It was believed that receiving Christ meant living a metanoia
The notion of metanoia is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The term, however, is used in different contexts.
Metanoia in theology
In the field of theology and rhetoric , metanoia is linked to a change of direction or meaning . It may be a statement that refers to a retraction or repentance.
Metanoia usually appears in the field of the Catholic or Christian religion . In this framework, metanoia has to do with the positive conversion of an individual to receive Christ or even access to a divine revelation . In fact, early Christianity considered the mere approach to Christ as a synonym for metanoia, since the change he caused in people was inevitable and undeniable.
We should not let the presence of the term "repentance" lead us to think about concepts like "guilt" or "remorse"; On the contrary, the transformation that takes place in metanoia appears as a result of a lack of satisfaction with ourselves , and is then a movement towards a higher plane.
A fundamental difference between this conception and those explained below is that religion is characterized by having a more rigid structure in terms of limits. Believers cannot experience any type of transformation if they want to be accepted by their community, but rather one that respects the values included in their doctrine. Although society also imposes limits on us, they are considerably broader.
in psychology
For psychology , metanoia is a process of transformation of the psyche that pursues self-healing . According to the Swiss Carl Gustav Jung , through metanoia the mind spontaneously tries to solve a conflict, leaving behind a certain structure and promoting an adaptation.
Jung considered that a psychotic episode can be a metanoia that aims at the restoration of the psyche . Therefore, a psychotic break can have a productive purpose, which is why it does not always have to be repressed.
This approach was taken by the Scot Ronald David Laing , who maintained that psychotic patients had to be supported in their destructuring to promote spontaneous healing. If metanoia is blocked, Laing indicated, the subject's defenses end up strengthening and the conflict is maintained.
In everyday speech
In the broadest sense, metanoia involves changing one's mentality to adopt a new worldview. In this way, other values and purposes arise that affect behavior.
In other words, through metanoia we can begin to look at the world from another perspective , thanks to which our values, objectives and priorities are transformed, as well as our bond with society and its cultural and material elements. It is a path that could mean a change of scenery to clear our minds and make us more capable of solving the deepest problems of our existence.
Change our way of looking at the world
It is important to note that a change in mentality does not mean staying blank and starting over, but rather taking advantage of all our experience to look at life from another point of view, pose new challenges and, in the best of cases, acquire new skills or awaken them. those that until now we had not discovered in ourselves.
If we take for a second part of the definition that this term receives in the field of theology, we can use the concept of "repentance" to draw an analogy: metanoia allows us to change to solve problems, some of which are our responsibility , so that the act itself can arise from feeling the need to provoke a conversion towards a better stage, to get closer to our own peak.