The Sacred Path Beyond Trauma: Reaching the Divine Through Nature's Healing Symbols

One of Graham Greene's characters famously said, "I suffer, therefore I am," suggesting that pain is an inescapable, and perhaps incurable, part of the human condition. But must this be so? Ellen Macfarland argues otherwise in The Sacred Beyond Trauma. Through the use of mythology, stories from film and fiction, real-life examples, and her personal history, Macfarland shows that healing trauma is indeed possible, using rich resources near at hand, in nature. The book explores major symbols of healing nature that can provide an impetus for personal transformation. One of the case studies profiles Monty Roberts, a well-known horse trainer who overcame significant childhood abuse by working with horses and eventually fostering some forty children alongside his own biological family. The key, says Macfarland, is using these and other natural symbols such as yin yang to balance the tension between trauma and numinosity (sacredness, transcendence), resulting in the creation of a new way of being in the world. Understanding this and the book's other nature-based symbols can turn the distressed mind into a fertile field of spiritual awareness, empowerment, and lifelong growth.

About the Author :
Ellen Macfarland received her BS degree in Animal Science from Montana State University. Later, her interest in psychology drew her to the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where she earned her Masters of Social Work with an emphasis on clinical psychotherapy. Dr. Macfarland practiced psychotherapy for twenty years in the Milwaukee area. She founded and directed Brookfield Counseling Services, Inc., a not-for-profit agency for all in need of therapy regardless of ability to pay. For ten years while practicing as a therapist she directed the agency. Because of the changes brought on by managed care she closed the agency and worked on her own for a time. She then joined a Pastoral Counseling group and practiced out of their agency. Macfarland earned a PhD in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute while also maintaining a private practice with Pastoral Counseling Services in Milwaukee. Presently, Dr. Macfarland is researching the connections between Nature and healing, particularly for those who have experienced trauma. In 2004, she closed her clinical practice to focus on writing and teaching. Now residing in Big Sky, Montana, Dr. Macfarland offers workshops nationally on the healing of trauma from a depth perspective.

Review :
“Ellen Macfarland’s book The Sacred Path Beyond Trauma is a fascinating and insightful exploration of the healing power of Nature in experiences of trauma.” —from the foreword by Dr. Robert Romanyshyn, author of The Soul in Grief “Dr. Macfarland elegantly weaves the reciprocity between the individual and nature. This dance between the individual and nature is the delicate tao that is essential to the very survival of the human soul and the fragile planet that we inhabit.” —Ashok Bedi, MD, Jungian analyst and author of Path to the Soul and Awaken the Slumbering Goddess