ARTICLE
The Energy Perspective of Trauma
by Oxana Bondarchuk
What I mean here by trauma, is not PTSD or clinically diagnosed trauma. I am going to talk about nature of any energy wound, about separation, split, supressed material, rejected aspects, or shadow, and its healing.
Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a practical guide to working with trauma
but rather an attempt to provide deeper theoretical and philosophical foundations of understanding trauma
mainly for the Mind Mirror Practitoners but also for anyone interested in the topic
Preface
After finding and making progress ourselves,
we can become guides for others.
When I was young, I was more interested in what's fashionable and promising a good career and money. I did not dare to look seriously into occupations involving helping others. Like many others, I felt the drive to help later in life. Choosing to study psychology, I was not fully aware of the deeper-seated need than just an interest in understanding how the human psyche works.

The truth was: I needed healing myself, and it was the only path to draw my attention. I was studying Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Transpersonal Psychology, NLP, Hypnosis, Biofeedback, Energy Practices, Meditation… I was picking new directions to study, and when I was finally faced with starting to practice, I had to revisit my motivation. This is when I realised that my strongest motivation was not about making money or finding a warm position in an established clinic, but it was about healing my own trauma. The trauma that I could not even name, since there was no particular event or life circumstance that I could attach it to. I had seen my life experience as absolutely normal. But nevertheless, I felt that I was more sensitive than most people I worked with in the corporate world. I tended to gravitate and resonate with those as sensitive as me, i.e., the psychologists and spiritual seekers, who tend to be gentler and more vulnerable themselves (though I have met exceptions to that too).

I remember asking a teacher of Psychotherapy at the university: "Do psychotherapists tend to have more mental problems than those in other professions?" And he honestly admitted: 'Yes, if they would have been normal, they would have never chosen this occupation. Whatever we say, we first and foremost seek to heal ourselves. In this search for self-healing, we usually walk a long path and find maps and tools to help ourselves stay afloat or adapt to life. After finding and making progress ourselves, we can become guides for others… at least to the fragment of the path we have already covered.'

Clearly and honestly separate two different goals:
helping yourself (and locating it into the right context, i.e. your therapist)
and helping a client.
When I simply could not imagine myself working with severely mentally compromised people, dangerous to themselves and to others around them – it is a pain to see, knowing what human potential can be – I realised I had to address my sensitivity, my shadow, or my trauma.

Since whoever comes to me will remind me of the unresolved pain within, unless I learn to deal with it. And the most important first step is to clearly and honestly separate two different goals: helping my own self and addressing this to my therapist or support group, and helping a client without the potential danger of 'spreading my cockroaches to other's heads,' as we say in Russian.
No matter what issue the client presents, be it seeking physical health, financial abundance or lack of creativity, often at the origin of the issue,
we are likely to find the foundational trauma.
Those practicing family system constellation work (see abstract to the right) would add that, according to field theory, you will attract those clients whose own trauma will very likely resonate with yours, since the field (or Higher Consciousness) is seeking the shortest and most efficient path to healing for all. It does not care about the sides you take or who is the client and who is the therapist. We actually both work together, contributing to each other's process. And it is worth mentioning that we often attract our partners through similar resonance and gravity of trauma.

