Dare To Struggle, Dare To Win

It’s part not giving in, and part trusting your friends

-Standing In The Way of Control, Gossip

StarHaus Psychotherapy - May Newsletter

Image: In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater

updates

What’s New?

The weather is warming up and - in many ways - our spirits might be lifting! We hope to use whatever extra energy we find ourselves with to be in community with others and stand against injustice. We’ll explore what that might look like in this month’s newsletter.

intro

We’re continuing to explore themes that fall under our word of the year, adaptation.

This month, we’re exploring the theme of rebellion. In what ways does humanity benefit from a refusal to adapt to injustice? How does rebellion against oppressive forces influence the mental health of both individual people and of communities? Read on for more!

p.s. Do you have your own word of the year? Want to talk about it? We would love to help you brainstorm, clarify, celebrate, etc.

Reach Out

events

Visions For a Better World

Reverie Cafe, a vegan spot in South Minneapolis is hosting “In the Spirit of MayDay” this year, a free community block party! (Sunday May 5th, 1-9pm)
The first MayDay Parade took place in the Spring of 1975. The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater explains, “the Vietnam War ended just 2 weeks before the event and the little procession was exuberantly joyful. It was a group of 50-60 people, an Earth puppet, a Water puppet, several birds, two accordions, and many banners. People raised a Maypole puppet and hosted a few small performances and some MayDay speeches.” Since then, the parade has been a way for the community to come together and share visions for a better world.
Although it looks like there won’t be a parade this year, the spirit of the occasion lives on in this celebration of spring, community, and renewal.
Protests continue on local college campuses as students demand their universities divest from companies complicit in genocide. The UMN Divest Coalition lists the following demands:
- DIVEST: Divest from all companies complicit in war crimes, genocide and human rights violations - including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and others.
- BAN: Ban Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, General Dynamics and their subsidiaries from hosting workshops and recruiting on campus starting with Fall 2024 Career Fair.
- BOYCOTT: Complete academic divestment from militarized Israeli institutions that are currently aiding the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
- DISCLOSE: Complete transparency with students, staff and faculty about University investments and spending.
- THAWABIT: Release a statement in support of UMN’s Palestinian student body and recognize the inviolable national rights of the Palestinian people, the Thawabit.
- AMNESTY: Amnesty for all students, staff, community, and faculty in the movement for Palestinian liberation.
Follow their instagram page or check out their LinkTree to learn more about how to support these students with your time, funds, or supplies.

UPDATE: The University of Minnesota has expressed its intention to meet the demands of the protesting students! Keep up to speed using the above links, and consider supporting students on other campuses as well:

Hamline Students for Justice

Carleton College Students for Justice in Palestine

Mac for Palestine Coalition

*If this brings up strong feelings for you, please know we welcome your communication! Whether you would like to explore in a session or chat via email, we invite your response!

extras

May Playlist - from Lauren

There is a long history of music being used as a tool of both community building and protest. Here are songs -both historical and modern- that critique war, violence, oppression, and encourage rebellion.

*Image is a poster advertising the 1970 Kent State University student anti-war protest that ended when Ohio National Guard Soldiers opened fire, killing 4 students and injuring 9.

Listen Here

Archetype of the Month - from Liana

The Contrarian (Subcategory of Rebel Archetype)

“Breaking all of the rules that would bend, I began to find myself searching / Searching for shelter again and again / Against the wind” - Against the Wind, Bob Seger

The archetypal rebel, fueled by the need to resist conformity and challenge authority, finds one of its most vital expressions in the Contrarian. The Contrarian essentializes the need to reject and push back upon. Perhaps a mercenary in the rebel army, the Contrarian may be hired out by any cause that at the time defies mainstream opinion. When this archetypal energy becomes fully inflated, one may find themself called to become an iconoclast or martyr.

The rejection of certitude is a central guiding principle for the Contrarian, and Chuck Klostermen’s But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past provides several thought exercises from a contrarian perspective. The greatest pitfall of the Contrarian is that they may become so embroiled in fighting against that they neglect what is worth fighting for. The belief that everything must be questioned and deconstructed becomes its own ideology– a contrarian ouroboros (as explored by notorious contrarian Slavoj Žižek in The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology). Still, virtues of critical thinking, tireless pursuit of truth, and bravery in the face of opposition make the Contrarian a compelling force to call upon.

Image credit: Jeanne d'Arc, Albert Lynch, 1903

Creature of the Month - from Kenna

The Curious Language of Trees

Acts of rebellion can rally community. When rebellion and community converge, beauty can be found. As well as love, support, strength, harmony and balance. And sometimes, a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

Recent research has found that trees communicate with each other through microscopic, fungal networks. They send help to one another through passing nutrients. They send distress signals to indicate danger. They push and pull against one another to reach for more light, or move to allow another to bask in the sun. They mourn. They fight. They make mistakes. Humans mimic trees in that way. When a collective group of individuals come together in the name of a greater purpose, they can learn to lean on one another. A canopy of trees is a community. Who is in your canopy?

Want to learn more about the curious language of trees?

"No tree survives alone in the forest. When one tree falls ill, we all send food. For if one tree dies, the canopy is broken. Then all suffer the weather and pestilence that flood in." -The OA, Netflix, 2019

Thanks for reading!

xoxo -StarHaus