Erika

Hi Everyone! I know I already posted my response to this week’s lesson on the meaning of life, but I just viewed for the first time a DVD called “Journey of the Universe: An Epic Story of Cosmic, Earth, and Human Transformation”. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. And I would love to see a discussion of it emerge in this forum or perhaps an offshoot. How about it?

Like many of you, I was struck by how a simple narrative can completely change how we think about human nature. The story we tell about who we are can compel us to violently fight over scraps or work together with dignity. Human beings are so much better than we’ve been taught. We are capable of so much, but the Old Story gives us an excuse to languish in our weaknesses without striving for better.

It will be hard to live out the New Story every moment of every single day. I know I will fail often, but I think I will have to be gentle with myself even as I work on being more disciplined. Like many of you, media will be challenging. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I haven’t so much limited my media exposure as changed it. Instead of watching CNN all day, I listen to NPR’s 5 minute news summary in the morning. I’ve tried to cut down on tv, especially anything violent, and listen to radio podcasts that highlight interesting ideas instead. This has been easier for me than cutting out media all together.

It will also be difficult to police my thoughts–I’ve been known to have a petty streak that might not go away so easily. Action is one thing, but its harder to make sure the mean thoughts ingrained by popular culture don’t even cross my mind. I have a feeling it will take me a long time to master this kind of control over myself, but I’m working on it.

Hello everyone,

First of all, my apologies for the delay in posting. Like Sadie, I’ve been in a bit of a whirlwind lately.

I was raised in New York, but currently live in a small town outside Boston, MA while I finish my Masters at Harvard Divinity School. I graduated from Haverford College in 2009, and spent my time between the degrees working at Seeds of Peace. Seeds of Peace brings teenagers from the Middle East and South Asia to a summer camp in Maine, where they live, play, and dialogue with kids from opposing sides of conflict. It was a great few years, but I’ve enjoyed getting back to studying religion, my passion.

I’m a Quaker (like so many of you!), but I’m fascinated by spiritual practices and try to incorporate whichever I find useful. At the moment, I’m working on developing a meditation practice.

Outside school, I work at the Pluralism Project, a Harvard research office, and I’m the Programs Assistant at Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, an interfaith nonprofit in Newton, MA. Last week we ran the Interfaith Youth Initiative, an intensive 8-day interfaith leadership retreat for high school and college students. We spent the week learning about service, justice, and religious exchange, and I can honestly say it was one the most amazing experiences of my life. It was also a bit of a black hole in that I completely lost track of the outside world–hence this late post!

Nonviolence is a big part of who I am and the way I’d like to live my life. I’ve had the opportunity to study Gandhi and other leaders of nonviolence, as well as many of the principles underlying a compassionate lifestyle, but I know this is only the tip of iceberg. I am so excited to further explore this topic with you all!

Hi All –

My apologies for the delay in posting here – the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of energy in my life.  Much of it good; and there’s just a lot of it.

My name is Sadie Rosenthal and I’m in the middle of moving from Baltimore, where I was for the last two years (9 before that in NYC), to Los Angeles.  My fiance, Rachael, just got a job here, and her family is here, we’ve been staying with her family while looking for a place to live and have just gotten a lease on a lovely little loft downtown.  And we’re in the midst of wedding planning (for Nov) and family meetings about the wedding and… so I’ve just been a little off the planet.

My background in non-violence.  I guess I’d have to say I started to have a real problem with violence in seventh grade when we dissected frogs in science class.  We were paired in teams of two, and each team had one dead frog between them to dissect.  I was horrified that all of these poor frogs had been killed and shipped to us somehow so that we could stand there in our uncertain seventh grade selves making awkward jokes about squishy frog innards.  Around the same time I became a vegetarian after eating chicken, seeing the veins, and making the connection that this thing I was eating had been a living, breathing being – once I made the connection it seemed unthinkable to me that we could eat animals.  My parents didn’t really understand, and in mid-Michigan of the 1980s not eating meat was like being a Communist – somehow fundamentally “unAmerican” and just weird and wrong.  Suffice it to say, I didn’t have the easiest time in middle and high school.

I did my undergrad in political theory, and spent a lot of time in DC doing internships because I really believed that it was possible for one person who cared enough to change the system for the better from the inside (and I was and am a policy geek).  I went to law school to be able to do that work, and then spent four years in DC doing juvenile defense advocacy and anti-juvenile death penalty work.  I am incredibly proud of the work we did, and at the same time, it burned a deep hole through me.  I have unending admiration for people who can do death penalty work long term; I just couldn’t get any emotional distance from any of it – my kids, their families, my lawyers, the victims, their families…  I took it home with me every night and it ate its way through me (we talk about secondary trauma and burnout amongst advocates – I definitely think that there is a piece of it that falls under the concept of “violence” and would be more effectively addressed using the language of non-violence rather than that of trauma, though they are intimately related.)

