Right In There With Suffering People

[Guest guest]

Since I'm getting ready to send out guidelines for letter writing

for Hurricane Katrina survivors, the universe is sending powerful

content my way. I thought I'd share it. It's good for any time you

are interacting with someone who is having a hard time, whether that

is due to loss of a loved one or their own illness or survivors of

traumatic events.

 

An Amma devotee who volunteered with and was trained by the

Salvation Army sent these tips from them.

 

1. it is an insult to say i know how you feel. unless we have

survived the holucost and lost all our familiar sights, our homes,

our heirlooms, our mothe'rs and father's pictures, etc., and been

torn from all family and friends, and everything familiar, and

relocated to points unknown, and not to know if we would survive

this situation...we could never understand. so empathy is the word.

 

2. it is not really the time to share our losses, or our stories, as

it may just trigger more emotion for them

..

3. Be uplifting, compassionate, and sensitive, coming from a place

of i can't understand how you have suffered and are suffering but i

want you to know i feel your pain, or i am so sad at what happened

to you, ...etc.

 

Aikya

[Guest guest]

Namah Shivaya.

 

To echo this and put it in another way.

As a priest who sat with dying AIDS patients put it:

Compassion is when you can¹t DO anything except BE THERE in a loving way.

Having sat with many survivors of childhood abuse who were reliving their

trauma,

one thing to keep in mind is to keep breathing very consciously.

Trauma can take the breath away and increase the trauma.

If you breathe consciously, the survivor is more likely to join in

breathing.

Some years ago I wrote guidelines for dealing with flashbacks which people

working in the recovery field found helpful. Please write off list and I¹ll

send.

 

premarupa

Aum Amriteshvaryai Namakh