Place Memory and the Body

Abstract

Christopher Bache’s work, Dark Night Early Dawn (2000) draws on his experiences in altered states of consciousness to illustrate how the individual psyche is deeply interlaced with the minds, emotions and life events of others across time and space. He suggests that this interconnectedness enables us to go beyond healing personal psychological pain, to help heal individual and collective suffering. Bache’s account concentrates on what might be called the world of “spirit” rather than matter. The current paper is an endeavour to extend his work into the world of matter through theoretical exploration and physical engagement with body and land. To this end, I present a heuristic enquiry into two psycho-geographic journeys made at sites of collective suffering in rural Scotland. While working in altered states of consciousness and engaging in somatic practice, I felt residues of what seemed to be this suffering, coming to consciousness through my body. The work of understanding and honouring this involved performance, ritual and artwork. My suggestion is that such embodied practice allows both a profound acknowledgement of historical events and a therapeutic release of pain. Working in this way may also show us how deeply our bodies and minds are woven into the rest of nature. Once we experience this, places can come alive to us in a different way. Matter is no longer a dead substance for humans to use at will. It is a mystery that we are all part of, and one that invites our deepest respect and care. KEYWORDS interconnectedness, parapsychology, altered states of consciousness, ecopsychology, place memory.