Newsletter: Spring, 2000

Abundance and Responsibility
— Patricia Cane, Founder/ Executive Director

Abundance and prosperity are evident on many levels in our U.S. society—from employment and economic opportunities, the bull market on Wall Street, the growing number of millionaires, even the appearance of books and tapes on the spirituality of money and prosperity. With abundance and resources we can create a more human future, and we can make our dreams become realities. But prosperity without a sense of interconnection with the larger world can be empty; abundance without responsibility can be excessiveness. The challenge of living with prosperity is to look honestly at its cost—6% of the world's population uses 60% of the world's resources. The challenge of abundance is to develop a sense of gratitude, generosity, and responsibility, rather than falling prey to guilt or "do-goodism" motivated by an uneasy conscience.

Our recent work in the Tijuana/San Diego area of California challenged us to look clearly at the gap between prosperity and desperation at our own borders. International Coordinator Joan Condon and I were invited by Virginia Mejia, Women's Health Leadership mentor, to offer a Capacitar workshop in San Diego. Forty-five women from both sides of the border participated in the event with great enthusiasm and the desire to develop an ongoing program. We were also invited to Tijuana by Natalia Hernandez, coordinator of a community center, to work with grassroots leaders there. Natalia, who has worked for many years as a community organizer, has developed a vital center for families, young children, and youth who live in a poor violent section of Tijuana.

Tijuana is one of the largest cities in Mexico and the largest on the border with the United States. Over half of Tijuana's population are migrants from poor rural areas of Mexico. They are drawn there with the hope of improving their economic situation in one of two ways: employment in the expanding maquila industry (assembly plants often owned by U.S. business interests) and/or crossing to the United States where jobs are more plentiful and pay is much better. Life on the border is difficult. In the maquilas, hours are long and pay is low. The minimum wage per day is approximately $3.50. Working conditions are poor, and women who have been involved in trying to form unions to work for better pay and hours find themselves blacklisted when the unions are busted. Crossing the border is also dangerous. Wherever you go in Tijuana the border fence looms ominously, symbolizing the separation of those who enjoy prosperity, from those who are desperately trying to survive. At different points along the fence you can see men, women, and children waiting, gazing to the other side with a mixture of hope and desperation, while the border patrol stands guard. Where the fence runs into the Pacific Ocean, activists have created a wall of crosses and names, representing 466 persons who have died trying to cross over since the wall was erected in 1995. According to a study done by Natalia, coyotes (people smugglers) often tell men crossing the border to run and the women to hide. The coyotes then pressure the women who have little or no other option for employment, into prostitution. The women have neither money nor family in Tijuana, so in their search for economic betterment, the women often find themselves worse off.

We were very moved by the border situation, and in the spirit of "capacitar" we wish to walk in solidarity with the people of this area. In collaboration with Virginia Mejia, Natalia Hernandez, and the grassroots leaders, we are putting together a strategic plan for Capacitar trainings over the next two years. We have much to learn from the warmth and generosity of the Mexican people and from the dedication of the women with whom we have worked. Sharing in their commitment to work for justice and healing in the difficult border situation, will transform the barriers created by the fence and will unite us all in the abundance of spirit to which we are called.

Trauma Healing and Transformation
—Pat Mathes Cane

Capacitar is happy to announce the arrival of our new manual Trauma Healing and Transformation which will be available in English this June and in Spanish by fall. The 300-page book offers a wide variety of body-mind-spirit practices for grassroots leaders, professionals, and individuals who desire to heal and transform the experience of traumatic stress. The book contains pictures, stories, personal experiences, theories, practices, suggestions for group leaders, methods of presentation, lists of resources, and bibliographies on many valuable wellness practices. Based on doctoral research and workshops in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua with people affected by natural disasters and years of political violence, the book can also be used as a resource for people in the U.S. and in other countries, wherever people suffer trauma or the stress of living in a violent world.

Trauma Healing and Transformation embodies the heart and spirit of Capacitar, sharing the stories and the inspiration of the lives of the grassroots people with whom we work. The research project and the book were our response to Hurricane Mitch and the suffering of friends in these countries. Many psychologists, social workers, teachers, and medical professionals felt frustrated by the enormity of the trauma in their countries and their inability to work with so many individuals. They asked for Capacitar materials and methods to help them reach large numbers. The research and resulting book take a popular education and holistic approach to healing trauma, and endeavor to empower people in their own healing process through the use of body-mind-spirit practices.

