Chaos in Cairo, Prayer for Peace
Whatever the real causes are of the current protests in Egypt, human behavior seems to be consistently predictable. I say this because the violent chaos in Cairo did not likely erupt based on one man’s immolation, but rather the immolation of the ideals of many. Unlike the image of the Sufi man whirling colorful fabric as a focused, mystical act of prayer, the spinning chaos of thousands protesting their government is more like the the primordial formless matter of the nascent universe. It remains to be seen how the various factions of political energy will coalesce into a homogeneous sociocultural fabric.
Whether or not you agree with their reasons for protest is not the real issue here. There have been an increasing number of riots and protests all over the world within the past year. With the high level of communications even in third-world countries, people are witnessing anger, dissatisfaction, frustration and in some cases, desperation of their fellow man. When you consider the collateral damage to innocent people, property and material goods, the amount of physical and psychic power that an angry mob has is, well, just plain terrifying.
These events can happen anywhere when people believe they have nothing left to lose and are willing to allow their emotions take over their actions without rationally thinking about consequences. It’s just the balance within our minds, between the cortex (logical thought processes) and the limbic system (emotional processes) which can easily be manipulated one way or the other, by a person who has a relevant “message”. Think Adolf Hitler or the Crusades, or maybe sometime in your own life, when you were vulnerable and acted out in some way that now makes you cringe in disbelief.
Sufi’s use spinning as a way to push out the world around them so that they can focus their minds and bodies in prayer; whether it’s whirling fabric or themselves in very precise ways, the goal is to organize themselves to be closer to God. I like to think of it as a kind of spiritual centrifuge, to separate out various components of cognitive densities. That’s a lot different than a child playing who spins around just to get dizzy and falls. If he does this enough, one time he’s sure to fall down and get hurt.
These are vulnerable times we all live in. For our sake and that of generations to come, we need to be vigilant so that in our vulnerable moments we don’t lose our intelligence and emotionally buy into some “quick fix” scheme to solve our problems. We need to focus our goals rationally and block out the distractions in life which would prevent us from attaining those objectives. Maybe then the cognitive density of prayer within our consciousness will lead us to peace .
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About Dr. Virginia
As a licensed Psychologist practicing Cognitive therapy, I work with my clients to help them identify the personal issues that are preventing them from achieving a more satisfying and well-adjusted life.
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