So I quit and went to art school for four amazing years, and then went to work in communications for an organization based in spreading contemplative practices within the Jewish community – both as individual and community transformative work.

I am fascinated by the intersections of violence, injury, retaliation, forgiveness, non-violence, metta/chesed practice, individual/community transformation, restorative justice, contemplative practice, conflict prevention (and the role of language, communication, and misunderstanding).

I am at a place of career transition and don’t have an exactly clear picture of where its heading (I’d love to do my PhD in conflict prevention/transformation at some point but don’t know when that’s realistically going to happen), and I so deeply appreciate being accepted to this course as part of my trying to figure out where I fit in, what pieces I’m most interested in personally, and where my career is headed next.

Thank you to everybody for your sharing here, it is deep, open, honest, beautiful, and inspiring.  Namaste, Sadie

I find it very interesting that during this week, when I have not had as much opportunity to do my “homework” as I did last week, that I have been immersed in this week’s lesson  (the meaning of life) by the events that are taking place in my own life.  Nothing like learning the lesson or being confronted with the question by your own life events!

I’ve had ample opportunity this week to consider the lessons of The New Story…our connectedness with all of life…and how that gives meaning to my own life.  My step-father has been laying bed ridden in a hospital in Missouri. And my only brother has flown there from his home in Vermont to be with him and take care of his affairs, since my dad will probably not recover from his illness. I have been very conscious of the geographical separation I am experiencing from my family this week and have found myself wondering what possible meaning the activities that fill my days could have when I am not there supporting both my dad and my brother. I could certainly get lost in the everyday detail of my life, unaware of the connection of heart and mind that runs deep within me and those two men over a thousand miles from here. But, you know, I do accept what Rumi wrote about in his poem, that the meaning of life includes a rising to greater Consciousness within each of us (my interpretation). I understand that rise to greater Consciousness in myself as being my own deepening awareness that I am not a separate entity, unaffected by what happens to others whether they are related to me or not.  In this case, however, it is very clear that I am deeply affected by what is going on in that hospital room as well as in our family home where my brother is going through my parents things alone…sorting, re-homing and tossing personal items. I’ve done that myself…alone…and know what a lonely and emotional task that can be.

So, I think to directly answer at least one question from this week’s lesson, my personal approach to the meaning of life is to strive for a more complete and continuous awareness of the unitive nature of life, all Life.  What happens to you, happens to me.  When you are complete or suffering, I am complete or suffering.  I am not only aware of this this week, but I am truly feeling it in my heart, in my gut and in my spirit.

Hi, Paul here.
I think that partly the evidence for life having a purpose is to look at the people around us. From what I can see in the present day and in history, the people with purpose and meaning in their lives are the great achievers and spiritual leaders. They also seem to be the most joyous people. Conversely people without meaning, are more depressive, less effective and more destructive to themselves and others. We also see clues in perpetrator induced trauma and mirror neurons which link us empathetically with those around us.
 I was taken with the fact that people would often find that war gives them meaning. We hear a lot of stories like this in England from WW2. I remember older relatives of mine talking of a shared sense of meaning and purpose. I hope that the coming environmental crisis may be able to bond people in the same way, so that the media and corporate distractions lose their power over people. But without a core of people who understand nonviolence, they may just be reduced to apathy and despair.
 It also explains to me why there is such a fascination with war films and films that put people in extraordinary situations (aliens or mythic fantasy). We are desperate to see people who are given a sense of meaning because we instinctively see it lacking in our own lives.
 I love the idea that the world’s dharma is Nonviolence. You can’t get simpler or clearer than that.
 I am working on what my personal dharma is. I want to become more aware of the clues that the universe is offering. Suffering and joy. I want to remember that even my thoughts are part of the feedback mechanism. I have issues in my work too. I’m an actor so am often in a position of deciding whether a potential project is telling a destructive story or a helpful one with relation to the New Story. I have to balance this with paying the mortgage! Its tricky but I think the more I am aware of my personal dharma, the more suitable projects seem to present themselves.
 So what is my definition of the meaning of life?
 To Serve
To Learn
To Love
To fulfil my highest potential as a human being.
 Is that too complicated?

Thanks to those who have already shared their stories… interested to notice how courage to share seems to help others feel en-couraged to share. 🙂

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Friends, I would like to tell you a story.
 
