The bugs in our gut, good and bad, have consciousness. Good ones keep us happy and healthy. The bad ones mess with us in a multitude of ways. Many bad microbes colonize in ways that underscore and support neural pathways of trauma. As we heal our gut we heal both our minds and bodies. This is a synergistic relationship so one can work on emotional and psychological issues and heal the gut and one can also work on healing the gut and find that emotional and psychological issues also reveal themselves that way. Either way we must tend to both our emotional/spiritual selves and our physical body when dealing with profound healing and transformation. This may happen more or less consciously depending on levels of awareness. The more aware we become the deeper the transformation becomes. Simple mindfulness and paying attention to the body (meditation) allows such awareness to develop. ... A lot of chronic illness is embodied trauma...