Everybody experiences trauma, but some forms of trauma alter the course of ones life forever. We will look at healing trauma by walking the labyrinth through the lens of Post Trauma Growth. Healing is different from curing and is a lifelong journey. Supporting that process with practices that help us reach the deep wounds within us on our own terms and at our own pace is essential. Walking the labyrinth is one of those practices that can gently facilitate a healing journey.
In this one day workshop we will explore Post Trauma Growth, and how to use the labyrinth as a healing practice. This is a non-clinical practice that works well as an accompaniment to professional medical care.
Following the aftermath of a traumatic event, people often find themselves asking philosophical questions. Modern day science can teach us about complex models, developmental trajectories and multi-faceted predictive equations related to growth. But, to truly see the possibilities, one can look to the worlds religions and philosophers.
– Dr. Richard Tedeschi in Transformed by Trauma
This workshop will introduce participants to the labyrinth. What it is, how to use it and how it can be used in healing journeys. This is a qualifying workshop for anybody interested in training to become a labyrinth facilitator.
The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.
- Thich Nhat Hanh Vietnamese Buddhist Monk
Peter Winfield
Peter is a Veriditas trained advanced labyrinth facilitator. A former army officer, he has multiple overseas deployments and retired early to take care of his mental health due to PTSD. Then the labyrinth led him on a different path and has created a new life path as a writer, artist and a wisdom seeker.
While on a residential treatment program he discovered the labyrinth. Since then, he became a labyrinth facilitator and has been on pilgrimage to Chartres. In addition to learning how to walk the labyrinth as a healing practice he has learned many complimentary healing practices such as mindfulness, breathwork, energy work and compassion. He discovered these practices to be vital to his healing and complementary to traditional clinical care.
Peter studied Applied Compassion Training at Stanford University with Dr James Doty, he also studied compassion training with Dr Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s English language translator. He studied mindfulness training in depth at the University of Toronto and has recently completed a Masters Degree in Fine Arts in writing creative nonfiction. He is now writing a memoir that explores how the labyrinth led him to the phenomenon of Post Trauma Growth.
Finally, as a workshop facilitator he is mindful of the fact that he is not a health professional and his approach is one based on lived expertise and a compassionate understanding that the non-clinical approaches he advocates are best understood as close companions to professional medical care.
