By Mary L. Holden
It was an honor to be connected to James Encinas through Jane Stevens and her ACEs Connection network. For nearly five years, we’ve worked on our separate-but-equal personal missions to spread the importance of the ACE Study completed by Vincent J. Felitti, M.D. and Robert Anda, M.D.
James chose to use a bicycle and the power of words to show why the ACE Study is a significant advance in human understanding of self and others. For me, as an editor and writer, I like to look for and find the foundations of meaning, the reason for reasons.
What I’m giving in this post is in the form of steppingstones for what I see is a path of healing. Steppingstones…bullet points…easy reading…because all of our lives need more grace and ease:
Healing is a constant process; no one is ever “healed” in a complete, past-tense, sense and there is great beauty and even comfort in this perfect imperfection.
The idea of “being healed” limits the concept of mental and physical health so the goal is to feel into healing as being past-present-future, all in one.
A wound in the flesh creates art through scar tissue when it’s healing; the mark it leaves is a souvenir of pain.
A wound in the brain creates art through scar issue; a person cannot see the scars left from emotional issues that are healing unless one views them through use of the imagination.
Healing trauma is always possible and it is as unique a process as the individual in whom it is happening; find a modality that resonates most with your own body, mind, heart, soul.
Individuals can explore traditional paths of healing through the science of psychology, or nontraditional modalities like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TSY), Acupuncture, Craniosacral Therapy (CST), and The Emotion Code, and many others.
Sharing your trauma story, and receiving similar stories of others as a compassionate witness, adds to the amount of good healing energy in the world.
Creating safe environments and communities for sharing stories and experiencing hands-on art/craft or minds-on meditations can be done by nonexperts in a variety of practical, non-expensive ways without threat of liability.
There is a baby step to take before navigating the path of these stones. Imagine yourself as a baby. Hold your baby-self image and love it pure, love it whole, love it without judgment, love it with compassion, love it the way your spirit allows the power of love.
Thank you so much for this. Of all of the ways to heal trauma, I really like sharing one's story-- Brene Brown says the cure for shame comes in the form of 2 words- "me too". I love that. I have seen trauma survivors really thrive when they are able to share their experiences in a safe place with others. We are creatures of belonging- we were created to be in relationship. Anything that makes us feel like "other" is wounding. Bringing us back into connection is healing.