The Energy of Trauma
“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” – Albert Einstein
“As we know through thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It simply changes states. The total amount of energy in an isolated system does not, cannot, change. And thanks to Einstein, we also know that matter and energy are two rungs on the same ladder.
The universe as a whole is closed. However, human bodies (and other ecosystems) are not closed — they’re open systems. We exchange energy with our surroundings. We can gain energy (again, through chemical processes), and we can lose it (by expelling waste or emitting heat).” - Jaime Trosper (Futurism.com)
“Nikola Tesla said it best, “the day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence. To understand the true nature of the universe, one must think it terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” Swami Vivekananda influenced Tesla’s work, an Indian Hindu monk and chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna. Tesla was also influenced by other Vedic philosophies.”
“Matter, at it’s tiniest observable level, is energy, and human consciousness is connected to it, human consciousness can influence it’s behavior and even re-structure it.” – Arjun Walia, Collective Evolution
Everything in the Universe is made up of energy. We are beings made up of energy and vibration. Our state of emotions, our thoughts and feelings create our reality and our perceptions about the world around us. Different thoughts, emotions and behaviors create different electromagnetic frequencies. We, then, are responsible for how we act and react, and what kind of energy we are transmitting. Acts of violence have different effects on the world around us from actions of compassion and kindness.
The United States was founded on violence - the selling of humans into bondage, the murder of millions of human beings, and the destruction of acres upon acres of forest and wild lands. The energy from these acts of violence doesn’t just fade away. It lives on in our bodies/minds. The trauma of our ancestors – both inflicted and received – lives on in ourselves. There is no way past this shared trauma – only THROUGH it. We cannot ignore our past, nor can we forget it – It lives on in our genes.
The Europeans who came here, justified their genocide with Manifest Destiny – the belief that they were superior and that their God chose them and gave them this earth paradise to do with as they please – even destroy it….They founded this country on violence. That violence lives in us at the deepest level.
Aside from the crimes of genocide and slavery and the deep trauma inflicted on humans, the European settlers also massacred entire species of animals and plants. As an example: They decimated the population of the buffalo, almost to extinction, as an intentional act of genocide towards the Plains Indians who depended on their relationship with the buffalo for life. The buffalo was sacred to them and the White Buffalo Calf Woman brought them the sacred pipe (canupa) and taught them how to pray and conduct their seven sacred ceremonies. From “Medicine Cards” by Jamie Sams and David Carson, “Buffalo was the major source of sustenance for the Plains Indians. It gave meat for food, hides for clothing, warm and soft buffalo robes for long winters, and hooves for glue. The medicine of Buffalo is prayer, gratitude and praise for that which has been received. Buffalo is also knowing that abundance is present when all relations are honored as sacred, and when gratitude is expressed to every living part of creation.” Buffalo gave its body as a gift to the Lakota people. And white settlers decimated it, without concern for its role in the Circle of Life. That energy of violence lives on in each of us. When Europeans set foot on the Americas, they brought a different world-view – one that they saw as superior. They had no understanding of the way of life of those who already inhabited this part of the world. Instead of trying to share and understand each other – there was a clash of cultures, and people reacted from a place of fear rather than love. This energy of fear and violence and the acts committed against each other lives on in our DNA. The trauma inflicted against Indigenous peoples lives on in their DNA; the trauma of committing and witnessing violence lives on also in the lives of the descendants of Europeans. The energy of trauma doesn’t die but it can be transformed.
The way through it is by meeting and sharing and listening to each other – without judgement. Our country is deeply divided. I believe that, until we face our shared trauma, we will not change or heal. We must be willing to see our trauma, bear witness, and change our behaviors to transform our future generations. We must show up for each other and be willing to DO the work for restoration.
This isn’t about Facebook memes or marches. It’s not about self-segregating or burying your head in the sand and pretending nothing is happening. It’s showing up at the local level and doing the work of healing together. It’s showing you care and are willing to make change happen even though you don’t have all the answers on how to do that, and even though you are going to make mistakes. We have to allow for mistakes, we have to believe in redemption, and encourage it. It’s not a simple or quick fix. It has literally taken years for us to get this far and this divided. There is deep racial scarring and years of racism embodied in our white-centered society. So deeply, that many of us don’t often realize we are coming from a place that centers white culture as the “norm”, and it’s going to take a long time to fix it. In the meantime, our planet is suffering because of us. We need to start doing the work so she can heal, even as we heal each other. Namaste.
