Understanding Trauma, Sin, Guilt, and Redemption
The point of this discussion is not to get bogged down in matters of religious dogma and doctrinal debates. Rather, it is to offer real-world, practical solutions, hopefully, to some of the very profound, fundamental problems that we face in the current century and, indeed, throughout history.
I speak from personal experience and my personal interpretation of the ideas that I present. I do not claim to be espousing any new religious ideology or belief system. My aim is only to offer an understanding of some out-of-the-box ideas that I consider to be helpful, healing, and beneficial to mankind, not to place any kind of doctrinal or dogmatic impositions upon anyone.
The Reality of Trauma
Trauma is a universally experienced reality. What is it to be traumatized? It is to be wounded, essentially, whether physically or psychologically.
Closely connected with the experience of trauma is the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This is a diagnosed psychological ailment connected with the experience of psychological trauma. Previously termed “shell shock,” it is most commonly experienced by war veterans who suffer from deep psychological stress and related symptoms in the aftermath of wartime experiences.
Trauma manifests in various forms and degrees. On the one hand, there is physical trauma, which is a physical injury sustained after some kind of accident, impact, or violence. This may be treated by EMTs or medical professionals.
Additionally, there is psychological trauma resulting from some kind of sudden, violent shock to the system, such as an explosion or the experience of some kind of violent incident. This may be thought of as “simple” psychological trauma. The prolonged, recurrent, or sustained experience of violent trauma, such as during wartime, may result in a more aggravated condition like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Furthermore, there is the phenomenon of childhood trauma, which usually arises from a typically minor mishap that one experiences as a child. Because one is relatively much more impressionable and sensitive as a child, one may become more easily traumatized by relatively minor experiences — things that one might even laugh at as an adult. For example, children may become traumatized by circus clowns or slapstick comedy routines. (Indeed, I personally have a childhood memory of being quite traumatized by a Laurel & Hardy slapstick comedy movie that I watched at a movie theater once, failing to see the humor in the apparently dramatic situation onscreen!)
Finally, there is such a thing as generational or ancestral trauma, wherein the post-traumatic effects resulting from psychological wounds experienced by one’s ancestors may be passed down through heredity via epigenetics. This means that the body’s genetic expression, or the way the body (and mind) interacts with the human genome or DNA structure, may be affected by trauma, and the resulting involuntary behavior may be passed down to one’s descendants as a hereditary trait. What this means, essentially, is that trauma and PTSD might very possibly be hereditary and, as such, may form a large segment of one’s subconscious psychological makeup without one even realizing or recognizing this fact. It also suggests that trauma may be cumulative, building up over time in the body and psyche. If unresolved, it may subsequently be passed down epigenetically to one’s own descendants as generational trauma.
Trauma may be suppressed, often resulting in the Jungian “shadow” — the suppressed, psychologically wounded part of the psyche. It is often a source of (individual or collective) guilt and shame, and may induce the fracturing of the psyche and the involuntary suppression of the traumatized part as the psychic “shadow”. This condition subsequently distorts human perception of reality and may lead one to engage in psychological “projection.”
Trauma has historically been abused by tyrannical political regimes, for example, to oppress populations. It is also leveraged by terrorists to intimidate and terrorize (as the name suggests) vulnerable population groups. The Roman Empire would systematically traumatize the public through the institution of the circus. A bloody spectacle involving mortal combat, public executions, and human sacrifice, sometimes taking the form of prisoners being fed alive to predatory animals, would induce a psychic stupor in the observer — a kind of PTSD that kept the masses transfixed and dumbed down. In fact, modern mass media follows a somewhat similar strategy — the spectacle of gratuitous violence on TV screens, for example, keeps people fearful, unquestioning, dumbed-down, and in line. People become psychologically impaired as a result of prolonged trauma, not unlike the PTSD experienced by veteran soldiers returning from war.
Trauma Release
The good news is that trauma, along with the induced stress in human physiology and psychology, can be released and relieved by a number of methods and techniques. One of the most effective techniques of trauma and stress recovery is transcendental meditation, or TM. This fact has been scientifically proven by numerous published studies from leading universities, including Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Stanford, and others. In his popular publication, The Relaxation Response, noted Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson, M.D., describes his own study of the healing effects of transcendental meditation as a counter to the stress response triggered by traumatic experiences.
