Putting Naikan Into Practice: Naikan and Conflict Resolution

Putting Naikan Into Practice: Naikan and Conflict Resolution
by Linda Anderson Krech

Naikan can be a powerful tool for reconciliation. Sometimes I keep this tool in my back pocket, or even walk around with it in my hand, but this is just about useless. If I take it out and use it in a focused and wholehearted way, it can be transformative, revealing missing pieces that may dramatically change what I see and understand.

Many years ago I, along with a handful of other family members, helped to start a center for those with serious mental illness. Fueled by our passionate desire to help our loved ones and our great disappointment in the existing mental health system, we secured funds, found a space, hired a director (who then hired me as his assistant), and opened our doors. It was a dream come true. The director, however, was not living up to my ideal. On the second day of the program, he did not come in, choosing instead to attend to non-urgent personal business. I had been watch...