LANGUAGE OF CONFLICT
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Consulting
    • Testimonials
  • About
  • Contact
    • Sarah Federman
    • Finish and Flourish
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Consulting
    • Testimonials
  • About
  • Contact
    • Sarah Federman
    • Finish and Flourish

Language of Conflict in Clay

1/7/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of my fascinating classmates brought in huge blocks of clay...we had our 3 hour class  on "ethnography and conflict" and rather than taking notes on our laptops, we sculpted bones. These bones are going to be placed, I believe on the Mall in Washington DC to represent the victims of genocide. First of all, I'm not ever sure I've sculpted a bone and doing so with the thought of genocide victims in mind was harrowing. 

To talk about genocide while "touching" the bones felt surreal. Sometimes there are no words. 

0 Comments

Greater peace? ...Calm the Reptile

1/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
So, yesterday spent an hour listening to Dr. Rudy Tanzi-- neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School and leading scientist on Alzheimer's genes. He talked about how to have a SUPER BRAIN-- teaching folks how to avert the angoisse of the disease while raising money for PBS. All good causes.  Surprised to find myself learning some related to narrative -- to language and conflict. Now, it seems that even Harvard Medical School is on board with the idea that breathing, meditation, intentionality and mental focus all play a role in health and wellness. Terrific news.  And he said something that just made me go POP! BANG! WOW! ZING! ...so in narrative approaches to conflict resolution we often discuss meaning making. In conflict we look for where meaning is made, who is making it and who would like to but feels unable to make their own meaning. Well, Dr. Tanzi told me that the neocortex is where meaning is made...but he also said that we're simultaneously dealing with an active limbic brain and reptilian brain. So, if I'm trying to help someone make meaning of something while their reptilian brain is shooting off, it's not going to be easy...so not surprisingly, when someone is in the middle of a conflict situation, it's really hard to get them back into their neocortex...or limbic brain. Dr. Tanzi suggested taking 3 deep breaths, smiling, imagine every cell smiling and then move forward with kindness. Now, very good approach when working with those willing to leave the reptile behind. For those who want to live in their reptile, might be tricky to get them to put the gun down.   In terms of narrative, however, this talk reminded me how important it will be to working on "meaning making" after moving us up in evolution. 

0 Comments

Whose stories do you listen to?

1/6/2013

0 Comments

 
You can tell how much power a person has by how many people listen to their stories-- Kay Prainis 
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Afghanistan
    Bullying
    Communism
    Computer Crash
    Conflict Resolution
    Customer Service
    Documentary
    Foreign Policy
    Global Solutions
    Healing
    Indonesia
    Language
    Language Of Conflict
    Life Coaching
    Military History
    Narrative
    Police Brutality
    Political Debate
    Relationships
    Transparency
    World Healling

    Archives

    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012

Proudly powered by Weebly