Today, there's a March for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence in my hometown, a city that has seen far too much violence and bloodshed in recent years. I'm moved by the action of people from all around the community coming together to stand for change, and as I get ready to go and join them, I find myself asking:
What is a culture of peace and non-violence?
The answer occurring to me at the moment: It's a culture based on the truth of We Are One.
That little phrase is thrown around quite a bit in religious ceremonies, spiritual circles, and new age discussions, but as I see it, there is far more power in these three words than is often recognized and put into practice. When people act from We Are One, there is a completely different response to a tragic event in the community. Instead of blaming those most directly responsible, there is a collective responsibility that swoops in to help, to restore, and to reestablish balance. There is engagement, instead of anger and disengagement. Instead of "us versus them" patterns, there is an opening question of how will WE heal?
We Are One means that we don't get to separate out the bad guys and the good guys. We don't get to make the depleted ozone layer the fault of big business, the gun violence the fault of drug dealers, or violence against women the fault of chauvinist men. Of course there is responsibility by specific parties, but the narrow focus born of our finger pointing misses the big picture.
But that finger pointing habit is a really hard one to break. In the moment, it can feel so much easier to find some bad people to blame for something that upsets us. We can buy into the fantasy that if we just get rid of them or make them stop, then the problem will go away. But after so many turns of this cycle, we need to ask if this is really true. Do the problems go away for all the fighting we do?
In my observation, the answer to this one is NO. The problems seem to just get bigger; they may shift in form and location, but they remain. Just like how viruses get immune to antibiotics, the patterns of violence get immune to the barriers and weapons we use to defeat them. The entire idea of fighting against violence causes us to feed our own energy into the problems we seek to change.
"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."
To truly transform our violent culture, a culture of peace needs to grow from the seed of peaceful intention. I actually love the phrase "a culture of peace." When we shift from a focus on this intangible concept of peace to a focus on shifting the culture, the norms, and the ways of being, to me, it becomes a more practical movement. We make up the culture, and by looking at the level of culture, more tangible things we can work on within ourselves arise, things that can spill over into actions in our lives, contributions in our immediate communities, and a growing movement within the greater human community.
A culture of peace needs to start with our own response to the realities that alarm us, challenge us, and break our hearts. We are all in this together, we are one community, one human race. When we take collective responsibility for the problems in our community, we have a collective power to transform. This march feels like such a beautiful way the people of the city and surrounding areas are taking that collective responsibility and igniting their power for positive change.
"Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there." Rumi
To me, this field is the culture of peace. When we start spending more time in this field, acting more from our oneness than from our separateness, then I truly believe we will see the dawning of a culture of peace.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
TODAY
One Moment can change Everything.
I first came across a copy of this awesome painting on a card years ago, and originally I misinterpreted its meaning. The artist, Karen Kerney, created this image for a peace calendar, and she explains that it symbolizes how the world changed after Hiroshima. It was a call to action for peace by the witness of how the horrifying moments change the world. But when I first saw this image, I saw just the opposite. I saw the potential moments that could transform the world, the critical mass moments where there is enough momentum for a new dream to begin. I believe deeply that beautiful, connecting, and positive moments can also profoundly change the course of history.
Find the time for the Synchronized World Peace Moment in your time zone here:
I first came across a copy of this awesome painting on a card years ago, and originally I misinterpreted its meaning. The artist, Karen Kerney, created this image for a peace calendar, and she explains that it symbolizes how the world changed after Hiroshima. It was a call to action for peace by the witness of how the horrifying moments change the world. But when I first saw this image, I saw just the opposite. I saw the potential moments that could transform the world, the critical mass moments where there is enough momentum for a new dream to begin. I believe deeply that beautiful, connecting, and positive moments can also profoundly change the course of history.
Find the time for the Synchronized World Peace Moment in your time zone here:
See you there!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
One Day!
“Imagine all the people living life in peace…” John Lennon
Tomorrow is the International Day of Peace, and there are lots of ways to participate, whether you stay at home or get out in the community.
1) To find events in your area, visit http://peacemap.unify.org/
2) There is a domino peace meditation at noon local time that you can participate in by spending some time in silence at that time.
3) Lastly, there is THE BIG MOMENT: the Synchronized Global Meditation at noon, PST. Go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html to find out what time this will be in your time zone (3 PM if you’re on the East Coast). To participate, all you need to do is take a quiet moment, wherever you are. If you’re not a meditator, don’t let that stop you! Just sit down, close your eyes, and let go – of narrating what’s happening, of to do lists, of gripes, of the future, of the past. Really, just do nothing and let go of any thoughts that come up, and whenever you realize you’ve drifted, just bring yourself back to focus on the quiet, the silence, the Peace of the moment. Imagine your intention for a more peaceful world coming together with the same intention being held by people around the world of different cultures, lifestyles, and religions. Imagine all these intentions coming together in a powerful force of change. Gives me goosebumps!
