Heal a Brother

My gut reaction was “Oh no! My sister is so negative and lives in such a dark place I never want to go there!!” … I feel that experiencing her world would be dark and depressing and hurtful to my soul and spirit. And healing the world of chemical poisoning from Big Agra and Big Pharma … all I can do there is promote organic and healthy lifestyles … is THAT “investing.” I’m not so sure that tying together healing another and healing the world is such a great idea .. There is too much in each part to make it easy to swallow on a simple Monday morning! Reply

Yes. If we take an adversarial position in getting our position across, , we may lose the relationship; however if we keep in mind the emphasis on genuine empathy for the other in their full humanity, our approach becomes gentler and more powerful. Reply

Dear rabbi, can you elaborate on the thought: 'you can only heal yourself'. In a literal sense, a doctor is usually about healing his patients. Perhaps my approach is too literal, but on the other hand, our thoughts gain meaning when they are or get rooted in reality. Reply

I object to any possibility for getting inside another person, for whatever good reason. Indeed I doubt if this is possible. But the idea of helping each other to heal, by making external conditions and concepts clear and practical, are indeed an obvious and more ethical means for trying to achieve this end. If this contributes to a world healing it would be a good thing, but a bit less easy to guarantee. Reply