Kyiv Gestalt University. Kyiv. Ukraine. Spectacular culture. Putin wants to absorb them and appropriate their history and culture. To do that he needs to strangle their identity. Wipe it out. That is genocide. I will never forget them, nor the makeshift memorial to the dead of Bucha. Nor the woman dancing to a guitar in the square down the street from the university. Nor the people praying in front of icons at St Michaels. Nor the flags in honor of the dead on the lawns around Maidan square, which seemed not really a square but a giant rectangle under which is the rail and stores and at least one fantastic restaurant where I drank horseradish infused vodka with George. And I will never forget George, who translated for me and told me that at night he watches the interceptors racing up to stop the missiles and how it all looks like Star Wars. I will never forget the memorial to the Azov Battalion in the square next to St Sophia nor the history of st Sophia which is so connected to the history of Kyiv itself. I still see the face of the young, red haired woman medic who gave her life in Mariupol, and even now it makes my heart ache because I was a corpsman during the Vietnam war.______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.So no. The presidency is a one issue concern for me. The myopia of some of the republicans and the cowardice or simple political Machiavellianism of some of the others about this war is turning me around. And around and around.PhilSent from my iPhoneOn Mar 10, 2024, at 3:16 PM, Philip Brownell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Great questions/ observations Peter. I am working to fertilize trees before it rains tomorrow. (And I have a tad over 40more coming in April.) I will get back to this either tonight or tomorrow.PhilSent from my iPhoneOn Mar 10, 2024, at 2:34 PM, Peter Philippson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Hi Phil,I honour your stance politically, and your loving commitment to Ukraine. I have just done a 3-day workshop online with people at the Kyiv Gestalt University and they are wonderful people.I still have a BIG problem with 'God loves you anyway'. What do you believe your God's response would be when I die not believing he exists? If, like the majority of more fundamentalist Christians, you believe that I will be punished for eternity, then that, for me, is how the fundamentalists came to identify with Trump. They are both happy to receive praise and cheers and money, and say they love us, but turn vengeful if we don't believe in him (or her). In fact the differences are that Trump's vengeance is less terrible, and we can't avoid it by voting in a different God.So will you drop Trump-God and say in your congregation that non-believers are not damned, or will you strain at a gnat and swallow a camel? I imagine that this is an unwelcome question, but if you insist that God loves us, I think we need to know what that love means to you in practice.Best wishes,PeterDan______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.I did not say that was ALL that I am doing. I am also working on behalf of Ukraine. I am as I’ve said voting straight democrat. I am speaking my mind into whatever venue and medium I can. If there is something I CAN do, I am doing it. I can fast and pray. That’s something I can do. It’s not an empty, costless, effortless and ultimately futile exercise. (I love coffee!!) The practice will constantly remind me of the importance of what is going on. It will test my resolve. There are other benefits that are between me and God. It’s okay if you don’t understand or value what I’m saying.God loves you anyway. ❤️😇😜 and so do I.Sent from my iPhoneOn Mar 10, 2024, at 1:49 PM, Dan Bloom <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Phil:“Do” what you think is best for you. If prayer and fasting are actions that you think might tilt the course of the universe, go for it. Yet it reminds of the “you are in my hopes and prayers” response to victims of gun violence.I say this while maintaining my respect for your experience of being-in-the world-with-a god.DanPS: You typed that on an iPhone? I can barely type understandable texts.______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.On Mar 10, 2024, at 3:27 PM, Philip Brownell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Dear Jack,______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.Think figures of interest. We are all human. I don’t understand how the people whose figure is truly America first cannot see that America is best served to have Ukraine win. Totally win. The money designated for Ukraine is largely spent in the USA building or resupplying our reserves from what arms we send. It’s win-win. It’s probably one of the clearest examples of Trump serving himself rather than our country that he is taking the stance that he has. But even the people who have supposedly crawled out from under rocks are human beings with figures of interest; so, if we are ever going to get back to a politics of cooperation like what you say, we need to quit objectifying those whose difference is bewildering or even repulsive to our own values, beliefs, and figures of interest. I wish I could simply sit on my bench, talk with God, and let the world go to hell. But I can’t. I can’t fix it all. But I can do something, and I can (what’s that saying?) be the difference I want to see. Donald Trump may win, but I am doing what I can to further a different outcome, and that includes prayer. I’m paraphrasing but Jesus told his followers that big things happen only through prayer and fasting. Will you join me in fasting one day a week and praying for his defeat until the election is over? No coffee nor food for at least 24 hours. The fast could be something else you give up so that what you experience is an earnestness, an urgency. You may not believe in God; you may though sense that there is “something” responsible for the mathematical constants that structure our universe, something like a higher power about which you don’t know. Is this not a time for trying whatever a person CAN do?Sent from my iPhoneOn Mar 10, 2024, at 10:57 AM, Jack Neggerman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Hi Phil.I’m very impressed also with your Guts and integrity. There been a hostile takeover of your party, and a green light was given to the worst of Americans that came out from under their rocks.The party is in serious trouble which harms America and the world. I long for the way it used to be when partisans could respectfully collaborate. No doubt you do too!I respect your guts and integrity to go against your own grain like this.I wish you the best of health.Jack Neggerman, Cincinnati, Ohio USA______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.Sent from my iPhoneOn Mar 8, 2024, at 1:44 PM, Peter Cole <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Wow Philip -- I am impressed!THank you for sharing your change of perspective.WarmlyPeter Cole______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.That is a brave thing to say and do.Peter______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives."You can't love your country only when you win." --J. Biden, State of the Union, 3/7/24Philip BrownellI am voting straight democrat this time. NOT because I have suddenly become a progressive. NOT because I think Biden is the best thing we could possibly put forward. NOT because I think the Republicans have been evil all along, and I just now woke up. In fact, I'm not "woke." I'm sickened by the turn to myopia and the obstructing of aid to Ukraine that has gripped the Republican party and by the partisan politics that plays games with our country and people's lives. If I thought it would have a chance, I'd vote for a third party. And I'm not into futile resistance votes like "none of the above." I HAVE shaken loose from a previous political loyalty. More accurately I feel that people with whom I previously felt a kinship have become unrecognizable. I have personal peace about the future, because I know God personally, but I am still in this world, and while I'm here I have a responsibility to act responsibly.--
______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.--
______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.