Browsing by Subject "Conflict Resolution"

This Master’s Thesis aims to introduce and analyze Father Anthony deMello’s S.J. thinking and theology and to see if we could apply his method to Emotion Regulation theory as a Conflict Resolution Strategy as described by Eran Halperin. Anthony deMello thinks that most human beings are asleep which is the cause of human suffering in the world. Human beings do not see the beauty and wonder of life because they cannot conceive of being unconditionally happy. Human happiness is always tied to attachments which means something on which fulfillment one’s happiness relies on. By following a four-step-program laid by Anthony deMello anyone can begin to awaken to reality and hopefully, either gradually or in a flash, wake up. The four steps resemble the Four Noble Truths laid out by Buddha Siddharta Gautama: Realize that your life is in a mess and that you do not want to wake up (meaning change your current condition). The second step is to realize that the suffering is caused by attachments (the conditional happiness). The third step is to realize that any negative emotion that rises in you is because of your programming, not because of the exterior events. The fourth and final step is not to identify with any labels or emotions, just watch them without judgment and they will pass. While Anthony deMello has received Jesuit training his thinking is heavily influenced by Buddhism and is very close to the Stoic philosophy of ancient Rome. His underlying worldview is in agreement with the Perennialist philosophy which means that he believes that all religions, mystics, and humans share the same experience of God, Love, Truth, Happiness, or whatever you want to call it (deMello considers these all to be the same) when you finally wake up. Eran Halperin has studied discreet emotions in conflicts and has recognized that emotions have a big impact on how people react to new events in prolonged conflicts. He shows that individual emotions have different end-goals and affect how willing people are to make compromises or to use violence for example. Halperin suggests using different Emotion Regulation theories such a cognitive reappraisal to reach peaceful resolutions. I argue that using Anthony deMello’s method or Awareness as an emotion regulation theory could prove very fruitful in resolving conflicts. The problem, as Halperin mentions, is how to get people motivated enough to learn a technique and use it in a conflict situation.