Religion, Fundamentalism, and Conflict

Ep. 212 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the compelling conversation with SAND founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the discussion turns to the making of their 2021 documentary film about the tragic injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Where Olive Trees Weep is a very beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye opening film we highly recommend to our listeners. “How do we stop the violence?” asks co-host John Dupuy. No one knows the answer, but “each of us can find a way to alleviate the suffering in Palestine now as we grapple with the question of how to stop the wounds that continue to bleed,” Zaya and Maurizio contend. “We can stand for justice, food, and human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians and fight for their freedom.” 

Spiritual communities are mostly quiet on this issue, Zaya mentions. But “it’s not a political issue,” she says, “it’s a human issue—we are losing our humanity. If we believe in oneness, we need to face our discomfort and turn towards the pain, towards the suffering. Discomfort is the very essence of the issue on a psychological and archetypal level,” Zaya adds. Zaya and Maurizio are also working on a remarkable series of films called The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth teachings from Indigenous communities around the world. To date, they have released The Eternal Song, Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, and most recently If an Owl Calls Your Name. Thank you, Zaya and Maurizio, for contributing your gifts in these stunning films, so poignant and important in these disconnected, turbulent times, and for sharing your extraordinary wisdom with our Deep Transformation listeners. Recorded October 16, 2025.

“Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time. We are all one; we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos.”

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

• Making the 2021 film Where Olive Trees Weep, about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank (00:58)
• Making films about the effects of colonization all over the world (04:36)
• The more hateful the emails Zaya & Mauriozio received, the more they answered & engaged (06:01)
• There are 80 years of history behind the conflict in Palestine; everywhere you look there’s injustice (06:57)
• Apartheid in Palestine is maybe more extreme than in South Africa (10:26)
• What can we do about Gaza now? Stand for justice, food & human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians & fight for their freedom (12:37)
• Netanyahu is not the problem, the system is rotten to the core (15:20)
• How do we stop the violence? (18:49)
• Acknowledging the beauty & power of Zaya & Maurizio’s Where Olive Trees Weep (20:37)
• The silence about Gaza in most spiritual communities: if we believe in oneness, we need to turn towards the suffering (25:38) 
• Thanking Zaya & Maurizio for the film, and tales of the transformative effects of engaging with senders of hate mail (29:26)
• Zaya & Maurizio’s movie The Eternal Song came out in June 2025, but they are making many more films in Indigenous communities, like If an Owl Calls Your Name (link below) (34:10)
• Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time—we are all one, and we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos (37:57)

Resources & References – Part 2

• Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference
• The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Where Olive Trees Weep, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
• Meital Yaniv, Bloodlines
• Tara Brach, courageous spiritual teacher
• John Dupuy’s song, Ukraine! on YouTube
• The Eternal Song, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo 
• Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo 
• If an Owl Calls Your Name, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo

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Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. Together they have produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, Where Olive Trees Weep, Mauri, and If an Owl Calls Your Name. 

Zaya and Maurizio live, work, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, in Sebastopol, California.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell