What is Trauma? And How to Work with Trauma?
Working with individuals, in their bodies, it’s important to understand the mechanics of trauma resolution, as developed by American clinical psychologist and author, Peter Levine. The goal is to assist people to return safely to a sense of well-being, through consciously working with the capacities related to the self-regulation of the nervous system. It’s astounding that this principle works flawlessly with anyone willing to follow “the unpopular proposition,” to turn one’s attention to the place of pain and suffering within, and use skillful means to access the resources in the body. The titration happens by shifting attention consciously, which allows for a safe and manageable discharge of the overwhelm though the nervous system.
The miracle that is energy as it follows attention is witnessed and finally understood as the best-kept secret of transformation. The relief from pain and suffering is a shift of attention away.
We can use this same principle to work with the defense system and the avoidance patterns of someone’s Enneagram type structure. It’s a beautiful way in which this principle can be applied to releasing the overwhelm and allowing for our essential nature to arise. This has great value for our development as human beings.
Accessing our deepest fears — the ones that are holding us hostage, we can learn to release the deeply held tensions and defense mechanisms of the personality structure, reconciling the vice and virtues, and the fixations and the Holy Ideas, as well as what’s at the root of the defensive and the nurturing reflexes.
Our natural state of well-being then returns and a renewed sense of grounded presence, vitality, and well-being follows. The integration of our personality’s lower states of Dualistic Awareness and higher states of Non-dual Awareness give rise to our Essential, Divine Nature and the Benevolence of the Universe.