Paul Dunion, EdD

“Boy, it’s time for you to die!” proclaims an indigenous Chief flanked by tribal elders dressed in their ritualistic garb, about to address an American boy whom they found lost in the jungle and raised.  (From the film ‘The Emerald Forest’, based upon a true story.)  An unspoken tragedy of our times is that it…

Unlike wounds resulting from physical or sexual abuse where the invasive energy is blatant, the wounding energy of Emotional Incest is stealthy and very difficult to track. The intrusive psychic energy of the perpetrator is packaged in care and attention. It can be quite challenging to break into this care-package and reveal the expectations and…

Trauma can be defined as the experience of an unregulated nervous system due to the violation of a physical, sexual or emotional boundary.  An unregulated nervous system tends to constrict thinking, feeling and acting. Developmental trauma is the result of repeated violations throughout childhood. It leaves violated individuals confused about how to support their own…

An ancient definition of the word sacred is “confirming what truly matters”.  Obviously, it’s always a good time to confirm what truly matters.  However, the Winter Solstice ushering in diminished light, Christmas, Hanukkah and an end of the year review may be a fitting time to confirm what truly matters.  I recommend suspending some probing…

Once darkness descends, it can be very difficult to return to the light. Darkness comes when you feel forgotten by those you deeply hoped would remember you.  Darkness comes when loss arrives seemingly indifferent about the removal of your health or a loved one succumbing to illness or injury. Darkness comes when a cherished belief…

Radical Parenting There is a strong distinction between effective parenting and radical parenting. We can think about effective parenting including: providing safety and continuity to a child’s life, offering encouragement, acknowledgement of a child’s emotional experience, holding authority with clear boundaries that are neither abusive nor reflecting abdication, supplying logical consequences for unacceptable behavior, addressing…

May your healing stories grow, with clarity about the wounding, embellished by depictions of boldness, grace, resolve and forgiveness.  Let these narratives find some small place where the voices of the demons haunting your soul continue to soften. When the journey invites you to turn against yourself, remember those who came before you, your ancestors,…

Shyness has been greatly misunderstood with insinuations of a missing courage and a loss of spirit.  I have always found shyness to be trustworthy, lacking in pretense, with no striving to impress. However, the trustworthiness of shyness far exceeds what it doesn’t do. I’m thankful to say that after years of turning away and toward…

  Trauma can be defined as an unregulated nervous system due to the violation of a physical, sexual or emotional boundary. An unregulated nervous system tends to constrict thinking, feeling and acting. Developmental trauma is the result of repeated violations throughout childhood. It leaves violated individuals confused about how to support their own safety. These…

It was inevitable, right from the beginning.  My original home, tucked away, gently resting in the cavern of my mother’s belly, with her waters protecting me from harm.  And then the push, a push I will experience throughout my life in so many different ways.  Urging me forward toward an unwelcome separation and a broken…