Nonviolence Changes Lives

“Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm; and enthusiasm can be roused by two things: first, an ideal that takes the imagination by storm; second, an intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.” ~ Arnold Toynbee

The ripples of our work at Metta Center are spreading throughout the world, changing people’s lives in positive ways.

We regularly receive testimonials showing us that nonviolence is the key to personal, political and social well-being, and that our work is valued and making a difference.

Here are just some of the testimonials we receive regularly, documenting the impact our message and our enthusiasm have been making on the lives of people around the world:

•  You are truly amazing, and your work has made a huge difference in my life. I will always pass on your message and teachings of non violence to all I come in contact with…. there seems to be a powerful invisible force that I have become aware of that plays a major factor in the practice of non-violence. This power can only be realized through authentic application and practice. It has had the greatest influence in changing the behaviors of all who come in contact with this force.

• Since our last communication nearly 5 years ago. I have listened to your courses on-line and applied nonviolent core principals to our Muslim community here in America (I am currently a graduate student studying Neuroscience). I feel it is perhaps the most powerful force for change that I have ever come across. 

• Your message about Mahatma Gandhi made such a great impression because of its depth of sincerity and profound scholarship.

• I wanted to take this opportunity and tell you that I truly feel that your teachings of non-violence are the most important topic in the world today. In fact I will fill you in with more detail later but for the last four years that I have been in Afghanistan (probably one of the most unstable and unsafe locations in the world), it was my personal practice of non-violence that has helped me survive many very dangerous situations.

• Your visit was, of course, a wonderful experience for the students. You brought nonviolence to life for the class.

• What you wrote about exhibiting nonviolence in one’s personal life as a first step toward a broader societal reconciliation and peace really struck a chord with me.  This very night I was able to reconcile with my father.  He and I had been at odds.
  

• I have continued to promote your nonviolence course to people and currently have a good friend taking it and she is incorporating what she is learning to improve her life and marriage.

• I do believe people come into each others’ lives for a reason. You probably have no idea how you touch my life. You gave me encouragement that peace and nonviolence is achievable.

•  I took your course on contemporary nonviolence about 10 years ago, and many of the principles and movements we read about have been flooding back to me over the past 18 days. The uprising in Egypt is just remarkable. Your course was one of the best I ever took at UC Berkeley.