What is happening now? A view from the standpoint of psychology, human dignity and common sense. It is not about politics. It is about our Humanity.
Most people, I think, would agree that the highest human value is life itself: the opportunity to live the experience that is given to every incarnating human, to learn and to grow their own qualities of mind and spirit. The same is written in our Constitution of Ukraine and the International Convention on Human Rights….
Even on state sites¹, they write about it very nicely and deeply:
“The most valuable thing people have is their life. It is given to them only once and for everyone — their own. Long or short, unique and familiar, joyful and sad, sweet as honey, and bitter as wormwood, it lasts only from birth to death, and it cannot be lived twice.
The secret of life… This has always worried people since they realized themselves as living beings. Does life have any purpose and meaning, and what are they? Who controls human life? Can you make it better and happier? Does a person have the right to leave life or deprive another person?
Human is the strongest creature on Earth. One must become a Human in the full sense of the word, that is, to reach a certain level of physical and intellectual, moral and social status, to master a certain type of activity, in other words, to assert oneself as a subject of social development, the master of one’s own destiny.
Human is part of the people, the state, society as a whole. And he/she has his/her rights and responsibilities.
[…]
The basic human right is the right to life.»
If everything that happens is happening — then, unfortunately, it cannot be different now. Someone has to attack, someone to defend themselves, and someone to save. Everyone in this global performance has a role to play. These roles are played by both individuals and each country as a single organism (where the government is the mind and the people are the body, even if the mind is not united with the body, as is often the case with us humans).
Those who were at least a little interested in psychology should hear about Carpman’s dramatic triangle: victim, prosecutor, rescuer. In everyday life, mostly unconsciously, people build their relationships on this extremely stable triangular figure.
The triangle drama is that if I play one of these roles, I will definitely start playing another (often the opposite) right away in a moment. That’s why one plays all roles simultaneously and is essentially none of them. This applies to all of the other participants as long as the play continues. Therefore, to clearly identify who is playing which role is simply impossible. It all depends on the context at the moment.
Another important feature of this drama is that one will not be able to play any role (e.g. persecutor) unless there are no other participants or they don’t play their role’s script (e.g. victim)!
Now, think about this in the context of war… here is the answer to the question “how to stop the war?”.
Let’s continue. Why there is a confrontation at all? Do people enjoy being afraid and killing others?
Hopefully, a further explanation will answer it. We are all 100% aware of the visual illusions of perception, where depending on the position of the observer, a completely different picture is comprehended. In terms of reason, the position depends on those neural connections that are in our brain. It is neural connections that “see” what we see in that diversity of information particles that have now overfilled our informational space (news, images, videos, opinions, articles, etc). The world is metaphorical! Everyone gives their own assessment and meaning (or does not notice at all) of everything that is perceived.
Social network algorithms work so that we see only the information that is interesting to us (which we liked, commented on, on which we stayed for a long time, etc.). For example, it was demonstrated by the Brexit vote² (there is a movie³ about it) and in the documentary, The Social Dilemma⁴ by Netflix — these mechanisms further polarize and divide the society!!!
This will lead to misunderstanding. People fear what they do not understand, this is our nature. Therefore, tensions and confrontations increase, leading to war and violence.
I once wrote about the mechanism of the mind called negativity bias⁵ — deviation towards negativity. This is a tendency to consider avoiding what I don’t like to be more important than to grow what I like. The impulse to fight is stronger than the impulse to care. This is an element of our animal nature. It is absolutely justified from evolution. Yet, humanity has additional abilities: the right to choose, or free will.
The ego-mind divides. Love unites.
Even when I am with a person thinking the same, it is still never possible to be completely united with another person at the level of reason, beliefs, and point of view! We come from different perspectives and have different neural connections in any case. However, you can feel absolute and unconditional unity through Love!
Where there is Love — fear disappears, because there is no “other”, “foreign”, “incomprehensible” person. The ego-mind requires to know and understand everything and everyone around so that, for God’s sake, it doesn’t see any people around without a clearly defined position. We fear them “He who is not with us is against us”, “For those who adhere to neutrality, the is the hottest place in hell”, etc. The system, as well as the mind, fears uncertainty.
If we rise above clearly defined concepts, as if above a chessboard, where each piece has its own distinct role and function, then the struggle disappears. There is no war in the context and dimension of Love.
Unfortunately, all the traumas of Ukrainians have yet to be fully healed (as well as probably of the population of Central and Eastern Europe, or even the world) — underestimation of oneself, the belief that in other, more civilized, countries the life is better, fear of being deported, punished and the inability of taking responsibility, planning something and so on… We all know these “tapes” very well. Our (Ukrainians) current victim (and then probably prosecutor) position simply fits perfectly into the dramatic triangle, on which this whole situation is built.
The only truth can be said in the language of Love. “The one who loves is only right.”. And love can be very active, it’s about actions, but also about thoughts because they have material outcomes. Do you hate? This is poison. Do you Love? This is a medicine.
How to love when I am threatened (and especially my loved ones — because the loved ones are the strongest manipulation lever) by direct (yes, it is direct!) danger? Immunity does not hate the viruses it destroys. And in Ayurveda, “immunity” translates literally “forgiving the disease”. The disease loses power and ceases to be dangerous when I realize my essential unity with everything (then I come out of the dramatic triangle, see the Human in the opposite actor and we go together to have a cup of tea before the next act).
Of course, the need and instinct to stand for my own life and to preserve my family, for what I equate and relate to, even for ideas — is absolutely clear, evolutionary, but animal. According to Maslow’s pyramid of motivations, the need to belong to a larger group is an integral part of the personality. But this illusion of division, the instance on which any affiliation “I am such, not otherwise” is built, necessarily ends in separation, albeit on a larger scale — of groups or states…
However, the need to merge with a Higher Life, to feel divine unity is also integral (self-transcendence⁶), and is the last step of human as a personality, then Human changes the “aggregate state” and becomes a spiritual person (my interpretation, Maslow described it in some other words).