Unify.org has been my main source of information on Peace Day events, but there is stuff all over the web.
Thanks to any of you reading this and all of you who gave some attention to my posts over the past couple weeks. If you’ve shared something, thank you! And if you haven’t, please consider it. The Unify FB page has cool photos with the date and time of the Global Meditation, and feel free to share (even copy, modify, and share) anything I’ve posted over these last couple weeks.
I put my heart and soul into this strange countdown experiment, and it was a humbling, challenging, and ultimately rewarding experience for me. I hope it offered something beneficial to you.
Namaste _/||\_
2) There is a domino peace meditation at noon local time that you can participate in by spending some time in silence at that time.
3) Lastly, there is THE BIG MOMENT: the Synchronized Global Meditation at noon, PST. Go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html to find out what time this will be in your time zone (3 PM if you’re on the East Coast). To participate, all you need to do is take a quiet moment, wherever you are. If you’re not a meditator, don’t let that stop you! Just sit down, close your eyes, and let go – of narrating what’s happening, of to do lists, of gripes, of the future, of the past. Really, just do nothing and let go of any thoughts that come up, and whenever you realize you’ve drifted, just bring yourself back to focus on the quiet, the silence, the Peace of the moment. Imagine your intention for a more peaceful world coming together with the same intention being held by people around the world of different cultures, lifestyles, and religions. Imagine all these intentions coming together in a powerful force of change. Gives me goosebumps!
Unify.org has been my main source of information on Peace Day events, but there is stuff all over the web.
Thanks to any of you reading this and all of you who gave some attention to my posts over the past couple weeks. If you’ve shared something, thank you! And if you haven’t, please consider it. The Unify FB page has cool photos with the date and time of the Global Meditation, and feel free to share (even copy, modify, and share) anything I’ve posted over these last couple weeks.
I put my heart and soul into this strange countdown experiment, and it was a humbling, challenging, and ultimately rewarding experience for me. I hope it offered something beneficial to you.
Namaste _/||\_
#peaceday #september21
Friday, September 19, 2014
2 Days to Peace Day
“I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both
on as vast a scale as I could.” Gandhi
So, I’m totally out of the closet now: I’m obsessed
with Gandhi. For years, I haven’t
actually thought so much about him, but in my 20s, I was thoroughly obsessed. During my first week in law school, I even remember
walking around the campus clutching my copy of his “All Men Are Brothers” and
reading it during my breaks. Over the
years, my interest in Gandhi has waxed and waned, and writing these countdown
posts not surprisingly initiated a new surge.
One of the reasons I’ve resonated with him so much
is reflected in this quote. I too am drawn
to experiment with truth and non-violence, both within myself and with my
actions in the world. My experiments
generally go something like this: 1) I notice a disruption, 2) I get an
inclination about how to draw it out and engage it, and 3) I follow out an
experiment in order to try transform it and/or understand it better. The upsides to all this are that I learn so
much in the process and sometimes a beautiful alchemy does result. The downsides: it makes me do some weird shit,
and sometimes my results are more like the ones Neville Longbottom would end up
with in one of Professor McGonagall’s transfiguration classes. If you’ve ever been baffled by my actions
(ie. gypsying around the country, my Gary Johnson crusade,….), it may very well
be because I was engaged in one of my little experiments.
Experimentation is also my motivation for this
countdown. When I first read about the
global meditation, the possibility of thousands (maybe millions!) of people
around the world unifying their intentions at one moment in time captured
me. Then, I read an article about how experiments
on group meditations showed a reduction in crime rates and violence, and I was totally
hooked. The social scientist inside me
became totally engaged with an incredible sense of interest in the great
potential. I felt and still feel such a
desire to help build the number of people who participate (3 PM EDT from
wherever you are!), and I’m just this wide eyed and curious kid waiting to see
how it all comes out.
So there it is, folks, my secret life inner life is a
compulsive string of experiments. I can’t
seem to stop myself from doing it again and again, for better or worse, and
forever hoping for the outcome that seems most impossible to believe.
#peaceday #september21
Thursday, September 18, 2014
3 Days to Peace Day!
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Rumi
I first read this quote in a Nonviolent Communication (NVC) class, and I can still remember what a big a deal it was for ...me to let this idea of a field beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing sink in. It’s a difficult point of view to cultivate, and mostly, my awareness of this field comes from the times when I realize that I am not in this field at all. But still, I’ve found the investigation of both the field and its absence to be incredibly useful as a gauge for understanding my role in the conflicts of my life.
NVC is also something I’ve found incredibly useful. It is a four step communication process that assists people in talking through conflicts. It has been successfully employed throughout the world in organizations from companies to schools to governments to prisons, and it can also be quite useful in your closest relationships.
