One of the most remarkable qualities of Nature is its capacity to heal itself.
We must wonder at the intelligence that allows all living systems to regenerate themselves in the face of trauma, considering healing and trauma as part of a wider pattern of evolution. This pattern functions at every level, from the cellular to the ecosystem.
Despite the most extreme forms of destruction, forests regenerate after fire, and ocean floors process natural oil seepage. These are just two examples of Nature's incredible resilience.
As beings of Nature ourselves, this capacity for self-healing is alive within us too. From individual to societal levels, we can create the right conditions for healing processes to occur.
While healing pathways are diverse, they almost always involve being present with the Body, ideally held in Nature. Engaging our capacity to hold presence for different trauma imprints, and witnessing them kindly, enables entrenched patterns to heal and reach new levels of wholeness.
I have witnessed this numerous times: gently contacting a place of stuck-ness and tuning into even the smallest, subtlest inner shifts can enable profound transformations for individuals. This naturally translates to organisations and other systems they are part of.
Inner healing has the capacity to move mountains. The inner and outer transformations are part of a larger fractal pattern. Even non-local healing—engaging in healing processes as representatives from other times and places—is possible.
Epigenetic studies show that trauma can be inherited, and what does not receive healing is bound to be repeated unconsciously. Today, we need to expand the healing lens to include unfinished work from our ancestors. In the words of Eugene Gendlin, our physically felt bodies are "part of a gigantic system of here and other places, now and other times, you and other people—in fact, the whole universe."
We may have once viewed healers as individuals with unique capabilities. Instead, we should trust that, with guidance, we can all step into Nature’s morphic field of healing and experience its resonance in our work and lives. Now is the time to amplify those frequencies, gather in healing circles, and stand in the place of personal and collective regeneration and renewal.
Written by Katherine Long, who joins us at Hawkwood this month. She is running The Changemaker's Retreat, a profound journey inviting participants to move inward in the wisdom of self-healing.
Katherine Long has worked in leadership and organisation development for almost 20 years, integrating creative and holistic approaches to support individuals and organisations in finding new ways forward. As a registered Focusing Practitioner, Katherine brings embodiment practices to her client work to support deeper levels of presence-in-action.