Zimmerman, Bales, and Mother Nature
The first three
months of this year wrapped up with news which has an international focus. Media images provide us with almost daily updates
in the cases of Zimmerman and Bales, and the details of
the notable weather
pattern change which caused early spring-like weather that generated destructive tornadoes. I’ve been thinking about
these three events for several days now, looking for the common thread that
unites the three.
The most obvious
thread is the emotional pain of those most affected by these traumas. Each event meets the first criteria when screening
for PTSD: an event occurred which
threatened bodily harm to self and/or others, and the response to which includes
intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
As bystanders observing media images, or listening to various broadcasts,
we slowly learn the impact via unfolding event details. We, too, must come to terms with the reality.
When being
interviewed about trauma, Charles Figley
routinely underscores the importance of answering “Five Victim Questions”:
-What happened?
-Why did it happen?
-Why did I behave the way I did
then?
-Why am I behaving the way I am
now?
-What will I do if something like
this happens again?
Most people can
answer these questions sufficiently to acquire peace of mind and become
survivors. The process requires deep trust in the practitioner (psychological
or spiritual), and/or deep faith in one’s capacity to overcome the trauma. Answering these questions when one is ready
is both powerful and transformative.
One tool to help victims
become survivors and create a healing theory is the Spiritual
Intelligence Self-Report Inventory. The inventory measures four constructs, quoted
here from King’s
website:
I.
Critical Existential Thinking: the capacity to critically
contemplate meaning, purpose, and other existential/metaphysical issues (e.g.,
existence, reality, death, the universe); to come to original existential
conclusions or philosophies; and to contemplate non-existential issues in
relation to one’s existence (i.e., from an existential perspective).
II.
Personal Meaning Production: the ability to derive personal meaning
and purpose from all physical & mental experiences, including the capacity
to create and master (i.e., live according to) a life purpose.
III.
Transcendental Awareness: the capacity to identify transcendent
dimensions/patterns of the self (i.e., a transpersonal or transcendent self),
of others, and of the physical world (e.g., holism, nonmaterialism) during
normal states of consciousness, accompanied by the capacity to identify their
relationship to one’s self and to the physical world.
IV.
Conscious State Expansion: the ability to enter and exit
higher/spiritual states of consciousness (e.g. pure consciousness, cosmic
consciousness, unity, oneness) at one’s own discretion (as in deep
contemplation or reflection, meditation, prayer, etc.).
The scores may be used to identify areas in
which an individual remains strong after a traumatic event, or to monitor
growth post-trauma.
My hope in sharing this
tool is that you will find it useful when working with someone who is
traumatized. I am very interested in
hearing your feedback
about its application.
