A forum to discuss the relationship between spirituality and trauma.
Inspired by Daniel Shaw’s book, Traumatic Narcissism, this post discusses “detachment” and “emancipation” from hatred and trauma in mediation, trauma work and spirituality.
A video of Peter Levine’s talk on spirituality and trauma to the Jung Society of Austin. Related to previous post: Peter Levine: Presence in Trauma and Spirituality.
Profound words from Peter Levine on the relationship between the presence experienced during trauma and the presence which catalyzes spiritual transformation. Elizabeth’s note on the opening of the heart during spiritual practice and its closing during trauma.
A wonderful video for inspiration, meditation and reflection. Jennifer Berezan and her friends demonstrate collaborative spirituality by weaving their voices together in a spirit of lovingkindness for all.
A post about the tension between technique and presence during deep moments of resolution in trauma healing, spirituality and mediation. True mastery is not “doing” but wu wei, the ability to act while holding this tension. Draws on Peter Levine’s trauma work, (Somatic Experiencing®), the work of Daniel Stern, the Theory of Holes (A. H. Almaas and Faisal Muqaddam), and the work of J.G. Bennett, as well as Elizabeth Bader’s writings on the IDR cycle.
In “Beyond Technique: Trauma Healing, Mediation and Spirituality,” Elizabeth Bader uses several terms from Daniel Stern repeatedly. However, Stern uses these key terms in ways that do not necessarily conform to their obvious meaning or normal usage. For that reason, this post provides those definitions. All definitions are from Daniel Stern’s book, The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life (W. W. Norton & Company, 2004).
Yeh-Lu Ch’u Tsai saved millions of lives through his work with difficult people, including Genghis Khan. Using his life as a model, this post discusses how to work with difficult people, and how respect and spiritual integrity, combined with hard-headed realism and objectivity, form the basis for service to others.
The “Theory of Holes” developed by Hameed Ali (pen name, A. H. Almaas) and Faisal Muqaddam with Karen Johnson provides a map for the process of recovering essence on the spiritual journey. Limitations in cases of trauma are noted.
In order to move to a place of compassion we each must dissolve the internal psychological structure known as the inner critic or superego. This post, the first in a series, discusses this core work on the path of integrating psychology, spirituality and conflict resolution. We begin with the first step in this process: learning to recognize the inner critic inside.
Dr. Peter Levine, a leading pioneer in the area of healing trauma, speaks about trauma and the spiritual journey.
