We Are All Ms. Hervin Khalaf

A simple definition of an empathic is someone who can ‘understand and share in the feelings of another’. With the aid of the inner eye, we can even witness what a person is going through from a description or narrative of far away events. People with sympathetic abilities contribute to the advancement of society and are a vessel for social consciousness. Compassionate individuals do not immediately judge others, but first consider what it means to walk in their shoes.

Contrary characteristics to empathy are callousness and narcissism. Senior campaign advisor Lara Trump is the epitome of a non-empathic who supports her father-in-law. On the October 14th Fox News at Night broadcast with host Shannon Bream, Lara defended Trump’s actions in Syria by stating most Americans don’t know who the Kurds are. Not a sound or rational defense for certain genocide and ethic cleansing. In a phone call with Erdogan of Turkey, Trump betrayed the Kurds who were our allies in the fight against ISIS. Like a mob boss in a second-rate B movie, Trump demands loyalty but gives none as suits his needs. Today, the House of Representatives condemned his withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria.

We are all Hervin Khalaf. A Kurdish politician and secretary general of the Future Syria Party, she was a victim of Trump’s war crimes. Turkish-backed rebels dragged her and her driver from their vehicle. Twitter was awash in images of Ms. Khalaf being raped on rocks, her face grey from the dust and pain. The boots and rifles of her assailants and their accomplices are clearly visible in the video. Reports are the driver was executed and the Turkish proxies stoned her to death. Their murder is the clear result of Trump giving Erdogan the go-ahead to invade the Kurds.

Unless you’re like Lara Trump who’s immune from the feelings of strangers, closing off techniques can be employed by an empathic. Prayers, affirmations, and visualizations are methods one can utilize to not give hospitality to other people’s negativity. Shielding oneself off enables us to understand what someone is going through, and to walk in his or her shoes. I imagine myself wrapped up in the petals of a flower, or I’ll say an ancient Kabblalistic prayer, the Ana Be’Koach to surround myself with light and protection. In my memoir, My Random Death, I go into detail about these practices.

We can employ some basic tools to protect ourselves while we still ‘love thy neighbor, and welcome the stranger, as thyself’.

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The Zohar calls to me.

It’s another gorgeous day in Santa Barbara. Absent are the feelings of guilt that usually accompany me for not wanting to go outside. My current mood is to shut out the world, which puts me in a ‘Catch-22’ situation. On the one hand closing off helps me to concentrate on my mystical pursuits. On the other, I’m in the middle of marketing my memoir. It’s an occasion for self-promotion and public relations.

At the best of times, PR stuff is not my strong suit. I’m a loner by nature and not into selling myself. Aloneness builds inner strength and confidence. It’s a belief of mine that probably stems from being a twin. My current desire to disengage from our everyday work-world is due, in part, to Trump’s corruption. If allowed, his immoral and criminal conduct can drain us. His compassionless worldview, and cruel and self-serving policies can exhaust us. He will suck out our spirit and empty us. His is the kind of charismatic power consumed with the evil inclination. If unprepared, Trump will eat your soul.

All those who seek the light and the good know that first you must heal yourself. Only then you can help fix the world. In the spirit of self-help, the Zohar calls to me. This fundamental Kabalistic text tugs at my soul to become hermetic and study Torah through its ancient mystical teachings. I use the recently published Pritzker edition of the Zohar, translation from Aramaic and commentary by Daniel Matt. A few other gems aid my spiritual endeavor. I rely on ‘The Torah – A Modern Commentary’ in Hebrew with English translation and edited by Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut. Finally, there is the ‘The Jerusalem Bible – Reader’s Edition’ with commentary edited by Alexander Jones.

We cannot let Trump and his crowd win. The kids in cages at our Southern border cry out to us. I can hardly breathe! Now is the time to learn, to prepare myself, and receive the knowledge for the spiritual battle ahead. The fight is about good vs. evil, the lovers of light vs. the vampires of darkness.

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Jeffrey Epstein's Hyoid Bone

News about the coroner’s autopsy finding broken bones in the throat of wealthy, sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein brought back memories of my death by strangulation. Unlike Epstein who died by suicidal hanging in a jail cell while under federal detention, my death occurred in the woods on the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard.

Like Epstein’s, the hyoid bone was broken in my encounter with evil. Experts say a fracture of this bone is strong evidence of a homicide. The unique aspect about this bone is that, over time, it can heal itself. I can heal myself.

Newsweek’s Shane Croucher writes in his August 15th article, “the hyoid bone is U-shaped and sits at the front of the neck between the lower jaw and the voice box. ‘The primary function of the hyoid bone is to serve as an anchoring structure for the tongue. It has no articulation with other bones,’ states Encyclopedia Brittanica. The hyoid is fractured in one-third of all homicides by strangulation.”

The assertion of a broken hyoid bone found by the coroner raised some controversy over whether or not foul play brought about Epstein's demise. Although it does not exclude a death by suicidal hanging. In my case there was other physical clues to conclude a murder had occurred. The broken blood vessels in my eye was evidence of a violent, deadly crime. While being strangled the blockage of the throat forced the red blood into the whites of my eye.

The red spot lingered for a few months after I came back from death.

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