By the way, the trauma may show up not just as sensitivity. It could manifest as excessive perfectionism, criticism, and negative thoughts, irritability, aggressive outbursts toward yourself and others, often coinciding with co-dependent or difficult relationships and addictive behaviours, minor and bigger failures in life… Many therapists would also say that, no matter what issue the client presents, whether it be seeking physical health, financial abundance, or overcoming a lack of creativity, often at the origin of the issue we are likely to find the foundational trauma (or the hole 'sucking out most of the energy'), followed by layers and layers of other traumas on top of it.
Systemic Family Constellations, is a therapeutic method which draws on elements of family systems therapy, existential phenomenology and isiZulu beliefs and attitudes to family.
Family Constellations take their form from family systems psychology. Influential figures in this movement include Jacob Moreno, the founder of psychodrama; Iván Böszörményi-Nagy, the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; Milton Erickson, a pioneer of brief therapy and hypnotherapy; Eric Berne, who conceived the concept of life scripts; and Virginia Satir, who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations. In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is not about the event
but rather how we respond to it!
When we think about trauma, we think about big catastrophic events like wars, earthquakes, tsunamis… or smaller individual events like car crashes or family violence. We may not even consider a minor loss, like losing a favourite pet, as a traumatic experience for a child. We do not often think of prolonged stressful experiences, like having a depressed mother or an aggressive schoolteacher, which eventually build up like water making a hole in the rock – and end in trauma. Thus, children raised in a lack of care or overstimulation, in all kinds of abnormal conditions, may end up with developmental trauma. As we grew, our personalities formed this as an adaptive response to life, often missing vital connections with others, such as much-needed healthy attachments and loving, trustful relationships with those around us. One of my later teachers said that, since no human (and no mother) can be perfect, we all are invalids of our childhood.
Bert Hellinger and his followers say that over 70% of how we relate to life, our relationships with ourselves, our bodies, partners, self-realisation, and money would depend on our relationships with mother and father, since they gave is the very first imprint or template of interaction with the world, with life. The worst part is that these relationships get internalised, and we may carry the perpetrators and victims in our minds at the same time, where one part is attacking the other, and it might be challenging to find a safe and secure place inside, discover self-acceptance and self-love if there is … no relevant frequency reference in the internal states map.

We do not think of losing a job or migrating to another country at our own will as a trauma. We do not think of witnessing the hardship of fellow humans as a trauma. But it can be.
Berth Hellinger
(1925-2019)
German psychotherapist associated with a therapeutic method best known as Family Constellations and Systemic Constellations which in later years evolved into Movements of the Spirit-Mind.
The first important thing about trauma: it is not about the event! Trauma does not equal the event, despite how bad it may be. It is always about how we perceive this event, it is always about our individual response and experience. Even siblings in the same family may look at the same family violence occasions differently—one severely impaired, another coming out of them perfectly fine.

So, it all depends on our individual capacity to withstand the stress of the situation, our individual setup and resources, or, if we talk about energy interactions, about what we resonate with. And the secret is that our energy cloud may carry within itself the traumas of our ancestors—the ones we might have never met in our lifetime but nevertheless inherited from them, their suppressed material, their unspoken suffering, grief, pain, all those tears that never came out and created a strong tension, a charge in the field that we as descendants can carry and seek to release through our own individual experiences. Since we lost wholeness and smoothness (see the picture of the smooth light bulb on the insert as a metaphor), the fragments that we carry are like hooks drawing similar experiences into our lives, making us repeat the life scenarios generation after generation. Some call these scenarios karma.

You may ask, who is subject to pick up this suppressed material from ancestry? Anyone who lifts their head from survival mode and happens to have some resources to be able to look at it is likely to pick it up. In Vedic teachings, the parents and all ancestors were really praying to bring a spiritual child into this world to help them resolve their 'sins.' But what sins are we talking about?

Healing implies returning of wholeness, integrity, balance.
Like any cut in the physical world with all the pain, bleeding, and interrupted communication between cells, trauma on the energy level is always about separation and loss of wholeness. The smooth integrity of the skin is damaged, and vital force links and connections are lost. This is when we sometimes feel shocked by the expectancy of the event, followed by pain, and then actions to disinfect and apply a bandage or stitches to restore the connection—to heal. The Russian word for 'healing' can literally be translated as 'returning wholeness.'
Trauma is interrupted flow of LOVE-LIFE,
lost context of space and time, loss of wholeness.
The nature of trauma always implies separation, split, cut, disintegration, as a result of which there is often a part or aspect that remains disconnected. Usually, it is a very vulnerable, weak, or simply undesired, unacceptable part (as we perceive it) that we turn our attention away from and separate from to avoid discomfort and pain. Often, we might be unaware that this suppressed and suffering part of us is still there, 'hanging in the air' behind the veil (or even a fence that we are doing our best to hold tight) of our conscious mind, triggered and causing pain from seemingly irrelevant stimuli.

It might be that once, in a moment of survival, it was a useful strategy that saved a little girl from the aggression of an alcoholic father, but barricading under the table is no longer needed. The barricades now, in fact, can protect her to the extent of preventing her—a grown woman—from living her life in the world of people.

