In his latest book, Surviving Trauma School Earth, Brent Baum shares specific techniques and discoveries that can assist us on our sojourn through “trauma school.” After a minimum of 1.9 million years of traumatic imprinting in our collective history, it is no wonder that our entry into the earth school comes with accompanying baggage. While many of us feel fortunate to have avoided the extremes of trauma, many of us fail to realize that we imprint trauma from observing the pain of those we love, from subconsciously responding to our “birth order” and the accompanying expectations, from pausing consciousness itself at moments of stress or overwhelm. We have discovered that the bodymind stores far more data and information than we dreamed possible. Through SPECT scans of the brain, we now understand that the bodymind cannot distinguish between the “original” event and the memory of the stored experience is still “fully charged.” And in the triggering of our unresolved memories, we, once again, activate our fight-flight-freeze response, causing our adrenals to rise and our T-Cells (Thymus cell) production (immune system) to decrease. In addition, scientists now believe that we move in and out of memory or “trance” fifteen to fifty times an hour.

In an age where “mindfulness” is the key to health: we have discovered a “glitch.” The single greatest contributor to ageing, relational discord, compromise to our immune systems, inability to concentrate or achieve our goals, is the fact that we shift in and out of our old stress and trauma-based emotional states and physiologies fifteen to fifty times an hour. The stress on our physiology, as a result, is immense. In addition, the old models which sought to help us resolve these trance states fail to effectively address the subconscious mind where such imprints are stored.

After working with over twenty thousand trauma survivors, Brent developed certain meditations, exercises, and emotional reframing approaches which employ “primary language” to speak to both the cells and meridians of the bodymind. In this work he shares discoveries involving the wisdom of the bodymind and its ability to spontaneously map the path to clearing subconscious blockages. In addition, our growing understanding of the mechanisms of trauma induction reveal the profound impact of trauma on all aspects of decision-making. Through a new “integrative consciousness model,” Brent reveals how all experiences have meaning and purpose when viewed from the “four” levels of willpower that have emerged from the study of trauma. These four levels of “intentionality” impact all of our decision-making and derive from spiritual, familial, cultural, and personal influences. Ultimately we discover that there is meaning and value in all of the experiences of the “earth school,” and that trauma forms the backdrop for our personal and collective awakening as a species. Its profound impact on the bodymind necessitates enhanced self-care and the routine “reframing” of our physical and emotional pain. Our increasing media exposure to overwhelming emotional and sensory experience demand that we learn to utilize the resources we have available to find and abide in that still, quiet place within where true safety is found. As we learn to clear these blockages, our innate potential, purpose, and gifts are revealed – offering the wisdom and guidance needed to navigate the challenging paths of the “earth school.” This work was written to reduce the tremendous loss of power and focus (intentionality) that comes with the fragmentation of consciousness and to allow our inner wisdom to emerge. Moving from a “survive” to “thrive” mentality is the focus of this work.