The body, mind, and spirit remembers

Brian L. Ragsdale — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:30:50 GMT

When we experience stress or a traumatic event, our body, mind, and spirit remembers. I know that there is a book about the body keeping score, and its premise I do not debate, but question how their framing places psychological phenom within a competitive framework. We know, for example, that even pleasant events like a wedding also cause the body (e.g., stress levels) to spike. I think the body remembers and how this is felt is different for all of us.

As a trauma survivor and trauma therapist, I think of trauma as impacting all of our senses. Survivors for example are triggered by sight, sound, touch, taste and so forth. When I worked with families who cycled in and out of poverty levels, they often said that just the smell of the school prevented them from going into the school to discuss how their child was doing. Or the veteran with PTSD telling me about how they scan the Walmart for places to escape, or the client who talks about the glass dropping in the kitchen reminding them of domestic violence that happened in childhood.

Our faculties remember and with those memories often comes a rush of feelings that can overwhelm us. These sensations, in some circumstances, can also be understood as gateways to higher consciousness.

When my body remembers in a vivid way, I remind myself to breathe. Breathing really helps to settle all of these memories. We often hold our breath when a traumatic event happens, almost like we are trying to save our breath for when we need it, or as a way to protect our body. I think of breathing as joining a fundamental core of being that connects most of us to the universe.

Breathing is also deeply connected to memory. Memory is unique because of its ability to straddle time, place, and space. Memory is both present and past. I have expanded my memory to have the ability to connect with my ancestors.

This concept of memory connecting to ancestors gets a little complex to explain, but please stay with me. We know, for example, that trauma responses and poor coping methods can be passed down from caregiver to child. This I do not debate. I do like to add that creative fortitude is also passed down to us as well. So in this way memories can serve both positive and negative aspects. I also believe that this sensing and connecting to our ancestors can be done once we extend not only the collective memories, but also the cultivation of their struggle and their ability to survive as evidence that we can to.

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I often commune with my ancestors who pop up in my mind at random times, and other times I am able to access their wisdom through meditation. These visitations or commune, or communication sessions have been very helpful in my healing process. Sometimes the ancestors come to me with words or sayings like, We Come This Far by Faith, or Hold On, or Be Still and Know. Other times they join me in episodes of joy like when I go to a garden, or see a sunset, I can feel their presence.

As I close, I encourage you to continue on your healing journey, to use all of the resources that exist; psychotherapy, medication, communing with family, going to the water, listening to music and so much more that you are already doing.

The body, mind and spirit remember because they are here as guides to a different place. A different level of consciousness. Letting memory be a bridge to our ancestors is something you may want to try.

Mind and Medium: Letters from Brian: Ancestral Messages

The body, mind, and spirit remembers