This article is well worth reading. It touches on an issue — a challenge — that I have been wrestling with for many years — and I’m quite sure I’m far from alone in this!

That challenge can be summed up as how to reconcile the demands of “vertical” and “horizontal” healing.

By “vertical” healing, I refer to all practices — meditation, yoga, tai chi, etc. — whose purpose is to promote inner equanimity and resilience — that is, the healing and reintegration of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

By “horizontal” healing, I refer to all modes of social, political, and environmental advocacy and activism — the healing of community and planet alike.

In general, those committed to vertical healing — to self-cultivation — tend toward narcissistic indifference to the woes of the world. Conversely, those committed tp horizontal healing — to activism — often look with disdain on “vertical” healing as a form of denial or escapism, yet having neglected the “vertical” dimension of their own experience, they can easily become burnt-out or consumed with rage and fury.

So finding effective ways to learn and teach the integration of these two healing modes is essential, especially given the momentous and ever-worsening threat of climate change to both our social fabric AND our equanimity. This article provides useful perspectives on this issue.