We may remember times of crisis, whether it be in our own personal life, our family, another loved one – or we may struggle to bring forward the details of these significant happenings. We may notice remnant sensations in our body or they may feel remote as if unreachable down a some seemingly-bottomless rabbit hole. It all depends on our individual system and the ways in which our body and psyche react at the time of the crisis. To compare ourself with another is a futile exercise given that our system are so intricately varied, and the ways in which we respond to shocking events are quite unique and specific to our individualized wounding and ancestral imprints. This intricate structure imaged above suggests a potential glimpse of what may be the coexisting properties of our delicately fragile existence that intimately touch into our highly resilient nature, clearly positioned within the context of unfathomable healing potential.

Collectively, as a nation, we often turn to 9/11 or the moments of learning about JFK or MLK being assassinated. We may remember where we were in those shocking minutes that dragged into hours and days, followed by years of grief and national despair – or these times may be wiped from our conscious memory, leaving us confused about their absence inside of us. We may experience the shock of a crisis throughout the whole of our body or we may experience a particular charge in an isolated space within us that seems to grab our attention, like our head, heart or elsewhere in our body. The shocking experiences that impact our system may leave deep long-lasting imprints within us that may extend back into our early childhood and even into our prenatal existence. And yet, it may seem easy to dismiss the level of impact that these shocks have on us. The degree to which we may have needed to disconnect and be numb to what may have happened to us by way of these shocking experiences in an effort to protect ourselves and offer some sense of safety, may add to the intensity to which we may minimize or deny these difficult happenings.

Just because we may not consciously remember doesn’t mean that the shocking experiences didn’t occur. The act of forgetting when we are young may be a sagious way of preservation given we are unable to offensively defend ourselves in the face of such events. When shock woundings first occur, we feel vulnerable and unable to protect ourselves. And yet, as we age, mirrorings of these woundings (i.e. recapitulations) tend to recur over time and may likely follow a specific-themed pattern, presenting us with opportunities to track these repetitions and gain clarity about their origins and the associated feelings that we may have buried and held captive for so long.

As we move into a stronger sense of self, we may with time and with supportive resources held close, embark on a journey to heal that which wounded us so deeply. Thus, learning how to create safety for ourselves now in the current day, and slowing down the pace such that we are not overwhelmed in the face of what may frighten us, are integral when slowly unveiling the truth of what may have shocked us early on. As we lean into these repeated themes and begin to unveil the hidden emotions that may be tucked within the folded tissues of our being or what may feel like cracked spaces within us, we may touch into the healing that we have longed for – and begin to find rest. Walking alongside those who lean gently into their patterned themes on this healing trajectory of sorts, calls for honoring the sagious knowings and clarity that seem to reside deep within the recesses of all sentient beings, and are accessed as we release the imprisoned feelings that may be hurting us, thus allowing us to create open spaces for all that is good.

09 Sep This entry was published on September 9, 2014 at 9:12 PM. It’s filed under counseling, health, mental health, therapy, wellness and tagged crisis, healing, resources, safety, shock, wounding. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.