World Trauma, the Elections and Standing Rock

This has been a truly traumatic, amazing and transformational month! Does the alchemical process of becoming a Minister of Walking Prayer require us to have our trauma and grief triggered during this module of world trauma? Because it’s working! Trauma and grief have been triggered in a huge way this month for myself and so many others. We have been left feeling vulnerable, open and raw and yet there continues to be beautiful opportunities presenting themselves now for healing and integration on the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and planetary levels.

Arriving in these times of so much grief and world trauma has shown me how to be present and open even in the face of suffering and loss. In the past it has been easy for me to turn a blind eye to pain and suffering when it was not my own. It was never that I didn’t want to help and to assist in healing. I simply did not know and understand how to see pain, acknowledge suffering and witness anguish without getting incredibly uncomfortable because of the deeply hidden trauma that it would trigger within my own being.

Working with my shadow self to release the pain, anger and suffering that has been hidden has allowed me to show up more fully in my prayer while my clients, people and the world around me experiences trauma. I no longer have the need to look away or put a bandaid on it. Like Oriah Mountain Dreamer said in her poem The Invitation, I am now able to “sit with pain, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it” and “stand in the center of the fire and not shrink back”.

I appreciated being reminded of the mystery of Job and how he suffered innumerable losses and unnameable suffering while continuing to communicate with God. He was not interested in being made to feel better, he was not looking for a quick fix. The only healing for him was diving into the pain, feeling it and being vulnerable. In his vulnerability he was able to listen for the greater meaning within the mystery.

The elections this month, and the atrocities that we witnessed with the water protectors at Standing Rock have shown me that when we remain open to Creator, vulnerable in our own process and continue to stand in prayer the mystery unfolds in ways we never could have imagined. Sometimes our pain, grief and trauma is a threshold between where we are now and the great and mysterious possibilities of our future. The election results could bring much darkness to our country, our people and our world. It is also an incredible opportunity to rise up and stand together in ways that we never have before. While some may choose to hold on the their biases and hatred, others will find themselves standing up for others and standing in solidarity in ways that they had never even considered before. Simply because it is the right thing to do. Standing Rock and the threat of the Dakota Access Pipeline has brought people together in this way. It has shown how powerful our prayers and actions are and the incredible strength we have when we work and stand together for a true and just cause. These intense traumatic experiences have served to wake people up and activate them to hear their call to action.

I have noticed that intense grief, anger and trauma can serve as an initiation if we remain open and vulnerable. When we choose not to turn away from, ignore, deny, bypass or escape our shadow emotions and instead to acknowledge them and see them as the messengers that they are, we can allow ourselves to grow, evolve and step into a more meaningful existence. Emotions and even pain are meant to show us a deeper level of ourselves. When we acknowledge the pain and look at where it comes from and why and how it has power over us we begin to see ourselves more clearly. We must look at these levels of ourselves to be able to step more fully into our true purpose and potential. We can serve others and our world better when we have looked at our own shadows and removed the cobwebs from the dark corners of our subconscious. From this clearer place we are able to hold space in prayer when others have to face their own pain, grief and trauma.

Before the dawn is dark.  

Before the spring the summer.

Before the flower the bud is closed, protected.

Before creation, prayer.