Although the process can lead to profound changes, it all comes from four simple steps: 1) honestly express your observations of the situation, 2) share your feelings in regard to those observations, 3) express your needs in the situation, and 4) make a request to the other person about what you need in the situation. Starting a difficult conversation by telling the other person these four things (and nothing else) can lead to a much more productive and loving conversation than what would have likely occurred otherwise.
It’s also been huge for me to really parse apart my observations from my judgments, and my feelings from my beliefs. When you plan out these four steps in relation to a brewing conflict, it’s astounding to see all the hurtful ideas you have tangled into the stripped down version of what really happened. When you can clear out your own biased and defensive judgments before you communicate with the other person, it can make a world of difference in setting the scene for a conversation that can lead to greater understanding and connection. Slowing down enough to really hear the other person’s side has taught me so much about myself and about the people I love.
Truly, this is an awesome tool, and writing this has been a synchronistic reminder that I really needed.
I first read this quote in a Nonviolent Communication (NVC) class, and I can still remember what a big a deal it was for ...me to let this idea of a field beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing sink in. It’s a difficult point of view to cultivate, and mostly, my awareness of this field comes from the times when I realize that I am not in this field at all. But still, I’ve found the investigation of both the field and its absence to be incredibly useful as a gauge for understanding my role in the conflicts of my life.
NVC is also something I’ve found incredibly useful. It is a four step communication process that assists people in talking through conflicts. It has been successfully employed throughout the world in organizations from companies to schools to governments to prisons, and it can also be quite useful in your closest relationships.
Although the process can lead to profound changes, it all comes from four simple steps: 1) honestly express your observations of the situation, 2) share your feelings in regard to those observations, 3) express your needs in the situation, and 4) make a request to the other person about what you need in the situation. Starting a difficult conversation by telling the other person these four things (and nothing else) can lead to a much more productive and loving conversation than what would have likely occurred otherwise.
It’s also been huge for me to really parse apart my observations from my judgments, and my feelings from my beliefs. When you plan out these four steps in relation to a brewing conflict, it’s astounding to see all the hurtful ideas you have tangled into the stripped down version of what really happened. When you can clear out your own biased and defensive judgments before you communicate with the other person, it can make a world of difference in setting the scene for a conversation that can lead to greater understanding and connection. Slowing down enough to really hear the other person’s side has taught me so much about myself and about the people I love.
Truly, this is an awesome tool, and writing this has been a synchronistic reminder that I really needed.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
4 Days
War and Peace in the World
“Let us take the risks of peace upon our lives, not impose the risks of war upon the world.” Quaker Proverb
If you read yesterday’s post, you may have gotten the impression that I think the appropriate response to terroristic violence and tyranny is simply to see ourselves in the people committing the atrocities, and that in some way we can just pray it all away. Although understandable to get that impression, it actually isn’t accurate.
Yesterday’s post was about internal state, not about action. Peaceful action, in my opinion, has little to do with how forceful or how tranquil the action itself is. Rather, the relevant inquiry is into the perspective from which the action arises. Even an action of great force can come from a calmness of mind. When there is a true embrace of our shared humanity, I believe that even quite fierce or outwardly violent actions have the potential to move us toward peace. Internal state is where peace starts, but it's only through actions arising from an internal state of peace that we can bring the peace we have cultivated inside ourselves to the world around us.
But on a wide scale humans have fallen into quite a different pattern. Our actions, large and small, aggressive and docile, are much more often fueled by a state of blameful separation. The problem is that whether these actions succeed or fail in the short run, when we step back, we can start to notice that actions to defeat the beast of violence that are taken with this blameful intention are in vain. The beast just keeps getting stronger; it just keeps reappearing and morphing into more ruthless forms.
When Gandhi said “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” this wasn’t just a line of idealistic poetry. He was stating an observation about how certain kinds of actions work in the world. When we aggress in the hope for vengeance, in a belief that elimination and punishment will heal our wounds and make us safe, we become blind.
To me, the most heartbreaking example of this blindness is the widespread support and apathy around the use of killer drones. Look at how we mourn the unjust and untimely death of one treasured young person in our own nation, and yet, we give so little notice to the hundreds, possibly into the thousands, of children and adults whose innocent lives have been lost in our remote control warfare. Our eyes and our hearts have been closed by fear.
Fear that is lying to us. Yesterday, I wrote about how we resist understanding what offends us because we’re afraid that understanding would be like condoning or empowering those offensive things. So instead, we quite often choose to hate that which offends us. We choose the course of doing whatever it takes to eliminate that which offends us. And in this course of action, we miss seeing an obvious pattern at work.
The opposite of our conditioned instincts is true. It is our resistance to understand, and the resulting hatred and loss of integrity that IS condoning and empowering the violent behavior that offends us. We're sending a clear message about what we think of as an empowered voice of opposition, and it is only a matter of time until someone speaks back to us in the same language.
