Charles Eisenstein: The Illusion of Separation [2-min video]

Source: Charles Eisenstein

In this conversation with Michal Halev,(see the TRANSCRIPT below), Charles Eisenstein delves into the illusion of separation, emphasizing how actions towards others ultimately impact oneself. Eisenstein highlights the interconnectedness of all beings, advocating for a shift from a mindset of separation to one of unity and shared responsibility.

Michal Halev tragically lost her son in the Hamas attack on Israel. Overwhelmed by anguish, she pleaded with the world to stop the fighting: “In my name, I want no vengeance.” You can watch her deeply moving video HERE.

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TRANSCRIPT

Charles Eisenstein: There have been very few American casualties in our recent wars, but, you know, what's killed more American soldiers than the enemy is suicide.

Michal Halev: Right.

Charles Eisenstein: 

Yeah. And for every suicide, there's a hundred cases of depression and PTSD. And that just illustrates how, you know, what you do to the other, you end up doing to yourself. And, you know, we could make political statements about that, about, um… I mean, I talk about that from the point of view of my country all the time, you know? Yeah, we've visited much violence on the rest of the world and have not really been attacked, but the violence comes in anyway: domestic violence, you know, violence in the streets, violence in the schools, violence in the home. You can't keep it out.

And, you know, my writing, my philosophy, has been about separation. That's been the main theme of all of my writing for 20 years. And the illusion that I'm separate from you – in that illusion, what I do to you, it doesn't have to happen to me. What we do to the Palestinians, what we do to the rainforest, what we do to the babies, you know, well, that's them, and this is me, so it doesn't have to affect me.

But the transition that we are in right now is into a new story that understands that we're not really separate, that what happens to anybody, in some way, happens to me as well, in some form. That what we do to the planet, we do to ourselves. That what we do to the enemy, we do to ourselves. That we're inseparable because we're not just these separate selves. And that we are mysteriously and intimately connected with each other on an existential level, you know? It's not just that we're related, but we are, our existence is connected.

Charles’ essays on Substack: Charles Eisenstein