We felt that the following was important enough to let it have its own Page. Feel free to pass it on to whomever you believe will use it. Also check back here periodicly to look for additions as this is a work in progress and we are updating it with new information on this process as it becomes avalable.

The Effects of Trauma and How to Deal With It

Jim Banks, House of Healing Ministries
P.O. Box 15514 Asheville, NC 28813
www.houseofhealingministries.org

This treatise describes a prayer tool that I stumbled across in late 2009 by putting pieces of the teachings of three of God’s faithful servants together and adding a couple of others steps. The power of it to virtually eliminate many of the symptoms that victims of trauma complain of is nothing short of miraculous. Over the last 25 years of praying for physical and emotional healing, I have prayed numerous prayers (at least in my estimation) that availed little. But for the last 200 folks, or so, that I have ministered this over the relief they experienced has been both instantaneous and (up to this point) permanent. I am also happy to report that the recipients have experienced some significant results after having been prayed over in groups of 25 to 75 persons.

After all the hype in the previous paragraph, let me make it perfectly clear … praying over the trauma in your life (or anyone’s life) is not going to fix everything. You still have to walk through those experiences that the Lord requires of you in order to resolve wounding and the lies you have believed as a result of those circumstances; get the pain out and heal the wounds. Just don’t try to make more out of this than there is. It is just part of the entire healing process, regardless of how helpful it is.

You also must understand that those with significant dissociative issues or are survivors of satanic ritual abuse (DID/SRA) may trigger significantly or abreact to this prayer procedure. Consequently, it may not be helpful for some people because of their overwhelming trust issues. Using this tool over significantly dissociated or ritually abused persons may well set them back and end your ability to help them.

Since this is an exercise in progressive revelation, I would invite you to contact me in a few months to see what else has been added to my understanding.

The Problem

Psalms 34:19a “Many are the afflictions of the righteous;”

In John 16:33b Jesus said. “In the world you have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Note that He didn’t say “will have,” as though it were some time in the future, or “may have,” as though it were not certain, or “possibly have,” as though there were a “tribulation lottery” which you might not win; but He said that you have it now (in some form).

The Greek word for tribulation is “thlipsis” which means pressure (literally or figuratively): – afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Note that the verse clearly states that we all have it. Everybody experiences it one way or another. Trauma and tribulation, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone experiences it the same. Multiple children growing up in the same house and experiencing the same event will find that it registers differently with each child. Some will not even realize that the event was traumatic. But for those who do, there is no doubt.

According to the web site www.trauma-pages.com/trauma.php (David Baldwin’s web resource for all things trauma) states, “Traumatic experiences shake the foundations of our beliefs about safety, and shatter our assumptions of trust.”

Those that sufferer from some physical and/or emotional difficulty have usually experienced significant emotional and/or physical trauma at some point in their lives. This has detrimentally effected their ability to recover from the normal, but difficult circumstances of life, and remain stable. Removing the physical effects of trauma can greatly help an individual achieve or regain the capacity to heal and grow in many areas. It can also eliminate the daily torment of the long term effects of trauma, both emotionally and physically.

“In the healing process, the crucial issue is building enough capacity to stay relationally connected to God over a sufficient amount of time for us to allow the process to be completed.” (Arthur Burk) I believe that part of the process of helping someone build that capacity is removing as many of the effects of trauma as possible.

Unfortunately, trauma can effect us on many levels; emotional, spiritual and physical. Medically the understanding and treatment of the effects of trauma has been limited primarily to the emotional. And medication seems to have been relegated to insulation from experiencing the resulting pain. Traditional medicine recognizes that our bodies have many identifiable, but little understood, capabilities. One of them is the retention of the memory of trauma at a cellular level, but treatment has not been affective in reversing its effects.

Symptoms

Human response to trauma can be over quite a range of symptoms from mild to chronic. The following represent the most significant and a generally ascribed to sufferers of Post-traumatic-stress disorder;

• Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
• Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again)
• nightmares or disturbing dreams (either of the event or of other frightening things; violent or sexual defiling)
• Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
• Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating)
• Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma
• Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma
• Loss of interest in activities and life in general
• Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb
• Sense of a limited future
• Interrupted sleep and skewed sleep patterns
• Irritability or outbursts of anger
• Difficulty concentrating
• Hyper-vigilance
• Exaggerated fright response or being easily startled
• Anger and irritability
• Guilt, shame, or self-blame
• Substance abuse
• Depression and hopelessness
• Suicidal thoughts and feelings
• Feeling alienated and alone
• Feelings of mistrust and betrayal
• Headaches, stomach problems, chest pain

