S5 Ep. 6: Trauma as Medicine with Sarah Salter Kelly

Beyond the Illusion

Are we living in a time when we’re ready to face the most painful of our Earthly experiences and receive it as medicine? This week’s guest, Sarah Salter Kelly, has done exactly that. In her book, “Trauma As Medicine,” Sarah explains how she alchemized the tragic homicide of her mother into healing and growth, and offers practices to assist you in your own healing journey from the darkness into the light. Highlights from our conversation: Sarah shares the shocking and traumatic story of her mother’s homicide. How trauma is like the Tower card of the Tarot, catalyzing a complete dissolution of everything one believes in. Half of the difficulty of her trauma was a sense of powerlessness. Is there purpose and meaning in everything that occurs, even trauma? How do we move into the Underworld of our most difficult experiences from a place where we’re not spiritually bypassing? How do we face what we’re most afraid of? The unexpected outcome of Sarah’s self-created ceremony to address her mother’s perpetrator. The importance of not measuring or comparing our trauma. The need in our society to see trauma from a new perspective and to utilize it as an initiation into deeper levels of growth. Processing our painful experiences takes time before we can witness it and not take it so personally. “If we want to live as conscious and powerful beings, we have to be willing to to direct our energy toward what is oppressing us. Then the fear transforms.” The importance of both facing the fears and tending to the needs of the victim within. The power of handing it over to the Divine. Sarah’s prayer: “I don’t know what to do. Please help me.” Sarah Salter Kelly is a talented writer, healer and speaker utilizing the raw compounded teachings of her life experience, to uplift, empower and guide others. Her wisdom is authentic, embodied and hard won – generated through years of integrating the tragic homicide of her mother and learning to forgive the perpetrator – alongside thirty years of studying personal growth, mysticism, restorative justice, and earth-based healing traditions. Over the past fourteen years she has run her own private healing practice, facilitated retreats, taught trauma focused and shamanic healing workshops, and presented at conferences and events. To learn more about Sarah and her offerings, visit sarahsalterkelly.com. You can find her book, “Trauma as Medicine” on Amazon. If you’re enjoying listening to Beyond the Illusion Podcast, please leave a rating on Apple or Google Podcasts. This helps other people to find us.