Dr. Edith Eger (Part 1) - Surviving the Holocaust and Healing the Pain

At the age of sixteen, Dr. Edith Eger, a trained ballet dancer and gymnast, was sent to Auschwitz. Hours after her parents were sent to the gas chamber, the “Angel of Death,” Nazi officer Dr. Josef Mengele forced Edith to dance for his amusement and her survival. He rewarded her with a loaf of bread that she shared with her fellow prisoners, an act of generosity that would later save her life. On May 4, 1945 a young American soldier noticed Edith"s hand moving slightly amongst a number of dead bodies. He quickly summoned medical help and brought her back from the brink of death. Today, Edith is a prolific author, a clinical psychologist, and holds a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Diego. Every story I"ve heard on Slo Mo has left an impact me, but Edith"s is the first to make me openly cry while recording. Listening to what happened to her and her family at Auschwitz is unimaginably heartbreaking. And yet, taking in Edith"s words on how she moved past the pain both during and after the heinous events, showing almost impossible levels of compassion for her inmates while herself starving, and later forgiving the evils of her captors, hit me like a spiritual experience. I love this woman, and this may just be the most powerful episode of our podcast yet. In Part 1, we discuss:How Edith"s mom praised Edith"s brains as making up for her lack of beauty (not true)Taking care of her mom as child, giving her stronger inner resources and patienceRevisiting our childhoods and healing the painHow she forgave the Nazis who joked about her mother burning That we are not born with hate, but learn itEdith"s plea to always question authority rather than blindly adhere to itThe true enemy: ignorance"The spirit never dies."How we do everything with feelings, except feel them!The healing power of cryingThe argument that America is ripe for fascismThe effects of telling a lie and repeating it on a societyHow she danced for the Angel of Death and shared her reward with others that later saved her lifePracticing your low frustration toleranceA story of papaya and the chain of joy Instagram: @mo_gawdat Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official Twitter: @mgawdat LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat Connect with Dr. Edith Eger on Facebook @dreditheger, Twitter @dreditheger1, Instagram @dr.editheger, and her website, dreditheger.com Don"t forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Sunday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy YouTube: @mogawdatofficial Instagram: @mo_gawdat Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat X: @mgawdat Website: mogawdat.com Don"t forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy