From Fragmentation to Wholeness│Claude Terosier
On working with the complexities of being mixed race.
“Healing for me is the moment I become aware of a movement in me and I’m truly going with it, bringing love to it, and then it starts losing its grip on me, its hold, and I can find a new way to behave or something new becomes possible, or even the way I look at things shifts. It is not finding a solution to a problem, it’s more like not seeing the problem anymore, like the problem dissolving,” — Claude Terosier, speaking to What Is Collective Healing?, a podcast presented by the Pocket Project.
Resonant World#151
Before introducing the latest edition of What Is Collective Healing?, I wanted to thank everyone who kindly donated to the crowdfunder to support Solea Anani, whose partner Chris Deir was tragically killed as he protected her during a break-in earlier this month.
Your support will provide material assistance as Solea moves back to Colorado with her twin 16-year-old boys. The crowdfunder is still active, if anyone else still wishes to contribute. The depth of Chris’ sacrifice — and the power of his love — will stay with me, always.
Being Mixed Race: From Fragmentation to Wholeness
I met Claude Terosier in February, 2022, at the first in-person retreat in Germany of the two-year Timeless Wisdom Training with Thomas Hübl and his team.
It’s been my great privilege to witness the unfolding of her remarkable process since then, and I’m very excited to be sharing the conversation we published on What Is Collective Healing?, the podcast presented by the Pocket Project, earlier this month.
Claude explained to me that despite building a highly successful career as tech start-up entrepreneur, she had sensed that something in her life wasn’t working.
New pathways began to open up during the Timeless Wisdom Training, when she began to reckon with the previously unacknowledged complexities of her mixed race identity as the daughter of a white French mother and Black father from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
Claude has since worked steadily to integrate the ancestral trauma suffered by her enslaved ancestors, the perpetration committed by forebears who had owned slaves, and the collective harms caused by centuries of French colonialism. (Claude, myself and
recorded a dialogue on colonialism back in July, 2023, in one of our early public forays into this topic).Deeply painful at times, as well as profound, Claude’s still-unfolding encounter with layers of collective and inter-generational trauma has inspired her to pursue a new professional path: Claude now facilitates collective healing processes for people of mixed race, and works with the collective trauma of colonialism, racism and slavery, running groups in France, Guadeloupe and internationally.
I loved reading Claude’s account of her experience of recording the podcast in her newsletter
— which seemed to affirm our intention that each episode of What Is Collective Healing? serves as a transformational portal for both guests and listeners. Claude wrote:“Here’s something interesting: we actually recorded this interview three months ago, and I had to listen to it again before writing this post. I'll be honest — I wasn't sure I had said anything particularly insightful during our conversation. But listening to it months later was surprisingly powerful. It gave me a very clear account of my own personal healing journey, and I was fascinated to hear myself articulate what collective healing actually means.”
This intimate and inspiring episode will be of value to anybody who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the principles of healing individual, ancestral and collective trauma. Our conversation also shows how this work can take our lives in entirely unexpected directions as we seek to put what we have learned in service of the whole.
Further Resources:
Claude’s Exploration (Substack in English)
Les Explorations de Claude (Substack in French)
To Be Black and to Succeed – Part 1
To Be Black and to Succeed – Part 2
To Be Black and to Succeed – Part 3
About Claude Terosier:
Born and raised in Guadeloupe, Claude started out in IT consulting and telecoms leadership before founding an EdTech startup in France that empowered young people by teaching them to code. Passionate about collective intelligence and healing, she has since forged a new career as a coach, facilitator, and writer exploring mixed-race identity, colonial trauma, and how to unlock individual, organisational and collective potential.
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to Collective Healing
01:29 Personal Journey and Background
03:09 Defining Collective Healing
05:32 Exploring Ancestral and Collective Trauma
09:26 Professional Life and Realizations
12:51 Confronting Internal and External Barriers
15:16 Stepping into Collective Healing
20:23 Understanding Roots of Stress and Trauma
25:37 Struggles with Parental Connection
26:25 Legacy of Slavery and Family Bonds
28:54 Personal Identity Crisis
29:34 Embracing Mixed Heritage
30:47 Victim and Perpetrator Dynamics
34:56 Collective Healing and Group Support
38:53 Writing and Sharing Personal Stories
46:45 Future Aspirations and Collective Spaces
52:18 Final Reflections and Gratitude
I’m really feeling the juice of possibility in the specific medicine Claude feels called to bring forth into the collective for healing. I’m excited for the next round of Collective Healing labs with the Pocket Project.