SPIRITUAL TRAUMA: Healing Our Spiritual Wounds
The Vision of Hidden Wounds
The vision of Hidden Wounds is to offer a curriculum that creates a safe space reflecting God's inclusive love and helps us all begin a journey of healing our spiritual wounds.
That means we are handling sensitive topics with many issues. We must realize that what is valued by one person can be upsetting to another.
It is essential for everyone to feel safe, but some topics can be particularly challenging for us. As a community, we don’t want to offend or infringe on anyone's beliefs, but sometimes we may need to discuss painful topics.
Restorative Circle
A Safe Place
The Hidden Wounds curriculum is based on the restorative circle method. A restorative circle builds and restores relationships through equal opportunity sharing and listening.
These discussion circles approach spiritual trauma restoration by establishing clear boundaries, the kind of boundaries that create a safe space for the soul.
The Boundaries are:
- Remember to give and receive a warm welcome: Support each other's learning by providing and receiving hospitality.
- Be fully present: Embrace doubts, fears, failings, joys, and successes.
- What is offered in the circle is by invitation, not demand: Do what your soul calls to.
- When you speak your truth, do it in a way that respects other people’s truth. Remember, views of reality differ. Speak from your center to the circle's center using “I” statements. This ensures your voice is heard and respects others, allowing them to do their sifting.
- No fixing, saving, advising, or correcting: This is the most challenging guideline, but it is vital to welcome others' souls and make room for them within your soul.
- Learn to respond to others with honest, open questions. You are not here to counsel or correct others.
- Listen more and speak less. If you start feeling judgmental or defensive, take a moment to ask yourself some questions. Consider what might have led them to this belief, how they might feel, and your reactions about yourself.
- Trust and learn from the silence. Treat silence as a group member. After someone has spoken, take time to reflect without immediately filling the space with words.
- Observe strict confidentiality: People feel safe only when they know that whatever they say will remain confidential, whether within the group or outside the group.
- Believe that the Spirit of God, however you perceive it, will help guide you by providing whatever you need to grow in the coming days ahead.