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” Gandhi
Entertain the possibility that this isn’t merely a lofty metaphor, but a statement of actual truth. Gandhi’s movement to free India shows how this principle can actually work to break the chain of violence and injustice. Gandhi was so unique in his approach to opposition. He never lost faith in the British; he firmly held that if they really knew what they were doing and saw it clearly, they would leave India. And as we all learned, he was right, and in my humble opinion, this faith in his enemy was one of the most unique and powerful waves of change the world has ever seen.
#peaceday #september21
“Let us take the risks of peace upon our lives, not impose the risks of war upon the world.” Quaker Proverb
If you read yesterday’s post, you may have gotten the impression that I think the appropriate response to terroristic violence and tyranny is simply to see ourselves in the people committing the atrocities, and that in some way we can just pray it all away. Although understandable to get that impression, it actually isn’t accurate.
Yesterday’s post was about internal state, not about action. Peaceful action, in my opinion, has little to do with how forceful or how tranquil the action itself is. Rather, the relevant inquiry is into the perspective from which the action arises. Even an action of great force can come from a calmness of mind. When there is a true embrace of our shared humanity, I believe that even quite fierce or outwardly violent actions have the potential to move us toward peace. Internal state is where peace starts, but it's only through actions arising from an internal state of peace that we can bring the peace we have cultivated inside ourselves to the world around us.
But on a wide scale humans have fallen into quite a different pattern. Our actions, large and small, aggressive and docile, are much more often fueled by a state of blameful separation. The problem is that whether these actions succeed or fail in the short run, when we step back, we can start to notice that actions to defeat the beast of violence that are taken with this blameful intention are in vain. The beast just keeps getting stronger; it just keeps reappearing and morphing into more ruthless forms.
When Gandhi said “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” this wasn’t just a line of idealistic poetry. He was stating an observation about how certain kinds of actions work in the world. When we aggress in the hope for vengeance, in a belief that elimination and punishment will heal our wounds and make us safe, we become blind.
To me, the most heartbreaking example of this blindness is the widespread support and apathy around the use of killer drones. Look at how we mourn the unjust and untimely death of one treasured young person in our own nation, and yet, we give so little notice to the hundreds, possibly into the thousands, of children and adults whose innocent lives have been lost in our remote control warfare. Our eyes and our hearts have been closed by fear.
Fear that is lying to us. Yesterday, I wrote about how we resist understanding what offends us because we’re afraid that understanding would be like condoning or empowering those offensive things. So instead, we quite often choose to hate that which offends us. We choose the course of doing whatever it takes to eliminate that which offends us. And in this course of action, we miss seeing an obvious pattern at work.
The opposite of our conditioned instincts is true. It is our resistance to understand, and the resulting hatred and loss of integrity that IS condoning and empowering the violent behavior that offends us. We're sending a clear message about what we think of as an empowered voice of opposition, and it is only a matter of time until someone speaks back to us in the same language.
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” Gandhi
Entertain the possibility that this isn’t merely a lofty metaphor, but a statement of actual truth. Gandhi’s movement to free India shows how this principle can actually work to break the chain of violence and injustice. Gandhi was so unique in his approach to opposition. He never lost faith in the British; he firmly held that if they really knew what they were doing and saw it clearly, they would leave India. And as we all learned, he was right, and in my humble opinion, this faith in his enemy was one of the most unique and powerful waves of change the world has ever seen.
#peaceday #september21
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
5 Days!
War and Peace Inside Ourselves:
“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.” Patanjali
To me, the power of this statement comes from how it reflects a common thread of internal equanimity running through reactions to both the virtuous and wicked, the happy and unhappy. This calmness of mind is an entry to the realization that:
“The biggest embrace of love you'll ever make is to embrace yourself completely. And you'll realize you've just embraced the whole universe, and everything and everybody in it.” Adyashanti
The whole universe. Everything. Everybody. That’s really hard to embrace, eh? Whether it’s inside or outside, we’ve all got those things that we just will not embrace.
When we see things that horrify or offend us, the most comfortable internal road to take is to distance ourselves with blame and a desire to eliminate and/or punish. It seems completely counterintuitive to allow the gentle realization of understanding to dawn on us. It can feel like we are condoning or empowering the wrong, if we admit that somewhere inside we know delusion and desperation, we know how lost in a train of thought we can become, we know how vicious and out of control anger can become….And yet, peace within only comes from such gentle understanding, such calmness, and such a willingness to embrace it all.
#peaceday #september21
Monday, September 15, 2014
6 Days to #PEACEDAY #SEPTEMBER21
MEDITATION:
I’ve got a very fiery sort-of mind, and so meditation is something that never really fit for me. For years, I tried sitting and using different techniques, but the result was always the same. My mind would wander and before I even knew what was happening, I was up to do something I felt needed to be done right at that moment. The meditation was over before it ever began.
