How to create peace & social justice?
As an ex-diplomat and psychotherapist I have a very good understanding of how the personal and the political interact and are interconnected. War and any kind of violence causes psychological trauma and a lot of wars are caused by psychologically damaged people who hold positions of power.
How to break the vicious circle? By taking action at all levels at the same time. At personal level, healing our traumas and at an institutional level creating buffers which will counter-balance the emotions of hate, rage, anger. Also by taking a stand when violence and injustice take place.
Emotions are so much left out of politics, not politically correct to talk about them, whereas their bad management causes a lot of evil.
Politics are very much left out of psychotherapy, as its main focus is the person, the group, the community, whereas political developments have overwhelming effect on the person, the family, the society, the world.
This blog is for the ones who hold positions of power and authority willing to explore how their personhood affects the political decisions they make. It is also for psychotherapists who want to increase their political awareness and political activity. It is also for all the people who care about peace and social justice and want to find ways to serve them.
Tip for practice:
The very basic foundation of ALL peace work is the principle "DO NOT HARM". Try to identify any beliefs that you hold which justify exercising violence, oppression, or going to war.
