We are at a pivotal point in our history as human beings. 2012 looms closer on our horizon and whether it really portends the changes that are predicted or whether it is only in the human imagination, it is still exerting a massive influence on the evolution of consciousness.
When we talk about planetary change, what is it that we are wanting? We discuss moving away from globalization, away from violence and greed driven motives. We envisage an end to war and abusive relationships. We talk about healing the human psyche and expanding our hearts in alignment with loving, caring values. How can we bring about such enormous changes in such a short space of time? Will catastrophic events dictate that we make these changes and will our healing come in the wake of the environmental disasters that we have set in motion by our limited consciousness?
I have always maintained that we can best facilitate change by healing ourselves and allowing the ripples to move outwards. This has been the focus for my life. Like many others, it has been as a result of my own healing journey, that I have the privilege of sharing my experience with others through working as a therapist. I practise what I have learnt. How does this work?
It is only by touching upon the deep suffering within oneself and acquiring the necessary self compassion, that I can then be open to another’s suffering. It has an affect on my own consciousness. I am enabled through this process to hold a sacred space with ‘presence’ for my clients. In such a space they can touch upon their suffering and develop their own compassion.
What is this sacred space of presence? It is the ability to witness, in a spacious way, without my own projections, the story of another. It is not about my interpretation of what their ‘symptoms’ are. And is not about a judgement of what they should or shouldn’t do to heal themselves. It is not about me ‘fixing’ them. It is really allowing them a space to explore for themselves, whilst being ‘present’ for them in a way that doesn’t violate their own process. Any kind of projection from my side, at this subtle level can be toxic and invasive. It seems that when this space is held, it is possible for a miracle to happen!
My own journey has caused me to delve deeply into my earliest development as an embryo, and even as far back as a sperm and ovum. Recently I explored my earliest experience as a soul coming into embodiment. I journeyed from the un-embodied realms into being an egg in my mothers ovary. I found that I had an enormous amount of shock in my body from this pre-natal stage. My experience confirms the research of other pre-natal educators such as Karlton Terry, that the roots of violence and abuse, are embedded deeply in the unexplored and unexpressed suffering experienced at these very early developmental stages. I agree with him that if this trauma remains unconscious, then it is acted out in disruptive and abusive or violent behaviour that can destroy our relationships and wreck havoc on the planet.
It’s clear that in order to bring transformation to human consciousness and healing for the planet, we must unearth the roots of our suffering in our pre-natal lives. To many people, it would seem preposterous that we can have any memory of this time and therefore quite a ridiculous idea that we could suffer when we are only a single cell or a small group of cells. Interesting! Up until fairly recently, it was believed that babies could not feel and operations were done on them without anaesthesia. In Buddhism, it is believed that even the simplest organism can experience suffering. From my experience of this work, both in my own personal healing and also with the enormous amount of work that I have done with clients, I know for sure that we suffered deeply at the earliest time of our pre-natal embryological development.
If we are to heal this primal wounding, it is important that we are able to access it in a sacred space, held with presence by a deeply empathic, compassionate therapist. I am deeply grateful for having received this quality of holding in my training with Karlton. It has enabled me to make quite dramatic shifts in my own psyche and to release some deeply painful psychological issues and physical symptoms. I am now able to do this work with others.
It is wonderful that as adults we can regress to these early traumatic experiences and re-pattern them. Brain research shows the brain is ‘plastic’ and can rewire itself, forming new neurological pathways. When we experience trauma, the brain becomes constellated into very limited patterns of reactivity, as synapses are facilitated to fire repeatedly with the smallest trigger that reminds us of the original trauma. Conscious awareness of the trauma and its re-patterning teaches the brain to create new options for behaviour and a spacious response. We can become self reflective and know that we now have a choice.
The beauty of this work is that it can be done with very small babies. Babies accurately express, through their baby body language, exactly what has happened to them from the time of their egg and sperm journeys, through conception, to implantation, discovery stage and gestation and stages of birth. All of these events are potentially traumatic. A baby will show exactly what is important to heal and a skilled baby therapist will be able to understand this language. It is important that babies are allowed to cry and express this suffering, and that this is listened to empathically and with presence by the parents and therapist. There is a difference between ‘needs crying’ which must be attended to by an action, and trauma crying, which should be listened to. Never try to hush a baby, since this will drive the trauma deeper into the baby’s system. Karlton is now training baby therapists and if we are to change the world, then this is a deeply worthy approach.
Should you want to heal your own trauma or learn more about training, please contact me here.
Juliet