Mullein, a “weed” whose seeds can lay dormant for over 100 years knows its purpose. These plants break up dry soil, their taproots mining nutrients that feed other plant life. Their tall seed heads produce 100,000 to 180,000 seeds, sustaining birds. Mullein live for 2 years, leaving behind mineral-rich matter. What about our purpose? Find… read more
To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, a seeker of nonviolence cannot keep out of any area of life; you’re going to find yourself navigating all the paths that humans have created to sustain our life on earth either directly or indirectly because all systems and forms of life are interrelated. We’re going to find the principles of… read more
Bringing Back Democracy What’s the underlying belief about human nature that’s making the erosion of democracy possible, and how can we repair it? That’s a question we ought to be asking. “Tyranny feeds on the belief that we are separate from one another,” writes Michael Nagler in his intro. “Democracy, and its signal feature of… read more
Transcript and links to items covered in the Nonviolence in the News segment of Nonviolence Radio, aired July 21st, 2017. Goose Fest News PAYING RESPECTS (in Memoriam): Liu Xiaobo, who kept vigil on Tiananmen Square in 1989 to protect the (mainly student) protesters from oncoming soldiers, promoted a pro-democracy charter that brought him an 11-year… read more
Is anger a problem or a power? Nonviolence Radio speaks with Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, about nonviolence, anger, and lessons from his grandfather with a contemporary lens. Plus catch up with Michael Nagler’s inspiring and informative segment, Nonviolence in the News. See this page for a partial transcript and links from Nonviolence in the… read more
Love & Revolution: A Time for Growth In her book The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century, Grace Lee Boggs writes about how linking Love and Revolution is an idea whose time has come. We couldn’t agree more! Today we’ve released our bi-weekly newsletter under a new name: Practical Idealist. To us, this… read more
In the last episode of NONVIOLENCE in the News I cited three very hopeful trends developing partly (at least) in response to the vacuum at the top: 1) Devolution of decision making down to state and community levels – where it belonged in the first place!, 2) A political awakening among progressive religious groups (Sarah’s interview… read more
In this episode we continue our research into major players in the new field of “unarmed peacekeeping” or “third party nonviolent intervention.” This time, we talk with the executive director of Christian Peacemaker Teams about the power of critical community and the role that a religious faith can play in this important work–and how… read more
In the last episode of NONVIOLENCE in the News I cited three very hopeful trends developing partly (at least) in response to the vacuum at the top: 1) Devolution of decision making down to state and community levels – where it belonged in the first place!, 2) A political awakening among progressive religious groups (Sarah’s interview… read more
We All Have the Power The conventional thinking on power is that it is strictly external, a brutal force that rains down on us “ordinary” people. Yet there’s a much richer view of power, one that increases our capacity for empathy, by building inner strength through practices like meditation. Today’s newsletter touches upon our inner… read more
