In this episode, we talk about a moving Jewish midrashic (saying what is unsaid) legend recounts that after the death of Abel, the mourning Adam and Eve fall into a profound, melancholy solitude. Far from Paradise, they are no longer in harmony with their environment or with one another. We imagine them silent, lethargic. They no longer desire anything, least of all another child. Undoubtedly, Abel and his cruel fate are too prevalent in their thoughts for them to wish to give him a brother. Years, centuries slip away, and for them, the world is a wasteland. But do they remember the first commandment, to be fruitful and multiply? And if they have forgotten, why doesn’t God remind them of it?

In the Midrash, it is one of their descendants who reminds them—Lemech.

A curious character. He is blind. At a certain time, he takes two women: Ada and Tzila (Genesis 4:19). Why two? One to give him children and the other to give him pleasure. It is to them that he will confess: “Ada and Tzila, listen to my voice! Wives of Lemech, give ear to my word! I have killed a man” (Genesis 4:23). Yes, he had just killed Cain.

As you should have read in my book, “Leaving the Seventh Day Adventist Church, The Spiritual Reality of Judaism and Modern Christianity,” Noah’s Flood was a type of baptism of Pangea from the dragon body of the Goddess Tiamat, Hebrew Te’hom. The earth itself was originally composed of ocean water and it is feminine, GAIA. Gaia was the Greek goddess “Earth”, mother of all life, similar to the Roman name, Terra Mater for Mother Earth.

Then we delve into my work as a chaplain in a program called clinical pastoral education, abbreviated CPE. I came across a very interesting article in “Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine”, published by the Spiritual Care Association of which I am a member and this particular author is a staff chaplain in Florida and has worked extensively in hospital chaplaincy.

The chaplain is like the Hippocampus, which assesses the trauma or emotional state of the person experiencing the traumatic event, suffering, loss, or distress. Similar to the hippocampus, the chaplain works to provide calm to the emotional state of the patient or family member. The Hippocampus is considered the section of the brain that stores memories. So, when fear comes, it remembers where you were and what you were doing then. Also, it appears to be particularly sensitive to a stress hormone called cortisol. The hypothesis is that people with severe PTSD and high cortisol levels drive the nerve cells of the hippocampus to “death by exhaustion.”

So, as traumatized individuals lose these neurons that generate positive emotions, they may be impaired in recalling memories that create positive feelings (Wright, p. 195). For example, a child attacked by a very small Chihuahua might grow up fearing tiny dogs, whereas large dogs will not affect them. While the Amygdala is screaming an unreasonable warning message, the Hippocampus will remind them that the small dog walking their way is not the dog that attacked them.

However, instead of countering the hurtful memory or interpreting the stimuli with a message of calm, a diminished Hippocampus might allow previous bad memories to play over and over again, not providing calm and comfort as it should. That being said, some theorists believe the Hippocampus can regrow neurons. If the patient can make peace with the memory of what happened, they can learn to take control of their future experiences. Isn’t that fascinating? The example is a little dry, but it fundamentally explains how spiritual caregivers can serve as the hippocampus to help us preserve positive memories.

For more information ℹ️ about me, visit my author website at: https://sonianicolelevi.wixsite.com/sonianicolelevi