Connor Beaton explores whether political and cultural conflicts stem from unprocessed collective trauma. The conversation suggests society has little understanding of this phenomenon, and that recognizing hidden pain and what remains unseen can help us access the unconscious currents shaping culture.
Do you think that many of the political, cultural conflicts and extremisms that we see right now, would you say that those are actually expressions of unprocessed collective trauma? Like, how does that play in?
I think that we do not have, or that we have very little understanding. There's a prayer that once came to me, and I'm grateful for what I see, and I'm grateful for what stays hidden, because this is thy will, and that's why I'm here. To bow down to the not seeing, all the defenses, Also the collective defenses against massive amount of pain create like this whole architecture. And I think only when we are able to bow down to the hiding gives us the blessing of the unconscious. And so then we begin to see the things that stay hidden. Not because we want, because we can bow down to the intelligence of hiding stuff. I believe we have very little idea how deep that ocean is, like in mainstream culture.
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