The Birth Of A Project
Last December, after two weeks of war in Gaza, a cease-fire was declared. Soldiers came home. Damage was accessed. Tense mothers wept with relief. In some places mothers wept with grief. Many still weep.
As the fighting in Gaza ceased, and life in Israel shakily started organizing itself back into normal routine, Shiri Bar and her partner Aviv Tatarsky sent out mails inviting all people they thought may be interested, to join in a project they named Cease-Fire of the Heart.
I was present at the first meeting. I remember Aviv introducing himself and his vision.
“I have been engaged in spiritual practice for many years” he said, “and I feel incredibly lucky to have access to teachings which help me face life’s challenges with greater ease and harmony. I feel like a millionaire who wants to share his wealth with the world. I want to bring the treasures of the Dharma (Buddhist word for ‘The Path’) into society and into social engagement.”
With An Open Heart
Speaking to Aviv later, he added, “In war, there are those who believe there’s no choice but to fight. Then there are those who identify themselves as left wing and go to demonstrations to fight against the war. And then there are those who feel helpless and just despair, disconnecting themselves from the entire situation.
In Cease-Fire of the Heart we feel it is not necessary to escape from what’s happening and yet facing the situation does not have to involve struggle. It involves bringing clarity and an open heart into the situation, connecting to what is really important.
There is a very difficult emotional and psychological atmosphere in Israel, which enables wars to happen, bringing forth hatred and fear, giving the feeling there is no choice but to fight. We want to work with this complex and violent atmosphere, using tools that are often considered more personal; psychology, meditation, and spirituality.
Perhaps a fresh way of coping with the innate complexity of the situation in Israel does not primarily involve the changing of views. Perhaps it begins simply with creating a space for feelings to be expressed and for the heart to speak."
How Cease Fire Of The Heart Helps
Aviv tells me that Cease-Fire of the Heart directs its activities towards the mainstream of Israeli population, people who wish to investigate their belief systems, and deal with the fear and pain which accompanies conflict.
The activities are comprised of experiential exercises such as guided imagination, talking circles, movement, and meditation, designed to bring up pent-up feelings and investigate our automatic reactions.
Aviv tells me of a two week seminar cease-fire of the heart conducted within the framework of a pre-army preparatory program. He and Shiri presented the question of how does it feel to know one is disrupting the lives of simple people when in service of one’s country.
Aviv tells me a brave discussion ensued, in which participants expressed the fear of being viewed as ‘bad’ people by Palestinians.
“I feel the justice of our situation and what we are doing” a young man said, “but I fear harsh reactions from the surroundings. I’m afraid”.
At the end of the seminar, participants said it was the first time they were given an opportunity to speak about what they feel. “Till this seminar we were only lectured to” one man said.
And indeed the emotional challenge these young men face is so complex; entering Arab villages, ruining houses and making arrests, continuously bombarded by often conflicting views and opinions that are nourished by history, by circumstance, and by simple existential fear.
What does it feel like to sincerely want to do the “right” thing; to serve one’s country, defend one’s people, be a so called beneficial part of society, and yet know that in doing so, one is disrupting the lives of simple people labeled “The Enemy” or simply “The Other Side”? What confused tangle of feeling does it give rise to?
Talking Is Good
Perhaps a cease-fire of the heart does not require total transformation of consciousness but simply entails speaking our confusion, our feelings, and our fears - speaking our heart, knowing it is being heard. Perhaps with the speaking of our heart, the fire begins to abate of itself.
Cease-fire of the Heart engages in additional projects such as weekends for peace activists, offering support to people intensively engaged in social struggle, giving them an opportunity to rest for a moment, look within, and simply feel. These weekends consist of meditation and various exercises that illuminate the heart, reminding of our deep wish for a better world.
Cease-fire of the Heart also turns to dharma communities, people who have the capacity and resources to meet the world with an open heart but tend to keep their spiritual practice personal, avoiding contact with the world’s troubling conflicts.
“We want to invite people from the dharma to be socially engaged, offering them tools and resources to bring their wisdom and practice into action” Aviv says.
"Once a month we bring groups of spiritual practitioners into Arab villages, for a day of physical work and warm human encounter. We try to cultivate a quality of action that doesn’t try to fight or contend anything, but consists simply of heart-opening meetings with people who are badly in need of help. "
Ending the interview I ask Aviv what his dream is.
“It is not easy” he says. “To maintain enthusiasm and energy preserving a project that has no material gain. I am tired but I keep going. This project and everything it signifies is still more important to me then my tiredness”.
After meeting Aviv and Shiri I find myself praying that they will have the strength to keep going, bringing the treasures of clear mind and open heart into the midst of turbulence confusion and conflict, till the fires of war - both inner and outer - finally cease.