Trauma is always lost in the context of space and time. It resides in our limbic brain, tied to Theta brainwaves (4-8 Hz), which lack the concept of time. Traumatized people often have overly sensitive and even enlarged amygdalae as their main danger alert centers, along with confused and sometimes shrunken hippocampi, which, as the major memory storage centers, work alongside the amygdala but fail to properly 'record' or 'process' the event for long-term memory storage. This confusion can disrupt our orientation in space and time. When traumatized as children, we might not have had a fully developed prefrontal cortex with its logical, analytical Beta brainwaves (15-30 Hz), capable of splitting the event into pieces, creating a coherent narrative, labeling it with time, date, and place, and storing it properly in the memory library (Theta 4-8 Hz).

The Beta's analytical and reasoning capabilities, along with external world orientation and verbalization skills, are only possible when we have a mature Alpha state (8-14 Hz), which typically develops beyond age 8. Alpha is essential for ensuring Beta can effectively process everyday experiences and pass them down to Theta for long-term memory storage.
Unable to digest (integrate) certain experiential content,
trauma is like energy burping
The best metaphor I came up with for the trauma phenomenon of reminding us of itself is like a digestive problem—burping. We could not process the energy-information content of some life experience; we might have lacked certain digestive fluids, acids (like analytical Beta), or other resources, and thus faced this sort of 'energy burping,' often accompanied by dizziness and sickness from toxins built up as a result of indigestion and poisoning—leading us to lose our taste for life.

Trauma 'burps' or reminds us of itself with every convenient and inconvenient occasion—not necessarily through the same life events but through similar experiences, behaviour patterns, emotions, or, in energy terms, frequencies. Some theorists even suggest that trauma wants to heal itself through another trauma.

It simply wants to return, to be reintegrated. Like all the energy that was supposed to flow through us—as a channel for LIFE and LOVE flow (see the inserts with my energy vision of inseparable LIFE and LOVE notions)—these parts are like encapsulated packets of divine energy seeking to be assimilated back into our energy system, back into LIFE.
Trauma is energy consuming and holds great energy potential!
Bert Hellinger called every trauma the interrupted flow of LOVE. The flow of LIFE within us (or within our ancestors) was once interrupted, stalled. We lost integrity and carry these hanging fragments of LIFE like a very heavy load, like suitcases of rejected stuff, which at the same time hold a huge potential when released and reintegrated.

Healed trauma is like unlocked LIFE energy, making your navigation through life lighter and powering you up like an extra added battery or circuit to your energy system. Hence, when thinking about energy management, consider not just resting well, sleeping and eating well, and avoiding conflict or waste of energy. Think of all those shadow processes running in the background of your computer that slow down your everyday functioning due to constant virus scanning. Imagine how much better you would feel, and how your efficiency could increase, after discontinuing and deleting these unnecessary energy-consuming programs! You might have heard of the Jungian shadow and the potential residing in it (see the insert of Trauma Potential).
It is not surprising that trauma resolution becomes acute when our energy resources are undermined: we give birth to a child or become parents, our vital energy and metabolism simply slow down after 35-40 years old… Often, this coincides with what is called a middle-age crisis. Not only because we let go of youthful, brisk energy and idealistic illusions about life, but also because we can no longer remain ignorant of all these shadow processes and heavy suitcases. We are compelled to face the truth of who we are, what we are doing here, revisit our purpose and meaning, and reset our belief and energy systems to become more connected to our own and universal truth—the spiritual energy network of LIFE and LOVE (see the inserts about TRUTH and SPIRITUALITY). This is precisely when most people come to Awakened Mind Training or, if they had not done it before, begin their true spiritual search.
All Humans share the trauma of separation from
the Source or Higher Consiousness.
Spirituality represents a compensatory drive to restore this connection.
My intuition suggests even more. The very nature of human life here on Earth can be seen as a separation from the wholeness of the Source, Creator, or Higher Consciousness. We separate into physicality, into duality, as if driven by the foundational sort of inferiority complex introduced by Alfred Adler (see the Abstract). We are pushed to compensate for it and, sooner or later, desperately start looking for our origin and roots, for a true place of our puzzle within the bigger living puzzle of LIFE. Spirituality becomes our major drive.

