Contrition
Penitential sorrow for sin as the first movement of the soul's healing — Julian's first of three medicines ('by contrition we are made clean'), the Christian compunction tradition, Sufi tawba, Greek metanoia, Hebrew teshuvah; the wound of sorrow that turns bitterness into hope of mercy. Distinct from self_examination (the diagnostic practice), rejection_of_hypocrisy (critique of others' form), and dark_night (imposed aridity): contrition is the soul's own penitent turning.
5 passages · 2 traditions
native_american4
◆The Soul of the Indian | Chapter IIIa
“CEREMONIAL AND SYMBOLIC WORSHIP Modern Perversions of Early Religious Rites.
The Sun Dance.
The Great Medicine Lodge.
Totems and Charms.
The Vapor-Bath and the Ceremonial of the Pipe.
The public religious rites of the Plains Indians ar…”
◆The Soul of the Indian | Chapter IVd
“Before the coming of the white man, there was in fact little temptation or opportunity to despoil the enemy; but in modern times the practice of “stealing horses” from hostile tribes has become common, and is thought far from dishonorable.…”
◆Myths of the Cherokee | Myth 4a
“ORIGIN OF DISEASE AND MEDICINE In the old days the beasts, birds, fishes, insects, and plants could all talk, and they and the people lived together in peace and friendship.
But as time went on the people increased so rapidly that their se…”
◆Myths of the Cherokee | Myth 4b
“If the reply be “Yes,” all is well, and the Little Deer goes on his way; but if the reply be “No,” he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided by the drops of blood on the ground, until he arrives at his cabin in the settlement, when the…”
christian_mysticism1
◆Revelations of Divine Love | Chapter XXXIX
“"Sin is the sharpest scourge.... By contrition we are made clean, by compassion we are made ready, and by true longing towards God we are made worthy" Sin is the sharpest scourge that any chosen soul may be smitten with: which scourge thoro…”