“A body is forsaken when it becomes a source of pain and humiliation instead of pleasure and pride.  Under these conditions the person refuses to accept or identify with his body.  He turns against it.  He may ignore it or he may attempt to transform it into a more desirable object by dieting, weight lifting, etc.  However, as long as the body remains an object to the ego, it may fulfill the ego’s pride, but it will never provide the joy and satisfaction that the “alive” body offers.

… The first difficulty that one encounters… [most] are not aware of the lack of aliveness in their bodies.  People are so accustomed to thinking of the body as an instrument or a tool of the mind that they accept its relative deadness as a normal state. …what is important is how the body feels.”

– Alexander Lowen, founder of Bioenergetics

Hi everyone,

It’s hard not to get overwhelmed with our chronically busy stressful lives.  Lately, it seems more and more people are going through unusually difficult times.

We all strive for peace, yet it remains elusive.  We try hard to change our patterns, “I have learned from the past”, “I’m not going to repeat the same mistakes as my parents, I will do it differently, better…”, yet somehow time and time again we find ourselves stuck in the same place.

Why is lasting change so difficult?

In Living Ubuntu, we have a deep conviction that true, genuine change requires not only awareness and insight into the problem, but requires change in the body.  Yes, the body.  Our patterns, and behaviors are not just driven by our all-powerful minds, but are structured into our bodies.  Sadness, loneliness, anger, overwhelm are not just experienced in our psyches, but show up as tension and pain in our body (belly, lower back, shoulders, jaw).

This is why we incorporate body-centered methods (e.g. Bioenergetics, TRE) in most events that we organize in Living Ubuntu.

I hope you will join us for our upcoming retreat in October.  It is a time to get away from the regular rigmarole of life, to focus on our self, our relationships, community and the world.  Plus Idyllwild is beautiful this time of the year 🙂

All details are on our website.  To create an emotionally safe space, we are limiting attendance to no more than 10 people.  If there is any financial hardship, please get in touch with us.  We are a not-for-profit organization and we will do our best to accommodate your situation.

Warmly,

Anshul Mittal
Co-founder, Living Ubuntu
http://livingubuntu.org
(949) 891-2005

 [Ubuntu] n. Every human being truly becomes a human by means of relationships with other human beings. 

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When We Become The Thing We Hate

How our trauma and unhealed wounds erode empathy, fuel fear, and create “others”

When:
Friday, Oct 26 – Sunday, Oct 28

Where:
Up in the mountains of Idyllwild, CA

Find out more about the 2012 Living Ubuntu Fall Retreat »

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