The Spiritual Cost of the Iraqi War
Kate Durda
The spiritual costs of the Iraqi war are
enormous. The Iraqi War cannot be considered
separate from what led us into it. Many U.S. citizens believe the president of
the United States blatantly lied (consider the ‘weapons of mass destruction’
that never materialized – thankfully!). Many also feel manipulated, and
implicated in an atrocious war without having the power to stop it. This the
first spiritual cost of the Iraqi war. For those who do not believe we should
have started this war in Iraq, another spiritual cost is the shock, outrage, and
deep loss of trust this engendered.
For
all people involved directly in war, and their families, there is a different
kind of trauma - the violence and trauma of being involved in war itself, on the
frontlines, risking death, sometimes giving up their lives, and experiencing the
loss of friends and loved ones.
Normal loss and grief is a cost the war incurs. But such grief combined with
unresolved issues surrounding the purpose and meaning of controversial wars such
as this one can keep our spirits disturbed, and in a state of unrest.
Another cost of war is the
mental/emotional conditions it can cause, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- a tragedy for those who live with it, and for those who live with those who
experience it. Lives are shattered in war, but what is often not recognized by
our Western society is that on the spiritual plane,
souls are shattered, and are left that way. In indigenous cultures such
spiritual loss is understood, and directly addressed. In Shamanism, the oldest
recorded form of spirituality, such loss is called “soul loss”. Jeanne
Acterberg, in “The Wounded Healer”, describes soul loss as “injury to the
inviolate core that is the essence of the person’s being.” In milder instances of soul loss, people can and do
recover. But in instances of repetitive or strong trauma, people may not
‘self-heal’ from soul loss. In extreme cases, they may go through life
dispirited, not sure of their purpose, living without passion or direction,
suicidal, angry, addicted, or in general not able to function well. Often
psychological treatment does not fully help. In these more severe cases, they
may require some form of spiritual healing, such as the shamanic ‘soul
retrieval’. Sandra Ingerman is one of the world’s foremost experts on soul
loss, and has written about the power of shamanic soul retrieval for those
clients she was unable to help in traditional therapy. Veterans of wars,
as a group, are known to have a high frequency of soul loss.
“You
can make people do anything if they are afraid”. This is the first sentence
in the movie trailer for Michael Moore’s new film, “Fahrenheit 9/11”. “Fear
mongering’ was rampant in the U.S. after September 11, 2001, fostered partly by
our government. Fear can throw people off balance, and contributes to them
acting from reactionary feelings rather than from a place of reason. Much
discrimination, hate, prejudice and violence, and war, is based in fear and
ignorance. The creation of a fear state represents a huge spiritual ‘cost’ to us
as a people. However, what we need to spiritually focus on, what the most
important question is what will we do in response to the fear that is
created, and how we can help our country pull back from that reactionary state.
Spiritual
practices promote maintaining balance and harmony, acting in accordance with our
beliefs, and the recognition of our ‘oneness’ not only with all people, but also
all of life. We are faced with a huge
potential loss of spirit in this country. We can view that as an opportunity to
respond equally strongly. Many people of conscience responded to the 9/11
tragedy by advocating peace, not retaliation; by vehemently disagreeing with the
U.S. actions to invade Iraq; and by supporting peace efforts to ensure peace in
Iraq and across the world. But there is much more that goes into working toward
and creating peace.
Peace will not come about through wars and
peace treaties. It will come about when people are truly ‘peace-full’. These
times offer great opportunity to bring our highest spiritual values to healing
both the past and the current conditions that feed
violence and war. As James Baldwin wrote, “History does not refer
merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of
history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously
controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we
do.” This reflects upon the spiritual principle, “As within, so without”. Part
of the work we have to do is to heal ourselves, and come from a place of peace
and wholeness (holiness) from within. If we ‘believe in’ and work toward
peace, it does not necessarily mean we are peaceful people in our actions and
work ourselves. If a war is ended, it does not mean that peace exists. Peace
is a state of mind, and a way of being. If people
still carry wounding, trauma, anger, need for retaliation, or fear after
experiencing violence or war, they are not at peace. True peace and healing
remains undone.
Pathways Foundation for Peace and
Healing was created with the
aim of fostering peace and healing through a focus on spiritual values. We
sponsor and teach workshops on methods of finding personal peace and healing,
and on cross-cultural ancient and current methods of conflict resolution as well
as various healing methods. Some of our work includes working with prisoners in
Michigan, where we sponsor spiritual circles for inmates to work on things like
anger management, and to find peace, and healing. We are also begun the
development of Trauma Response Teams, which will attempt to provide support and
help, especially spiritual healing such as soul retrieval, for those who have
experienced trauma of war or other disasters, in the U.S. and elsewhere. This
will include working with veterans of wars as well as working with groups of
people who have experienced severe and profound trauma (such as in Bosnia and
Rwanda). Another project that Pathways is involved with is working with youth,
to help them understand the concept of oneness, and to begin to foster peace
within, as well as providing them with tools and techniques to maintain peace
within. Recently, several of us attended the 12th Annual Conflict
Resolution Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia and presented training in
shamanism and soul retrieval healing.
In the 2004 Annual Peace
and Justice Lecture, Dr. Michael Nagler discussed the extreme wealth of those in
power, and pointed out that no one can outspend them. However, he reminded the
audience that people working for peace have a power that those in power do not
have. That is the power of ‘soul’ in fighting injustice and making a better
world. We truly must ‘be the peace’ we want to see in the world,
just as Mahatma Ghandi extolled us to “be the change we want to see in the
world”. To further quote Gandhi, he also wrote, “When
I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has
always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem
invincible, but in the end, they always fall -- think of it , ALWAYS."
KATE A. DURDA, M.A., is a
Developmental Psychologist, Shamanic Practitioner, Esoteric Healer, and
Educator. See www.Peacehealing.org
and www.SpiritWeavers.net for
more information.