If we revisit the concept of HEALTH, as I eventually defined it with the help of neurophysiology and, not surprisingly, sacred geometry, Buddhism, and shamanism (watch our last webinar on 'Energy Reading' for more), it is always about:

  • BALANCE, as well as
  • flexibility (nothing stuck),
  • permeability (high receptive capacity for the flow of LIFE),
  • response-ability,
  • adapt-ability, and thus,
  • creativity.

We cannot be rigid, get lost, or stuck. We have to see the changing reality of LIFE as it is. And despite the energy-saving idleness and inertia of our minds, we must adapt our responses and actions accordingly and adequately to the new demands and contexts of time and space. In the end, this implies we have to be creative and create every moment of our life as new. Easier said than done, of course, but nobody is stopping us from trying… except ourselves.
Alfred Adler
(1870-1937)

Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology
Healing trauma is about restoration of
lost communication, trust and faith in LIFE-LOVE.
Healing trauma would imply calming to access the limbic brain and carefully fishing out (or archaeologically digging out) all the pieces and fragments of trauma to assemble them into a complete storyline. All parts and participants must be seen, named, acknowledged, and appreciated for the lessons we've learned, bridging the gap of the traumatic wound and filing it back into long-term memory—stamped with the correct date in the past—before switching to other states, experiences, or frequencies to explore in this lifetime.

Sometimes, simply discharging energy is sufficient—even without naming the details. Bodywork often achieves this by releasing traumatic blocks through the body, returning once-lost flexibility. What we need is to release the flow of energy back to life, let it go, and officially assign it to history—freeing the resources for the present moment. At the core of this process is a shift in energy frequency, underlying the traumatic experience we have become attached to.
There are many healing techniques for working with trauma, many paths leading to breaking open this capsule of enclosed life energy, assimilating what is nutritious, and eliminating what no longer serves us. It is always about restoring lost connection, communication, and dialogue—something that is achieved through trust (see the insert on TRUST – FAITH – BELIEF).

Interestingly, the word TRUST in the Russian language originates from the word FAITH. Needless to say, FAITH opens the doors to possibilities, and there are countless examples of how FAITH heals. Only if we allow ourselves to BELIEVE (which also originates from the word FAITH in Russian) can we embrace what we call miracles (see the insert on MIRACLE), including the miracles of HEALING. Forgiveness is another transformative concept, bridging and facilitating this magic. Compassion. Gratitude. Appreciation. All of these words, energetically, in one way or another, signify the restoration or facilitation of the energy flow of LIFE-LOVE, possibly opening new paths, new forms, or new ways of living.
Can trauma ever be healed? This is indeed a good and complex question. As a first step, seeing and acknowledging that we have trauma, as well as allocating an appropriate place and time for it—such as therapy with the right specialist or circle—would already save us from the pain of 'burping' at an inappropriate time and place, which could lead to painful relationships, conflicts, failed tasks, and more. And then, as the second step, restoring the trust and ability to connect deeply with at least one other right person (therapist, priest, or even a beloved one), recollecting the missing link, finding the right context for it, and leaving it in the past can stop it from aching and disturbing our normal existence.

Or trauma may naturally get "timed out" when we say that 'time heals.' Time creates the perspective needed to make the trauma feel small and insignificant. Or perhaps we can only address its acuteness, peeling back just the top few most painful layers. As many therapists know, trauma is often deeply entangled—when we release one part, another may rise. In this case, healing becomes more of a lifetime journey of natural LIFE processing, healing, and growth.

My favourite perspective on trauma healing suggests that we simply grow our view high enough to access the part of ourselves untouched by trauma—the level before and after it. This eternal soul or higher consciousness level does not know the suffering of the physical body and is ready to pay life’s highest price to learn new lessons and evolve.
Trauma with The Mind Mirror
and Alpha-Theta Neurotherapy
The Mind Mirror is an electrical device that measures the brain's electrical activity (see the insert on the MIND MIRROR). To me, the brain is the organ that registers the activity of our energy body. The Mind Mirror Vilistus 6 is a unique, portable, and affordable biofeedback device. It primarily functions as an electroencephalograph (dual-channel EEG) that measures brainwaves, displaying them as colourful bands for the left and right hemispheres in real-time. This makes it an excellent tool for exploring responses to any stimuli—whether a phrase, your own thoughts, an image, a symbol, or more.
Research conducted with the Mind Mirror has studied highly aware swamis and yogis, leading to the creation of a map of consciousness. This map consists of several basic patterns related to various deeper or higher states, which can be easily interpreted and trained.