Spiritual Significance

Arthur Burk, founder of Plumbline Ministries, (www.plumblineministries.com) has an understanding that trauma itself is a specific scheme of the enemy to gain access to us for purposes of future torment and emotional torture. His take on it is that when Jesus was on the cross, the darkness that overtook the scene that day was neither a storm, nor the aftermath of a localized earth quake, as many Biblical scholars have tried to reason. But instead, it was every demon in hell coming to take its last best shot at Him; intentional torment and torture. It is little wonder that his death took comparatively so little time on the cross.

Consequently, Jesus’ death on the cross was complete atonement in another aspect of human life in that He took upon Himself all the trauma, torture and torment intended for you and me. We do not have to suffer that again. It is Arthur’s belief that the principle behind this scheme of the enemy is to cause trauma before the cross became effective in the life of an individual for one of two purposes; make it difficult for a person to enter into their full identity; and for the purpose of causing future torment.

(Note: Please do not read into this what I did not say. When I said, “We do not have to suffer that again.” See Page 4. I did not say that we do not have to suffer ever again because of Christ’s substitutionary death. Obviously, anyone who has lived on this planet at least a decade will tell you that is not true. Scripture certainly backs that up. (John 16:33) We are specifically saying that we do not have to suffer torment due to trauma.)

The only way that “before the cross became effective” is remotely possible is to remove some portion of the individual to another dimension, time, space or place and hold it captive there. (See Psalms 30:3 and 49:15, Isaiah 58:6 and 61:1)

Dr. Tom Hawkins, founder of Restoration in Christ Ministries, (www.rcm-usa.org) has noted as a result of ministry to numerous SRA victims that portions of their identity/being can be stuck/captured/imprisoned/delayed in other dimensions, times or spaces through intentionally enforced trauma, which to my mind confirms Arthur’s assertion that a trauma victim’s identity can be messed with by intentionally introducing, or taking advantage of, events that effectively freezes some portion of the individual.

You and I live in a multi-dimensional world but are generally only cognizant of four of dimensions; height, width, depth and time. Theoretical physicists are working on a series of theories in an attempt to reduce them to an equation (or series of equations) which encompasses all theoretical equations (such as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity) and in a sense, explains everything. They have called this effort String Theory and a subsequent version, Superstring Theory. As it turns out, these theories work quite well in an environment where there are at least 11 dimensions. One set of these theories only works universally if there are as many as 23 dimensions.

DNA

You and I are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and God is light (1 John 1:5 and John 1:1-9) and we are a children of light (Luke 16:8). Scientists tell us that if each organ is broken down to the lowest common denominator it will all be a similar type of cell; same DNA as the whole person, but encoded such that it will perform well within the context of that organ. If we break that cell down further, we find a number of atoms. Each atom can be further reduced to its component parts; neutron, proton(s) and electron(s). These elements vibrate at a specific frequency which is in accord with the individual’s DNA. Scientists further tell us that if each individual’s DNA strand is un-twisted it can be played as a melody on a piano; more vibrations.

When the enemy messes with us through our own sinful activity or cursed Generational (family) issues, our DNA can be altered by attaching junk to the strand (hence the budding science of Epi-genetics, see attached May 17, 2010 Sports Illustrated article) or through trauma; our “song” can be changed from a major key to a minor one, simply by slightly altering our frequency. Although our DNA can’t be changed and our DNA is passed on to our children, things riding on it can have a profound ability to affect the next generation. How can that be done? By removing one small part of us to another domain or dimension.

As a consequence, I am further convinced that trauma can also be a generational issue.

Arrested Development

Most of us are familiar with walking up to the check-out counter at your local grocery store and being greeted with someone in their thirties who speaks to us in the voice of a 10 year old. Apparently something significant happened to that person at the age of 10 and a portion of them was frozen at that age; their development in that area ceased. I cannot say with any certainty that this is a perfect example of the ravages of trauma, but dealing with it in the manner described herein, along with resolving the emotional wounds, may be one of the keys to releasing them to mature in several areas.

The In-ability to Sustain Healing

Many of you are acquainted with someone that you have worked with over some period of time, who seems to be progressing very well. When separated from them for a period of 45 days or more, you find that they are as bad, or worse off, than they were when you first began to work with them. I believe that one of the potential reasons that this occurs is due to some vital portion of them, needful for sustaining progress, has been disconnected from them; imprisoned somewhere in the dimensions.

