--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have come to the conclusion that human…" description: "\"I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma. I believe not only that trauma is curable, but..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/peter-a-levine-11668_ability_i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-human_320462.png" --- # I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born… ![“I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma. I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening—a portal opening to emotional and genuine spiritual transformation. I have…” quote by Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/peter-a-levine-11668_ability_i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-human_320462.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/peter-a-levine-11668_ability_i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-human_320462.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/peter-a-levine-11668_ability_i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-human_320462.png) > “I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma. I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening—a portal opening to emotional and genuine spiritual transformation. I have little doubt that as individuals, families, communities, and even nations, we have the capacity to learn how to heal and prevent much of the damage done by trauma. In so doing, we will significantly increase our ability to achieve both our individual and collective dreams.” [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans can heal from trauma, turning suffering into deep personal and collective growth. **In simple terms:** Trauma can be a catalyst for growth. Key Takeaway Embrace healing as transformation. Themes resilience healing growth Mood hopeful empowering Type therapeutic inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - community programs - personal reflection - national policy Key Concepts Psychology post‑traumatic growth Questions to Reflect On - What practices support trauma recovery? - How can societies foster collective healing? A Different Perspective Healing is not guaranteed for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Healing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing-process/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-transformation/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [“I face my trauma because I believe in breaking cycles, not repeating them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-thoughtful-beast/i-face-my-trauma-because-i-believe-in-breaking-cycles-not-repeating/) The Thoughtful Beast > [“The first truth, Buddha taught his disciples, is that suffering is part of the human condition. If we simply try to avoid confronting painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-first-truth-buddha-taught-his-disciples-is-that-suffering-is-part/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events, but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bridges/change-is-situational-transition-on-the-other-hand-is-psychological/) [William Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bridges/) > [Program your mind with what God says about you and a transformation will take place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/program-your-mind-with-what-god-says-about-you-and-a-transformation/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [We need to take action to develop compassion, to create inner peace within ourselves and to share that inner peace with our family and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-need-to-take-action-to-develop-compassion-to-create-inner-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The great benefit of science is that it can contribute tremendously to the alleviation of suffering at the physical level, but it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-great-benefit-of-science-is-that-it-can-contribute-tremendously/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/healing-may-not-be-so-much-about-getting-better-as-about-letting-go/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Often on a journey of spiritual transformation, that is ultimately what heals the pain: the veil is removed from in front of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/often-on-a-journey-of-spiritual-transformation-that-is-ultimately/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“I spent most of my time floating on an inflatable raft in the pristine Mediterranean waters, my big belly curving toward the sun, reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/i-spent-most-of-my-time-floating-on-an-inflatable-raft-in-the/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-ruling-disposition-is-self-interest-i-perceive-that-everything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [I try to write the books I would love to come upon that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-try-to-write-the-books-i-would-love-to-come-upon-that-are-honest/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Zeena Schreck believes that the right-hand path and the left-hand path have traditionally had the same end goal; it is only the method that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/zeena-schreck-believes-that-the-right-hand-path-and-the-left-hand/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [“On the journey of spiritual transformation, you want to lose your baggage. In fact, you want to make sure all of it is lost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/on-the-journey-of-spiritual-transformation-you-want-to-lose-your/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [“Many secular observers and spiritual practitioners alike mistake mystical chanting as a kind of anthropological curiosity or interesting musical diversion from secular mainstream entertainment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/many-secular-observers-and-spiritual-practitioners-alike-mistake/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## More by Peter A. Levine > [The second noble truth states that we must discover why we are suffering. We must cultivate the courage to look deeply, with clarity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-second-noble-truth-states-that-we-must-discover-why-we-are/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [If you bring forth that which is within you, Then that which is within you Will be your salvation. If you do not bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/if-you-bring-forth-that-which-is-within-you-then-that-which-is-within/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“The third noble truth holds that suffering can be transformed and healed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-third-noble-truth-holds-that-suffering-can-be-transformed-and/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [Now, what happens whenever there's a loud sound is that it startles us, right? And we arrest what we're doing, and we try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/now-what-happens-whenever-there-s-a-loud-sound-is-that-it-startles-us/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-paradox-of-trauma-is-that-it-has-both-the-power-to-destroy-and/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“...who have been traumatized, this can be a monumental leap of faith, but we can recover from trauma; indeed, my experience assisting others to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/who-have-been-traumatized-this-can-be-a-monumental-leap-of-faith-but/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“For this reason, I sincerely believe that just about everyone can benefit from doing the Twelve-Phase Healing Trauma Program that you’ll find in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/for-this-reason-i-sincerely-believe-that-just-about-everyone-can/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [The effects of unresolved trauma can be devastating. It can affect our habits and outlook on life, leading to addictions and poor decision-making. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-effects-of-unresolved-trauma-can-be-devastating-it-can-affect-our/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [While studying the effects of accumulated stress on the nervous system, I began to suspect that most organisms have an innate capacity to rebound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/while-studying-the-effects-of-accumulated-stress-on-the-nervous/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“He then made the connection between Jim’s death and the compulsion he felt to commit the robberies. Once he became aware of his feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/he-then-made-the-connection-between-jim-s-death-and-the-compulsion-he/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“Feelings of helplessness, immobility, and freezing. If hyperarousal is the nervous system’s accelerator, a sense of overwhelming helplessness is its brake. The helplessness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/feelings-of-helplessness-immobility-and-freezing-if-hyperarousal-is/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [In top-down processing, which is normally what we do in psychotherapy, we talk about our problems, our symptoms, or our relationships. And then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/in-top-down-processing-which-is-normally-what-we-do-in-psychotherapy/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“One of the paradoxical and transformative aspects of implicit traumatic memory is that once it is accessed in a resourced way (through the felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/one-of-the-paradoxical-and-transformative-aspects-of-implicit/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“Highly traumatized and chronically neglected or abused individuals are dominated by the immobilization/shutdown system. On the other hand, acutely traumatized people (often by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/highly-traumatized-and-chronically-neglected-or-abused-individuals/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [Trauma and sexual abuse are two of our most pressing human and societal problems. They must be studied by unbiased scientific investigation rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/trauma-and-sexual-abuse-are-two-of-our-most-pressing-human-and/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) [Explore all 58 Peter A. Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma. 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