The Heart Remembers: Healing Across Divides

Even in the deepest conflict, the human capacity for connection and healing remains.

What does it take to connect in a time of deep division?
How do we remain open, and in relationship when pain, history, and identity pull us apart?

In this experiential workshop, you’re invited into a living field of practices that have supported Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, in meeting across some of the most profound lines of conflict. Emerging from years of work with Together Beyond Words and the Army of Healers (formed in the wake of October 7), this approach brings together body, heart, and mind to gently rebuild trust — within ourselves and with one another.

While rooted in this region, the work speaks directly to the challenges many of us face today, including rising polarization in the United States. It offers grounded, human ways to stay present, connected, and curious, even in the midst of difference.

Together, we will explore simple yet powerful practices — grounding, movement, play, storytelling, and deep listening — that help us meet ourselves and others with awareness and care. You’ll be guided to notice and work with your own inner reactions, “unblend” from activated parts, and practice the U-turn as both an inner and relational tool.

Through compassionate communication, listening partnerships, and small-group exploration, you’ll have space to slow down, connect, and experience what becomes possible when we meet one another with curiosity instead of certainty.

Whether you’re a facilitator, educator, healer, or simply someone longing for more authentic connection in divided times, this workshop offers both personal transformation and practical tools. It invites you to deepen your capacity to navigate conflict with presence, build trust across differences, and reconnect with a sense of hope.

Recommended reading: The Magic of Tears by Nitsan Joy Gordon;  Together Beyond Words: Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East by Nitsan Joy Gordon;  The internal Family Systems Workbook by Richard Schwartz; Creating Healing Circles by Chris Burris;Wounds into Wisdom by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone; Dance, Dialogue and Despair by Haim Gordon; I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey by Izzeldin Abuelaish; The Lemmon Tree by Sandy Tolan; Gift of the Red Bird by Paula D’Arcy