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Terrorism and Transformation

"What can I do?" was the question on many minds in the weeks following September 11th. I hope this question is still on your minds as our war rages in Afghanistan months later. "What can I do?" You can always work on your self. You always have the power to create change within your self in the moment.
Events that cause distress and stir strong emotions are sources of the type of potential energy necessary for personal transformation. It would be an enormous shame to let this opportunity pass, to let 6000 people die in vain by not harnessing the potential for transformation that their horrific deaths have created in your life. What has their gift been for you?

Arnold Mindell, internationally known psychotherapist, author, teacher, and conflict resolution facilitator, discusses terrorism in Sitting In The Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict And Diversity. "Terrorists want to make the mainstream assume responsibility for social change," says Mindell. "They aim to make it impossible for anyone to escape social consciousness by reminding us that the world is a theater in which each of us acts a particular role, whether we like it or not. Even if we are only standing by watching, passivity implies acceptance of the status quo."

Mindell explains that the unconscious use power and rank give rise to terrorism. He defines rank as "the social or personal power arising from culture, community support, personal psychology and/or spiritual power." For example I have spiritual rank as a shaman while my father has cultural rank as a white man and additional rank in his field as a successful engineer. You can earn or inherit your rank. You can be conscious or unconscious about your rank. In short, rank "is the sum of a person's privileges," where privileges can be psychological, cultural, legal, racial, sexual, spiritual, and gender or class based.
The desire for revenge that motivates terrorism "would not be necessary if we were all wiser about our rank and more conscious of our use of social power." One thing you can do to claim your gift is to raise your awareness of the dynamics involved in your life. What rank, privilege, and power do you hold in the relationships in your life? How responsible are you with that power? What rank and power do you have as an American on the global stage? Are there places in your life where you desire change, but feel powerless against the status quo to create that change? Where in your own life do you feel forced by the unconsciousness of others into being a terrorist?

"Terrorism," says Mindell, "is a spirit of the times when there is a need of cultural change but it is blocked." I notice that my desire to act as a "terrorist" arises within me when I feel that the powers of the status quo are conscious of the need for social change, but are actively blocking that change with their fear and denial. In these moments of frustration I do understand the goal of the terrorist—"to awaken those in power to the necessity of social change."

The problem with terrorism as an action plan is that in its zeal to say "wake up!" it destroys too much, too randomly, and with too great a disregard for the life. In short, the oppressed becomes the oppressor in the act of terrorism. We know that two wrongs don't make a right, but more importantly they don't change anything. Mindell explains that the act of terrorism goes too far and becomes the very problem the terrorist set out to fight against. In other words, they unconsciously abuse power to point out the unconscious abuse of power. "We (the victims of terrorism) are hurt by the terrorist's hidden negativity. We feel hidden messages even if we do not see or hear them. That is what makes us afraid of people and situations without knowing why." And, of course, people who are afraid are least able to change.

In this way terrorism defeats itself as a tool for social change. While it may succeed in waking the mainstream up, but it does so by creating an atmosphere that is antagonistic to change. Neither the anger nor the fear that results from terrorism helps to create the atmosphere necessary to support, guide, and sustain change. This reminds me of an old adage, "A mind changed against its will, is of the same opinion still."

What does all of this teach me? First, if I want to be a powerful change agent in the world I must harness the power of my Inner Terrorist. I must listen to her and let her teach me how to open my heart to the suffering of others so that my actions can better energize an atmosphere of respect and compassion to support change. Similarly, one action we can all take to claim the gift in the tragedy of September 11th is to courageously and gently do our personal work. If we can embrace that aspect of our self who is reflected back to us as by "The Other" in global events we can know our selves more fully. As our awareness expands through this work our soul will unfold more fully into our lives. As we become more whole we become better able to affect change around us.

Mindell explains that "(t)he terrorist arises in us all when we feel unheard or unable to protect ourselves from oppressive situations created by people and groups that are too big, powerful or awesome for an individual to fight ‘fairly.'" These are the feelings you could work with. Let them lead you on a path of self discovery. Feelings of fear and confusion were an appropriate immediate response to the events of September 11th, but their moment has passed. Now they are the fuel for the fire of your self awareness if you chose to act.

Feel the feelings in the dark and charged places that live within you. Are you feeling a desire for revenge? If so work with it. Revenge begins as repressed anger. Move your internal awareness to the anger at the root of the revenge and feel your anger. Express your anger in the safety of your home in a way that does not harm others. Does fear arise for you just reading these words? Are you afraid to feel the full force of your anger? If so, that emotional habit began long ago, long before September 11th. Perhaps a gift from the 11th is the ability to feel feelings long suppressed and unresolved. Perhaps you can begin to feel them now and reclaim your emotional lifeforce.

If you think for a moment that the transformation of one person is nothing relative to the global forces shaking our lives, think again. Everything changes everything because everything is connected. To "Know Thyself" is one of the most powerful forces of life. If each American could receive just one gift of self awareness from the tragedy of the 11th our culture could be transformed in a heartbeat. As a culture we would be moved, through the expanded awareness of the individuals, into a truer expression of the American Dream of liberty and justice for all.

In closing I share ancient wisdom from the I Ching :

Shocking brings progress...
Repeated arousing (thunder)
forms the condition for Shocking.
Therefore, an enlightened person,
when badly frightened,
seeks to improve himself.

Mindell, Arnold. Sitting In The Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict And Diversity, Portland, Oregon, Lao Tse Press, 1995, pp. 75-102.