Pádraig Ó Tuama | Healing Spiritual Trauma

Pádraig Ó Tuama | Healing Spiritual Trauma

Author: Thomas Huebl September 30, 2025 Duration: 58:51

Can creative expression help us return to ourselves after we’ve experienced spiritual trauma?

This week, Thomas sits down with Pádraig Ó Tuama, a distinguished Irish Poet, theologian, and host of the podcast Poetry Unbound, for a profound exploration of spiritual trauma. Pádraig shares about the specific heartbreak of being betrayed by a spiritual community, drawing from his own intense experiences as a young gay man whose sexuality was demonized by his church.

Pádraig and Thomas discuss the intertwining of religious identity with politics and colonial history, particularly in Ireland, and share practical, philosophical, spiritual, and artistic approaches to healing from this type of trauma. At the heart of this conversation is the regenerative power of creativity and how art, poetry, and other forms of self-expression are essential to reestablishing a healthy relationship to your identity and your personal faith after trauma.


Pádraig also reads his poem “The Exorcism” from his “Seven Deadly Sonnets” collection.


Click here to watch the video version of this episode on YouTube:

👉 https://youtu.be/UbHVywpETVc

Video episodes are typically posted at 8am PT/ 11am ET


✨ Join Thomas, Pádraig, and over 40 expert leaders in trauma-healing, embodiment, somatics, and social change for 7 days of embodied practices, guided reflection, and powerful interviews at the Collective Trauma Summit 2025.


This free, online event will help you deepen your understanding of trauma, learn practices for deeper presence, regulation, and compassion, and connect with a supportive global community.


The Summit begins on October 12.

Register for free here 👉 https://collectivetraumasummit.com


✨ Sign up for updates by visiting our website:

👉 https://pointofrelationpodcast.com 


Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet with interests in conflict, language, and religion. He presents Poetry Unbound from On Being Studios and has published two anthologies. In early 2025, Copper Canyon Press published Kitchen Hymns, his fourth poetry collection. A freelance artist, one of Ó Tuama’s projects is poet in residence with the Cooperation and Conflict Resolution Center at Columbia University. He splits his time between Belfast and New York City.


Connect with Pádraig here:

👉 https://www.padraigotuama.com


Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change, integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has led large-scale events and courses on the healing of collective trauma. 

In addition to Attuned, he is the author of Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds. He has served as an advisor and guest faculty for universities and organizations, as a coach for CEOs and organizational leaders, and is currently a visiting scholar at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.


Connect with Thomas here:

Website: https://thomashuebl.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Thomas.Huebl.Sangha/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomashuebl/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ThomasHuebl

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thomashuebl


✨ Order Thomas Hübl’s newest book, “Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma–And Our World,” here:

👉 https://www.attunedbook.com/ 


Take our listener survey! We'd love your feedback on which topics and guests are resonating with you and which ones you'd like to hear more about in the future:

👉 https://forms.gle/uoygyKMmHeUHeJFD9


In a world often defined by fragmentation, Point of Relation with Thomas Huebl explores the subtle connections that bind us. This isn't a series of abstract lectures; it's a living inquiry into how our personal awareness directly shapes the cultural and spiritual fabric we all share. Thomas, drawing from a deep well of integrative practice, guides dialogues that feel both timely and timeless. Each conversation with a guest-whether a scientist, artist, or community healer-unfolds like a collaborative exploration. You’ll hear them grapple with practical spirituality, the philosophy of interconnected systems, and the often-unseen patterns in society that call for our attention. The aim is to move beyond theory into a felt sense of relational intelligence. Listening to this podcast, you become part of a space where the divide between the mystical and the empirical softens, revealing actionable insights for personal and collective transformation. It’s for anyone curious about how inner work contributes to outer healing, and how our most pressing global challenges might be met not with more division, but with a renewed capacity for nuanced, compassionate understanding. The discussions are deep, sometimes challenging, but always oriented toward a more coherent and connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Point of Relation with Thomas Huebl
Podcast Episodes
Becoming an Ally of Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:40
Are you truly existing in the world, or are you trying to escape it?This week, Thomas shares an exploration into personal and societal evolution. It all begins with creating an inner spaciousness from which we can engage…
Bonus Preview: john a. powell at the Collective Trauma Summit 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:12
“Our history is not a history of divide. Our history is a history of coming together in greater and greater numbers.” - john a. powellIn this special bonus episode, Thomas sits down with john a. powell, law professor and…
Rae Riedel | Harnessing the Power of Your Breath [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:51
Can you change your consciousness by changing the way that you breathe?This week, Thomas is joined by Rae Riedel, the co-founder, primary educator, and facilitator trainer of Integrative Breath. She’s also a senior stude…
Embracing the Unknown on the Spiritual Path [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:16
The beauty of the spiritual path lies in not having a fixed destination.This week, Thomas Hübl shares a teaching that opens us to a different mode of knowing—one that is emergent, direct, and arises from surrendering to…
Esther Perel & Jack Saul | Relational Healing to Transform Trauma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:47
This week, we’re revisiting Thomas’ conversation with Esther Perel, a renowned psychotherapist, NYT bestselling author, and host of the podcast “Where Should We Begin?” They’re also joined by her husband, Jack Saul, an a…
Unifying Science and Spirituality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:52
Can we create more richness and harmony in our lives by synthesizing scientific and spiritual ways of knowing?This week, Thomas shares his thoughts on this question and explains how bridging this divide into a unified un…
Bonus Preview: Pico Iyer at the 2025 Collective Trauma Summit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:37
Today, we’re sharing an excerpt from Thomas’ conversation with acclaimed travel writer, author, and speaker Pico Iyer at the upcoming Collective Trauma Summit. Pico’s extensive travels and journeys into the realms of Bud…
Susanne Ahlendorf and Martin Bruders | Trauma-Informed Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:34
A deep meditation practice doesn’t help you bypass your problems; it helps you move through them with presence and embodied awareness.This week, Thomas is joined by his dear friends, longtime students, and meditation ins…
Francis Weller | Embracing the Wisdom of Grief [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:19
How does crossing the threshold of grief open the gateway to other potent emotions?In part two of their conversation on grief, healing, and social transformation, Thomas and Francis Weller discuss what it means to become…
Bonus Preview: Cheryl Strayed at the Collective Trauma Summit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:53
Bestselling author Cheryl Strayed believes that writing your truth can set you free.Today we’re sharing an excerpt from her conversation with Thomas at the upcoming Collective Trauma Summit. In it, she shares about a pro…