Dear friends, on September 28, 2024
It’s raining in Tamera – thank you very much for that. The equinox is over. We live in eventful times. It is almost unbearable to witness what is happening in the world, and this despair and sadness also leave their imprints within us. From October 5 to October 8, I will be going on a retreat with a small group in Tamera to step out of the busy everyday life and direct my senses into the universe, into the “other reality”. We know that around October 7, cruelties will come to a head that the open heart can hardly take in. That is precisely why we want to anchor ourselves in silence.
Here in Tamera, too, people are severely affected and my heart goes out to them. A few days ago, we received a message that one of our fellow residents destroyed his village in Lebanon and lost members of his family. I have no more words!
On 6, 7 and 8 July, the initiative will be launched by the project “Nonviolence-International” , which wants to show that violence will never be the answer. They ask us to wear black ribbons as a sign of sympathy. “Let us remember the sacredness of every life, grieve for those who have lost their lives to decades of violence and oppression, and recognize those who are suffering today: those who have lost loved ones, who have been injured, abducted or displaced, whose homes have been destroyed and who are suffering from hunger and disease.
“Through our grief and remembrance, let us renew our commitment to never give up on justice and peace between Palestinians and Israelis” You can find out how to participate at this link. The initiative also aims to challenge the common view that everything began with October 7th and thus justifies everything that happened afterwards.
In Tamera, there will be various initiatives in solidarity with this action. Personally, I will support this process with a small group through a peace vigil. Some of us will be in silence and fasting during that time.
From October 6-8, we will hold a prayer vigil at sunrise to remind ourselves that we can only access the peace matrix in cooperation with the invisible and visible forces of this earth.
I will also use the time to get more information for the possible peace vigil in the desert of Israel. Thanks to all the feedback I have received on my vision. The idea of Triplex Education, in particular, received a great response. The first part of the vision came true; the vigil in Berlin on Holocaust Memorial Day was very moving for everyone involved. In addition to our newsletter, I have written a short report that sheds light on the questions that arise.
Whether, when and where a peace vigil can take place in the Middle East is still an open question. The madness of war is currently escalating to such a drastic extent that I myself have to ask again and in greater depth what really makes sense now and what we do and do not have the strength for. On the outside, the destructive force seems to know no bounds. The path inward must be all the more radical to match these forces.
One thing is clear: we need people to help with the preparation and organization.
I would like to thank Harry Finkerbeirl and his daughter Miriam Turmalin in particular, who immediately agreed to help find a suitable place where such a camp could be held, where Palestinians, Israelis, Germans and also internationals would have the opportunity to really meet and do vision work and trauma work together.
Many people have asked: What is the point of this and what do you think you can achieve with it?
I am always very moved by the words of Etty Hillesum, which she formulated shortly before her death in a concentration camp:
“The misery is truly great; and yet often in the late evening, when the day behind me has sunk into the depths, I walk with springy steps along the barbed wire, and then it well up again and again from the heart – I can’t help it, it is just the way it is, it is of elemental power: life is something magnificent and great, we must build a completely new world later – and we must counter every further crime, every further atrocity, with a further piece of love and kindness that we must conquer within ourselves. “We may suffer, but we must not break under it.”
I share this exclamation with her; it is the motivation that continues to give me strength and courage to seek the path of non-violence. It lies beyond religion, nation or party affiliation; it is an outcry of life from the human heart.
After the many conversations I have had with committed peace activists, I have come to the conclusion that the first thing we need to do is form at least three, maybe even four subgroups (a Palestinian, a German, an Israeli and an international group). We need people who can hold the emotional waves, the grief, the longing, the anger, the helplessness.
We had a German-language love school here in Tamera, where a very constructive conversation began that I would like to continue in a German-language group.
Each group should ask itself: What is our collective trauma that continues to perpetuate the inner war? What does ending the war really mean at these points? What have we learned from our past? Where is our blind spot? How can we credibly support the peace process? How do inner work, meditation and relief efforts connect?
Belief that we can make headway with just a few people to the point where we have a healing effect on the whole has become tenuous and needs new inspiration and sources of knowledge.
I think these groups will need time until the end of December to see what we really have the strength for. If you want to be kept informed, please sign up.
Personally, I will also use the twelve days of Christmas to build a shared field of reflection and also offer an online course for this, where you are cordially invited to participate.
In November, I will be going to Colombia with some of the “Defend the Sacred Alliance” to Colombia, where two members of the peace community were murdered in the spring. I personally know of no other community that has dealt with the issue of nonviolence as consistently as they have, and in a situation that is very threatened from the outside. I hope that I will find further inspiration there as well.
Thank you for your support. If you would like to support our political trips and activities, you can simply donate to the website and click on the keyword “political trips”.
I will then gather us in December in a joint Zoom.
Thank you very much Sabine
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