Trauma and Redemption
As outlined in Living in the Borderland, there are three portals that can take an individual to the Borderland and into Borderland consciousness. One such portal is the Trauma Portal.
The Trauma Portal - Trauma as Initiation
Trauma, particularly early childhood trauma, activates the archetype of initiation. For all, it is an initiation into Hell. For some, it is also an initiation into the dimension of the Sacred and what I call Borderland consciousness.
Here we see the archetype of initiation at work: These children and adults go through the Trauma Portal into the Borderland Dimension of Consciousness and stay there, usually by choice. They do so because it is safe; but also because it is wondrous and provides the comfort and healing resources of Nature as a primary trust object. Clinically it may be called a dissociation by some. Archetypally it is not a dissociation for these individuals, but primarily an initation into the Sacred and into Borderland consciousness.
Jerome S. Bernstein
Living in the Borderland addresses the evolution of Western consciousness and describes the emergence of the 'Borderland,' a spectrum of reality that is beyond the rational yet is palpable to an increasing number of individuals.