Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness

by Judith Blackstone

The body, as the instrument of our experience, is directly involved in the suppressing of experience. Any

Children are also sometimes told that their view of reality is incorrect. Their parents may adamantly insist, for example, that they are not angry or drunk or unhappy as the child perceives them to be. When faced with this parental denial of their perception, they will often accept the parental view, dulling their own vision, hearing, and understanding to accommodate it. Children may be faced with a terrible choice: truth or love. They can limit their own senses and intelligence and be cozily embraced by the family. Or they can stick to their view of reality, shutting down their heart instead of their wits and enduring the family rejection. We often see these two different routes among siblings in the same family, leading to complex family dynamics.

For the nothingness of Zen is not lifeless like emptiness, but, on the contrary, is something quite lively. It is not only lively but also has heart, and moreover, is aware of itself. SHIN’ICHI HISAMATSU