What you’ll find in “Releasing Memory”
“We are all time travelers.” I first heard the scientific evidence for this in 2015, when I interviewed neuroscientist, Dr. Marcus Raichle, about his pathbreaking research on the brain’s default mode network. The DMN, he would inform me, showed that our brain’s were most active when we were at rest—not when we were busy on a task, but when we were unfocused, daydreaming, mind-wandering.
A paradox, no?
What’s more, he shared, the DMN demonstrates that we are time travelers. That is, in that default mode, we are always either reflecting about the past, or anxious about the future.
Sometimes, raising memories can bring up ghosts. But examining them is the only thing that might make those long-suffering ghosts go away. And it is up to us to heal them.
Dispelling ghosts
Hale, health, healing wholeness, holiness. These words all share the same root, coming from the Proto-Indo-European root "kailo", meaning "whole, uninjured, of good omen." Bringing out a state of well-being.
But we cannot do it alone. By connecting here, sharing stories of the past and hopes for the future, by supporting one another, my hope is that we can promote well-being together, as a community.
My research has followed along traditional paths: genealogy, oral histories, family stories. And some pretty untraditional means: family constellation work, astrology, mediumship. When facts are few, sometimes you must verify using metaphysical means.
Perhaps you have found yourself on a similar path to lighten and loosen the heaviness of history.
In these pages, I am sharing my journey from the dark recesses of the past to light up the present in hopes they may also light your way forward.
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Join us in our efforts to bridge past and present
To re-member is “to reassemble the limbs of history.” Releasing Memory is an ongoing story project of personal, family, and community re-creation based on the Jewish principle of Tikkun Olam--repairing the world by performing acts of kindness. It is a holy act.
Health. Healing. Wholeness come from the same linguistic root as Holy. This means there's a biological imperative, as well as a spiritual one. Physical health is part of the same activity as remembering. When taken together, they promote integration of body, mind and spirit.
To gather the sparks, let us work to replenish our bodies, hearts and souls by reintegrating ourselves.
To begin, let us remember and weave memories together.
