From the Revd John Brown
Sir, - While acknowledging with the Revd Peter Mockford (
Letters, 9 May) the valued insights of modern psychology in the
treatment of trauma within the Church, it would be tragic if this
led to the neglect of the ancient Christian mystic tradition, going
back to the Desert Fathers of the fourth century, with their search
for a deeper spiritual experience through waiting upon God in
silent contemplation.
The author Jane Christmas has recounted her struggle to find
healing for the trauma of being raped by an executive of the
company where she was employed 30 years earlier, which she
eventually found during one Lent while staying with the nuns at St
Hilda's Priory in Whitby, where she discovered, in her own words,
that "deep faith can silence the brain chatter long enough to
transform trauma into something lighter" (Features, 21
March). She never became a nun, but joined the sisterhood as an
associate.
Self-awareness is the declared aim of psychotherapy, but can be
aided by silent prayer, which, by stilling the conscious mind,
allows the content of the subconscious to surface and gradually be
transformed by the healing power of God. Many lay people have
joined the World Community for Christian Meditation, whose members
are committed to spending half an hour every morning and half an
hour every evening in silence before God.
JOHN BROWN
3 Manor Way
Middleton-on-Sea
West Sussex PO22 6LA