This is a story about stories.
 
This is a story, that contains within it, all the stories of the past, and all the stories of the future.
 
This story changes constantly and adapts to meet emerging needs.
 
This story stretches its arms of love, compassion and light around, through and within all dimensions and imaginings.
 
This story lives in no-particular-time and dwells in no-place-in-particular.
 
In being all these things, this story requires no time to tell and cannot be said to begin or end.
 
Neither new, nor old, this story has roots and paths that stretch in every direction. At various moments in historical time, this story moved in and out of focus – in and out of awareness.
 
There has always been a custodian who held the knowing of this story somewhere on the Earth.

These custodians have often been misunderstood – sometimes even by themselves and their own intuitions. This has had all manner of consequences for the custodians.

And yet, this story is light and brings with it grace and confidence.
 
This story is owned by no-one and can be accessed by any-one any-time any-where.
 
This story is about how we story.
 
You might be more familiar with stories that can be repeated, that always contain the same events, that follow the same trajectory or, that are fixed in time – forever. Today I tell you, that these notions of sameness and repetition are simply our surface impressions.
 
Flowing beside and through the appearances of time, sameness and repetition are liquid processes of creativity, interrelation and constant change.
 
For this reason, when we tell stories, we are now aware that we must be careful about what kind of story we are telling.
 
We must be careful to consider if the story that we are telling lives in the dimension of the historical – bound by time and the distinctions between things – or if the story is like the one that I tell you now: a metta-story.
 
When we are unaware of the distinction between these types of story, we experience a great frustration. The realms of daily life begin to feel abstract.
 
When we forget that a metta-story exists, there is an imbalance. Beings begin to grieve and the creative meaningfulness of life becomes difficult to touch.
 
When we carefully engage with each kind of story, there is renewal and life is sustained.
 
The historical story is like a single drop of liquid.
 
The metta-story is like an ocean.
 
Each relies on the other and is produced by the other.
 
If the drops of liquid are water, then a nourishing and life supporting ocean results.
 
If the drops of liquid are blood, then the ocean is one of despair and destruction.
 
Waves will continue to move across this ocean. Ripples of intention shaping the nature of each wave. In the metta-story strength is strength. We all have the ability to direct the energy of this strength according to our awareness and judgement.
 
It is important that our story-awareness is constantly active.
 
When we are aware of all stories, we become story-makers. We become the custodians. We become active contributors to the shape of each story. The outcomes of our actions depend on this awareness.
 
Our story-awareness makes possible the participation and flourishing of other beings.
 
This is why we have the gifts of creativity and attention.
 
Our awareness and attention helps us to navigate the historical and the metta.
 
Our creativity helps us to innovate and to facilitate the emergence of new forms and processes.
 
In this story, we recognise that the nature of what we put in is amplified and becomes the substance of all that follows.
 
This metta-story teaches us that for life to thrive there must be love.
 
The principles of this story have been observed and articulated by many beings.
 
You may say that I have not told you a story here at all. There were no characters, there was no plot, there was no conflict, no emotion and no resolution. That is because today I have told you a metta-story.
 
We are the characters in this story. Our actions are the plot. Our shared awareness and engagement with the story is both the story and where we will go from here.
 
Please promise me this:
 
You will strive to pay attention to the stories that we tell. Pay attention to the kinds of results that each story has. If you notice that a story is having difficult consequences – then it means that a story is in need of renewal.
 
Find ways to make your stories inclusive, sustainable and peacebuilding.
 
Find ways to notice those tricky stories that are deeply embedded in our assumptions about life. It can be hard to see the wave that you are riding. When the wave crashes into the shore – have the courage to say what you saw. Use this insight as a community and as the basis for future action.
 
When you inherit a story, recognise that as it passes through the light of your gaze, that story will be changed and developed unavoidably.
 
If you prepare yourself for this constant moment you will become an instrument of peace. You will be a story-maker.
 

Friends, I would like to tell you a story…
 
Once upon a time, there was a community of human beings on this planet Earth who, as part of the natural flow of history and emphasis, lost track of their metta-story. Although the human race was still very young (having only been on Earth for a few million years) there was an atmosphere of endings and old age. People seemed to feel that collectively they had established what would be the key parameters of story and that these should be held onto ruthlessly. Unfortunately the story became very specific and inflexible. This meant that many people felt blocked and their actions demonstrated their frustrations and desperateness.
 
