A New Take on the Hundredth Monkey
It is amazing to arrive at this moment where America in Therapy is finally published. And though it has been a long wait, what is happening in America today (and of course around the world) is exactly why I wrote the book. We have been conditioned to believe that partisan politics and our ideological differences are the cause of escalating divisiveness and violence. But it is actually the severe decline in our mental health that that is the problem we must focus on, because mentally healthy people don’t lie, they don’t actively target others for blame and retribution, don’t deliberately turn people against each other to hold onto power, and they don’t put their wants and needs above everyone else’s. Mentally healthy people take responsibility for their actions and their impact on others. They can tolerate the distress of disagreement and not getting their way without attacking others. They can feel the sting of losing a baseball game, a business deal, or an election without acting out on anyone, including an entire country. Mentally healthy people are committed to working things out for the sake of the common good, to making agreements, repairing relationships whenever possible, and leaving each other in peace when they can’t.?
A Focus on our Mental Health is the Biggest Missing Piece in Politics Today
I believe that without making a dramatic shift in our human relations on all levels, without restoring ourselves to love and belonging, and without a commitment to non-violence, we may not survive. I know I’m speaking to the choir with many of you who are already committed to creating a more loving, green and peaceful world, but my hope is that my book reaches many more of those who don’t yet understand the high cost to us all of continuing on a path of domination and a belief in war.?
America in Therapy Urges Us to Sound an Alarm
America in Therapy urges us to sound an alarm and be agents of healing ourselves. It is a story of understanding that if countless individuals and families can heal the wounds that keep them separate and at war with themselves and others, we can do it as a country and as a species. This is not Pollyanna thinking: it is sound psychological wisdom based on experience. And there is no more urgent time to make a dramatic shift toward healing than now.?
A New Take on the Hundredth Monkey
I’m sure you all know the story of the hundredth monkey. One monkey started washing the sand off her potatoes before she ate them, others soon followed her lead, and suddenly, through a leap of consciousness we may never understand, monkeys on other islands spontaneously did the same. But hopeful as this story may be, we might need a new version for us humans. We could wait for the hundredth monkey phenomenon to suddenly catapult us toward a more humane and sustainable future, but we don’t have to wait. We have the ability now to consciously examine the consequences of our beliefs and behaviors, and choose now to wash the sand of hatred and violence off the food we are eating and help others do the same. This could be the “hundredth person” phenomenon and we can each be that hundredth person.?
America in Therapy is my best effort to share the beliefs and behaviors I have learned that are most life-giving, loving, safe, peaceful, and ultimately sustainable for all of us.?
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“On the path to peace, we will close the gap between Love and Politics”
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You can find me at www.phyllisleavitt.com?
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Click here for my free PDF The 6 Secrets for Repairing Relationship After Conflict https://phyllisleavitt.com/wp-content/uploads/The-6-Secrets-To-Repairing-Relationships_-How-to-Reconnect-After-Conflict.pdf
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