In the last post, I wrote about using the tools of psychology in support of justice, resistance, and collective liberation. But the work of resisting is not easy. In fact, oppression can be outright traumatic.
So, to support your resistance, I’m going to
1. Describe how the tools of trauma-healing are tools of resistance
2. Offer a brief refueling practice as a resistance practice (see recording below)
Use the refueling offered here for what you need to forge forward, so that you may show up in this moment the way you want and must.
Here is what I mean by that.
When you are not the direct target of injustice (e.g., if you are white, in the context of racism), use the grounding and healing that I’m going to offer to make space in your heart for the intensity of the moment, to keep your eyes wide open to the pain caused by oppression, to build the courage to act. True empathy leading to compassionate action requires our ability to feel without numbing or shutting down in the face of pain. The mere fact that we have a choice of numbing and shutting down at the pain of injustice is a sure sign of our privileged social location and therefore of our responsibility to move into action.
When you are the direct target of oppressive forces (e.g., if you are a person of color, in the context of racism), chances are that injustice is a chronic experience. So you might use the refueling for the sake of cultivating healing and grounding, to replenish and restore.
In other words, when we are in an allied position, we have to fortify ourselves to enter “the storm” and work for justice. When we directly experience injustice, we might especially benefit from healing and grounding while “the storm” rages.
This means that while the tools and practices that foster resistance and resilience can be the same across folx, what we are trying to foster through these tools is different depending on our social locations.
The tools of healing and resistance are supportive for all of us because the injustice we are witnessing is deeply distressing. And oppression is a breeding ground for trauma.
But knowledge is power! So once we see what creates trauma, it will become apparent what fosters resilience and why
trauma healing is, in and of itself, a form of resistance.
Oppression and trauma have three weapons:
1. Separating
2. Silencing
3. Paralyzing
Oppression and trauma separate us from our bodies (whether concretely or emotionally, through violence of all kinds), from our beliefs (e.g., about our goodness, about our rights to love and be loved), and our communities (e.g., by physically removing us from our people, by separating us from each other across allied groups, by denying us the freedom to engage in our cultural practices).
Oppression and trauma silence us by censuring, gaslighting, and invalidating us (read the news lately? Need I say more…).
Oppression and trauma paralyze us by terrorizing us and making us feel helpless and powerless. Oppression, by definition, is designed to subjugate (no further explanations needed there either…)
Once you clearly see how trauma and oppression operate, it becomes clear how to counteract them. And (no coincidence there!) each antidote reflects what we do in trauma treatment:
1. You counteract separation by reconnecting to your body, beliefs, and community (in trauma work we call this “safety”).
2. You counteract silence by speaking up and feeling heard (in trauma work we call this “remembrance”)
3. You counteract paralysis by acting (in trauma work we call this “integration”). At the most basic level this means (literally) moving your body (I can’t overemphasize the importance of this!). And it also means acting more systemically in response to the forces that want us helpless and powerless.
In other words, trauma-healing undoes the work of oppression. This is why trauma-healing is resistance and resilience-building. And resistance and resilience-building is trauma-healing.
In other words, if trauma and oppression are two sides of a same coin, counteracting one will counteract the other. So let’s begin to heal, resist, and build resilience! Below is a brief “loving-kindness” practice to support “reconnecting”.
This well-researched technique (of which there are many variations) is derived from the Buddhist tradition and is a powerful tool to begin reconnecting to ourselves and others. That is because loving and feeling loved is physiologically the glue that holds us together both internally and externally.
If you have 5 uninterrupted minutes to invest in yourself, give it a try now!
When it comes to “reconnecting”, it is also important to examine what we believe, because what we tell ourselves is profoundly influential. Narratives can sustain us or defeat us.
As I learned from Bryan Stevenson (the author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative), what keeps white supremacy alive is its power to shape narratives, in addition to shape policies.
So we must free ourselves from narratives that disconnect us, that silence us, and that paralyze us. We want narratives that allow us to feel connected, that leave us space to speak up and feel heard, that allow us to feel empowered to act.
Narratives stir powerful emotions, and it’s important to remember that their impact is unique to each of us and to the specific moment we face. This means that no one gets to decide for you the impact that a narrative has in your body at any given time! You are the only person who can know. But know you must.
So as beliefs and their ensuing emotions arise within you, you may ask yourself: “Does (in this moment) believing that I cannot make a difference create apathy and hopelessness, or does it urge me to join with others in effective ways?”, “Does (in this moment) believing that ‘no one cares’ help me take care of myself and act on my own initiative, or does it engender unbearable loneliness and despair?”, “Does (in this moment) rage wake me up and enhance my actions, or does it burn all my energy along with my companions?”, “Do (in this moment) sadness and despair bring forth my empathy and call me to actively engage in the movement, or do they sink me into hopelessness and inaction?”
Recently, CTZNWELL sponsored a week-long program called The Wellness of We (another powerful way to practice reconnection! All sessions have been recorded and can be accessed for free). There I heard political activist Reggie Hubbard tell a story that speaks directly to the power of narratives and emotions. While guiding us through a yoga practice, he recounted someone asking him:
“Rather than looking at your activist work as a fight, can you begin to look at it as a dance whereby you create beauty and transformation in the world?” Reggie then said to us: “What if we viewed our work as an act of creation, rather than exclusively as a fight… Imagine how more sustainable life can be if you are rooted in peace, beauty, and grace, in service to the collective good.”
Narratives run deep and are powerful influencers, both inside and outside of ourselves. So,
reclaim your right to decide what goes on in your heart and in your head
by reconnecting to your body and your thoughts. May this reconnecting serve as a gateway to speaking up and acting, healing and grounding, resilience and resistance!