TRAUMA RESILIENCE & RECOVERY: Heart-Based, Spirit-Informed, Equine-Assisted.

After losing everything I loved to the Iraq War, I publicly returned one of my two Freedom Medals to President George W. Bush on Veterans Day, 2018. Then I lay down in the grave of my life. Disabled by combat veteran violence and years of caring for a PTSD vet, my Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score was 42 of a possible 100. The GAF scale is a measure used by mental health clinicians; most people register in the 90s. A score of 42 is indicative of serious impairment. Therapists said I was broken beyond repair, put me on multiple medications, and then they quit. Three of them. I was ready to quit, too.

Then possibility arrived in the shape of a feral rescue horse named Spero — Italian for hope. He’s a brilliant and loving wild colt traumatized by the round-up that ripped him from his family, herd, and home. Together, we began to heal. HeartMath Institute studies show that the electromagnetic field of the horse’s heart is five times more powerful than humans, and when in that energy, the human heart becomes resonant with the heart of the horse. 

But here’s the thing: an open heart can’t be closed to pain. The Body Keeps The Score, and the Spirit does, too. 

So, all the trauma – complex trauma, secondary trauma, PTSD, ancestral/intergenerational trauma, cultural betrayal trauma – ALL the trauma had to be healed. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life as the walking wounded. I wasn’t interested in being on disability forever if I didn’t absolutely have to be. I wasn’t going to go halfway. I dug in; I sat, and I stayed with the mud and sweat and blood and tears. And I healed myself all the way home. So can you.

For front-line and movement personnel, I provide trauma-informed workshops and singular sessions on addressing and preventing burnout and processing secondary and cultural betrayal trauma and climate grief drawing on 25 years of front line experience with peace, justice, and environmental activism, including leadership at human rights and social service agencies. Most notably, serving as the only white Executive Director of the MLK Jr. Center and becoming a national grasstips leader of the post-9/11 anti-war movement.

If you’re interested in learning more, or want to book a seminar, workshop, speaking engagement, or singular sessions, please contact me at stacy@stacybannerman.com.

The massive systemic and cultural transformations required to realize the nonviolence necessary for mitigating climate chaos will not occur without the corresponding spiritual revolution of soulforce, the twin flames of courage and love.

Soulforce was at the heart of every social movement of the Sixties, led by the Kennedy brothers and Dr. King. When those leaders were killed, the fire in the heart of this nation died, too. That fire was soulforce. We don’t know what might have happened had those movements continued. But we know what happened when they stopped: endless war, widening economic disparity, ecological devastation, staggering rates of gun violence and a militarized police force that is slaughtering unarmed Black citizens in the streets. The solutions to these problems exist: the courage and love to implement them does not. The peace to sustain them has yet to be born. 

The workshop covers how this nation lost the soulforce of the 60s, what can be done to restore it, and why we cannot solve our most compelling social, political, or environmental problems without it.  

Discover how to create a powerful message and infuse your writing with passion and meaning. Calling all activists, advocates, aspiring authors, public relations professionals, nonprofit personnel and anyone who wants to change the world with their words!

Nearly 3 decades of nonprofit expertise at your service. I can help you start, fix, fund raise, market, brand & promote, develop programs, and make the most of your mission.

          Simply one of the best speakers I have ever heard on any subject. 

- Military Studies, College Conference Director, 2016.

          A dedicated and professional visionary and force in the community who champions the future of our social services infrastructure using the principles of restorative justice. Her ability to create and implement programs is unlike anyone I have seen in twenty years of business.

-Ed Ciochetto, Program Director, Restoration Event, Minneapolis, MN.

          While most of the publicity center[ed] on speaking out against the Aryan Nations and hate, the ‘We are One’ television and print ads were powerfully focused upon creating and upholding the vision of what we want-human rights for all. By partnering with a local corporation, Stacy provided the creative support and secured all the financial backing for this project. I can honestly say that I have seen nothing of this caliber or unique vision achieved at any other time. The legacy of the ‘We are One’ campaign lives on as a monthly feature in the local Diversity magazine.

-Vince Lemus, Human Rights Specialist, City   of Spokane, WA. 

        Stacy Bannerman presents a compelling and courageous case for racial healing and a new approach to criminal justice, based on her unique personal experiences on the frontlines of transforming prejudice. I found the idea of Restorative Justice (a community based alternative to incarceration) to be a powerful tool for social change, as it is based on forgiveness, accountability and restoring relationships.

-Corinne McLaughlin, Co-author, Spiritual Politics and Executive Director, The Center for Visionary Leadership, Washington, D.C.  

        Single-handedly put together one of the most impressive community restoration projects that I have seen in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, which encompasses over a million people. She grasps the essence of human dynamics and conflict resolution.

 -The Honorable Judge Jim Randall, Minnesota State Court of Appeals, St. Paul, MN.