Lesson 9 (Family Program)

My life is an indivisible whole, and all my activities run into one another; and they all have their rise in my insatiable love of humanity.

Activities for Month Nine

(Print Version Here) 

 

Here’s a list of the activities for the month.
Find descriptions below.

 

Journal
Family Meeting
Gandhi Searches for Truth, Reading and Discussion (for whole family)
Search for a Nonviolent Future, Reading and Discussion (for older teens and adults)
Mealtime Activity
Wisdom Tradition Passage
Nature Activity

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Journal
Gandhi said that his life was an “indivisible whole.” What does that mean to you? In what ways do you see harmony (or disharmony) between the various parts of your life? What do you want to work on? What is one thing you can do to constructively address that need for harmony among all areas of your life?

 

Family Meeting
Suggested topic for this month:
Constructive solutions. When Gandhi had a challenge, he looked for a constructive, positive way to resolve it. Talk about a challenge faced by individuals or by the whole group, and think of Gandhian ways for restoring harmony.

 

Reading and Discussion with Children:
We’re on Chapter NINE now.

Chapter Nine’s emphasis is creating solutions to solve our toughest challenges, and the power that gives us. Even Gandhi was given the title of Mahatma or “Great Soul” because he was solving so many challenges with nonviolence, which came from his great love for humanity and all of life. The special thing about nonviolence is that it can help everyone when we use it because we are deeply interconnected. Harming others will harm ourselves, helping others will help us too. Talk about the power of nonviolence together and try to apply some of the key ideas about it from this chapter to a problem in your community or our shared world.

 

Reading and Discussion for Adults
Enjoy this short article by Michael Nagler on Six Principles of Nonviolence

 

Mealtimes
Eat one thing today that you usually don’t like to eat (but have no allergy toward, etc) as a tool for training for nonviolence. Gandhi said that training our palate is a tool for training our mind!

 

Wisdom Tradition Passage
Pick a passage that speaks to your heart this month. Share it with your family and reflect on it together throughout the month.

 

Activity in Nature:
At least once this month, go outside and spend an extended period looking at the stars and night sky. Bring a blanket if you need one. Let yourself be quiet and still.