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#CollectiveWellbeing đ¤˛Faith is an essential ingredient for resilience and wellbeing.
đ§ âWellbeingâ is not only about âgoing to therapyâ and participating in Western psychological interventions. Though these interventions work for some, they are not necessarily appropriate for all contexts. For example, while verbally expressing your feelings to a therapist using frameworks like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a respectable care practice, not everyone feels comfortable expressing their emotions in formal therapy settings.
đHumans have been using so many different methods of promoting collective wellbeing for generations. Looking to ancient, Indigenous, local, and diverse global wisdom and collective care practices can be a powerful way to connect with our ancestors, the earth, and our roots. While colonialism and capitalism works to disconnect us from our human nature, we resist this by committing to staying connected to our human foundations.
đThis week, we begin our series: Exploring Global Wisdom and Care Practices, where we spotlight collective care and wisdom traditions outside of Western psychology and psychiatry. Today, we explore how we can incorporate faith-based practices such as religion into our wellbeing, being mindful of the ways in which colonisers have attempted to withhold faith-based practices from historically marginalised groups.
đMany communities turn to religious, spiritual, faith, and cultural belief systems as part of their wellbeing rituals. Many of these have existed for hundreds of years, and have served global communitiesâ spiritual and wellbeing needs. Unfortunately, many of these belief systems are often treated as illegitimate, misinformed, frivolous, or even dangerous - especially when they come from a Global South context. This is because colonial elitesâ power comes from asserting their own supremacy in all aspects of society, including through belief systems. The recent global uptick in Islamophobia, the weaponisation of the Jewish faith for political gain, and the practice of banning Indigenous peoples from practising their religions, are all examples of this.Â
â¨We must respect Religious Freedom, and the global diversity of faith, belief systems, and religions, if we truly believe in decolonising wellbeing. After all, #Faith has been a key ingredient to human wellbeing for generations; embracing it can help us reconnect with our humanity, and help us recognise the infinite power that lies within us. To end our October series on Radical Acceptance, we invite us all to reflect on the powers we donât have, as well as the powers we do, and be mindful about how to apply this to promote positive Collective Wellbeing for all.
#WeAreManushyan âžď¸ Equal Human BeingsÂ
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