Transforming the Wounded Warrior Goddess

I was honored to spend the last week in service to 30 women combat veterans at an all women’s wilderness retreat created by The Women’s Wilderness Institute of Colorado. Days later, I am still sitting with a whole new level of inspiration and awe by the power of the human will, not only to survive situations many could never even imagine but also, to blossom and gravitate toward creating the deepest of heartfelt connections.

It truly was an honor to be there. I was not planning on being there. Sometimes the universe has a way of orchestrating pieces of your life to come together in ways you would never expect. For me, I never once thought my military upbringing would be one of those pieces that would come back around to play a role in my career. However, when I got the call for this opportunity, I couldn’t say no.

I served on behalf of ONE Freedom, a Colorado nonprofit dedicated to helping people not only navigate lives impacted by stress and trauma but more importantly, how to discover the strength within to allow people to move through a challenging life with grace and with ease. Part of my role involved presenting their model, called BASE-R, which is designed to educate people about the neurophysiology of stress and to provide hands-on skills to help people get in the drivers seat when stress arises.

As I listened to the stories these amazing Goddess warriors shared and as I watched them engage exercises in trust, it got me thinking. Well, actually, first it got me feeling… so much compassion for what many of them have experienced and inspiration by courage demonstrated on extraordinary levels. And then, it got me thinking, about how many women, and people in general, have similar stories – whether it’s on a military battlefield or any other kind of battlefield. So many… indeed, I know only a few people who have NOT been impacted by some kind of trauma in their lives. I then began asking myself, what is the universal nature of trauma and why are some people’s lives more impacted by it than others? More importantly, what are the best ways to help people significantly impacted by it?

Creating a safe container in this case, in the wilderness, held by skilled, compassionate facilitators, is definitely one sure-fire way to make a difference. Educating and providing hands-on skills are also very important ways to help. Another way, as I got to observe, seemed to be relating and connecting to one another, forming new bonds, and simply sharing their experiences with each other. And my personal favorite – music and dance – I’ve seen a lot of opening up and healing happen on a dance floor in my time. There are many ways to make a difference, and, at the end of this retreat, there was one word that kept running through my mind – Perspective.

How is trauma viewed by different cultures? How do we view trauma in our own culture? How is trauma viewed by different institutions and by different therapists? One of the most inspiring perspectives I’ve ever come across on this topic has come from working with ONE Freedom. I remember being at one of the trainings for Magis Group (the parent company of ONE Freedom), and listening to this man, really more like a human light beam from the heavens, talk about his work in the field of trauma. This man, Dr. David Bercelli, turns out to be one of the world’s leading experts in the field and the founder of a revolutionary and unique set of Trauma (or Tension) Releasing Exercises (TREs) that help release the deep chronic tension created in the body during a traumatic experience. David has actually traveled extensively around the world teaching TRE’s to hundreds of thousands of people impacted by trauma, especially in disaster-torn or war-torn countries. As I listened to David speak one day about his work, it was a profound perspective that perked my interest and sparked my soul.

After working with so many people impacted by trauma, David noticed that there are basically two kinds of people on the planet. There are those who become painfully contracted by the trauma, and those who miraculously expand into more loving, compassionate beings than they ever could be before the trauma (and I’m sure there’s a few people in between as always it seems!). He doesn’t claim to know what makes one person one way and another a different way, though I got the sense that he believes it’s possible for all people to be positively transformed by trauma. He also makes an important point about the fact that trauma is actually a natural part of being alive and our bodies are naturally built to recover from trauma. In that sense, the more we all know, the bigger the support system can be, especially during times like these. In support, the TREs are simply a way of allowing the body to do what it already knows how to do.

I can’t help but agree with David. I see it all the time, I think we all see it – people who get their whole world turned upside down only to have their perspective of life turned right-side up.

When the women arrived to the retreat, they arrived with their own various perspectives about trauma. When they arrived, there were tears, laughter, sadness, anger and rightfully so, after hearing their stories, I can’t help but feel some anger myself. Often, no matter what emotions paint the backdrop, protective walls can be hard to bring down. And deep down, many people who are impacted by symptoms of post-traumatic stress wonder if there is something intrinsically wrong with them. Many don’t realize what they are feeling, while challenging, is merely a dysregulated nervous system and nothing more. And the good news is that our brains and our nervous systems can be and are constantly re-programming and re-shaping into whatever it is we choose to practice.

It was exciting to watch so many women soak up so much – knowledge, tools, friendships, and the beautiful Colorado wilderness. As each day went by, I watched as one by one, breath by breath, each and every woman slowly began to open up. Not only did they open up, but they also stepped up and into some of the most radiant beings I have ever been surrounded by. And by the last day, like butterflies, they all transformed into love and light fluttering about. For some it was a remembering of how life was before going to war, for others, it was a discovery into a new way to be in the world. For everyone, there was a sense of gratitude and for lack of a better word… magic.

