Traumadelic & Trauma Culture - Brian James

"Trauma has been used to explain every conceivable human ailment. Like any successful religion, it presents the cause of your suffering with one hand and offers the cure with the other. It has infiltrated and absorbed existing and emerging industries — first psychotherapy, then yoga, and now the burgeoning psychedelic therapy culture.Traumadelic Culture is the promotion of psychedelics as panacea (universal remedy), for the pannósos (universal ailment) of trauma.” 

Brian James and Ryan delve into the complexities of trauma and the rise of “trauma culture” within the healing communities and psychedelic therapy space. They discuss the rise of Traumadelic Culture, critique the focus on childhood trauma in healing practices, and explore Brian's personal journey with Gabor Maté's teachings. The dialogue also touches on the cultural engineering behind the current psychedelic movement and emphasizes the need for a soulful approach to healing and activism. This conversation explores the intersection of psychedelics, culture, and healing, emphasizing the impact of neoliberalism and individualism and colonialism on the psychedelic movements. They discuss the importance of ceremony, Awe, Wonder, beauty, and community in healing practices, while critiquing the commercialization and potential colonialism within modern psychedelic practices. They advocate for a return to nature and simplicity in healing, highlighting that many effective practices are accessible and free. Brian explores the themes of community, and the illusion of individualism. He discusses the cultural constructs surrounding trauma and vulnerability, emphasizing the importance of understanding psyche as a combination of heart and mind. The conversation also touches on the role of initiation, rights of passage, art in healing, the significance of mentorship, and reflections on death. 

 

 

Chapters

 

00:00 Introduction and Technical Setup

01:46 Exploring the Rise of Traumadelic Culture

05:00 Critique of Trauma Culture in Psychedelic Therapy

10:02 Personal Journey with Gabor Maté and Psychedelics

19:55 Cultural Engineering and the Role of Psychedelics

29:51 The Need for Soul in Healing and Activism

32:56 Cultural Context of the Psychedelic Renaissance

34:44 Neoliberalism and Individualism in Healing

36:33 The Role of Ceremony and Reverence

40:17 The Healing Power of Beauty

45:14 Colonialism in Psychedelic Practices

51:50 Reconnecting with Nature and Community

56:00 The Simplicity of Healing Practices

01:03:54 The Nature of Initiation and Community

01:06:29 The Illusion of Individualism

01:09:35 The Heroic Fantasy and Trauma Culture

01:12:49 The Devaluation of Trauma and Vulnerability

01:15:55 Understanding Psyche: Heart and Mind

01:18:11 The Role of Art and Soul in Healing

01:21:34 Mentorship and Community Engagement

01:23:27 Reflections on Death and Legacy

 

 

Music for every episode 

Intro and exit music used: Strange the dreamer by Savfk - www.youtube.com/@savfkmusic

 

Contact: [email protected]

Book webpage: http://traumadelicbook.com

Author website: http://brianjames.ca

medicinepath.gumroad.com

 

Connect with Ryan Anderson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awonderjunkie/

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Breathe4Flow.com

Rumble https://rumble.com/user/awonderjunkie

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@awonderjunkie

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-wondejunkie/id1739838765

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1CcQXpxfV9P89IrKmtV2hS?si=6519a88aef444ba0

A bit about Ryan Anderson-  https://open.spotify.com/episode/7bsR23JM4z6p1RPpbv7czC?si=4ba51224cf464e70

 

 Nira Lights: https://niralighting.com/ Tell them I sent you! 

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without expressed written permission from AWonderJunkie LLC. The purpose of this conversation is to convey information. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure a condition; nor is it to be considered medical or legal advice, opinion or recommendation. This information is for entertainment purposes only. 

 

Integration Coaching

https://beingtruetoyou.com/transformational-coaching-certification-course/

Keywords

 

psychedelics, trauma culture, healing, Gabor Maté, cultural engineering, soul, therapy, mental health, psychedelic therapy, personal growth, psychedelic renaissance, neoliberalism, healing, beauty, ceremony, community, nature, trauma, individualism, cultural context, initiation, community, individualism, trauma culture, vulnerability, psyche, heart, art, mentorship, death, victimhood, somatic, breath, breathwork, Grof, McKenna, Psychedelic, MAPS, Healing,

 

 

 

 

 

“It soon became clear to me that in the often intersecting worlds of yoga, psychedelics and therapy, there was an overwhelming emphasis on being “trauma-informed,” which is another way of saying that you subscribe to the basic precepts of trauma culture: that everyone has experienced childhood trauma to a greater or lesser degree (“Big T” trauma or “Little T” trauma); that childhood trauma is the root cause of our adult problems; and if we are able to uncover our childhood trauma we can, with the help of a trauma-informed therapist, work to process it, transform it, release it, and eventually overcome it, all in order to become the best version of our self, free from anger, addiction and other coping and defense mechanisms. In short, to become enlightened.”

 

That may sound like an exaggeration, but you only need to peruse the multitude of workshops, trainings, and online conferences to see for yourself how trauma-informed therapies are being touted as a universal panacea for everything from procrastination to PTSD.”

 

 

 

“The focus of my critique is specifically the ways in which trauma culture has captured the most recent psychedelic renaissance, which many hoped would facilitate an expansion of collective consciousness. Instead, I argue that psychedelics have been co-opted and instrumentalized in a larger neoliberal, capitalist project that aims to keep us disempowered, depoliticized and dependent on the industrial medical complex.

 

Trauma has been used to explain every conceivable human ailment. Like any successful religion, it presents the cause of your suffering with one hand and offers the cure with the other. It has infiltrated and absorbed existing and emerging industries — first psychotherapy, then yoga, and now the burgeoning psychedelic therapy culture.

Traumadelic Culture is the promotion of psychedelics as panacea (universal remedy), for the pannósos (universal ailment) of trauma.”

 

“Because the ‘traumatic’ view of early years so con- trols psychological theory of personality and its devel- opment, the focus of our rememberings and thelanguage of our personal story telling have already been infiltrated by the toxins of these theories. Our lives may be determined less by our childhood than by the way we have learned to imagine our childhoods. We are less damaged by the traumas of childhood than by the traumatic way we remember childhood as a time of unnecessary and externally caused calamities that wrongly shaped us.”

James Hillman, The Soul’s Code