Trauma is part of the human experience. Through the fight-flight reaction of the body, we are naturally prepared to flee or stand up to the danger of the moment. Some people are able to deal with danger and traumatic experience with resiliency, while others get stuck in their physical and emotional responses. According to traumatology expert Bessel Van der Kolk, a large number of people suffer some level of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with symptoms such as headaches, stomach disorders, insomnia, fatigue, depression, anxiety, strong emotions, body pain, strong memories, among others. Treatment in most cases consists of psychotherapy or drugs to alleviate the symptoms and to help people gain control of their lives. Psychologist Peter Levine says that traumatic energy can get "frozen" or stuck in the body, mind, and spirit of the person. Healing includes releasing the undischarged energy and making meaning of the traumatic experience.

Trauma Healing and Transformation offers a holistic approach to the healing process in body, mind, and spirit, rather than a treatment approach for symptoms. Healing focuses on the release of blocked traumatic energy, the balancing of the energy system, and the creation of a positive lifestyle that nourishes and supports the core energy of the person. Healing involves empowering people to look at the strengths and resources they have within themselves and their communities. Healing also consists of looking at the whole system and the society, with the healing and transformation of attitudes and values that promote violence and trauma. Many people, families, and whole societies suffer from intergenerational trauma which must be addressed if there is to be hope for the well-being of future generations.

The following excerpts describe some of the practices in the book and share how grassroots leaders have dealt with healing and transformation in their lives and their communities.

• Accessing Body Wisdom
  After Hurricane Mitch in Honduras the situation was desperate in the men's prison, where 3,000 prisoners survived without food and water for over a week. Prisoners took control and in the wake of the violence a number of men were killed. Grassroots leaders connected with Centro VisitaciÛn Padilla and CPTRT, the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Tortured and Prisoners, worked within the situation to bring food and aid, to disarm the prisoners, and to accompany the healing process. Six staff members from both men's and women's prisons have participated in Capacitar trainings. They found breathing practices and the meditation Salute to the Sun to be very helpful for themselves as well as empowering of the prisoners. When people have nothing else but their bodies, learning how to access their body wisdom can be a tremendous liberation. The women taught the prisoners how to use the breath to cleanse the body of past resentment and violence, and with the Salute to the Sun to open daily to the healing of the energies of earth and heaven. All 210 women prisoners in Tegucigalpa have received a Capacitar training, and the staff of the men's prison has plans to involve some of the prisoners as trainers in the cell blocks.

• The Labyrinth as a Healing Practice
  The Labyrinth has become a powerful healing practice in the war-torn communities of El Salvador. Two years ago MarÌa Isabel Figueroa, former secretary to Archbishop Oscar Romero and member of the Capacitar-El Salvador team, participated in the Capacitar Regional Conference, where she walked the Labyrinth for the first time. When other participants had retired for the evening MarÌa Isabel returned to the Labyrinth to walk and heal the pain of many years of political violence. She walked the ancient pattern four more times, weeping and letting go of the years of trauma where she had witnessed massacres and the assassination of friends. She fell asleep in the center of the Labyrinth, and when she awoke the following morning she felt a deep peace she had not known for many years. Since that experience she has made her own Labyrinth and enlisted several Salvadoran gangs who helped her paint the design in bright colors. María Isabel is now using this healing practice with many of the communities with whom she works. The history and practice of the Labyrinth, how to make one and use with groups, and suggestions for group leaders are offered in Trauma Healing and Transformation.

• Healing through Energy Release and Balance
  The Mayan peoples from Nahualá, Guatemala, have many of their own healing practices and community resources, such as wrapping oneself in light and energy for protection before starting the day, and rituals to honor and connect with the energies of earth and heaven and the four directions. These indigenous communities are also learning the different Capacitar practices, such as Process Acupressure, Polarity and Self-Acupressure, to better take care of themselves and to heal the many years of political violence in their communities. Trauma Healing and Transformation encourages people to remember and use their own practices that have been lost because of the destruction of communities and the relocation of peoples and offers different ones shared by groups.

• Releasing Traumatic Memory
  Psychologists Mary Bolt and Martha Cabrera of Centro Antonio Valdivieso and popular educators and healers of CANTERA in Nicaragua learned the simple practices of Jin Shin Jyutsu finger holds for releasing stored emotions and the Thought Field Therapy protocol for releasing traumatic memories during one of the Capacitar trainings. These proved to be very helpful to many people who suffered flashbacks or strong memories of Hurricane Mitch during the heavy rains last summer. Both practices are developed in the book, along with theory and suggestions for group leaders.

  The first copies of Trauma Healing and Transformation will be available in June. If you are interested in order a copy, please return the form enclosed to Capacitar, Inc.