On the last day of the retreat, we circled up and the director of the retreat (whom the women affectionately and respectfully referred to as the commander in chief) passed around a sacred talking stick to give each woman an opportunity to share a few last words. I remember the words of one woman, “To love and be loved… this is what I want for my life.” As she spoke those words, I could feel in them the universal cry of every human soul on this planet. My eyes began to tear and I felt a tug at my heart. A few moments later, another woman boldly directed our commander in chief and the team of facilitators to step into the middle of the circle and stand at attention. She then stood up tall, looked our commander in the eyes, pulled her hand up to her brow, and proudly saluted us. We saluted back to her and then saluted the others as the entire room burst into clapping and whistling.

Days later, I’m still sitting here… amazed. Those Warrior Goddesses taught me a lot about courage, sacrifice, strength, skill and most of all about honor. Veteran’s day will never be the same for me. Coming home to visit my family, who are largely former military, will never be the same.

This post is dedicated to those women, and all the brave souls who have served in some way. And to organizations such as ONE Freedom, Magis Group, and Women’s Wilderness… I salute you all!

May you all be blessed with freedom to live, love, and laugh through whatever life brings.

In closing I would like to share a mantra that was called in at the retreat:

Ong Namu… Guru Dev Namu

A call to infinite possibilities! I bow to the divine teacher within myself!

Aho! and Namaste!

Jinju

One laboratory (Bengston and Krinsley, 2000) has published findings in the Journal of Scientific Exploration demonstrating the curing of cancer in mice by such methods. In a controlled experiment, these scientists employed a noncontact form of “laying on of hands” in an attempt to cure mice of transplanted mammary adenocarcinoma. There were three groups such that one had a group of healers place their hands just above the mice with healing intention and no contact. The other two groups were control groups (one in the same room and one in a separate room from the experimental group) that were treated exactly the same except they were not given mental intention with hands.  Following three replications, 87.9 percent (29 out of 33 mice) were cured of the cancer in the experimental group compared to 69.2 percent (18 out of 26 mice) being cured on site. None of the control mice off site were cured. Furthermore, when the scientists re-introduced tumor cells to the treated, cured mice, the cells were rejected, suggesting a long-term physiological effect.

Scientific reports of this type of mental phenomena date back to the 1960s. A study published in the Journal of Parapsychology shows these effects can occur from a distance on fungus cultures in a laboratory (Barry, 1968). In this study, ten subjects were told to use conscious intent to suppress the growth of fungus. Each subject concentrated on the cultures for fifteen minutes from a distance of approximately 1.5 yards. The cultures were then incubated for several more hours. An impressive 151 out of a total of 194 culture dishes demonstrated retarded growth.

More recently, remote prayer has been shown to have significant beneficial effect on hospital patients. Harris et al. (1999) published significant results in the Archives of Internal Medicine for a double-blind experiment involving 990 consecutive patients admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU). Patients were randomized to either receive or not receive remote, intercessory prayer. The team of outside intercessors prayed for patients in the prayer group daily for four weeks. Patients were made aware that they were being prayed for, and the intercessors never met the patients and were given only the patients’ first names. The medical course from hospital admission to discharge was summarized in a CCU course score derived from blinded, retrospective chart review. The results showed that the prayed-for group had about a 10 percent advantage compared to the usual-care group and this difference proved to be significant (P = .04).

What does all this mean? Perhaps it means nothing at all. Or maybe, it means we could benefit greatly from re-conceptualizing what is possible and practical in placing health and well-being into our own hands. If nothing else, let it be a reminder that there is still an enormous amount to learn about our minds and there is so much potential in the power of our thoughts. In line with these findings, the former editor of Nature, Sir John Maddox, stated, “The catalogue of our ignorance must…include the understanding of the human brain…. What consciousness consists of…is…a puzzle. Despite the marvelous success of neuroscience in the past century…, we seem as far away from understanding…as we were a century ago….The most important discoveries of the next 50 years are likely to be ones of which we cannot now even conceive” (Maddox, 1999).

Barry J. 1968. General and comparative study of the psychokinetic effect on a fungus culture. Journal of Parapsychology. 32: 237-43.

Bengston WF, Krinsley D. The effect of the “laying on of hands” on transplanted breast cancer in mice. Journal of Scientific Exploration. 2000;14(3):353-364.

Harris W, Gowda M, Kolb JW, Strychacz CP, Vacek JL, Jones PG, Forker A, O’Keefe JH, McCallister BD. 1999. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Archives of Internal Medicine. 159(19):2273-2278.

Maddox J. 1999. The unexpected science to come. Scientific American. 281(6):62-67.