“What does it mean to be healing through a process of bringing trauma, and bringing really difficult things to our awareness and to our consciousness?”— Ganga Devi

Trauma does not merely live in the past. It lives in our bodies… until we do the work of healing. Tammuz, the fourth month in the religious Jewish calendar, holds and commemorates the memory of a lot of the pain, trauma, and destruction that we have experienced as a people.

In Tammuz, we descend into the heat. In the following month, Av, we emerge from it. During Tammuz, we recognize and reflect upon the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem and commemorates the destruction of two holy temples. This is a sacred time of mourning — a time when we give space to anger and despair while also contemplating our own boundaries and violations. It is necessary work that plays a vital role in our collective healing.

This instalment of Living Jewishly revisits last year’s Tammuz episode of Sacred Time, a podcast devoted to exploring the healing art of the Hebrew calendar.

When we hold trauma inside of ourselves, we may be doomed to a cycle of retraumatization. This episode discusses the nature of trauma, the different ways we may approach it, and steps that we can take to heal.

“Trauma is undigested experience.”— Ganga Devi

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• Why we need sacred space for pain and reflection — and how the Hebrew calendar creates this
• The roles that “looking” and the act of bearing witness play in the healing process
• How to create a level of separation from trauma to help enhance your healing — and how to find refuge in your present moment

‌Highlights:‌ ‌

00:51 Intro

02:23 Tammuz

04:11 The trauma of violation

05:55 Making space for pain

07:16 “Looking” at / witnessing trauma

11:42 We can be what we need

12:56 Regeneration & decomposition

17:08 Transformation & resilience

19:19 What does it mean to process?

22:20 The human shadow

25:32 What helps us process?

27:20 Bearing witness & befriending anger

29:38 The Interior Castle

31:50 Rebuilding the temple

33:52 Everything is sacred

36:10 Practices for this month

Links:‌ ‌

The Interior Castle

https://wedaretosay.com/what-are-the-mansions-of-the-interior-castle

To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:

Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org

Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw

or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.

Shalom!