The device supports classical Mind Mirror training, incorporating progressive meditation and brain optimisation exercises, as well as audio/visual feedback using the Mind Mirror software. Alternatively, it can perform clinical neurofeedback through Vilistus software. Additional biofeedback meters can enhance understanding of the nervous system's physiological responses. These include:
  • Galvanic Skin Response (GSR): This reacts to minor stressors, acting almost like a lie-detector.
  • Blood Volume Pulse (BVP): Useful for measuring and training the heart resilience marker, especially for athletes and peak performers.
  • Temperature Meter: Helps determine whether a client is achieving a relaxed body with an active mind—or simply falling asleep.
The Mind Mirror traditionally uses only a 5-electrode setup: one reference electrode, two on the temporal lobes, and two on the occipital lobes. While this is far from the comprehensive 19-channel EEG, it works effectively for mini-Q assessments and core Alpha-Theta training essential for peak performance and personal transformation.
Watch this video to learn more about the Mind Mirror Vilistus 6, its capabilities, and how it stands out compared to clinical neurofeedback.
The main marker indicating trauma with the Mind Mirror is Alpha blunting. Alpha amplitude is expected to increase by around 50% or more upon eyes closing, especially in the occipital lobes, which process our visionary stimuli and are located at the back of the head, across from the eyeballs (Mind Mirror hook-up locations O1 and O2).

Watch a fragment about Alpha and trauma in a video by Paul Swingle, a British Clinical Psychologist and pioneer of Neurotherapy. His clinical work illustrates dual EEG markers for various disorders, including trauma. In this video, Paul demonstrates an example of low Alpha response upon eyes closing and introduces what he refers to as "traumatized artists of suppressed creativity Alpha"—in other words, the inability to sustain Alpha in people within creative professions.

In relation to this video, it’s worth noting his mention of a simple experiment involving exposure to strong emotionally negative pictures for 10 seconds. The results showed an average Alpha blunting response of -62.3% (compared to +33% for no photo and +108.9% for positive photos). This strongly highlights how even witnessing a traumatic event can cause trauma. It’s a thought-provoking point to consider, particularly when watching the news.

Lastly, it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of self-care for therapists working with trauma, as their work essentially mirrors the experience of 'witnessing clients' trauma.' This will be explored in more depth later.
Alpha is the dominant frequency band in a healthy, mature adult brain, typically formed between the ages of 6 and 12. It is associated with a subjective state of relaxed alertness or tranquillity. Originating in the Thalamus—a relay station for the integration of sensory information—it connects multiple pathways between the sensory (input) and motor (output or execution) regions of the brain.

Within the Mind Mirror theory, Alpha is referred to as an essential bridge. When open, this bridge enables a free flow of energy and information between our conscious brain and the deeper subconscious levels of the mind. When this bridge is closed, we feel confined to our small conscious mind-box, limited to what we already know and are aware of, unable to access the depth of our inner wisdom, intuition, or connection to our bigger, deeper, or higher self.

From a neurophysiological perspective, Alpha serves as the brain's main clock or pacer. It regulates the timing and frequency of brain processes, enabling us to speed up and focus on detail (Beta), slow down and zoom out into a broader perspective of higher wisdom and creativity (Theta), or go even further into growth-restoration-healing-sourcing modes (Delta). However, when this clock is underdeveloped (due to childhood trauma) or damaged, memories cannot integrate properly and become trapped in loops of the limbic system, with the Thalamus at its core.

