Message from the founder – Daniela Hartmann
Born in Germany in 1970, the Nazi history was very alive in my upbringing. Already as a young child I contemplated what could trigger such cruelty amongst humans. What could justify treating another the way we would not tolerate to be treated ourselves, or the people we love? As my childhood and eventually my entire life unfolded in an international setting, living in eight countries in four continents and counting, I saw that dehumanisation and unspeakable violence perpetrated between different groups happens in any society, any country, any social context. The explanations and the justifications vary of course, but the resulting inhumanity is always devastating not only to the victims, but also to the basic humanness of the perpetrators and the society surrounding them. Through my personal observations, contemplations and discussions with others, my current conclusion is that violence stems largely from a mind in pain, steeped in fear and grasping for control through exercising power. Such a mind is running in survival mode at its core—alienated from the depth of the person’s own soul and the reality of interconnection between all beings. Whatever the logical reasons might be to perpetrate violence and dehumanisation, it is always based on some form of mental imbalance.
But even if we do not resort to outright cruelty, most of us struggle with challenging emotions and find it difficult to recalibrate easily into more peaceful states of mind. When I encountered situations in my early adulthood where I would have had to compromise my integrity to move forward on my career path, I quit my work at the UN and went to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in South India to study philosophy and meditation for almost 9 years, subsequently working within the Tibetan Buddhist context as a translator, lecturer and facilitator for another ten years. The immersion into this ancient wisdom tradition taught me how to work with my mind in a structured manner, how to master my perceptions and my emotions (to a large degree), and how to uncover what in the Buddhist terminology is called Buddha Nature. This is something we all inherently possess, and is described in other traditions as the divine spark, source energy, our God Being etc. Knowing that there are practical and easy to implement ways of befriending and calming our mind, I started to explore western psychology and found a myriad of tools contained there as well. This inspired the following two projects, which are to be implemented through The GRID Global Foundation (GFF):
- The mental health toolbox. It functions as first aid kit for our minds, helping us to understand how the mind works, and how it is connected to our emotions. The toolbox provides a set of easily applied tools, supporting us in moments of mental distress and helping us to empathise with the predicaments of others. Since 2019 I have been working with psychologists and other interested people on what to include and how to structure the toolbox.The pilot version of the mental health toolbox supports a research project in Nepal. It has been implemented through the Nepal Youth Foundation since 2023.
- Global initiative ‘We Are All Just Human’, aiming to overcome inhuman behaviour and beliefs by stressing the common humanity we all share. The main teachings on love and compassion within the Buddhist tradition are based on the fundamental truth of interdependence—the understanding that we are naturally connected to everyone and everything throughout the world. Realising that all humans fundamentally share the same wishes, the same expectations, the same fears, have the same needs and aspirations, automatically inspires a feeling of closeness. We are thus more likely to perceive another person as someone of equal worth, making it much more difficult to intentionally inflict harm.
Mission Statement
The mission of the GRID Global Foundation is to provide easy-to-access and easy-to-implement mental health tools, and to strengthen the bond of human connection globally through recognising that ‘We Are All Just Human.’
The foundation is to be based out of the Geneva region in Switzerland.
The foundation work is strictly apolitical and non-religious. The GRID Global Foundation will use its own monetary resources, acting through country offices and NGOs worldwide to achieve its objectives.
Vision Statement
The vision of the GRID Global Foundation is a world where people have easy access to mental health education and tools, so everyone can live a healthy, fulfilling and self determined life. A world in which people recognise the basic humanity in each other in order to create respectful, peaceful and cooperative living environments, fostering harmony, peace and prosperity.
Core thematic components of The GRID Global Foundation
- A. Mental Health Toolbox
“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.” ― Victor Frankl
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama
Objective
Mental health and wellbeing are essential to live a happy, productive, fulfilling and successful life. It is the basis for healthy relationships and social interactions, which have been scientifically proven to be the most important factor for personal happiness. Understanding what impacts and what supports our mental health is just as important as knowing what impacts and supports our physical health. Knowing how our mind works gives us the power to regulate our mental and emotional states and recognise when we need additional help. At the same time, it helps us understand how we can assist others during mental health challenges.
How
At the centre point is a mental health toolbox, which comprises a basic structure developed by the psychological team of the GGF, and can be adapted to the different cultural and social circumstances of the respective countries by the NGO affiliates in the different countries.
It is taught by trained facilitators (in person and over zoom) in small groups to make sure the content is absorbed. Additionally an app is made available where the trainings are advertised; ‘graduates’ of the program can connect globally and around specific topics; and additional resources are given.
In the long run, the GFF will open or support mental health sanctuaries in cooperation with country partners to run the trainings there and provide other mental health programs including art and dance therapy, for example.
The mental health toolbox provides the following:
- 1. An overview of how the mind works
- * the different parts of the brain and the role they play in digesting information and impulses
- * what causes upset, difficult emotional states and trauma
- * how to restore mental balance and calm and take take informed decisions
- * what are the warning signs to seek out professional help
- 2. Different modalities to work with our own mind
- * Using the breath, meditation and movement to calm down and regulate emotions and gain clarity
- * Learning how to safely feel and process information and emotional reactions like disappointment, rejection, blame, etc.
