Trauma constitutes an interruption of the normal processes through which an embodied, true self comes into being. Through dissociation, trauma activates the automatic “self-care system,” organized by a remarkable intelligence in the Psyche which insures survival of the child (Donald Kalsched). The archetypal powers of this intelligence can develop into dark, self-persecutory systems, or organize
for the future growth and recovery of a lost heart of the self. This heart of the self, the soul, has potential to birth the Divine Child, a symbol of the true self which holds the power of rebirth and transformation.
My personal “case” material—a kindergarten incident which shattered my wholeness—will illustrate Kalsched’s classic Trauma and the Soul: A Psycho-spiritual Approach to Human Development and its Interruption. We’ll also explore the self-care system in Saint- Exupery’s The Little Prince—as well as in Jung’s early trauma, in his Personalities #1 and #2, his soul’s retreat into an inner sanctuary, and his gradual recovery of wholeness.