So How Do We Set Things Back in Order?

Applying the principles of Jesus Christ’s Atonement to the issues of the effects and the residue of trauma in the life of a trauma victim will begin to restore the proper order. Jesus’ substitutionary death in our behalf says we do not have to suffer the subsequent torment that trauma victims usually report. This does not mean that we’ll never have to experience “tribulation.” (That’s what we get for living in this neighborhood.) It simply means that we can cut off the tormenting effects of trauma.

Ministry to traumatized victims;

1. Through specific questions (an interview), determine the traumatic events for the client from childhood into adulthood; physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual. Include such things as divorce/deaths/loss of a key loved one, childhood accidents and injuries, rape, abuse, surgeries, frequent moves, moves at key times, major rejections, abandonment, car accidents, major illnesses, broken bones, surgeries and invasive medical procedures, attempted suicide, near death experiences, etc. anything that potentially had a major negative (traumatic) effect on them. Make a list if you need to.

For significantly dissociated or ritually abused survivors the major traumatic memories are deeply buried and may perhaps irretrievable using tools you are familiar with. This tool will absolutely be non-effective with this class of individuals.

2. This is important; Ask the Lord to disconnect them from any and all 2nd heaven entities; principalities, powers, dominions, thrones, rulers, etc. that have gained access to them through the traumatic events they suffered, for the purpose of future torment. Ask the Lord to shut down all pathways, portals, and means of access to them for communication or influence.

According to Psalms 115:16 “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens; but the earth he has given into the hands of men.” From this scripture I deduce that there are 2nd heaven entities above our pay grade that the Lord himself should be asked to deal with, but we have been given authority over those demonic entities that touch/affect earth. Those are our responsibility.

I have dealt with them as a higher order of evil, such as a dark power, ruler, throne or dominion and experienced much success with breaking all their tormenting activities by asking God the Father to deal with them. They seem to come out or disconnect whether they are demons (earth bound) or 2nd heaven entities of a higher order.

This step alone seems to cut off tormenting dreams in 95% of those for whom I have used this tool. And if this is all you are able to pray due to time or opportunity, it will go a long way toward establishing freedom for them.

As Dr. Paul Cox of Aslan’s Place Ministries (www.aslansplace.org) teaches, ask the Lord if there is a specific place where portions of them have been imprisoned; ie, Sheol.

Use the information you learned in Step 1 to guide you in Deliverance. I am finding that this always a good strategy. You may have to lead them in a prayer to renounce agreements made with the enemy which opened to the door demonization in several specific areas related to situations surrounding the the traumatic events they suffered, or that followed them.

3. Next, tell your client what you are about to do and get their permission to do it. If they will not give you permission to take authority over their being/body for a few minutes to cut some things off, you do not have the authority to continue.

If your client agrees; In the name of Jesus Christ, take authority over their body (I often use the term “being” which tends to be more inclusive) and command out of it all of the effects of everything that made it on the list, down to the cellular level; all memories of any incident on any level, the results of all trauma; fright, terror, chemicals (drugs, poisons or toxins) the body has either produced naturally and hung on to as a result of trauma, or that were ingested or injected, excess enzymes produced, anesthesia & anesthetics, etc., produced prior to, during and after the incident. This would include fear induced during and following significant medical procedures and surgery(s).

Require that it come out without harm or injury. Bless their lymphatic system and other systems to safely remove all wastes, toxins, poisons, or any other product or by-product of trauma from the body. Include anything that is naturally a foreign agent in the body, that were bonded to, or that the body produced in excess connected with the traumatic event.

4. Take authority over their body and command out of it all of the long and short-term effects of trauma, injuries, stress, tension, worry, anxiety, fear, wounding, etc. Be certain to include the memories of all abuse, defiling touch, incisions, invasive medical procedures, rejection, abandonment, beatings/bruises, harsh words or curses spoken by parents or other significant authorities, etc. I recently prayed for a woman who’s intercession induced secondary trauma to her through attempting to help carry the burdens of others.

In the event of particularly defiling activity such as rape or initial homo-sexual encounters, command out of their body the memory of all smells, feelings, tastes, sounds, vibrations and defiling touch connected with those events.

Have all parts, alters, primaries and secondaries, ego states, etc. release all memories of body and emotional trauma.