About a year ago, things shifted when I went on my first silent meditation retreat. Odd that someone with no experience meditating would sign up for five days of nothing but meditation, but that’s the sort-of wacky girl I am. And I’m glad for it because being in an environment where I couldn’t just jump up, I learned a great deal. And for the last six months, I have fallen into consistent daily meditation practice.
The big thing I've learned is that the nature of my mind isn’t necessarily going to change from fiery to calm, from chatty to still. My mind is probably not even going to make that transition after 5 minutes, or 10, or even 20 or 40 minutes. As I sit and watch, there is a settling, and as things settle, there is a calmness that becomes more and more noticeable, but my blabbermouth mind generally keeps on keepin' on. The good thing is that my chatty mind is no longer the central object of my attention.
Meditation is an experiment for me. I don’t use a fancy cushion or any mantras or other techniques. A comfy chair, a reasonable amount of quiet, and a timer is all I need, and on Sunday from around 2:45 through 3:15 PM that’s all I’ll be using to participate in the global meditation. I don't even think I'll do anything to bring a particular focus on peace because really, meditation itself is already focused peace.
At both silent retreats I’ve attended, we were given a handout with an excerpt from the book True Meditation, by Adyashanti. Here's a taste of those instructions:
“True Meditation has no direction or goal. It is pure wordless surrender, pure silent prayer…In true meditation all objects (thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, etc.) are left to their natural functioning. This means that no effort should be made to focus on, manipulate, control, or suppress any object of awareness…As you gently relax into awareness, into listening, the mind’s compulsive contraction around objects will fade...An attitude of open receptivity, free of any goal or anticipation, will facilitate the presence of silence and stillness to be revealed as your natural condition. As you rest into stillness more profoundly, awareness becomes free of the mind’s compulsive control, contractions, and identifications. Awareness naturally returns to its non-state of absolute unmanifest potential, the silent abyss beyond all knowing.”
For more, check out the full book, which also comes with a great guided mediation CD.
I’ve got a very fiery sort-of mind, and so meditation is something that never really fit for me. For years, I tried sitting and using different techniques, but the result was always the same. My mind would wander and before I even knew what was happening, I was up to do something I felt needed to be done right at that moment. The meditation was over before it ever began.
About a year ago, things shifted when I went on my first silent meditation retreat. Odd that someone with no experience meditating would sign up for five days of nothing but meditation, but that’s the sort-of wacky girl I am. And I’m glad for it because being in an environment where I couldn’t just jump up, I learned a great deal. And for the last six months, I have fallen into consistent daily meditation practice.
The big thing I've learned is that the nature of my mind isn’t necessarily going to change from fiery to calm, from chatty to still. My mind is probably not even going to make that transition after 5 minutes, or 10, or even 20 or 40 minutes. As I sit and watch, there is a settling, and as things settle, there is a calmness that becomes more and more noticeable, but my blabbermouth mind generally keeps on keepin' on. The good thing is that my chatty mind is no longer the central object of my attention.
Meditation is an experiment for me. I don’t use a fancy cushion or any mantras or other techniques. A comfy chair, a reasonable amount of quiet, and a timer is all I need, and on Sunday from around 2:45 through 3:15 PM that’s all I’ll be using to participate in the global meditation. I don't even think I'll do anything to bring a particular focus on peace because really, meditation itself is already focused peace.
At both silent retreats I’ve attended, we were given a handout with an excerpt from the book True Meditation, by Adyashanti. Here's a taste of those instructions:
“True Meditation has no direction or goal. It is pure wordless surrender, pure silent prayer…In true meditation all objects (thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, etc.) are left to their natural functioning. This means that no effort should be made to focus on, manipulate, control, or suppress any object of awareness…As you gently relax into awareness, into listening, the mind’s compulsive contraction around objects will fade...An attitude of open receptivity, free of any goal or anticipation, will facilitate the presence of silence and stillness to be revealed as your natural condition. As you rest into stillness more profoundly, awareness becomes free of the mind’s compulsive control, contractions, and identifications. Awareness naturally returns to its non-state of absolute unmanifest potential, the silent abyss beyond all knowing.”
For more, check out the full book, which also comes with a great guided mediation CD.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
7 Days
PEACE WEEK STARTS TOMORROW AND #PEACEDAY #SEPTEMBER21 IS A WEEK AWAY!
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
I love this Gandhi quote first and foremost because it cracks me up. I picture this skinny little Indian man winning his movement to get The Mighty British Empire to leave India, and I just love it. To me, this quote seems a succinct statement of his simple strategy of perseverance.
Those really big and seemingly impossible dreams only have life if you can wait out getting ignored, laughed at, and fought. So tempting it is to back off, shut up, and hide when any one of those things start to happen, but your win is waiting on the other side of humiliation. Persevere, and both the goal and some hard earned humility come closer and closer.
