Dear Christopher, this commentary has moved me deeply. I listened to the podcast and the dialogue between Sam and his other guests and between you and Sam, over and over. I'm a committed Dharma and somatic therapy practitioner of many years and current participant of your international MTTC. This post comes on the back of a significant incident of 'public shaming' in my community recently by a visiting very volatile 'religious scholar' called Andrew Harvey. (the latter of which, I'm not an advocate for reasons that you touched upon in the commentary about gurus/religious evangelists.) Despite the 'dressing down' in front of people, some of whom have known me over many decades, thanks to the dharma/somatic awareness practice, the incident did not completely 'undo' me. Rather, I've been able to bounce back into the middle ground of inquiry and reintegration, staying on track, so to speak. Alternatively, I could have been very traumatized (I come from a very traumatic childhood of violence, alcoholism and misogyny) and continued on a path of rage, shame and blame. I wholeheartedly agree upon your finishing comments about Sam pursuing a path of 'therapy' to resolve the deep seated trauma - the Shadow - that lies lurking in most of us and society as a whole; waiting to be activated, unexpectedly, in any moment. Thanks to being an avid observer and participant in your inquiry sessions over the years, I have come to ask the question 'What is this?' when intense emotions/reactions have been unleashed. Experience has revealed the opportunity for healing not only the personal karma/unresolve but also the collective/inter generational trauma. Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing the way forward in these times of immense crisis and personal/collective suffering.
An easy to way to dismiss a view which we don't agree with is gaslighting. We can analyze the psyche of Mr. Harris and assume a trauma, and assume that this disqualifies him from holding a valid prespective, and send him to theraphy.
But aren't we missing something? Maybe there is a value of holding different views in consciousness even if they seem to contradict? Especially if these views come from minds we value?
Perhaps in this way we can broaden our vista, allow the coincidence of opposites within our own mind, embrace the complexity and the uncertainty, allow a deeper truth to emerge? Must we strive to erase anything that doesn't fit our weltanschauung?
A per expressions of deep concerns, I am concerned about:
- Hamas terrorists repeatedly operating from hospitals, schools and other senstive civilian centres, distroying any chance of civil life in gaza.
- Hamas & Jihad firing rockets amonst which 12% explode in their own territory killing gazans (12% are 1140 rockets).
- UN report of sexual violence by Hamas which is still ongoing in captivity ('rape and gang rape') & testimonies of women who were freed of being raped in captivity.
- Hamas seizing humanitarian aid which goes into gaza causing hunger and starvation.
etc etc I could go on, the point is, how easy is it to create a one sided narrative?
If we are to state an opinion on this conflict, which is far from simple, I think it should be a result of some depth and breadth of research. As an ancient writer said, “One book opens the other. Read many books and compare them throughout and then you get the meaning. By reading one book alone you cannot get it, you cannot otherwise decipher it.”
Thank you for this Christopher, we surely need some calm clarity in this vexed issue. I don't have complete knowledge of what Hamas are actually doing in Gaza so can't comment on them specifically. However one thing that is clear is that intergenerational trauma exists in people on both sides of the conflict, due to past conflicts and tge trauma then generated by atrocities. This applies to people of Jewish descent affected by the Holocaust in Europe plus actions by Hamas and other Palestinian resistance fighters, and for people of Palestine affected by the nakba after World War II and cumulatively by the ongoing seizure and occupation of their lands by Israeli military and settlers. No one will ever have peace and freedom until both sides acknowledge this history and deal collectively with the conflict and trauma. Nothing will by achieved by one side attempting to kill off the other side. Haven't we as humans learned this many times before?? That is where I profoundly disagree with Sam Harris. He seems to think Hamas must be destroyed but this will not solve the underlying issues. It will simply cause new groups of Palestinians to organise and resist with even more cruelty and intensity. The pain continues through generation adter generation.
Dear Christopher, this commentary has moved me deeply. I listened to the podcast and the dialogue between Sam and his other guests and between you and Sam, over and over. I'm a committed Dharma and somatic therapy practitioner of many years and current participant of your international MTTC. This post comes on the back of a significant incident of 'public shaming' in my community recently by a visiting very volatile 'religious scholar' called Andrew Harvey. (the latter of which, I'm not an advocate for reasons that you touched upon in the commentary about gurus/religious evangelists.) Despite the 'dressing down' in front of people, some of whom have known me over many decades, thanks to the dharma/somatic awareness practice, the incident did not completely 'undo' me. Rather, I've been able to bounce back into the middle ground of inquiry and reintegration, staying on track, so to speak. Alternatively, I could have been very traumatized (I come from a very traumatic childhood of violence, alcoholism and misogyny) and continued on a path of rage, shame and blame. I wholeheartedly agree upon your finishing comments about Sam pursuing a path of 'therapy' to resolve the deep seated trauma - the Shadow - that lies lurking in most of us and society as a whole; waiting to be activated, unexpectedly, in any moment. Thanks to being an avid observer and participant in your inquiry sessions over the years, I have come to ask the question 'What is this?' when intense emotions/reactions have been unleashed. Experience has revealed the opportunity for healing not only the personal karma/unresolve but also the collective/inter generational trauma. Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing the way forward in these times of immense crisis and personal/collective suffering.
Thank you for this blog.
An easy to way to dismiss a view which we don't agree with is gaslighting. We can analyze the psyche of Mr. Harris and assume a trauma, and assume that this disqualifies him from holding a valid prespective, and send him to theraphy.
But aren't we missing something? Maybe there is a value of holding different views in consciousness even if they seem to contradict? Especially if these views come from minds we value?
Perhaps in this way we can broaden our vista, allow the coincidence of opposites within our own mind, embrace the complexity and the uncertainty, allow a deeper truth to emerge? Must we strive to erase anything that doesn't fit our weltanschauung?
A per expressions of deep concerns, I am concerned about:
- Hamas terrorists repeatedly operating from hospitals, schools and other senstive civilian centres, distroying any chance of civil life in gaza.
- Hamas & Jihad firing rockets amonst which 12% explode in their own territory killing gazans (12% are 1140 rockets).
- UN report of sexual violence by Hamas which is still ongoing in captivity ('rape and gang rape') & testimonies of women who were freed of being raped in captivity.
- Hamas seizing humanitarian aid which goes into gaza causing hunger and starvation.
etc etc I could go on, the point is, how easy is it to create a one sided narrative?
If we are to state an opinion on this conflict, which is far from simple, I think it should be a result of some depth and breadth of research. As an ancient writer said, “One book opens the other. Read many books and compare them throughout and then you get the meaning. By reading one book alone you cannot get it, you cannot otherwise decipher it.”
Thank you for this Christopher, we surely need some calm clarity in this vexed issue. I don't have complete knowledge of what Hamas are actually doing in Gaza so can't comment on them specifically. However one thing that is clear is that intergenerational trauma exists in people on both sides of the conflict, due to past conflicts and tge trauma then generated by atrocities. This applies to people of Jewish descent affected by the Holocaust in Europe plus actions by Hamas and other Palestinian resistance fighters, and for people of Palestine affected by the nakba after World War II and cumulatively by the ongoing seizure and occupation of their lands by Israeli military and settlers. No one will ever have peace and freedom until both sides acknowledge this history and deal collectively with the conflict and trauma. Nothing will by achieved by one side attempting to kill off the other side. Haven't we as humans learned this many times before?? That is where I profoundly disagree with Sam Harris. He seems to think Hamas must be destroyed but this will not solve the underlying issues. It will simply cause new groups of Palestinians to organise and resist with even more cruelty and intensity. The pain continues through generation adter generation.