Our new look, from Metta’s Director.

Dearly Beloved Community,

Welcome to our updated website. Since this site truly serves as our window to the wider world community who come to us for resources and materials on the “greatest power at the disposal of humankind,” we wanted to make sure it was at its best.

It will now be much simpler to find the materials you need to study and get involved in our work. We also hope that the site will serve as a basic primer in nonviolence education itself — when you leave for the day (planning to come back to further your studies of course), you have a better idea what Satyagraha means, how constructive program works, and have  picked up some key ideas around nonviolence strategy, for starters.

You will notice a phrase at the top of the site: nonviolence begins with you. It is a reminder that we practice nonviolence because it will take every single one of us to dismantle the violence in our world, and the time to start is now. We are not waiting for others (remember MLK: “we will take direct action against injustice without waiting for other agencies to act”), we will bring them along with us. This requires a constructive commitment to practice nonviolence not only in our social actions but in our daily lives, and we all know that this is long-term work. It asks for the true spirit of practice and a faith that the effect of our actions will ripple outward, even if we cannot see the results or connect the dots. When we use nonviolence effectively, it is felt by those involved in the interaction, even if the results aren’t visible — but they usually are!

 The work of the Metta Center is to fulfill this great vision: to work with you and to strengthen and support your own “experiments with truth,” as Gandhi called his ever and on-going nonviolence practice.

Please take a few minutes and navigate around the site to appreciate its clarity. If you feel inspired, we would love to know what you think.

Interested in getting involved? Send us your articles! We are currently seeking interested persons to blog in some of our categories listed on the homepage, including film reviews, nonviolence for daily living, nonviolence in the news, news from around the movement, gender eyes, and inspiration. If you would like to support Metta in this way, we would love to talk with you.

How do we do it? The work of the Metta Center is undoubtably a labor of love by all those involved in the day to day workings of the organization. It is also supported by the individuals who find value and inspiration–and, we even hear, nourishment, from the work that we do every day here to make nonviolence resources available. The website update was an expense we were happy to undertake because it benefits so many people around the world who are doing such wonderful work, like yourself. If you’re in a position to do so, please consider making a one-time or monthly contribution to Metta’s work in celebration and appreciation of our efforts to facilitate the spread of nonviolence worldwide.

Finally, we are immensely grateful to Ryan McCoy of Jammin Web Designs for his creativity, patience and loving work. We recommend that if you are looking for web and design work to contact him. We send him our heartfelt thanks,  blessings and deep appreciation for his participation in our shared vision for a gentler, healthier and more nonviolent world.

In heart unity, Stephanie Van Hook, Executive Director