Nine days ago, out of nowhere I decided to start these countdown posts toward the International Day of Peace. The idea struck me, and I just went with it. It’s been interesting to sift through quotes and undertake little writing explorations into different aspects of peace, and it amazes me how peace keeps revealing itself to be such a dynamic, deep, and even paradoxical concept.
And as dedicated to peace as I am and have been for decades, there are those times when an uncomfortable wave of something akin to shame washes over me. I get this feeling that I’m just getting lost in a silly fantasy. How naïve to even believe real and true peace is possible between human beings, on a wide scale, and in this day and age. How arrogant to believe that “little insignificant me” could play any part whatsoever in a transformation so huge. How absolutely ridiculous. I should simply ignore those ideas and tugs within myself; I should laugh at them; I should fight them.
But you know what I say: fuck that. Excuse my language, but I like to set a clear and harsh boundary with that sort-of thinking. Sure, it’s got news reports, public opinion, and all sorts of evidence on its side, but it’s a pit of despair I’m just not willing to jump into. I choose to persevere.
Wishing each of you a peaceful Sunday. xo
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
I love this Gandhi quote first and foremost because it cracks me up. I picture this skinny little Indian man winning his movement to get The Mighty British Empire to leave India, and I just love it. To me, this quote seems a succinct statement of his simple strategy of perseverance.
Those really big and seemingly impossible dreams only have life if you can wait out getting ignored, laughed at, and fought. So tempting it is to back off, shut up, and hide when any one of those things start to happen, but your win is waiting on the other side of humiliation. Persevere, and both the goal and some hard earned humility come closer and closer.
Nine days ago, out of nowhere I decided to start these countdown posts toward the International Day of Peace. The idea struck me, and I just went with it. It’s been interesting to sift through quotes and undertake little writing explorations into different aspects of peace, and it amazes me how peace keeps revealing itself to be such a dynamic, deep, and even paradoxical concept.
And as dedicated to peace as I am and have been for decades, there are those times when an uncomfortable wave of something akin to shame washes over me. I get this feeling that I’m just getting lost in a silly fantasy. How naïve to even believe real and true peace is possible between human beings, on a wide scale, and in this day and age. How arrogant to believe that “little insignificant me” could play any part whatsoever in a transformation so huge. How absolutely ridiculous. I should simply ignore those ideas and tugs within myself; I should laugh at them; I should fight them.
But you know what I say: fuck that. Excuse my language, but I like to set a clear and harsh boundary with that sort-of thinking. Sure, it’s got news reports, public opinion, and all sorts of evidence on its side, but it’s a pit of despair I’m just not willing to jump into. I choose to persevere.
Wishing each of you a peaceful Sunday. xo
Saturday, September 13, 2014
8 Days
“Any
time I'm defensive, I have started a war.”
Byron Katie
Byron Katie's
"The Work" is one of the best tools I've found to help resolve an
inner conflict towards another person or a situation in your life. It's a
simple process of exploring an issue, asking yourself 4 questions, and then turning
it around. The worksheet for The Work is
a free download off her website.urning
it around - simple, yet extraordinarily powerful. You can download the
worksheet for free off her website. urning it around - simple, yet
extraordinarily powerful. You can download the worksheet for free off her
website.
Doorways to
greater peace in the world are within our own minds, our own being, and our own
lives. There is so much power that lies in our untapped faith, our acceptance
of endless war, and our focus on only what will bring a tangible result that we
will be around to enjoy. Through what we’re willing to believe in, what we’re
willing to challenge, and whether we’re willing to invest in a world we may not
see, we have great power for peace.ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN:
This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on
9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation
for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from
wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if
you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that
Group Meditation can Change the World."
Friday, September 12, 2014
9 DAYS
“We must be prepared to
make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the
cause of war. There is no task that is
more important or closer to my heart.” Albert Einstein
Doorways to
greater peace in the world are within our own minds, our own being, and our own
lives. There is so much power that lies in our untapped faith, our acceptance
of endless war, and our focus on only what will bring a tangible result that we
will be around to enjoy. Through what we’re willing to believe in, what we’re willing
to challenge, and whether we’re willing to invest in a world we may not see, we
have great power for peace.ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is
counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace
at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you
happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if
you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that
Group Meditation can Change the World."
Thursday, September 11, 2014
10 Days
“Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love. This is an unalterable law.” The Buddha
I also think it can be said that war does not cease by war at any time; war ceases by peace. This is an unalterable law. From my point of view, our wars on drugs and on terrorism are such obvious illustrations of this law. That which we try with all our might to destroy grows and morphs, absorbing the anger of our fight. We chop off one head, and two more grow in its place. We destroy this aspect of it, and another, uglier and harder to handle one sprouts somewhere else.
