The Law of Human Unity “Just as the law of gravitation existed before its discovery—and would exist if all humanity forgot it—so is it with the laws that govern the spiritual relations between soul and soul and between individual spirits.” Swami Vivekananda’s yogic words are a beacon on the illusion of separation: We may at… read more
Working to End Violence Michael Nagler discusses picking up with the work that Martin Luther King, Jr. couldn’t get around to: delegitimizing violence. 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 experiments with nonviolence. This… read more
“Dignity is connected with unity.” In today’s Daily Metta, Michael Nagler looks at the key to tackling the rise of hatred, the very root of all violence. 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 experiments with… read more
In this episode of Peace Paradigm Radio we have two special guests from Palestine to discuss what it means to be Palestinian, past and present. Therese Mughannam, part of North Coast Coalition for Palestine, and cultural historian Amin Kalaf join our hosts Michael Nagler and Stephanie Van Hook to talk about belonging, dispossession, personal experiences… read more
Nonviolence: Celebrating Goodness “The truth that each one of us is deeply good, even if that goodness is covered by other conditioning, gives me hope,” writes Stephanie Van Hook in her newsletter introduction. Stephanie quotes a verse from the Baghavad Gita, one that she has been meditating on—and one that refers to our inherent goodness… read more
In the following post, Miki Kashtan, author, co-founder of Bay Area NVC and lead collaboration consultant at The Center for Efficient Collaboration, offers her reflections on the process that brought 195 countries into consensus at the COP21. Then, Michael Nagler, President of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, responds with his additional thoughts regarding the principles… read more
Join us in this special episode of Peace Paradigm Radio to hear Michael and Stephanie explore Nonviolence in 2015 and also look forward a bit into 2016. They cover topics including developments in Peace and Social Justice in education and research, peace-building strategies and groups developing within social movements, the deterioration of our current paradigm,… read more
December 22: “To answer brutality with brutality is to admit one’s moral and intellectual bankruptcy, and it can only start a vicious cycle.” —Gandhi (Harijan, June 1947, p. 174) As usual, Gandhi’s vision is both theoretical (“moral bankruptcy”) and intensely practical, pointing to the effect we can all observe today, that brutality leads to a… read more
December 21: “All religions teach that two opposing forces act upon us and the human endeavor consists in a series of eternal rejections and acceptances.” —Gandhi (Letter to Tagore) You get the impression sometimes that nonviolence, far from being the specialized subject way off in a corner visited only by oddball idealists, which is… read more
Traveling the Road of Nonviolence We who try to carry the torch of nonviolence know that nonviolence applies everywhere, so as peel after peel of violence racks the world we find ourselves saying essentially the same thing: “Turn back, you’re going the wrong way.” With some skill, though, we can always bring out the way… read more