Other proven techniques for stress and trauma release include qigong, yoga, “forest bathing” or nature walks, golf, journaling, deep self-reflection, sound healing, breathwork, and so on.
Reflections on the Psychology of Salvation
Having examined the very real, scientifically established ideas surrounding the experience of trauma, its long-term effects on the human psyche, and the benefits of releasing and treating the condition, I proceed to make a rather controversial leap. I suggest that the concepts surrounding trauma and traumatic release may explain some widely-held religious ideas, in particular, those surrounding the Christian concepts of “original sin” and “redemption by faith.” I must note that these are my own personal opinions and not, in any way, addressed or suggested by any of the sources I mention here. It is not my intention to promote any kind of religious ideology or dogma, as I previously mentioned — merely to provide helpful insights, hopefully, into the phenomenological discussion of certain aspects of religious practice.
It occurred to me that the experience of generational or ancestral trauma might provide a scientific explanation for the concept of “original sin.” This may represent an archaic understanding of how the trauma experienced by one’s ancestors is passed down to us epigenetically. In ancient times, ancestral trauma may have been perceived and interpreted as an inherited condition of sin or guilt. Psychological wounds may have been misinterpreted, in the past, as sources of guilt or shame, hence the judgmental terminology of “sin” being applied to a condition of psychological victimhood.
This assessment accords with widespread practices in archaic societies involving victim-blaming and scapegoating, which continue to this day in less developed communities. Indeed, we find several mentions of this widespread human propensity in the New Testament, especially in the teachings of Christ — including the Parable of the Good Samaritan and similar accounts. Archaic tribal communities often engage in the practice of condemning victims of abuse and trauma, unjustly scapegoating and punishing them for their very victimhood, instead of aiding or relieving their wounded condition. As such, it makes sense that the experience of debilitating generational trauma may, in the past, have been misinterpreted by the ancients as “original sin” — an inherent, innate condition of sin and guilt passed down to us from our ancestors — rather than the treatable psychological affliction that it really is.
Furthermore, the Christian doctrine of “salvation” through “faith” and “Divine grace” may, in fact, describe the process of trauma release resulting from the conscious act of “letting go” and trusting in Divine agency in one’s life. I believe this process is similar to the deep states of relaxation and release one may experience through practices such as meditation, yoga, qigong, etc.
Even more controversial, however, is the idea that Jesus Christ may, possibly, have originally been a practitioner of esoteric meditative arts and that these teachings might have been an integral part of his ministry. Jesus may well have been a yogi or Zen mystic, having learned these arts during his hypothetical travels along the ancient Silk Road to the Orient.
The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, discovered in 1945 in the Nag Hammadi library, presents a somewhat unconventional view of Jesus’ teachings, as recorded by the apostle and scribe Didymus Judas Thomas. In this text, Jesus’ teachings appear to be similar to Zen koans, with deep mystical, transcendent meaning embedded in riddling parables and phrases, as observed by Biblical scholars such as Elaine Pagels. While there is considerable overlap with the parables and incidents recounted in the synoptic gospels, there is also some deep mystical teaching in this text, with references to concepts that are thematically similar to “unity consciousness,” “duality,” the “expansion of consciousness,” and, possibly, to meditative practices and ideas.
A Return to an Original Form of Christianity?
The question remains whether this apocryphal gospel, which experts have dated as far back as the second century A.D., may provide a more accurate insight into Jesus’ original teachings — or at least his private teachings to his elect disciples. It may be that the public-facing institutional Christian message was subtly distorted and partially corrupted over time (while still retaining several aspects of the original teaching of Christ) into the apocalyptic religion that we are familiar with today. Could it be that this distorted apocalyptic version of Christianity is the reason that the religion has often been used as a justification, over the ages, for war, tyranny, exclusionary practices, segregation, racism, slavery, and oppression?
Perhaps if we returned to what may have been the core teachings of Jesus, we may discover the key to restoring justice, harmony, peace, and universal love to the world, between the people of the world as well as with nature.
At the very least, it is apparent that we can all benefit from less trauma and stress in our lives and from being physically and psychologically healthy once we have inculcated the practices outlined above into our daily routines.
However, beyond this very real health benefit, there is the possibility that such practices may have a deeper mystical, even mythic, dimension — that they may, in fact, be akin to the mythical Holy Grail long sought in the Western world. That these practices may unlock the secrets to salvation and eternal life for those among us who properly understand and grasp their hidden mysteries!
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