Do not hurry through this part. You will find that your client may feel things leaving them as the get progressively more relaxed. I have had several clients actually fall asleep toward the conclusion of this section and many more unable to walk out of my office immediately afterward because they are so relaxed.

5. Take authority over all pathways, portals, and means of access, marks or markers, or any means of connectivity placed upon them physically or spiritually to track them or gain access to them for purposes of torment, and shut them down in the authority given to you in the name of Jesus.

Cancel all assignments of familiar spirits made against them as a result of traumatic incidents or as a result of generational trauma.

If your client has been frequently tormented by violent or sexually oriented dreams, this (in concert with #4 above) will usually kill them. But if you are uncertain or just want to cover the ground, ask the Lord issue a “cease and desist order.” If they have had violent or tormenting dreams ask them if there is a theme or pattern to what happens to them in the dreams. Sometimes this will give you a clue as to other issues you need to deal with in a subsequent ministry session.

6. Ask the Lord that if there is any portion of their being that has been delayed, trapped, captured or imprisoned in another time, another space, dimension or place, as a result of trauma, would He please cause it to be released and rejoined with their core being in this current time, space and dimension. I also ask the Lord to re-unify those portions with the core person. If prompted by the Holy Spirit, walk them through a reunification of these fractured parts by walking them through each dimension or through each year of their lives.

See Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”

(Remember that prisoners are there because of something they have done. Captives are imprisoned through no fault of their own.)

I have on several occasions had the Holy Spirit prompt me to walk them slowly forward from the age of one, two or three years, year by year, until we reached their current chronological age, pausing when prompted between years to allow the Holy Spirit to re-integrate them. More recently, I have included the period from conception to birth, as well when their birth mother experienced trauma herself or planned to abort the child. I also asked Him to mature each re-integrated portion to the client’s current age. Ask the Lord to move every part of them; spirit, soul, body and birthright, into the Lord’s appropriate time. (Ephesians 3:14-15 (inner being), Matt. 18:3-5 (inner child), Psalms 51:6) This doesn’t seem to take any more time, but I believe it is worth the effort.

If you have the time, it is appropriate for you to thoroughly deal with each of the traumatic events as they arise. This is the only manner by which permanent healing can be acquired, short of a sovereign work of the Lord.

I have not had the opportunity to use this tool in behalf of an abused child (or a returning veteran) but I have no doubt that it would be equally as effective as it is with adults, and perhaps even more so.

It is always proper to coach your adult client to be aware of his/her body and report to you the changes they sense or feel as you are walking them through each year of the process. Don’t get in a hurry.

Note: I recently ministered to a fellow who could identify those separated parts and he said that some appeared to have been stolen from him, and some appeared to have been banished by him. The later appears to have been the results of voluntary dissociation as a result of significant stress or traumatic circumstances. Under these conditions, you may wish to have them repent for sending these portions of them away, ask the Lord to reunite them and refer them to someone who has knowledge and experience in dissociative issues.

I also want to say at this point that I cannot say with finality precisely what this step accomplishes. It has been markedly different with each individual. I have had some who have experienced the spontaneous re-integration of portions of their soul. I have had several who have experienced spontaneous deliverances. I have had folks who experienced nothing at the time and yet have later found themselves much more in control of their own lives. How this happens, and what actually happened, who knows. Our heavenly Father loves to orchestrate all manner of good things for people when we pray, regardless of whether we are fully aware of what is going on at the time or not. Just keep praying.

Note: If all you have time to pray are Items 2 and 6, do it. As these are the real foundations of this tool.

7. Pray that the Lord will re-establish the connection between the hemispheres of the brain. Often heavily traumatized clients live predominately out of the left hemisphere of their brain and need the right side to be stimulated. Pray that the Lord will re-establish and synchronize both explicit memory and implicit memories and to reactivate any connections required to retrieve memories needed for complete healing. Pray that He would bring back into balance all chemical, electrical and magnetic communication paths within the brain, and restore them to optimal levels for stability.

If prompted, I will place my hands specifically in the area near the amygdala and then the hippocampus and ask the Lord to restore them, repair them or enhance them so that their healing can progress rapidly. There are five specific organs in the human brain that are damaged by wounding and trauma; amygdale, thalamus, cingulate and right prefrontal cortex. These will have to be addressed later in order to assure complete healing.

