Together Beyond Words with Healing Touch, Radical Aliveness, and Dance Therapy: Connecting & Caring through Listening & Movement with Nitsan Joy Gordon

In this special episode (my 100th podcast!), I have the great pleasure of speaking with the wonderful and insightful therapist and peace activist Nitsan Joy Gordon about her book “Together Beyond Words: Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East” which includes a foreword by Marianne Williamson and an afterword by Leymah R. Gbowee. We talk about her personal experiences of growing up in a violent and war-torn kibbutz, vital and life-changing lessons on peace and wisdom from her father, her own experience of prejudice and antisemitism in the United States, and how dancing helped her express herself freely and fully. Moreover, we touch upon her own longstanding engagement in bringing peace, healing, and empathy through nonverbal communication including healing touch and dance therapy as well as the importance of expressing oneself and listening to others without judgment and with an open and caring heart. This quest for peace in the Middle East has been led by remarkable women like Nitsan who inspire us to look past ideologies, upbringing, conflict, and war and to view and see "the other" not with hatred but to relate to them with compassion while trying to heal ancient wounds and suffering not only regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict but all types of conflicts around the world ranging from the personal to the geopolitical.