There was a general forgetfulness and arrogance too. Humans forgot their dependency on other beings and forms. Having forgotten the distinction between the historical and the metta, they were unable to recognise that the myriad of cultures, religions and philosophies mostly occupied the realm of the historical. Each tribe felt that their story was the only story and that their story was complete. This sentiment caused much violence and fighting.
 
Ironically, the tribes of the world seemed to be unified in one unpleasant way: they insisted on using dominance, aggression and violence to organise and modify their societies and planet. Despite the great learning of their elders, and the easy observations of all involved, the humans seemed stubbornly committed to a story that was causing deep destruction… a story that could easily bring about their own extinction as a life form on planet Earth. They refused to pay attention to the impacts of their own actions. It was popular to claim that nothing can be done, that humans are violent and that the situation is too complex for changing.
 
As I mentioned earlier, the thread of the metta-story was never quite lost. There was a critical time when a great wave of metta-custodians came forward. They worked to articulate in new language the old wisdom. They worked to apply the metta-practices to new and challenging contexts.
 
The human population had grown to extreme proportions and was placing immense pressure on the planet’s ecosystems. Innovations in communication had reached the point where daily interactions between beings could take place without their need for bodies.
 
The custodians realised that now was the time when story-awareness must be supported and encouraged.
 
The seeds of this encouragement were planted. The case for this awareness was translated into all of the heart-languages of the world in the hope that the humans would recognise the simple truth of their situations.
 
They called this the ‘new’ story.
 
Drawing together the old wisdom in light of current contexts, a case was made for humans to take a refreshing and pragmatic approach to the story. The case was made in such a way that it was clear to all involved that no one was being judged or ridiculed or devalued during this time of renewal.
 
Many of the old story-holders gripped tightly to their version of the story. They had forgotten that stories are living entities: with their own life cycles, births, expiration and sense of constant change. There was a great fear that if they loosened their grip, that things would fall apart, that evil would win, that life would become meaningless and chaotic. This response was understandable, given that the humans had never before needed to collectively co-operate as a planet before. The logistical demands were immense and the habitual reactions were strong and creaking under the pressure of imminent change and transformation.
 
The custodians were deeply aware of this fear and attachment. They found ways to reassure and care for the story-holders. This was a time of great learning and healing for everyone involved. In fact, it was eventually understood that this time of challenge had been a critically necessary part of the growth of wisdom on Earth.
 
The custodians set out to lay an important foundation, one that would pave the way for a different response to crisis in the future.
 
Story-awareness became central to daily life and the number of custodians grew and grew and grew until eventually everyone was a conscious part of the ‘new’ story. The custodians saw their role as being responsible for the constant renewal of the story through their lived daily actions.
 
Of course, there were times when things became difficult – as things are prone to being. There were also times of great joy and peace.

A very long time ago, a sickness started to spread through the Human Family. The sickness was an idea: Empire. The idea that a few people can have extreme privilege at the cost of everyone else, and Mother Earth.
This sickness slowly spread thoughout the whole Human Family and its main symptom was violence. After many hundreds of years, the sickness was so endemic, that people thought that it had always been this way. That there was no other way it could be.
There were always a few visionary people in every generation who guessed that another way of cooperation, love and nonviolence were possible. But they were isolated and cut off from each other, and so their ideas couldn’t spread and flourish.
But in the heart of Empire were the seeds of its downfall. Mother Earth herself had become sick with the violence of Empire, and most people had become tired of their own oppression. But the leaders of Empire were blind to this. They had become so clever, that they had invented new ways to communicate with each other all around the globe. Ways that they could no longer control. Suddenly the visionary people could talk to each other without the leaders of Empire being able to stop them. They started to come together and learn from each other. The first person to realise the power of this new way of talking was a man called Gandhi. The inspiration of his experiments with a new vision, a new story, called Ahimsa or Nonviolence (actually a very old story that he had learnt from the visionaries of the past), started to create new communities of Nonviolence all over the planet.
These communities were put down with violence and anger, but the tipping point had been passed and as they reached out to each other, they could no longer be stopped.
Enough of the Human Family could see that their New Story of Compassion, Inclusion, Love and Cooperation, was a better story than the Empire story of Competition and Domination. This story was helped by the New Science which showed us that the species that survive and thrive are the ones who find their place of service to the whole. Because life exists only in community. Once the New Story took hold in enough hearts, it was only a matter of time before we discovered ways to put it into practice through New Economics and new ways of relating to each other and Mother Earth with Nonviolence as the cornerstone of all relationships. Different peoples stopped competing and started to discover one another.
The transition wasn’t easy, but because of those brave and adventurous people, we found Unity in Diversity. Nonviolence became the means and the end. And so we saved the planet and ourselves.