My first teachers...
When I was 12 yrs. old, my 1st job was as a volunteer in a Veteran's hospital. The patients had served in the Korean, 1st and 2nd World wars. Each day, the men would recount their battlefield experiences to me. I was bewildered by the daily repetition of the same stories and the way they experienced them...as though they had happened the day before. Many years had elapsed since their trauma, but the story was freshly experienced each day. They were gripped by their memories. No amount of therapy could dislodge them.
Little did I know at the time, but these men were my 1st teachers..
My early years were marked by traumatic experiences and the illnesses that can follow. I tried all the usual methods for healing with limited results. I continued to struggle through life under the weight of those experiences. As I turned 40, more substantial help came in the form of Thai massage and Reiki where I experienced deep, profound and lasting healing on all levels. Through this I began to explore the link between the body, the nervous system and trauma Working through the body was a more effective and efficient means of release of long-held trauma in the nervous system. Talk therapy and medication were useful but insufficient. Those experiences led to a change of career as a bodyworker. I found my niche in trauma work. A series of spiritual experiences opened up a new way of approaching these issues and I began to be drawn to the Balkan region, where I saw war up close for the 1st time. I did 2 volunteer stints and was able to assess the effectiveness of the work. Now I am returning to do something more substantial.
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Debra Robinson skydancer@ij.net