Julian of Norwich ‐ her relevance to healing today

Abstract

AbstractIn the 14th century, Julian of Norwich had a series of intense visions which, after many years' contemplation and reflection, she put down on paper in her book ‘Revelations of Divine Love’. Her teaching is based on a very simple formula — God is all wisdom and all power and all love. Therefore, even if things seem very dark, all is going according to plan towards an ultimate fulfilment. Hence, Julian's most famous statement “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”. It is our spiritual blindness that prevents us from realising this great truth. Sin and suffering appear unavoidable yet they have no abiding substance as they will ultimately be transmuted into a great good. Julian is remarkable for her very modern psychological insights. Thus she sees the wrath of God as being a projection of our own anger on to God who, she states, never shows anger as he is fully satisfied with the integrity of his creation. She has much to say about the ‘super‐ego’, that part of our soul which is incapable of sin and she stresses the need for us to come, through contemplation, to know our true natures. Julian puts great emphasis on joy — indeed she introduced the word ‘enjoyment’ into the English language. She also, like St. Paul, affirms that the joys awaiting us will make our present suffering pale into insignificance. Her theology is of particular relevance to humanity at this troubled stage in our history and offers a foundation for healing in the truly holistic sense. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd.