A Space for Healing and Connection
Why can some move on from grief while others are left in its wake for years or even a lifetime? Human biologist Paul Shephard states, “The grief and sense of loss, that we often interpret as a failure in our personality, is actually a feeling of emptiness where a beautiful and strange otherness should have been encountered.”
With our unrelenting determination as a society to constantly move forward, grieving often is deemed unacceptable, out of control, or too emotional for a society that expects people to pick themselves right back up – be exactly what they were before – within days of suffering a loss. What is left is a person who pushes everything inward, trying to cope alone as they wonder why they can’t sleep or function as they used to, suffering silently under the weight of intense sorrow. So, why do we ignore our grief and suffering?
Instead of being alone, this is a time, more than ever that we need community and connection.
Our Workshops
We all experience trauma and traumatic events throughout our lives. Trauma is a part of our human experience. This is a time when we are all suffering, silently, from loss of a loved one, loss of an environment or world we used to know, destroyed cultures, destroyed traditions, love we never received. Unfortunately, traumatic events have escalated and become common in our modern society. It is hard to imagine the scope of a person without envisioning some kind of trauma they have endured. Because of this our tolerance levels have also increased with most of us not knowing the impact these experiences can have on our lives, our minds, and our bodies.
Join a community of professionals and dedicated change makers to learn and receive support.
Our Research
According to Peter Levine, a leading expert on trauma, “Trauma is the most avoided, ignored, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering. When I use the word trauma, I am talking here about the often debilitating symptoms that people suffer from in the aftermath of perceived life-threatening or overwhelming experiences” (Levine In An Unspoken Voice 7).
Listening to and sharing stories is a natural extension of practicing presence and an important expression of our caregiving.
“As human beings we belong to an extremely resilient species. Since time immemorial we have rebounded from our relentless wars, countless disasters (both natural and man-made), and the violence and betrayal in our own lives. But traumatic experiences do leave traces, whether on a large scale (on our histories and cultures) or close to home, on our families, with dark secrets being imperceptibly passed down through generations. They also leave traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even on our biology and immune systems.”
~Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. a leading expert in trauma: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Tell Your Stories
Ravens Witness publishes writing and art centered around grief and trauma, how we lay in its messes and how we claw and climb back out of them..