Thirteen years ago, an overwhelming act of violence struck the United States. It still hurts to remember. In response to the immensity of this unmovable pain, a sense of anger and hatred for those who had any responsibility became a dominant channel for all the grief and sadness. Subtly, we were told that this great loss of life won’t be in vain if all the terrorists are hunted, punished, killed – then, it will stop hurting so much. But that’s lie. It will never stop hurting. And it won’t stop hurting for the people in countries across the globe who lose their loved ones each day from the wars on their homelands. The pain of war does not go away when one side triumphs or when someone responsible for great tragedy is gone.
I feel that the greatest honor we can give the victims of violence is to give our lives to peace, in the incredible variety of ways that peace may express itself. Peace is not the lack of fight; it is the lack of fight fueled by hatred. The Bhagavad Gita happens on a battlefield in which Arjuna is seeking the counsel of God because he does not want to fight. The dialogue unfolds with the Higher Power sending Arjuna to do his duty in battle, and yet, The Gita is known as a text about peace. It’s the key text that influenced Mahatma Gandhi, one of our greatest heros of peace. The Gita points to an idea of peace more powerful and transformative than war could ever be.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
I also think it can be said that war does not cease by war at any time; war ceases by peace. This is an unalterable law. From my point of view, our wars on drugs and on terrorism are such obvious illustrations of this law. That which we try with all our might to destroy grows and morphs, absorbing the anger of our fight. We chop off one head, and two more grow in its place. We destroy this aspect of it, and another, uglier and harder to handle one sprouts somewhere else.
Thirteen years ago, an overwhelming act of violence struck the United States. It still hurts to remember. In response to the immensity of this unmovable pain, a sense of anger and hatred for those who had any responsibility became a dominant channel for all the grief and sadness. Subtly, we were told that this great loss of life won’t be in vain if all the terrorists are hunted, punished, killed – then, it will stop hurting so much. But that’s lie. It will never stop hurting. And it won’t stop hurting for the people in countries across the globe who lose their loved ones each day from the wars on their homelands. The pain of war does not go away when one side triumphs or when someone responsible for great tragedy is gone.
I feel that the greatest honor we can give the victims of violence is to give our lives to peace, in the incredible variety of ways that peace may express itself. Peace is not the lack of fight; it is the lack of fight fueled by hatred. The Bhagavad Gita happens on a battlefield in which Arjuna is seeking the counsel of God because he does not want to fight. The dialogue unfolds with the Higher Power sending Arjuna to do his duty in battle, and yet, The Gita is known as a text about peace. It’s the key text that influenced Mahatma Gandhi, one of our greatest heros of peace. The Gita points to an idea of peace more powerful and transformative than war could ever be.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
11 Days
“In India when we meet and part we often say, “Namaste,” which means I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.” -Ram Dass
Namaste.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the... days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Namaste.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the... days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
12 Days
Three intertwined quotes for today
“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” Helen Keller
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“One must care about a world one will not see.” Bertrand Russell
Doorways to greater peace in the world are within our own minds, our own being, and our own lives. There is so much power that lies in our untapped faith, our acceptance of endless war, and our focus on only what will bring a tangible result that we will be around to enjoy. Through what we’re willing to believe in, what we’re willing to challenge, and whether we’re willing to invest in a world we may not see, we have great power for peace.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” Helen Keller
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“One must care about a world one will not see.” Bertrand Russell
Doorways to greater peace in the world are within our own minds, our own being, and our own lives. There is so much power that lies in our untapped faith, our acceptance of endless war, and our focus on only what will bring a tangible result that we will be around to enjoy. Through what we’re willing to believe in, what we’re willing to challenge, and whether we’re willing to invest in a world we may not see, we have great power for peace.
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Monday, September 8, 2014
13 Days
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Rumi
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day; you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day; you can participate from wherever you happen to be or find an event in your area at peacemap.unify.org. For more information, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Sunday, September 7, 2014
14 Days
“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Anne Frank
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you do not even need to leave your house to participate. For more information on the Global Meditation, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you do not even need to leave your house to participate. For more information on the Global Meditation, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Saturday, September 6, 2014
15 Days
“You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; for they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together. And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.” Khalil Gibran
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you do not even need to leave your house to participate. For more information on the Global Meditation, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN: This post is counting down the days until the International Day of Peace on 9/21/14. There will be a Global Meditation for Peace at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on that day, and you do not even need to leave your house to participate. For more information on the Global Meditation, go to unify.org, and if you're skeptical about the power of group meditation, google "Proof that Group Meditation can Change the World."
Friday, September 5, 2014
16 DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Eight years ago was my first time honoring or even being aware of the International Day of Peace. At the time, I was living in Santa Fe, NM, and I had been volunteering as the Santa Fe Coordinator for the Peace Alliance. During this short period of my life, I was most vocal about my unwavering allegiance to peace.