- * Learn to differentiate between situations that are uncomfortable and situations that are unsafe or even life-threatening, and how to react appropriately
- * Communicate feelings and needs in a safe manner
- * Cultivate enriching emotions like love, compassion, kindness, gratitude and learn to deal effectively with afflictive ones like anger, jealousy, fear
- * Basic information on how physical health like exercise and nutrition impact mental health
- 3. Different modalities to work in connection with others
- * Detect challenging emotional states and mental imbalance in others, and how to react in a safe manner
- * Creating a safe environment for everyone involved by engaging in compassionate listening and forging meaningful connection
- * Learn to discuss difficult situations, disappointments, and emotions in an empathic, compassionate way to resolve conflicts and repair relationships
- * Learn how to effectively apologise and forgive
Outcomes
When we understand how our mind functions, what creates imbalances like anxiety, anger, trauma etc., and how to regulate our nervous system, we gain control over what is happening to us by being able to classify it, articulate it and work with it in the way we choose to. We cease to be victims to our thoughts, our emotions and the manipulation of others. We start to be in charge of our world, our perception of it and our reaction to it.
At the same time, we relieve ourselves of the shame and the confusion that comes with not knowing what is happening to us when we experience a strong emotional reaction, for example when a trauma response is triggered and we quite automatically shift into a fight, flight or freeze mode. Understanding ourselves is the first step to self-compassion, self-love and self-forgiveness, which are essential to our mental health. We can live in the present and be oriented towards the future, instead of shaming ourselves, immersing ourselves in self-blame and staying stuck in destructive patterns we have acquired in the past.
The tools provided enable the application of mental first aid to oneself and others, supporting a constructive way of dealing with conflict, disagreements, disappointments, overwhelm, etc. Taking this a step further, being able to understand the workings of one’s own mind also informs us when we are not able to deal with a situation on our own anymore, and need to look for professional help.
An important objective is to make mental health an acceptable topic of discussion and gaining an understanding that everyone faces challenges at times. And that looking after our mental health on a regular basis with easy-to-apply tools is just as important and easy as to brush our teeth or take a shower.
- B. We Are All Just Humans
“The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot retain.” – Saadi Shirazi
Objective
Inhuman behaviour towards one another is always based on the denial of the other person’s humanity. This means denying someone based on their skin colour, social status, religious affiliation, or gender. For example, denying the same rights, the same access to resources as another group enjoys and/or sanctioning them to be subjected to physical, verbal and emotional abuse—any kind of treatment that would be unacceptable for other parts of the population. “We Are All Just Humans” emphasises the commonalities of all people to forge empathy, understanding and the equal application of fundamental rights and humane treatment to everyone in every day life. Seeing someone as a fellow human being first of all, having the same basic needs, desires and feelings as ourselves, helps to look for common ground based on mutual respect when there are conflicts and misunderstandings.
How
‘We are All Just Human’ will bring together and foster collaborations between artists, scientists and social groups on a global level to highlight the common threads that connect people everywhere, transcending gender, race, social status, age and so on. The aim is to celebrate humanity in all its expressions and give a platform to learn from each other, enrich each other’s lives by sharing and gain a deeper understanding of the human experience.
The implementation steps are:
- * Building up connections to artists all over the world through the The GRID Global country offices to explore the theme of ‘We Are All Just Humans’ utilising any form of artistic expression such as writing, dancing, and visual arts.
- * Encouraging cross-cultural, cross-racial, cross-continental cooperation between artists focussing on common thematic threads between humans, cultures, religions, ages etc. This may include concerts, exhibitions, writing books together, blogs, etc.
- * Working with social scientists on common human traits and what unites us
- * Support initiatives within communities of different faiths, races and social status to forge viable pathways of communication and mutual understanding to prevent or resolve conflicts
Outcomes
Having explored the common threads of humanity results in perceiving the world more inclusively, forging an immediate, undeniable bond to others to reach for constructive solutions in any kind of scenario involving collaboration. The readiness to respond aggressively or fearful decreases, and with that the readiness to engage in violence and demeaning behaviour to another.
Structure of the The GRID Global Foundation
1. Foundation Headquarters
The foundation seat is to be set in the Geneva region of Switzerland. It will occupy office space within the city of Geneva and an already selected larger property outside of Geneva, which is to function as a meeting place for individuals and organisations. It will also provide a safe space for individuals to work on individual projects in connection to the foundation’s objectives.
2. Country Offices
To secure culturally and socially appropriate implementations of the mental health toolbox and campaigns around We Are All Just Humans, country offices will be established globally, which again are connected in regional forums. The employees of the country offices will go through rigorous training in connection, communication and collaboration and training in the mental health toolbox. All the country offices will to be connected to each other and with regular meetings with headquarters to discuss the best implementation of the objectives within each country’s circumstances and how the different offices including headquarters can support each other.
The country offices will have free reign to utilise the mental health toolbox and We Are All Just Human concept to design their own approaches based on cultural and social circumstances, and to work with artists and collaborate with any individual, institution or organisation who are aligned to the same values and ideas, as long the principals of being apolitical and non-religious are maintained.
3. Mental Health Sanctuaries
The GRID Global Foundation will support, wherever possible, the establishment of mental health sanctuaries, which are places designed to serve and support people concerned about their mental health and where they can access counselling and engage in activities like art programs, dance therapy, and so on. The sanctuaries are to be closely linked in with mental health professionals in the respective areas as well as medical institutions to insure that the best support can be given at any time.
Contact:
Daniela Hartmann
WhatsApp and Signal: +49 176 3850 4810