Violence and aggressive collective unconscious reduces the ability to love and to have wider open awareness, driving into the tunnel vision. Yes, it gives energy, gives strength and desires to act! But it reduces the ability to notice your own imperfections and your own limitations, to think critically, and even stay connected to self, body senses, etc. This also increases the illusion of 100% confidence (but it is clear that all are wrong when they look through the eyes of the mind, not the heart), and therefore further polarizes and increases the confrontation in society. This is NOT ABOUT PEACE!!! It’s about war. Infinite war. Fire burns so long as it is being fed firewood.
Actions are mostly deployed from top to bottom. We are told — we do. We don’t want to do something — they make us scared if we don’t do as we are told and then they praise we are well done when we do as we should (it’s all professional manipulation, “knut and gingerbread”).
But wait, what each of us really wants? Is it to be afraid and to kill? To hate and run away? Can the goal justify the methods? Can the blood-won “freedom” give a sense of true freedom within, if absolute love disappears from there?
The desire to blame is the instinctive response of a being who from fear desires to preserve the unhealthy dynamic of that triangle. When you seek to blame it is a sign of your own internal conflict which then fuels this triangle. And without that fuel, the culprits in this dramatic story cease to operate. The dynamic within this triangle is no more.
Why do I share this? I have a feeling I can’t help but share it.
Maybe I think I’m right and I want to open people’s eyes to the truth?
Well, of course, no. Even if I can know the truth, I still can’t pass it through the mind to someone else. It is only through eternal phenomena, through art, the state of consciousness… This is about image, symbol, and metaphor which is the language of the soul. Love is the only universal… which is understood by all. Therefore, I do not even claim truth in this text and do not consider anyone wrong, as well as absolutely right.
I just suggest not thinking about what we are given from all mass media in a way, in which it’s served to us — because it again leads to the strengthening of illusions, more polarization… In the era of misinformation and deepfakes⁷, it becomes much harder to know the real state of things even in the neighboring city.
Did I doubt it when I wrote this when I clicked “publish”? Both yes, and no.
Yes, because I would like to be understood “correctly”, as I understand it, but I realize that we are all very different, and now it is a very difficult situation for us.
No, because I feel I have the right to write and share my feelings and visions, my subjective truth, like each of us. And I can’t betray myself, because then it’s like death for me. I trust myself, common sense, my ideals….
Finally, the key question is: “How to be in a resourceful state, how to remain and be a Human in this chaos?”
I believe, to be in a state of love is the only true resourceful state. Where love is there is no fear. We need to remain unconditionally free and decide where to direct our energy resources and attention right now. We need noticing what is the quality of thought and feeling in my space — inside and outside. “How my body responds to my thoughts and emotions?” It’s good when the people and the leadership of the country are one, it’s it?. Observe and try to bring the inner universe into harmony through the acceptance of any internal processes.
Finally…
Gandhi freed India from British colonialism without violence. Once again — without violence. People know this, it is not for nothing that he is the “Great Soul”, Mahatma! He was able to show that politics can be humane when it has love and devotion.
Yes, the unity of our people and the world with Ukraine now is very beautiful. However, if there is in this unity the opponent (and there is), it is only a belonging, but not a merger in the Higher Being. And so, once again, this will be another division that leads to violence and death. This is inevitable. Someone will suffer, and the persecutor will become a victim, and further down the script.
Who, how and to where directs this unity and affiliation? Truly, who is the screenwriter of this world play? But it probably doesn’t really matter who… If it’s not you, then you don’t have to play in this game in this vicious circle (or triangle).
Politics, unfortunately, has probably always been about lies and power, and business about money and resources. When these two concepts are connected, “simple” people become a resource or tool of this machine, consumers who pay either with money, or with their energy, or with their “profitable” system actions, or even their own lives (honorily, with the posthumous title of hero).
And what about the highest human value — life?
Does the leader care about people directing them to death? And to kill another?
Did Gandi love Indians? What did he call for? If you don’t know, check his wonderful biography. There is an incredible documentary⁸ about him.
…
Where we want something for ourselves — there is attachment and fear of losing it, anxiety and everything that comes out of it, there you want to blame the strong and be cruel to the weak.
Where we want to share — there is love, gratitude and a desire to support everyone who suffers and who is in pain. And now, probably everyone feels that pain.
“We do not see the world as it is. We see it as WE are”. (Anaïs Nin)
The war will end. Life will continue (unfortunately, not for everyone). We cannot undo our steps, but we can do better every next one.
I wish everyone at such an embarrassing and instructive time, to ask themselves more questions, as well as to try to “excel” all these numerous moral and value exams for the right to be called a Human 💚
References1. Article "HIGHEST VALUE - HUMAN DIGNITY". State site of the Tomaspil RDA.2. Mancosu, M., & Bobba, G. (2019). Using deep-learning algorithms to derive basic characteristics of social media users: The Brexit campaign as a case study. Plos one, 14(1), e0211013. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.02110133. Brexit (TV Movie 2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5S1EMmCWAE.4. The Social Dilemma (Movie 2020). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11464826/.5. Corns, J. (2018). Rethinking the Negativity Bias. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 9(3), 607–625. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13164-018-0382-76. Summary of Maslow on Self-Transcendence. https://reasonandmeaning.com/2017/01/18/summary-of-maslow-on-self-transcendence/7. Deepfakes: Is This Video Even Real? | NYT Opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OqFY_2JE1c8. Gandhi (Movie 1982). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083987/