I hosted an event on 9/21/06 to show a film, “Satyagraha: 100 Years of Nonviolence.” The movie was released a couple weeks earlier, and my own interest in Gandhi inspired me to organize a public event to show the film. Only a few people showed up to the event, and although they were very gracious and enjoyed the film, I was a bit disappointed that more people didn’t show. But after I got home that night, I vividly remember this one moment: looking up at the dark sky so deep with stars, a silent understanding swept over me as the wind blew. I knew it was good that I’d spent the money and time to organize the event; it wasn’t the quantity of people that mattered. Gandhi himself was an example of how just one person can have a monumental impact.
A few weeks later, I received a card in the mail with a check that coincidentally almost exactly matched the money I’d spend on that evening. One of the attendees said she felt inspired by my actions, and she wanted to pay it forward.
Another man who attended borrowed a book of mine that evening, a great book about Gandhi’s life. The next time I saw this man, he was in full Gandhi garb walking through a public event in Santa Fe, hugging people, saying Gandhi-like things, reciting quotes. I saw him around town a few more times, always as the “Santa Fe Gandhi.” I never did get my book back, but it was true to its title: The Transformation of a Man. It was clear something had shifted in this man, enough to drive him to wrap himself in a sheet and spread peace through our community.
Gandhi is the human being in history that I’ve found most interesting because of the means with which he pursued his quest for India’s freedom. Nonviolence was not a strategy, or a tool to be picked up and put down; nonviolence was the movement itself. Nonviolence was what he cultivated through his most personal inner struggles and investigations, as well as in his most public talks and actions.
Satyagraha, the name Gandhi chose for the movement he led, means the pursuit of truth. Although the connection between truth and peace might not be immediately apparent, it certainly was to Gandhi. And as I’ve spent a great deal of my adult life in the investigation of both truth and peace, I too have found that they are deeply interconnected. When we wholeheartedly pursue truth, we arrive at peace. When we wholeheartedly pursue peace, we arrive at truth.
For each day of this countdown, I’ll share a favorite quote or maybe something else. Please join me in whatever way you feel called, and consider participating in the Global Meditation at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on 9/21.
So to start my countdown: "Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it." -Gandhi
Doing this countdown and participating in the global meditation on the 21st feels like it did to organize that film viewing eight years ago. Maybe it is insignificant, or maybe I'll end up seeing one of you strolling around in a sheet sometime soon, or maybe each of us, with our actions and intentions, makes a bigger difference than we could ever understand. I'll take my chances.
I hosted an event on 9/21/06 to show a film, “Satyagraha: 100 Years of Nonviolence.” The movie was released a couple weeks earlier, and my own interest in Gandhi inspired me to organize a public event to show the film. Only a few people showed up to the event, and although they were very gracious and enjoyed the film, I was a bit disappointed that more people didn’t show. But after I got home that night, I vividly remember this one moment: looking up at the dark sky so deep with stars, a silent understanding swept over me as the wind blew. I knew it was good that I’d spent the money and time to organize the event; it wasn’t the quantity of people that mattered. Gandhi himself was an example of how just one person can have a monumental impact.
A few weeks later, I received a card in the mail with a check that coincidentally almost exactly matched the money I’d spend on that evening. One of the attendees said she felt inspired by my actions, and she wanted to pay it forward.
Another man who attended borrowed a book of mine that evening, a great book about Gandhi’s life. The next time I saw this man, he was in full Gandhi garb walking through a public event in Santa Fe, hugging people, saying Gandhi-like things, reciting quotes. I saw him around town a few more times, always as the “Santa Fe Gandhi.” I never did get my book back, but it was true to its title: The Transformation of a Man. It was clear something had shifted in this man, enough to drive him to wrap himself in a sheet and spread peace through our community.
Gandhi is the human being in history that I’ve found most interesting because of the means with which he pursued his quest for India’s freedom. Nonviolence was not a strategy, or a tool to be picked up and put down; nonviolence was the movement itself. Nonviolence was what he cultivated through his most personal inner struggles and investigations, as well as in his most public talks and actions.
Satyagraha, the name Gandhi chose for the movement he led, means the pursuit of truth. Although the connection between truth and peace might not be immediately apparent, it certainly was to Gandhi. And as I’ve spent a great deal of my adult life in the investigation of both truth and peace, I too have found that they are deeply interconnected. When we wholeheartedly pursue truth, we arrive at peace. When we wholeheartedly pursue peace, we arrive at truth.
For each day of this countdown, I’ll share a favorite quote or maybe something else. Please join me in whatever way you feel called, and consider participating in the Global Meditation at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on 9/21.
So to start my countdown: "Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it." -Gandhi
Doing this countdown and participating in the global meditation on the 21st feels like it did to organize that film viewing eight years ago. Maybe it is insignificant, or maybe I'll end up seeing one of you strolling around in a sheet sometime soon, or maybe each of us, with our actions and intentions, makes a bigger difference than we could ever understand. I'll take my chances.
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