"To heal from our traumas, from soul loss, we must restore the conditions which offer something alluring and compelling to coax the soul back home. In other words, what reconstitutes the psyche after trauma, in addition to understanding what happened, is reestablishing our place within the wider cosmological context. We must be restored and re-storied to complete the rough initiation that was precipitated by the trauma. In other words, we must return to our lives as vital and engaged participants in the deep song of the world." After studying initiation practices in various cultures, Francis Weller distilled a set of variables that must be in place in order for a successful transition from youth to adulthood. "These same conditions," he says,"are what help us restore the psyche after trauma." He explores further in this excerpt.
