Heal Trauma by Hearing Your Soul
How to awaken through pain
“Loving awareness is another word for soul, which you really are.” -Ram Dass
Across the globe, across languages, throughout the history books, there is this concept of soul. It’s everywhere.
In Islam, it’s rūh.
In yoga, it’s jeeva.
In Judaism: neshamah.
The Sikhs call it atma.
These are all different words for the same thing.
And yet…even though humanity has created so many lovely words, many of us are still unsure.
What is the soul, really? How can we trust that it’s actually there?
How can we believe in something we cannot see?
Many human beings on this planet have only a vague sense of the spiritual dimension. They’re unable to connect with their soul due to blocks born by the logical mind and through harmful cultural conditioning.
In my experience in working with hundreds of individuals who are in recovery from domestic violence, rape, and abuse of all kinds, I’ve discovered that one of the most powerful catalysts for meeting the soul is — surprisingly — through trauma.
Traumatic events have the potential to break open the hard, thick, outer shell of ignorance. Trauma has the potential to deepen us. To set us on a spiritual quest.
While I would never wish trauma upon someone, I do realize that if it does happen, then trauma can be utilized in the service of spiritual growth.
Trauma can be transformed: from seeming tragedy to potent gift.
Choosing the Lens of Gratitude
I remember one of my clients sharing a terrifying story. She is three years old, crouching in a corner. Her father is gripping a gun and looking for her. She knows that if he finds her, he will kill her. All of a sudden, she hears a clear, calm voice in her mind. “All of the pain you are feeling now will be less than all the joy you will feel in the future.” Hearing this, her three-year-old body relaxes. She suddenly feels peaceful.
Thirty years later, she still recalls that voice. When she’s having a difficult day, she remembers the hopeful message: One day, there will be much joy.
For my client, it was that terrible, unspeakably horrific moment — of her own father trying to kill her — that profound wisdom opened within her.
When I look at this woman today, I see a deeply intuitive, gentle, loving human. I see her profound empathy. I see her third eye wide open.
I hear her hearing her soul’s deepest song.
All of these capabilities have been born out of tremendous trauma and suffering.
Her life has not been easy. Even after she escaped her father, she married a man who systematically tortured her and her children. She fled to a women’s shelter, which is where we did our work together.
We could bemoan this woman’s fate. We could say “Oh, what a poor dear…” and yet, to do that would be to belittle her experience and distrust the Universe.
Let us, in fact, look deeper and perceive the gifts she’s been given.
This amazingly strong woman, this survivor, who has gone through so much unbelievable bullshit, now has a spiritual perception that runs deeper than most. I can feel it simply by being in her presence. She’s wise, like an old owl. She peaceful, like a weathered yogi. She simply knows. She sees through the veils.
How did she get this way? Well, by conscious intention and effort. Years ago, she decided to view all the hardships in her life as an opportunity for learning. She retells the story of her life through the lens of gratitude, scooping up all the nuggets of learning that she can, rather than cursing destiny or pointing the finger of blame at others.
Trauma can be a gift — if we choose to perceive it that way.
Hearing Your Soul Song
Have you ever been in a scary situation — and then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, you knew exactly what to do? Maybe you were able to see your escape route clearly in your mind. Or maybe you knew the perfect words to say to calm someone’s violence. Or, perhaps, during a moment of panic you suddenly felt a wave of peace.
This, my friends, is the soul.
Your soul knows. It’s wise.
Your soul can never be hurt. It’s invincible, indestructible.
Even if we cannot feel our soul today, even if we doubt that it’s there — it still exists, waiting patiently for us to discover it.
If a blind person cannot see the sun, does that mean that the sun does not exist?
There are many things in this world that some people can sense more clearly than others. Some have the gift of sight: they can perceive events of the future. Some have the gift of touch: through a simple hug, they can transform a thousand hurts.
The journey of being a human being is learning how to open ourselves up to different modes of sensing. We can choose to move beyond the shallower levels that we have all been taught by our normative society and dive into the spiritual dimensions.
By listening to a new song, a new frequency — the song of your immortal soul — you enter the path of unlimited healing and potential.
When you tune into soul, you realize that no matter how much illness, abuse, or pain that your body has endured during this lifetime, the soul arises victorious. Through opening your ears to the song of your soul, you perceive that trauma has been a way for you to wake yourself up! It’s been a gift, a vehicle to go deeper than most people are willing to dare.
Trauma is an entry point onto the mystical journey.
As you develop a relationship with your soul, you are able to forgive the people who have harmed you. You are able to release the past. And, what’s more, you are able to envision a beautiful future, one marked by the freedom to explore what truly brings you joy.
Dear friend, may your journey be blessed with the courage to listen to your soul and the willingness to receive the gifts of trauma. May you know your own infinite, indestructible power, and may you use it to uplift and bless other beings.
May it be so!
Amen!
