· Our “bird” of consciousness…There is a species of bird that flies out to sea from the coast of England. At some point in its journey, it begins a slow, protracted circling over the sea, as though looking for something. Eventually, it makes it journey back to the coast. Some scientists speculate that this behavior is the result of an embodied species memory. A memory of a time when land was above the water. A memory of a place upon which the ancestors could rest and seek food. When I’m engaged in my own primal work or am working with others, I have this image in mind.
That “bird” is consciousness. Our traumas are the submerged islands on which we once suffered. They contain lost information that we need to recover, in order that we might “come to rest”. Once trauma occurs and that information gets submerged, our bird forever searches for this lost information, moved only by a vague feeling that something must be found. It is important for a facilitator to understand that a suffering person’s consciousness is already circling around the source of the emotional problem.
ON SOME LEVEL, YOUR CLIENT ALREADY KNOWS WHERE HE NEEDS TO GO. HER DESTINATION WAS PRESET BY THE TRAUMA ITSELF. A PRIMAL FACILITATOR MERELY CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO THERE. DON'T TRY TO DIRECT A NATURAL PROCESS.
Call attention to this natural resource and nurture it. We can do this by offering loving, non-judgmental support, by creating a feeling of safety, and by helping the client “stay with” the journey.