When we close our eyes and turn our attention inward, the brain attempts to deliver suppressed material consuming the most subconscious energy—often our biggest traumatic content. To prevent the pain of reliving these experiences, Alpha blocks this material from surfacing. Occasionally, this suppressed content may break through in dreams or flashbacks during brief moments of Alpha opening or when naturally accessing Theta.
The circular Evolved Mind pattern reflects restoration of wholeness.
When opening Alpha-Theta we return to our energy core.
In regards to trauma, surprisingly—or perhaps not at all—the Mind Mirror EEG reveals the separation or lack of communication between what we are aware of (or want to know about ourselves) and who we truly are (our core energy self, soul). Our conscious, externally oriented mind (Beta 15-30 Hz) is unable to communicate with the internally oriented subconscious mind (Theta 4-8 Hz), as the only way to bridge this gap is through the Alpha frequency (8-14 Hz). Alpha acts as the regulator of how much attention and energy flows between the external and internal realms. It is responsible for the balance—synonymous with health—of our mature brain and the stability of our energy body.

Existing in a state where your centre of gravity is off-balance is undeniably challenging. Imagining a skewed energy body offers a stark depiction of this imbalance. If we interpret the Mind Mirror's representation as more than a flat depiction—more akin to a toroidal field—it becomes clear that Alpha-Theta frequencies reside at the very core of our energy self.
During one of our Mind Mirror Meditation Club meetings, we examined brainwaves while focusing on the lower Dan-Tjan (a point two inches below the navel), which many Eastern traditions identify as the energy gravity centre. I will venture to hypothesize that Alpha-Theta maximized into the Evolved Mind pattern could signify being rooted in your energy centre, in your core. In other words, it might represent a state of stability, balance, groundedness, and presence.

Metaphorically, you could picture this as a ball with the gravity centre positioned precisely at its core, preventing it from tipping to either side. This balanced centre could act as a safeguard against dependence or addiction—a manifestation of the search for lost balance when the core is dislocated.
Skewed and unstable would also mean that it cannot self-regulate itself and will be prone to seeking something to rely and lean on… This is the nature of all dependencies or addictions. As we'll see substance abuse, be it common alcohol or marihuana, would be such search for stability we might not be able or know ways to achieve it naturally otherwise. Moreover, we also can see the instances of genetical predisposition to alcoholism with a low-alpha phenotypes profile. Could it be a proof for transgenerational trauma? See the insert below.
Clinical neurofeedback dealing with trauma and related substance abuse is called Alpha-Theta neurotherapy where production of Alpha and Theta is stimulated to evoke a dream-like hypnagogic state that would allow for emotional release and memory reconsolidation or integration of traumatic material with our Beta conscious mind into the right context, weaving it back into the story to be filed into our personal history.

Peniston-Kulkovsky protocol with its modifications would be the closest to what we do with the Mind Mirror during Awakened Mind training. Let's have a closer look at what Alpha-Theta is about and stands for and what's in common with the Mind Mirror work.

Alpha-Theta proved to work well with chronic anxiety, substance abuse and PTSD. It was first tested on a group of Vietnam war veterans suffering from trauma (PTSD) and alcoholism (SUD) and then, extended by Scott-Kaiser to polysubstance abuse.

Key components of the therapy include creating a safe, relaxing, trustworthy atmosphere in a comfortable chair and usually darkened room. Usual protocol includes:
1. Initial peripheral temperature biofeedback training, autogenic training, and breathing exercises to induce relaxation
2. Mental imagery scripts based on drug and alcohol rejection scenes, treatment goals, and lifestyle changes developed prior to neurofeedback were read to subjects during the initiation of the Apha-Theta training session.
3. 30 min A/T EEG session in occipital regions during eyes closed training to induce a hypnagogic state (15-30 sessions) Targeted healing happens ina hypnagogic state of Apha-Theta cross-over (Theta waves overlapping, exceeding Alpha in amplitude for 3 or more minutes), which allows for abreactive imagery to be released and assimilated.
4. Discussion about visualization experience during EEG session to access, integrate and process the experience
Yes, Awakened Mind training also starts with relaxation techniques (1) and finding those keys that will create a quick and predictive response for individual. We have a set of autogenic as well as relaxation exercises to do that. (2) In the very end of the brain profile, a quick diagnostics that we do, there is a guided meditative exercise asking you to imagine your life as you'd like it to be (we may not see life free from alcohol but set many other desirable goals for what we need to improve in our lives).

