Wisdom of Trauma (Pre)

The Start of a Journey

In early June of this year, I was able to watch the premier of The Wisdom of Trauma, a film about the work and vision of Dr. Gabor Maté. I watched it three times that week, it was that powerful. I watched it several more times during the August viewing period.

Dr. Maté “is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness” (from his website).

Through interviews and stories of a diverse group of people, The Wisdom of Trauma offers the vision that:

Trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world. It is the root of our deepest wounds. Dr. Maté gives us a new vision: a trauma-informed society in which parents, teachers, physicians, policy-makers and legal personnel are not concerned with fixing behaviors, making diagnoses, suppressing symptoms and judging, but seek instead to understand the sources from which troubling behaviors and diseases spring in the wounded human soul (from the synopsis on the website).

Register for the Film

The film will be available again 4 to 10 October.

To register for the film, click the link below and then simply click “sign up for release updates” on the home page. You enter your first name and email address.

The film is “free” (with optional donations).

Continue below for options and opportunities I'm providing.

Resources and Online Reflection on the Film

I have created an entire page full of content for the first series of "Talks on Trauma." You can access the page by clicking here.

On Sunday, 8 August, I hosted an Online Reflection on the Film. Afterwards, I created an additional page of resources. You can:

October "Reflections on the Film & Discussion"

Sunday, 10 October 2021

7:00pm to 9:00pm

(US Eastern Time Zone)

The event will be very similar to the one I hosted in August.

Additional Information and Updates

Trauma-Informed Spiritual Direction
Notice the Journey
Miksang Photography
Shannon Michael Pater

Resources for Talks on Trauma Series

In addition to re-releasing the film, SAND will also be making the Talks on Trauma Series available. The film is about 90 minutes, but the series is more than 15 hours worth of additional content. The list of speakers includes Peter Levine, Esther Perel, Stephen Porges, Alanis Morissette, and MANY others.

I have watched the entire series of Talks on Trauma and created a page of content that has helpful information, whether you view the Talks or not: summaries, reflections, and lots of links. Click below to go to the page.

Wisdom of Trauma Resource Page

Additional Resources Home Page

I've created additional resource pages for podcasts, books, articles, and websites. Click the link below for the Resources Home Page.

Resources Home Page

Subscribe to My Blog

You might find it helpful to subscribe to my blog; this is separate from subscribing to my newsletter, Notice Notes. If you subscribe, you will be notified via email of new posts.

On any blog post you will find a "Sign up for blog updates!" option (on the side or at the bottom, depending on the device you are reading from). Please note: it is a two-step process to decrease SPAM. You will immediately receive an email to confirm that you want to subscribe; click the link in the email. (Sometimes the email ends up in your SPAM folder.)

Here are a few recent posts:

My Blog

More Information on my Website

Learn more about my vision for "Notice The Journey".

Here's information on:

Here are resource pages that are "in development" that I will be updating during the next month:

About Me

I am a trauma-informed spiritual director and restorative yoga teacher (Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500). I have a graduate degree in pastoral care and counseling (M.A.R.) and a doctorate in psychology (Psy.D.), but I am not a licensed psychotherapist; I am a clergy member of the United Church of Christ and have been ordained for over 25 years. I highly value transparency and seek to be generous as a spiritual path of liberation, so you can read about my journey and education with lots of hyperlinks.

In 2019, after serving for 10 years as the senior minister of Central UCC, Atalanta, I sold, donated, or gave away all the things that "owned me" and moved to India as an expatriate. After a wild and nourishing period of travel, I was "stuck in paradise" when the global pandemic came in 2020. For over 15 months, I've lived in McLeod Ganj, a small mountain village in the Himalayas of India and the home-in-exile of H.H. the Dalai Lama.

I am deeply nourished by the poetry of Mary Oliver and the companionship of street dogs. Here are some clicks from my contemplative photography practice, Miksang.

Contact Me

"The Wisdom of Trauma" Pre-Film Resource Page

Additional Resource Page for the Film and "Talks on Trauma" Series