My dad was an angry guy. His anger wreaked havoc at home and ruined many of his close relationships. A deeply broken heart lay behind the anger. Dad’s father died a premature death from alcoholism. Dad drank a lot, and was frightened that he, too, might die an early death.Dad’s deepest wound, though, was losing the love of his life, his wife (my mother) to mental illness.

Dad retired in 1990 from a fulfilling career. He looked forward to an active life in retirement traveling and enjoying his grandchildren. He was more at peace than I’d known him. The following year, however, a diagnosis of lymphoma changed everything. His peace and excitement about new life was gone. He endured months of painful and debilitating treatments which did not slow the progression of the disease. He felt betrayed by his body and life itself and again erupted in anger.

In 1992, he made a life-changing decision: to re-read the works of the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, a deeply inspirational figure in Dad’s life. He went into seclusion to do this work, and re-emerged in 1993. To the surprise of those who knew him, he was at peace. The lifelong anger was gone, and he overflowed with a joyful, loving spirit. He was kind, curious, and funny. Dad’s physical demeanor changed dramatically — his eyes twinkled, his energy was strong despite failing health, and his mind was clear. 

This was nothing less than transfiguration.

Transfiguration is a process of deep interior change so profound that the physical form visibly changes. In Christianity, transfiguration refers to something extraordinary that happens to Jesus. In my last post, I wrote about the “Transfiguration of Christ.”  (https://incarnation-place.com/2023/08/11/transfiguration-of-christ/)  Here, I explore our essential human capacity to transfigure. 

Human capacity for transfiguration is written into our cells. For example, suppose I’m in the kitchen chopping vegetables and accidentally cut myself. What happens? The skin is broken and blood flows from the cut. Almost immediately the healing process begins. The flow of blood eases, then stops. A scab forms and in a few days falls off, leaving a scar which fades. 

From minor injuries to major surgeries and illnesses, the healing process is the same. Healing begins immediately after a wound occurs. We are programmed to heal. Healing written in our cells, bones, and organs, quietly moving with each breath. 

This built-in program for healing includes our minds and emotions, as well as our physical bodies. This is true no matter how old we are, regardless of culture, race, gender, or religion. We are programmed to heal! 

Our capacity to heal mind and emotions is especially important when there is a history of trauma.   Trauma is an injury to the mind. A plethora of current research shows that traumatic experience can change the actual physiology of the brain. These changes negatively affect cognitive brain function and normal emotional processing. 

Trauma triggers powerful emotions which can overwhelm the psyche. Working through the nervous system, the brain sends signals to shut down the experience of overwhelming experiences. This is a built-in process for our psyche to maintain safety. The power of the experience remains housed in the mind but outside of conscious awareness.

Carl Jung, one of the great founders of modern psychology, called experience that remains outside of awareness the “shadow.” The shadow is a repository of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that we unconsciously hide from ourselves and others. However, this unconscious material can strongly influence our behavior, like a hidden computer program. When we are ready, the buried experience, including emotions like rage, fear, sadness, grief, confusion, and shame, come into our awareness to be healed. 

As unconscious material comes into our awareness, we may be surprised that an inner critical voice erupts. This voice tries to “beat back” these long held feelings which disrupt our inner experience. Cultivating an inner compassionate voice is especially helpful here. Compassion facilitates the healing process. How do we develop this inner compassionate voice? 

Buddhism offers pointed teaching about the power of compassionate presence in the healing of challenging emotions. Tara Brach is a Buddhist and a wise, eloquent teacher who is especially skilled at reaching an American audience. She grew up in the Unitarian Church, then later turned to Buddhism. She writes: “Through the decades, my relationship with prayer has emerged and deepened during encounters with grief, shame, fear, and despair. As I learned to sustain a real presence with those feelings, the pain of separation they revealed would unfold into deep sadness and longing. Over time, my yearning became increasingly clear: it was to belong to and be held by a larger source of love and presence.” (Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness, by Tara Brach, p.92). 

This was the process my dad went through, quietly, silently, in his own way, in his own time. One of the great lessons that I learned from witnessing my father’s process is that we are never too old or frail to heal. Though he was not a religious man, my dad healed spiritually and emotionally. As his inner wounds healed, the force of his loving spirit shone through his physical demeanor, while his cancer-ridden body neared death. His eyes sparkled, he joked easily, and was more relaxed than I’d ever known him.

There is an ancient Japanese technique of restoring broken pieces of pottery. Kintsugi puts the broken pieces together, using a liquid form of gold or silver as glue. The result is a vase that highlights the broken patterns, making the brokenness beautiful.  “With this technique it’s possible to create true and always different works of art, each with its own story and beauty, thanks to the unique cracks formed when the object breaks, as if they were wounds that leave different marks on each of us.” https://www.lifegate.com/kintsugi

For Christians, the hallmark of Jesus is his compassionate presence. The stories of the early followers capture the transformational effect of being in the presence of His Love. I remain captivated by the vision of Divine Love at the center of Christianity. Divine Love woven in the fabric of creation, Love that includes all. This Love holds us tenderly, through all the trauma and suffering that Life may bring, much like a divine unfolding of a kintsugi process of restoration and healing.

Christianity proclaims that Jesus Christ is the embodiment, the full expression of this Divine Love. “(Jesus) came to unite and ‘to reconcile all things in himself, everything in heaven and everything on earth’ (Colossians 1:19) Rohr p 7). Jesus teaches: “Love God with all your heart, mind and soul; and love your neighbor as you are loved.” The early followers surrendered their lives to follow Jesus. Their path was called The Way, the way of Love shown by Jesus Christ. This is the path of transfiguration.

We may think of Christianity as a finished thing. But it is not. St. Paul called the church, “the body of Christ.” This body of Christ” — like all bodies —  is in process of evolving. Christianity is being recreated, transfigured by the larger spiritual force that birthed Christianity more than two thousand years ago. God is still shaping Christianity, as He/She continues to shape us. 

This blog, Incarnation Place, is my attempt to name and participate in an enlivened Christianity that celebrates God’s creation of the human body throughout all cultures, across time and space.  The Love manifested in Jesus Christ is a doorway into the process of transfiguration that our human bodies are uniquely equipped for. 

Tell your own story of transfiguration. How have you experienced healing? How have you journeyed into your own inner being? Our flesh and bones carry these stories. They are the raw material that shapes our lives. We need to share our stories. Our stories need to be heard. In the telling, we discover our stories echo through the lives of others.