ABSTRACT

Being whole differs from being healthy. Even the severely ill, they of all people, are sometimes whole. Etymologically, “whole” comes from Greek holos. It expresses wholeness, intactness, and redemption. We may become newly connected. From within develops the desire to start life over again. Fear is no longer the imperious underlying reflex. Instead we find ourselves time and again beyond fear: trusting or interested in (turned toward) life. Coping patterns subside: rather than fighting adversaries, opposing positions enter into dialogue. Questions of guilt and justice are replaced by feelings of dignity. The need for revenge yields to the need for life and love. Dream images speak to us, for instance, of the roundtable, where we all have a place, or of victims of violence, who encounter their perpetrators in a new way. The latter can partake in communion, as long as they feel what they have done to others. Being whole and healed in our soul and spirit is ultimately a vision, behind which we always lag. And yet, precisely this vision enables us to perform our daily chores. This chapter also presents typical symbols, experiences of music, and images of God/the divine.