Fall 2006
F rom the pulpit
Giving voice
Father Dn. Thomas Johnson-Medland, CSJ
If you bring forth what is with-
in you, what you bring forth
will save you. If you do not
bring forth what is within you,
what you do not bring forth
will kill you.
-The Gospel of Thomas,
verse 70
The path of grief and grieving is
in effect no different from the path
of any psychotherapeutic process
of healing: if we do not allow that
which is within us concerning our
loss to emerge, it will overcome us
and eat us alive. Like a dragon
devouring a knight, grief will rear
its ugly head and consume us if
we do not clear the pathways
within and allow it to come up
and out of us.
When trying to understand
where the things trying to get out
of us are, I find it helpful to break
Father Dn. Thomas Johnson-Medland, CSJ,
Lighthouse Hospice, Morrisville, Pennsyl-
vania.
down the aggregates that make us
up as people. Although I list four
here, there may be more, or there
may be a different way of breaking
them down for each individual.
I believe we are a composite of
mind, heart, soul, and body. We
think, we feel, we desire, and we
have a specific locus on this earth
that we begin from and operate
out of. Each of these aggregates
in our lives has a way of being
when life is allegedly “normal”
and a way of being when we are in
crisis, in growth, and in grieving.
Traditionally, we hold the mind
to be the part of us that thinks. We
also believe this part of us sorts,
organizes, remembers, stores, cata-
logs, retrieves, chooses, decides,
interprets, researches, questions,
and believes. When it is affected by
a loss and is grieving, just like a
calm pond that is disrupted by the
dropping of a pebble, it is dis-
turbed, and ripples flow across its
surface and into its depths.
The disturbance leaves the
mind disheveled and disorga-
nized. The affected mind forgets,
loses, becomes disoriented; it is
confused, tired, aimless, and
unable to muster enough
strength to believe.
Traditionally, we hold the heart
to be the part of us that feels. We
also believe this aspect of our per-
sonality senses and intuits what is
going on. It loves, hates, forgives, is
jealous, finds humor and sorrow; it
is fond, it is romantic, it seethes; it is
peaceful, patient, gentle, and kind.
When it is affected by a loss and is
grieving, just like a calm pond that
is disrupted by the dropping of a
pebble, it is disturbed, and ripples
flow across its surface and into its
depths.
This disturbance halts the
heart’s ability to love; to forgive;
or to be patient, gentle, or kind. It
may move toward the opposite
emotion much more quickly than
it would normally, or it may just
not be able to muster the strength
to feel and so becomes numb.
2 Healing Ministry
Volume 13, Number 4, Fall 2006
Mind stories/memories
Soul stories/hopes and dreams
Figure 1. Grief workshop grid.
Traditionally, we believe the
soul (not the spirit) to be the part of
us that desires. We also believe this
portion of ourselves hopes and is
united to others; it dreams, longs,
yearns, and is soothed. It is the cen-
ter of our passions, deeper than all
emotion. It is the part of us that is
deeply moved by music and
events. It is the most tucked away,
hidden, guarded, and cherished
part of us. It is Pandora’s Box, the
Holy Grail, and the Ark of the
Covenant within. When it is affect-
ed by a loss and is grieving, just like
a calm pond that is disrupted by
the dropping of a pebble, it is dis-
turbed, and ripples flow across its
surface and into its depths.
The disturbance causes the
soul to lose its drive and perspec-
tive. The affected soul despairs,
has no dreams, will not be com-
forted, can find no consolation,
and feels abandoned.
Traditionally, we view the body
as the part of us that manifests us in
the physical world. We also believe
this part of us eats, sleeps, procre-
ates, exercises, and moves from
here to there. When it is affected by
a loss and is grieving, just like a
calm pond that is disrupted by the
dropping of a pebble, it is dis-
turbed, and ripples flow across its
surface and into its depths.
The disturbance leads the body
to eat or sleep too much or not
enough; it gets lost and wanders, it
Heart stories/emotions
Body stories
cries and sobs, it stops taking care
of itself; it gets sick, it fails, it hurts.
The affected body feels as if it can
not go on in the face of death, for it
too shall someday die.
We understand how the aggre-
gates of the personality function
when all is seemingly “normal,”
and we can expect that there will be
some disturbance in these func-
tions when there is a loss. What is
vital is to acknowledge these
changes and to allow them to be
noticed—to give voice to them so
we can recognize their presence
and keep sacred trust.
Although this seems a daunting
task and many refuse to give voice
to the shift in being out of fear that
they will not be able to stop the
flow that comes forth and shall
surely die, it is something that can
be done simply and genuinely,
without much fanfare.
When one comes back to the
house or hall after a wake or funer-
al or interment, there is often an
ominous, hushed, deep emotion
that feels unshakeable. A shift
occurs in the gathered community
only after one person risks enough
to tell a story.
We tend to start with a hilarious
tale of the deceased. This is
strong enough to shift the mood
and crack the hearts and minds
and souls of many, sometimes
enough to move them to share as
well. What comes forth from
these gatherings is the beginning
of the “giving voice” process.
We tell stories that come from
our minds. The stories elicit emo-
tion and feeling. The stories
touch us in a place where we
share common hopes and
dreams. The stories comfort our
tired and fearful bodies.
In the hospice workshops I
head, I offer a grid to help people
begin the process within. I ask
the groups gathered to start by
choosing a person they all know
who has died. I ask them to tell
me a story they remember about
that person. I ask them to tell me
how that makes them feel. I ask
them to tell me common hopes,
drives, and dreams these render-
ings exhibit that link them to the
deceased. I ask them what they
will do with their bodies to
grieve this loss.
As they begin to list the things
that are coming up and out of
them, I ask them to jot them down
in the appropriate boxes. Making
these things tangible helps us to
believe that we are actually doing
something with what is happening
on the inside. This is an important
part of the process; we are making
it conscious.
If we can begin to move things
up and out of us, we can begin to be
free and unblocked. It does not
take away the sharp sting of loss,
but it is a way of tending the gar-
den of grief. Working with these
issues again and again over time
can help us cope with loss and
grieve wholly.
These things that long to come
out of us are stories that each area
of our lives has to share. Telling
stories has always been valuable
and central to what it means to be
a person. Telling these stories can
help us to give voice to grief.