I usually ask if I can place my hands of the head of my client while praying this section of the tool and it usually accompanied by a strong anointing. So don’t freak out if this happens to you as well.

8. Ask the Lord to re-establish for them the appropriate sleep patterns the Lord designed for them, and to establish for them a sweet undisturbed, rejuvenating, regenerative rest. Proverbs 3:24 “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Ask the Lord to begin or re-establish Godly dreams, visions and angelic visitations in the night seasons, both to enlighten, instruct and direct them.

I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they fell asleep immediately, stayed asleep and were not awakened by tormenting dreams the entire night for the first time in years. The immediate restoration of sleep patterns happens for 90% of my clients and re-establishment of Godly dreams for only about 70% initially. I believe this is a function of the re-establishment of sound sleep which has usually been deprived for years.

9. Ask the Lord to begin to dismantle all automatic human responses gained as a result of trauma; i.e., abnormal fright responses, triggers, fears and phobias, etc. Pray over their brain for the Lord to rebuild, re-establish, re-create any electrical or chemical any connections broken or improperly re-connected, as a result of trauma so that the individual can operate once again within normal limits of high and low stimulus, and can remain in control emotionally when the stimulus exceeds those limits.

I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they no longer have most (or all) of their long term exaggerated fright/flight responses. This is certainly universal, but is a relatively common experience.

10. Then instruct the client to instruct his/her human spirit each evening before going to sleep to turn its face to the Father during the night, while the body and soul are out cold, and receive everything he/she needs for the coming day. Psalms 16:7 “I will bless Jehovah, who has given me counsel; Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.”

Note; In recent days I have come to the conclusion that if this prayer process to have maximum benefit it should be prayed over an individual three (3) times. Things come typically off in layers, so it is with this issue.

(From Sports Illustrated magazine, March 16, 2010)

THE SINS OF THE FATHER …

LISTEN UP, COUCH POTATOES: ACCORDING TO THE SCIENCE OF EPIGENETICS, HOW PARENTS ACT INFLUENCES THE BEHAVIOR OF THE GENES THEIR CHILDREN INHERIT
You had the talent to be a sports star, but you lacked the discipline. You couldn’t bring yourself to go to bed early or pick up a barbell instead of an Oreo. On the bright side, your kid gets to start from square one: He or she inherits your talent but not the repercussions of your lackluster approach.

Or maybe not. Research in the growing science of epigenetics—which, among other things, looks at how genes can be switched on and off—suggests that your actions could have genetics-related consequences for your child. Better think twice before pounding down that next cookie.

At the turn of the 19th century, French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed a theory of evolution that said animals quickly adapt to their environment and pass the adaptations along to their progeny; for example, giraffes acquired long necks because their ancestors stretched to reach leaves high on trees. But Lamarckian evolution was eclipsed in 1859 when Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection, which says traits are acquired over millions of years as random genetic changes that happen to be beneficial are passed on. Today, however, the idea at the heart of Lamarck’s theory—that our choices can affect our children’s genes—is making a comeback.

Your behavior will not change the sequence of your child’s DNA, but it might change the action of certain molecules—called epigenetic marks—that attach to DNA and signal genes to turn on and off. Consider a study, published in 2008, of adults in the Netherlands whose mothers had suffered through a German-imposed food embargo in the winter of 1944–45. Six decades later, those whose mothers were in the early stages of pregnancy during the Dutch Hunger Winter had fewer “turn off” signaling methyl molecules attached to their IGF2 genes than did their siblings. The IGF2 gene is a key component in growth and development, and the study may help explain why children of mothers who experience famine during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing obesity, schizophrenia and diabetes later in life.

Studies now under way should further illuminate the epigenetic link to sports prowess. In one study published last year, rats that exercised regularly and rats that didn’t were twice thrown into beakers of water. On the first go-round, all the rats struggled vigorously to swim and attempt to escape the beaker. A day later, when they were again put into the water, the regularly exercised rats displayed better stress-coping mechanisms: Instead of clawing at a glass wall they could not climb, these rats, having learned from the previous day’s experience, conserved energy by floating. When their brains were examined afterward, researchers found that the exercised rats had altered epigenetic marks that in turn affected gene expression in a part of the brain that helps form memories. “Exercise has a great impact on the brain, not just the muscles,” says Johannes Reul, one of the researchers and a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, England.

Perhaps one day a similar epigenetic explanation of memory will help us understand why great cornerbacks don’t get beat the same way twice.

End Version 6.23.10