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If you set out upon the hero’s journey of uncovering generational trauma, one of the obstacles you will encounter is a partial, or even entirely missing, language around trauma. This missing language may be yours or that of your fellow wayfarers—quite possibly both. Creating that language—the dictionary, the grammar, a facility with both technical and […]

From very early on in my journey, one of my guiding mantras has been Carl Jung’s quote. “Man’s task is to become conscious of that which presses upwards from the unconscious.” It’s a great quote. But how do we comply? How do we reduce unconsciousness? Jung’s quote succinctly outlines what I also believe to be […]

Humanity has had a long love affair with secret societies. The Illuminati, the Masons, the Knights Templar, the Order of Sion, the Rosicrucians—the sense of missing out, the frisson of secrecy, the cachet of knowing something others don’t—all this appeals to our sense of mystery. I recently stumbled on The Sect of the Disgraced, an […]

Over the course of recognising and releasing my own generational trauma, I’ve noticed various principles. These principles are repeatable, consistent, and constant. You can rely on them as much as any scientific principle. I’m convinced there is science behind them, we just haven’t deconstructed it yet. In Living with ghosts, I’ve documented some of my […]

On the surface, generational trauma seems weird and unfathomable. Its manifestations can border on the supernatural. Yet there is increasingly solid science behind our understanding of inherited trauma. Here are a few of the key strands. Some of the science behind generational trauma is hard science—laboratory science—while some of it is more conceptual. Epigenetic inheritance […]

There’s a principle in writing known as the Five W’s—who, what, where, when, and why. The Five W’s are sometimes known as ‘the reporter’s questions’. They’re commonly used in journalism, research, police investigation, and fictional writing. I’ve found that the Five W’s can also be used as a formula for unpicking trauma—particularly generational trauma. Trauma […]

When it comes to generational trauma, photographs are interesting beasties. They are sometimes the only link we have with an old family member. Through both their presence and their absence, photographs cast light on the past. One of the ways is through the light—or lack of it—in the subjects’ eyes. Absent photographs How can the […]

In the early 18th century, natural philosopher Émilie du Châtelet proposed the Law of Conservation of Energy. Wikipedia: “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another.” Generational trauma obeys the Law of Conservation of Energy because it cannot be destroyed. It can only […]

The word ‘patriarchy’ is mostly understood in simplistic terms. Patriarchies are societies where men rule, and women get bashed down. The problem with this view is that it clouds the extent to which such societies distort natural human functioning and wellbeing. The best-kept secret of patriarchy is that everything is toxic. We’ve been living in […]

In recent months I’ve been binge-watching the BBC’s long-running heirloom restoration show, The Repair Shop. “What’s in the box?” asks impresario Jay Blades as each new—well, old and badly damaged—item arrives at the Weald and Downland Living Museum. In The Repair Shop today… I’m as eager as Jay to find out. I’m fascinated by the […]