IDMA Conference in Austria 2007
“War and Human Memory – Soul Loss and Lost Souls”
Impressions from the IDMA conference, Austria 2007
Part of me did not want to go to Austria: “No, I don’t want togo into the war again” were the words that I heard inside. Luckily my inner guidance brought me another message, “it’s about healing the wounds of the war”, so I went to Salzstiegl, a very tiny place in the mountains of Austria. And there I found many dear colleague-friends, it was so good to meet again and also a lot of “new” people, all involved in some form of soul-healing, the work I love so dearly.
The fire ceremony on the first evening, led by Maria Völker, our Austrian host, quickly brought us all together and called in the spirits of the land to give their blessing. As we all drummed and rattled that evening—there were about 40 of us—and made offerings to the fire that burned in the centre of the circle, we little knew how many war-wounded spirits we were inviting too, eager to be worked with.
The next day Roger talked about “The Pity of War”, inspiring and informative as always, and afterwards Ed Tick of the U.S. gave us an introduction to his work with war-veterans, “War and the Soul”. He spoke with passion, love and integrity, obviously a man involved with all his heart and soul in the work he does. The way he looks at healing what we now call PTSD in war veterans resonates with my own heart. He states that warriors need to be brought fully home again to be appropriately honored and healed by their own people, the community they fought for. Going into war is going into the underworld place; so warriors need to be explicitly helped to get out of that hellish place, welcomed home and enabled to become whole again on a soul level. To illustrate this often long and difficult journey Ed uses the mythical story of the Odyssey of Homer.
To give us a taste of this underworld descent and return Ed guides us on a Soul Journey in which we travel by ship on a rough sea to reach a place where we can meet the shades of the Dead, just as Odysseus, our psychopomp for this experience, did in ancient times After offering water, wine, milk and honey to the Gods and Goddesses, for blessing and safety, we meet with the dead spirits. They have questions, messages, stories to tell. Also a prophet comes, to give us advice, guidelines on healing. And when I have back from this place to my body again I feel something deep inside me has been moved. I know now that I will and can speak about the war-wound of my father. He was prisoner of war during the Second World War and was never able to talk about it during his lifetime. This silence that has been holding his soul-story now needs to be broken in order to bring him fully home. He gives me a clear message as we meet in this place of the Shades.
After our own Odyssey Roger brings us, by means of an aura-scan, into contact with other wounded souls that we carry in our energy field. Some of us meet family members—the mother of my father appeared and can finally express the pain of experiencing her son lost as a prisoner of war for such a long time and her fear that he might never return at all. Others are able to work with spirit attachments that are carrying wounds. And in a lot of cases the healing and clarity comes as much for these attached souls who are with us, as for ourselves. A long evening of Constellation work makes it clear that it’s not so easy to bring healing on a Nation-level overnight; the Holocaust wound is still deep on both sides.
Saturday morning, Marion Boon from Holland gives a lively presentation. She is full of energy and takes us systematically into the matter of “Spirit Release, Past Lives and the Wounds of War”. Her views are clear and refreshing, and she gives us some new practical tools with a lot of applications which she demonstrates in an impressive session. Then some of us notice that the war-wounded spirits are piling up, almost pleading. So Maria Völker offers some of her scheduled time for “Shamanic Healing and the Residues of War” and conducts a complex past-life constellation with themes of oppression and secrecy to which she brings healing and reconciliation. Maria works with great care, patience and accuracy, integrating constellation work by having participants repeat ritually prompted sentences that keep the flow going.
Time finally comes for all of those who are waiting – the Healing Ceremony. We make a circle. Ed performs a warrior dance, while each of us meditates on being a channel for the wounded ones or on being one of the healers in the community. Ed keeps drumming. A new circle forms: channelers take their place in the middle; the outer circle of healers is held by the others. Then they arrive, welcomed home as never before: some, shouting, screaming, crying; some very silent; some channelers bring in whole groups. Now is the time for all war-veterans, regardless of their origin. Now they can be honored, heard, and healed within a loving community circle. Such an experience touches every soul involved, whether in body or not.
Dress-up, and party time! Local wine, live Austrian music and dance—plus the inevitable parodies of songs from The Sound of Music by Mark (a homosexual Kurt), Brenda (a very naughty Maria) and Geoffrey (the oh so Reverend Father)’ More wine, more music, and dancing and talking into the night! The feeling of the community is still here, but it’s much more in the light now.
Next morning, time to leave. But not without thanking Brigitte and Maria for their enormous organizational work, and the spirits of the land for their blessing and safeguarding It was really worth it to “go to war again”!
Marion Meier
Guest Presenters:
Dr Ed Tick is well known in the US for his pioneering work in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or what he prefers to call “loss of the soul”. This is theme of his recent and very successful book War and the Soul where he describes how he integrates both classical Greek and Native American traditions into his healing work with trauma survivors and war veterans. Ed Tick discounts most medications and talk therapy. Instead, he prefers reconciliation with the past. He's taken Vietnam war vets back to Vietnam and has helped them get involved with various philanthropies to help needy families in the war-torn area. In many cases, the vet is able to release guilt and not only make amends with their war experiences but also make friends with their former enemies. Tick has more than 25 years experience as a clinical psychotherapist but considers himself first and foremost a transformational healer. He is also a mythologist, psychotherapist, poet, writer, educator and an ordained interfaith minister.
Visit his website at www.soldiersheart.net
Marion Boon is well known in Holland and internationally for her brilliant work in Regression Therapy and Spirit Release. Originally trained by Hans Ten Dam and now one of Hans’ trainers at TASSO, she has also studied with Morris Netherton, Ken Wilbur and Michael Newton. She runs her own centre, the International Practice for Past-Life Regression Therapy and Research where she offers educational seminars, regression trainings and trauma release workshops for war veterans. She is currently highly involved in the development of EARTh (European Association for Regression Therapists) and was chief organizer of the first two World Congresses in Regression Therapy in Holland (2001) and India (2005). Her website is: www.iparrt.nl