(3) Awakened Mind training meditations are structured to induce production of sustainable Alpha and gradually taking you deeper into Theta without falling asleep and keeping your conscious Beta online as an observer. The meditations are presented in a logical progressive way to build up the experience of entering into Awakened Mind and being able to do transformational work in this state. The training usually ends with one or more Personal Transformation meditations that tend to bring healing or help to remove the blocks, finding solution to the problem or creative insight. And yes, we do see crossovers, they are confirmation of Theta-Beta communication and transition of material from unconscious to conscious, unknown to known, transcendental healing event. (4) Every session ends with the discussion of subjective experience, feedback on correlations with objective brainwaves experiences as extra evidence for the depth of inner work performed.

Modified protocol (Scott-Kaiser) was extended to include frontal Theta-Beta and Sensory Motor Rhythm work (10-20 sessions) before introducing Alpha-Theta sessions (30 sessions). This is done to improve Beta awareness and attention and stimulate flexibility, since SMR is like one of the major brain highways in integration and processing of sensory (input, receptors) and motor (output, speech, movement) information in preparation for a deeper work.

Mind Mirror locations cover only temporal and occipital lobes but the set of exercises done in the very beginning of Awakened Mind training includes exercises aimed to stimulate Beta (say, concentration) and develop some brain flexibility with a whole range of Alpha sensory, body-switch-on exercises, so we also are gradually training the brain to get ready for deeper and harder tasks of inner work on slower frequencies.

Alpha-Theta neurotherapy results showed significant personality changes,
• reductions in the need for psychotropic medications,
• increased attention,
• increased abstinence (77% after 1 year, 2005)
• decreased depression and anxiety,
• reduced rearrest rates`,
• optimization of the surfacing of abreactive images in Vietnam war veterans (Peniston & Kulkosky, 1989)
Yes, we also do observe better focus and attention, and as a result, awareness or mindfulness, less cravings, reduction in anxiety, better moods and sleep, intuition and creativity may kick in as well as general well-being, feeling more capable and present.

A few things to add from clinical experience that might be helpful to know for Mind Mirror practitioners who may face clients with surfacing trauma (even if it was not presented as such in the main request for the training). There could be potential adverse reactions when we go deep into Theta (any Personal Transformation of higher state meditation):
• Depression
• Experiences of depersonalization
• Regression
• Remembering of inaccessible traumatic memories

We have to keep in mind that a client (and one's brain) should be ready for integration of this material and/or this is not the best therapy at this moment in time. Sometimes it is not the case, and slowing down to Theta may aggravate hidden depression or cause depersonalisation in attempt to escape and protect oneself from reexperiencing pain, activating previous defence strategies or childhood programs (stored in subconscious Theta) or addressing material that is too deep, may be preverbal and cannot be yet accessed.

Logically, trauma destabilises, and the system (brain) may have developed or become very unstable which dictates contraindications to note and ensure ethical practice in case you are not clinical psychologist, psychotherapist or certified in other mental health occupation. They are:
• Subclinical seizures
• Bipolar disorder
• Psychosis

Alpha-Theta neurotherapy results showed significant personality changes:
• reductions in the need for psychotropic medications,
• increased attention,
• increased abstinence (77% after 1 year, 2005)
• decreased depression and anxiety,
• reduced rearrest rates`,
• optimization of the surfacing of abreactive images in Vietnam war veterans (Peniston & Kulkosky, 1989)
Stages of Healing Trauma
We get stuck in trauma.
There is a potential of getting stuck in... healing trauma.
As we already know, being stuck is unhealthy, but dealing with trauma therapists also get stuck. I would like to remind the 5 stages of healing by Kubler-Ross, usually they refer to grief, but they equally should be noted for trauma for the mere reason that if you do not know, you will not be able to notice yourself or your client being stuck in one of them.
When sudden change happens, we are in shock. This does not last long and super-survival powers will end and we will stop running eventually if the bones are broken. Denial comes next, when we simply reject and refuse to believe it happened, we say "It cannot be true". Frustration comes when we see that despite what we may wish, think or do, things are different, and the reality and others will keep throwing truth in our face and it can make us feel like bargaining, fighting, and feeling angry. When we deplete our energy resource, we hit the bottom – depression. Despite of the usual negative connotation, it is the beginning of the healing, cause we start recognizing the truth. We might start seeking help, experiment, look for answers and scenarios of new form of life for ourselves, until we find and assimilate change.

