Obama spits Netanyahu in the face - and Netanyahu carries much of the blame

Before leaving office, Obama decided to spit Netanyahu in the face. The recent UN resolution is a harsh blow to Israel. It does not differentiate between all the scattered settler outposts and for instance the Western Wall and the ancient Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem.

However, the ultimate blame lies with Netanyahu. HE does not differentiate, but has cast them all in the same bag. With the policies of his extreme right-wing government, he has turned not only Obama, but the entire world against Israel. By devoting his government resources, time and money, to protect illegal settlements such as Armona, rather than to resolving devastating poverty and disengagement from occupied territory, he and his government has thrown the country into darkness and isolation.

While the US abstained and did not veto the resolution, all other Security Council members voted in favor of it, against the destructive process of Netanyahu and his government (in which he himself holds several additional portfolios).

All this does not amount to seeing Palestinian maneuvering in a positive light. At the beginning of his first term as President, Obama asked Netanyahu to make a gesture to the Palestinians, to encourage them to return to the negotiating table. Netanyahu agreed and froze all building in the settlements for ten months, which sadly did not move the Palestinians. With increasing international support, they are not likely to return to negotiations, but proceed on the international arena, gaining increasing recognition, while Israel becomes increasingly isolated, much due to its current policies.

Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians complete return of territory (with exchanges from within Israel proper), but these possibilities for peaceful resolution were rejected by the Palestinian leadership.

At this point, Israel should in my view (and of course Netanyahu is not going in that direction) follow a two-track policy:

1. Be open to both direct and regional negotiations, whether toward a comprehensive solution (less likely) or a step-by-step process, in which small pieces of additional territory is handed over to the Palestinians, each step accompanied by an agreed-upon step by the Palestinians (such as stopping incitement), and

2. Unilateral disengagement from civilian occupation: As a first step, freezing all construction in settlements beyond the security fence, followed by withdrawal from these settlements, which initially should be handed over to the military. Following agreements with the Palestinians, these settlements should eventually be handed over to the Palestinian National Authority. (When Israel withdrew from Gaza, the evacuated settlements were handed over, but sadly destroyed by the Palestinians. In this case, that part of the process should be internationally overseen to prevent a repeat.)

In the hope that in spite of apprehensions, 2017 will turn out to be a constructive year towards peace and reconciliation.

Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey on You Tube

“The art of life is the most distinguished and rarest of all the arts.”   - C.G. Jung, CW 8, par. 789

Painting by Susan Bostrom-Wong
see more at http://www.susanbostromwong.com/ 

 In the first half of life, the task of the young traveler is to depart from home, to step out into the world in search for his or her adventure, to find his or her own individual path. However, in the second half, we find ourselves on what often amounts to a very long journey in search of Home. In many a tale, the hero, for instance Gilgamesh, sets off on his road to find life’s elixir, while other stories, such as the Odyssey, revolve around the hero’s long and arduous journey home. This archetypal journey of life is constantly repeated along the never-ending process of individuation. 

We find ourselves returning to this venture repeatedly, every night, as we set out on our nightly voyage into the landscape of our unconscious. Many dreams begin by being on the way, for instance, “I am on my way to …,” I am driving on a road that leads into the desert …,” I am walking through one room after the other in a long corridor-like building …,” “I am walking towards my office, but it looks different than in reality,” “I walk on the pavement and on the opposite side of the street someone seems to follow me …,” “I go down into an underground parking…,” “I am in my car, but someone I don’t know is driving,” or, “I have to go to the place from where I came ...” 

Painting by Benjamin Schiff
see more at http://www.shiffstudio.com/

Karol Domanski and Adam Kosciuk have prepared a beautiful video of The Cycle of Life, with a narrative from an interview by David van Nuys with Erel Shalit on Shrink Rap Radio.

Watch video on You Tube here (or by clicking on image above).

Listen to interview on Shrink Rap Radio.

Topics explored in The Cycle of Life include: 

 I. The Journey 
Stages and Seasons 
 Jung’s Stages of Life 
 All the World’s a Stage, and a Stage of Life 
 Being on the Way—A Way of Being 
Hermes and the Journey: Being on the Way 
The Crossroads 
II. The Child 
The Child in the Mirror 
 Psychotherapy and Childhood 
 The Divine Child 
 From Divine to Human 
 Eros, Psyche and Pleasure 
III. The Puer and the Puella 
 Between Shame and Fear 
 Wine, Spirit and Fire 
 Prometheus—the Thoughtful Thief 
IV. The Adult 
 King on Earth 
 Boundaries of Reality 
 Celestial Jerusalem—Terrestrial Jerusalem 
 The King who Refuses to Die 
 The Dried-up Earth 
 The Limping Ego 
 The Empty Shell 
V. i. The Senex 
V. ii. Homage to Sophocles 
V. iii. The Last Chapter: Self and Meaning 
 Ancestral Roots 
 An Oak and an Acorn 
 We Are All Beggars, Are We Not? 

Available at Amazon

Earth, Climate, Dreams: Depth Psychological Reflections in the Age of the Anthropocene

6-Week Symposium & Fundraiser for Depth Psychology Alliance
 

 Earth, Climate, Dreams: Depth Psychological Reflections

in the Age of the Anthropocene

Live Online Discussion Group Wednesdays, Starting January 19

  

Over time, humans in western cultures have undergone a profound restructuring of the psyche resulting in a traumatic sense of separation. In modern day, we face a growing set of challenges on ecological and social fronts. The era of what is now informally called the Anthropocene--a term referring to the significant impact of human activity on the planet- has arrived.

This 6-week symposium offers a multi-layered opportunity to engage the topic with peers from a depth psychological perspective, allowing deep reflection and thoughtful response, as well as real connection and interaction within the community. 

* 12 video depth dialogues

 * 2 of the 12 video depth dialogues released each week for viewing

 * 1 live online peer video discussion session each week

 * Online repository for sharing art, poetry, dreams or writing 

Video Presenters include: 

-Bonnie Bright, Ph.D. Founder, Depth Psychology Alliance 

-Steven Aizenstat, Ph.D. Chancellor and Founding President of Pacifica Graduate Institute 

-Susannah Benson, Ph.D. Academic, Researcher, Educator, and Counsellor 

-Jerome Bernstein, Jungian Analyst 

-Michael Conforti, Ph.D. Jungian Analyst 

-Nancy Swift Furlotti, Ph.D. Jungian Analyst 

-Sally Gillespie, Ph.D. Jungian Psychotherapist 

-Veronica Goodchild, Ph.D. Professor Emerita at Pacifica Graduate Institute 

-Jeffrey Kiehl, Ph.D Jungian Analyst and Senior Climate Scientist 

-Jonathan Marshall, Ph.D Anthropologist / Senior Research Associate at University of Technology Sydney 

-Robert Romanyshyn, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute 

-Susan Rowland, Ph.D. Chair of MA Engaged Humanities & the Creative Life at Pacifica Graduate Institute 

-Erel Shalit, Ph.D. Jungian Analyst 

This symposium is a fundraiser to support Depth Psychology Alliance, which is a privately funded initiative that relies on the community to carry out our mission to make depth psychology more accessible in the world. Participation in this symposium is a suggested donation based on a sliding scale. Some full scholarships available for those who really want to participate, but need financial aid.

DETAILS & REGISTRATION