In this LAB we researched the collective trauma of religious traumatization and how our soul power is affected by this energy as well as tackling the aspect of the collective healing journey, increasingly getting in touch with our authentic spirituality.
We were guided by the six stages of the Collective Trauma Integration Process (CTIP) by Thomas Hübl (see below).
We explored the following questions:
How is every woman individually guided by her soul?
How does your own authentic spirituality want to unfold?
How is the process of getting aware of the obstacles which do arise when we try to follow our individual felt soulpower?
What is happening when we pay attention to what is arising and was absent in this process before?
How do we bring the process of our own inner absence in relation to religious traumatization into our awareness and address these obstacles?
Where do we find ourselves in religious conditioning and trauma structures as part of our "normal" culture?
And how can our individual spiritual practice become a resource for the development of our society for a healthy, meaningful collective future?
How did we cut ourselves off from female spiritual wisdom?
What kind of phenomena arises if we tune into our soul journey as well as into our religious history and experiences as a collective?
How can we enter and stay with the discomfort?
How can we find a balance of resourcing and still tackling the theme?
We selected 12 female participants out of 54 applications, diverse in age, spiritual background and profession. Almost all of the applicants had Christian-European roots.
We started and completed our journey with a group of 12 participants.<br /> Meeting for an introductory online call in April 2024, where we formed triads and recommended to meet weekly until July. Then we met in person for 5 days in central Germany at a nature place in May and closed our excursion with an online call in July 2024.<br />
The synchronizing and resourcing started already with our decision to do the LAB in person. Tuning into the online option it didn’t feel coherent and not really powerful to us. After our decision to meet at a nature-place we felt much more aligned and energetic which was expressing our individual longing of practising our spiritual connection. We decided to have a small group to make body contact and physical closeness possible, as a resource and as a practical field study connected with the topic where the female body is tending to be alienated, kept back and hidden. Our attitude throughout the LAB was slow, we invited space for the inner process to arise as well as self-contact and attunement for the group to be witnessed.
After clarifying our intention we deepened the process of synchronising and resourcing by sharing our own practices and expressions of authentic spiritualities and soul connections in small groups. It was important to us, to keep the issue of resource building in mind throughout the whole LAB. That's why we started each day with a meditation, body awareness exercise and with a special form of dyads that has a calming effect on the nervous system to support self- and co-regulation.
Here is an example of how we consciously created a wave to get in contact with the trauma field. We invited the participants in a meditation to tune in to the question: “How does religious traumatisation affect me personally, how am I connected with the power of my soul?” and later invited them to deepen their complementation by intuitive writing and painting with a sharing of their experiences in a small group at the end.
For the next phase we invited a systemic constellation into an empty space with the intention to bring light to the hidden aspects of the collective trauma field. We asked everybody to intuitively find a place in the room and share their inner feelings. This was a phase where denial, repression and resistance came to the surface so that we could acknowledge them. Through representing their own inner process and feeling their own connection within the bigger picture of this specific trauma field the different women could feel how they are all part of it. It was as if the landscape was more visible, touchable.
It was very interesting that the young women did stand gathered in a group with different questions than the elder generation as if representing another layer. We formed titles for each place as an entry place for the possibility to go in a deeper exploration. The trauma layer of religious traumatisation on women became more palpable for us to take along for the next steps in the process.
Next to the ongoing online triades from April to July 2024 we had several small groups and gatherings in the big circles in our 5 day retreat where the participants could explore their individual relationship with the topic and as mentioned in the systemic constellation too. Through the preparation of the field there was a lot of courage and openness in the group. We had some very deep personal processes, where we could explore the aftereffects of different religious and cultural violations. At this point it became clear how different trauma fields interact with each other into a very complex trauma landscape. And how individually we are shaped into it.
It was also very helpful to have the time together in between the sessions in our on-side meeting to get to know each other, dialog, eat and simply be together. This was a time where a lot of the topic`s energy was moved and brought to the surface which we could work within the session space too.
When selecting participants, we aimed for a wide age range, ensuring diverse generational representation. This brought transgenerational wisdom into the room. Through witnessing one another, we recognized that each generation did its best, but there was still an undercurrent of accusation, suggesting that we or previous generations could have done better. It was moving to see how older generational issues, such as the perception of one’s own needs, were no longer a concern for the younger generation. Instead, the next layer of trauma emerged—the challenge of expressing one’s needs authentically and powerfully. Interestingly, the younger generation displayed lighter symptoms of direct religious trauma compared to the older generation, yet they were more attuned to the broader trauma fields of gender violence, racism, patriarchal structures, sexism, and capitalism. When racism became a central topic, the younger generation’s perceptions were notably more subtle and nuanced. Their perspectives often differed significantly from the older generation's, offering valuable insights.
It became clear that each generation must confront its own trauma symptoms. The younger generation, particularly regarding past traumas, seemed to be in a more open, lighter space, signaling progress in healing.
We found that the process of integration and restoration was happening at the same time with and through all the stages before. We all observed that the increasingly embodied understanding was like a layering process of how everybody is interwoven in this collective topic. Everybody was sinking deeper and getting more grounded through their own self-contact, through witnessing others and increasingly feeling the group field.
I.e. After diverse voices of different ages we went into age coherent small groups to explore the deeper relation to the topic. The outcome was a deeper intergenerational dialog and also sometimes a deeper painful understanding of each other. There was also more awareness and interest of how much this dialogue is needed to support each other, to see and learn from each other.
We began this phase with a short meditation, bringing awareness to the elements of the collective trauma integration process we had already experienced. Then, we invited the women to reflect on key questions about important moments, patterns, learnings, and next steps through intuitive painting and writing, capturing their emerging insights. A key insight shared by the group was the deep presence of patriarchal structures within us, shaped by age, birthplace, and cultural background. For many women, it revealed a profound insecurity in connecting with our light and spirituality, despite feeling deeply connected to it. Religious habits caused irritation, particularly in how women are positioned within them. It became evident that it’s more difficult to find trustworthy female spiritual leaders, and male spiritual leaders tend to attract more female followers than male. Many women also struggle to trust their own voices in relation to their soul and light, often distrusting female voices more than male ones, even when subtle discord exists in the imbalance of following male spiritual leaders. The gender conversation raised by the younger generation added another layer to this issue. It was healing to recognize that this situation needs to be viewed within the broader context of religious development, especially the global crimes against women.
“Every woman contributes with her story, which is both individual and collective, to ensure that trauma can be seen, felt and integrated. As the oldest, I experienced great appreciation, which I was grateful to accept in order to take my place in the line of generations”.
“The realization has deepened that authentic communication is a helpful method for traumatized people to connect with themselves and their resources, which leads to a stabilization of the soul and a perception of self-efficacy and is very meaningful in terms of understanding the activated protection mechanisms.”
“Letting go of expectations - Being with what arises in me and the group.”
“A significant insight on a personal level in relation to my own religious trauma is to realize how interwoven different fields of trauma are: in my case: religion (Catholic) and patriarchy and how significant and important safe spaces are for trauma healing work.”
“There are collective trauma issues that are the focus of the different generations of women in Central Europe. It seems to me that it is still quite unresolved and can be found in all generations: inhibited expression, especially anger, setting/knowing boundaries. Connection is accessible at any time. I can ask for it. I strengthened my women's connection.”
“Racism, patriarchy and capitalism play a big role. Racism needs specific space. Don't underestimate it!”
Crisis Trauma Relief
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Collective Trauma Integration
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Підпишіться на наші інформаційні листи. Допоможіть нам зцілювати колективну травму та зменшувати негативні ефекти для нашої глобальної культури.
Heike Wegener 
German