Typical mistake of non-specialist is to be stuck in denial. We try to devalue someone's emotions, pain, and experience, trying to reduce the magnitude or switch attention to other things. If the limb is lost, putting band aid on and pretending that nothing happened does not work. As a practitioner, we first of all need to respect others feeling and experiences and do not be afraid of our own pain within. (This comes from investment into own self-exploration, healing and supervision to know your personal weak spots and triggers as well as having supporting therapist or group of your own, so that your material is not discharged at the expense of the client on the client).

Another mistake could be encouraging 'to fighting it' or 'fixing' depression, which could be just a part of natural healing cycle which takes time, and time may differ individually. The main takeaway here is knowing that this is a process taking its natural course and unfolding in its way and time. Sitting with it in observer's outpost is the best to let it run through you and leave you, eventually transformed since all of its energy passed through and there is nothing you are holding on to and nothing fighting. It transforms itself as it ends.

To sum up, the main healing resource comes from nature, LIFE itself, it wants to restore the balance. The second, comes from the therapist.
Principles of Safe Holding
Kuntsugi, meaning 'joining with gold', this centuries-old art is more than an aesthetic. For the Japanese, it's part of a broader philosophy of embracing the beauty of human flaws. It is a beautiful illustration of healing trauma. See the insert.
Allocate your own trauma .
Approach from connected state.
Moderate volume.
As one of the therapists said, most of clients come with the silent request to be held, seen, acknowledged, cared for…to restore the flow of LIFE orders of LOVE.

The first principle of safe holding is:
1. Be aware your own trauma (healed, no acuteness, or not interfering = left to your therapist). If you feel or know of potential unresolves stuff, take it off like a heavy winter coat and leave it in the corridor till the session is over. Do not bring it into the treatment room, take it to your therapist later to take care of it.

2. Approach from resourceful state (adult position, presence, silence, and not knowing). This is clearly what I call Energy Perspective. Act as a professional who offers one's resources to facilitate healing: knowledge about inner world maps and tools, attention-torch (energy) to be used to shine out and fish out the missing fragments from the darkness. Adult position also implies do not hiding or running away, sustaining our own balance, sitting in our energy core (or at least being able to quickly return there if losing). Acceptance, silence and humility are critically important. We might scare the unknown with what our biased knowledge. We are recognising the superiority and gratefulness of LIFE and welcoming it to unfold in the most efficient and appropriate way. This implies we should be able to withstand its truth ourselves in whatever form it shows up to help it find the flow.

3. Approach safely from "here and now", monitor/zoom in-out distance (and volume). Here and now – simple words and mindfulness anchor that should help to remind that this is not reoccurring in the present, present environment is safe and therapeutic setting can handle to look at it from the distance of the present moment, returning the event the right context of time and space. We might be able to Zoom in and out with our attention to moderate the applicable volume for material presentation and integration. It is a master level but too much of our attention may lead to 'flooding' and we might sink together, too little may not give enough compassion to feed the process unfolding. We need to be right in the middle, not taking sides, just holding and regulating the boundaries for both, ourselves and the client, trusting the process and being patient with it, respecting the ultimate soul's will to whatever it will eventually chose to experience.
Inspirational Quotes
Accept your shadow and your soul's desire
to experience the full spectrum of LIFE.
To finish up the topic, let's look into a few quotes which nail it once again from the energy perspective.
Recommended Meditations and Webinars
Visit our Mind Mirror Portal Meditation Centre and check out a great collection of meditations for self-healing and personal transformation as well as collecting healing energy for sending others. I listed below a few of my favourite ones. I also invite you to join our Mind Mirror Meditation Club meetings where we try new meditation each month and look at its brainwaves.
If you liked this, you might be also interested to watch related webinar programs by Institute for the Awakened Mind (see below) or visit our Video Gallery.
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