The following post was contributed by Annika Roes, who is currently in Izmir, Turkey, where she is volunteering with a refugee support group. Annika interned with the Metta Center last April. It is a Tuesday night, and it is already a bit late when the doorbell rings. Another five people have come to join… read more
“It’s through discovering our capacity for nonviolence–our ability to offer it and our ability to respond to it– that we discover something absolutely fundamental about human nature.” In today’s Daily Metta video, Michael suggests that the nature of our task is to discover our capacity for nonviolence, which lies at the basis of our nature. Our… read more
Forever Learning With Nonviolence At the Metta Center, we aim to meet people where they are—we develop a wide range of educational resources for learning nonviolence. The goal is to make the study and practice of nonviolence highly accessible: our mission is to help people carry out nonviolent strategies safely and effectively. Today’s newsletter offers… read more
This week on Peace Paradigm Radio, we speak with Robin Wildman about her experiences bringing Kingian Nonviolence into the public school system, both in the classroom and through teacher trainings. You won’t want to miss her story of how her journey into being a nonviolence educator, which began back in 2001, when Freedom Rider… read more
“The strength to defy and the strength to forgive are part of a single emotional package which makes a person capable of nonviolence.” In our Sunday video edition of Daily Metta Michael Nagler thinks about the moment when Nelson Mandela shook hands with his former opponent, De Klerk, in front of the world, saying that he… read more
“The moral framework today is not very useful in terms of analyzing and solving problems.” In our Saturday video edition of Daily Metta Michael Nagler analyzes a quote from Wendell Berry, warning that the moral framework when dealing issues of violence can be playing with fire. It’s a short leap from calling something evil to… read more
Using Emotional Energy Wisely “We have to slow down on our initial reactions.” Michael Nagler explores reserving and converting the energy of negative emotions into fuel for positive changes. About Daily Metta Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share the Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and… read more
And Nonviolence is Nonviolence “Violence remains violence, irrespective of motivation.” Today, Michael Nagler puts some perspective on violence. He also emphasizes that nonviolence is a problem-solving tool all of us can use, regardless of our roles and positions. About Daily Metta Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as… read more
Innately Nonviolent Frans de Waal’s findings on rhesus monkeys give us some surprising take-aways about the ways that nonviolence shows up in the animal kingdom. Watch the short video for Michael Nagler’s re-framing of the “innate aggression” theory. About Daily Metta Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as… read more
A Natural Capacity to Cooperate What happens when children experience frustration—and how do they treat others when they’re frustrated? Michael Nagler shares insightful research by Joel R. Davitz on school kids and cooperation. That research appears in “The Effects of Previous Training on Postfrustration Behavior,” Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology 47 (1952): 309–15. About Daily… read more
