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Hidden Memories - Whatever is hidden within us can be found and helpful.
We can remember many things that have happened, both recent and past, and sometimes we ponder their meaning. Other memories are not easily accessible, as when we try to remember where we were on a certain date, or the names of everyone who was present at a small gathering we attended. There are other memories that are hidden from our ability to recall them, and which affect our thinking and behavior without our knowing it. When we question where a specific thought or behavior comes from, one of these hidden memories could be revealed to us.
We might recall such an experience, as when, for example, we wondered how we had acquired a habit of always doing something the same way, even though there was no reason for doing so; and then a childhood memory came up of one of our parents acting in that same way and we see the connection. Discovering influences like this is satisfying, because we believe that every aspect of our lives is somehow purposeful and meaningful.
However, some of our past life-experiences were hurtful, and even if their memories became hidden, our bodies remember them. When we are enabled to recall the connection between disruptive aspects of our lives, their possible initial sources, and the initial impetuses for them, healing almost always follows. This process of becoming aware of how past hurts have been affecting our present lives is most securely done by consciously partnering with God. Whether we eventually talk with a friend or someone in a healing profession for help, only God knows the full story of our hidden memories, loves us completely as we are, and is always available to guide us in the manner that is best for us. When we start with God, we will find our way to fuller integration of hidden memories.
While we usually enjoy discovering how we came to develop some of our habitual behavior, the process of uncovering painful memories for the sake of healing is not of itself enjoyable. That is why we, who are created as communal people, engage in this essentially spiritual journey in the company of God and other trusted persons. Even though our exploration is deeply personal, we do not come to know ourselves better on our own, but in relationships with others. Often, we do not even understand what we believe about ourselves until we hear ourselves express it to others, especially to God.
Since we are unique individuals, we are partially mysterious or at least in some ways unknowable, to others, and even to some extent to ourselves. But not to God, our creator-lover to whom our hidden memories are completely open. If we want to come to know ourselves better, including the effects of previous painful incidents upon us, we ask God to guide and inspire us.
Last Updated 8/29/2026