Activist, songwriter and singer Aliza Hava created this beautiful inspiring song to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Rev. Heng Sure said when Aliza visited Berkeley last week: “She has the energy of the 60s in the body of a 32 year old.” Turn on your speakers, close your eyes and enjoy her well-versed… read more
Posts by Metta Center
…from a crisis counselor
I have been a sexual assault crisis counselor for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) since May 2008. It was the only way I knew how to stay involved with the issue post-graduation. At the University of Maryland I had played a key role in organizing a Men of Strength Club for men… read more
Universal Love goes beyond words and intoxicants
I haven’t seen the human being who brought me to this World for almost 3 years, so when my mother came to visit, in an attempt to pay back the kindness for all the love she has poured into me, I decided to be in attentive presence with her as much time as needed during… read more
Arresting a Child Soldier in Rwanda
Two+ years ago I was asked to do a seminar on nonviolence for the cohort of Rotary fellows doing a peace masters at UC. One guy in the class was very troubled, asked penetrating, challenging questions (which I like) and left hurriedly when it was over. Some time later I went to their graduation. He… read more
Lessons in Nonviolence for the President
Hey satyagrahis (and non-satyagrahis, too, of course — we’re all in this together), For anyone who is interested in exploring the legitimacy of President Obama’s comments on nonviolence in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, check out this informative, easy article by Eric Stoner, posted on the PJSA blog (that’s the Peace and Justice Studies Association), here. For a cool… read more
Free Speech and Nonviolence: advice to UC protesters at this 45th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement
Poster’s note: check out this guerilla art action on YouTube: 45 Years, No Progress. Very cool artivism! Then please read on for some advice to the movement from Free Speech veteran Michael Nagler. Here’s to not wasting energy by reinventing the wheel, but rather, to using the energy we have in skillful ways as a force for continued forward movement and… read more
“Gandhi” Neurons: a Scientific Basis for Interconnectivity
Check out this TED video (below) from neuroscientist VS Ramachandran on mirror neurons (or in his terminology, “Gandhi neurons”…you’ll find out why…) One of the ways that we define violence at Metta is “coercive action based on an illusion of separateness, or the inability to recognize oneself in the other.” When we do violence to another, the wise would… read more
Big News!
The Search for a Nonviolent Future has been published in Arabic! Soon to be distributed in Syria, Morocco, Jordan, and Lebanon. We are also working on connections in — yes — Iraq, through our friends in La’Onf, and Palestine.… read more
Create a Program with Us: Metta Mentors, 2010!
** UPDATE: The Metta Mentors 2010 application is available now! Click here to know more… ** Dear Metta Community, May this find you grounded in peace and gratitude as we prepare together for the transition to a new decade, one full of promise and potentiality for the continued movement toward an ever-more-nonviolent future! We are writing today to update you on… read more
Open Letter to President of Egypt from the Gaza Freedom March
26 December 2009 Dear President Mubarak, We, representing 1,362 individuals from 43 countries arriving in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, are pleading to the Egyptians and your reputation for hospitality. We are peacemakers. We have not come to Egypt to create trouble or cause conflict. On the contrary. We have come because… read more
