The Missing Peace: Mindfulness Based Practice

“Certainly physics designed the bombs, biology the germ warfare, chemistry the nerve gas and so on, but it will be the unhealthy emotions of individuals that will trigger these horrors. These emotions can only be controlled, reshaped and re-channeled by technologies developed from successful inner science.” — Dalai Lama

I like to think the Dalai Lama would not refer to psychopharmacology as the “inner science” we need the most, but rather would prefer therapeutic modalities like Dialectical Behavior Therapy, the Hakomi Method, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Many modalities developed for the treatment of trauma interweave mindfulness-based practices with what is known about the neurobiological effects of trauma, synthesizing Eastern and Western conceptions of body-mind. (Jung did this too.) They combine non-judgmental mindfulness with knowledge about the body-mind’s own wisdom for recuperation and growth.

With the right kind of science, we can align naturally with our emotionally healthy selves. This is a ‘peace’ I have had the blessed fortune to witness come about, and perhaps what I love most about providing trauma-focused psychotherapy.

Written by Laura K. Kerr, PhD
SJS Contributor

The post The Missing Peace was written by Laura K Kerr, PhD and was syndicated with the author’s permission. Visit her website at Laura K Kerr, PhD.