Every day, I join others in this prayer for World Peace.
With each kind thought,
each choice for nonviolence,
we plant a seed that shall bloom
to bring forth rich fruit in its Season.
Together, friend, we till the soil and
plant the seeds that all creation may
sing for joy and dance in the
Garden of Peace.
May our prayers and practices
during this Season be but the beginning
of a new culture of peace, security and
joy that shall endure unto our
children’s children's children.
Please feel free to share your thoughts about this journey we have taken. What did you enjoy the most, what touched you the most, what are you taking away from this experience and how can it be even better?
Today: I celebrate my knowledge and maturity, my choice of nonviolence, and the journey I have chosen.
The practice for today is CELEBRATION. Margaret Mead said "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Nonviolence is building the courage to speak and act with respect, reverence and compassion for our own being. Rejoice in the work that you have done. Celebrate the journey that you have made with countless others who believe that every individual can move the world in the direction of peace with their nonviolent choice and action.
Today: I reflect back on how far I have come during this 64 day journey. I release the false idea that World Peace is not possible and I acknowledge that I really do make a difference. Say out loud, "I DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"
The practice for today is RELEASE. A Sufi proverb says "when the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what is found." Release the weight of your past, the judgments of yourself and others, and be the change you wish to see. Make room for what is here in this present moment, release the hurts and resentments and mistakes of the past and be present to the nonviolent presence you are right here, right now. In the presence of a man or woman in whom all hostility has been released, others cannot be hostile. In the presence of a man or woman in whom all fear has been released, no one can be afraid. This is the power of true nonviolence, as we can see in the life of Gandhi. Because he had released all hostility, he was a profound force for peace.
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!"
-Goethe
And so it is with nonviolence. We set forth a commitment to nonviolence with an intention that we can act upon today. By doing so, we are presented with situations and circumstances that will allow us to model our commitment, to bring nonviolence to a situation.
Not only must we dedicate our lives to inner transformation, we must be prepared for our consciousness to make manifest ways that call for us to act for peace for all. It is not enough that we are at peace, that we each have inner peace - we must BE a force for peace in the world. Do we stand by and watch someone be physically abused and do nothing? Do we rationalize the situation and say "gee, it's their problem" - of course not!
The same applies to armed conflict - do we stand idly by and do nothing, just as long as it's not our families who are put in harm's way? As long as it's not our sons and daughters whose life is put on the line? But the truth is, it IS our sons and daughters whose life is on the line, because if we don't stand up and be counted now, there is no hope for peace in our lifetime; their lives ARE at risk.
Today: When I see injustice, I will say or take action to bring about a peaceful change. I will write down my thoughts about the action I took, and share this with another person.
The practice for today is WITNESSING. "We are each other's bond," writes poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Those who practice nonviolence cannot close their eyes to injustice or cruelty. We are here to be a witness for justice and compassion. Those who practice nonviolence look at injustice or cruelty and know that it is possible for the situation to be different, and that to bring about change, we cannot stand by and do nothing. You can stand up for truth by your presence, your words and your actions, and by doing so, make a difference.
Today: I will have the courage to intervene in a caring way with someone who is using alcohol or drugs, or is in a physically abusive situation. Through my honest, straightforward, and nonviolent communication, I will encourage them to get educated, get help, and identify resources available to them.
The practice for today is INTERVENTION. Alcohol and drug abuse, as well as physical abuse, are both a consequence of, and a cause of, violence. Without intervention, the cycle continues. You could make a difference in someone's life through intervention.
Today: I will call or write one of my legislators and register my views. I will tell at least three people of my efforts and ask them to do the same.
To be a citizen means to help your community be the best it can be. You are a member of many communities: your family, your place of work or school, your place of worship, your city, your country, and the planet. Participation in your community presents an opportunity to model nonviolent action, peaceful resolution, and how each of us can and do make a difference.
Today: I will volunteer a minimum of two hours this week with an organization of my choice and share my commitment with at least one person. I will do one thing today to help somebody at home, at school or work, or in my community, and then write a paragraph about the experience. What really gives value to anything is its usefulness in serving others. Our life draws its value not from the money we make, or the prizes we win, or the power we wield over others, but from the service we give every day to add a little bit more to the happiness of our family and our community. And when you serve, do it without thinking of getting anything in return. Do it as a service to the universe, not reluctantly, but with joy. By doing so, you are a model to others, and add to a culture of nonviolence.
Today: I will discover the satisfaction of making something for myself instead of buying something - and from spending time in self-sufficient quiet reflection or meditation. If I know someone who is looking for employment, I will offer to assist them with a resume, an application, making phone calls, or practice interviewing.
The practice for today is SELF-SUFFICIENCY. People need the dignity of work and the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Economic self-sufficiency is a requirement for a nonviolent world.
Today: I will pick up trash that is not my own, whether at home, at the office or on the street. If there is a conflict present in my life, I will take responsibility for my part in the conflict and work toward a nonviolent resolution. The practice for today is RESPONSIBILITY. The quality of my community starts with me. I take responsibility wherever I am. Whatever we are today is the result of what we have thought, spoken, and done in all the previous moments before now. The responsibility for both present and future is in our own hands. By living right today, tomorrow will be right. This applies to our physical, emotional and spiritual life; we each have the ultimate responsibility for our choices.
Today: I will clean out my closet, bureau drawers, or garage and give away things I'm not using. I will give my time to a volunteer organization and my financial resources to a cause that supports and practices nonviolence. I will consider giving up some harmful or negative behavior I may have.
The practice for today is GIVING. Practice generously giving by sharing time, talent, energy and material resources with others. Whatever you give, do it without thinking of getting anything in return. Do it as a service, not reluctantly, but with joy. That is a real gift. If you expect something in return, it is not a gift, but a contract.
Today: I will explore actions from the heart I can take today to express my commitment to peace and nonviolence - in both my personal life and in the public domain. I will find a way to make one small change that will contribute to the well being of my home, school, workplace or community.
Actions speak louder than words, it is said, yet it is not so much loudness as clarity and truth that matters; a gentle action can be far more powerful than a forceful one. So, too, the smallest actions - those closest to home - can be more meaningful than those expressed from a distance. Truly nonviolent action is centered in love and compassion.
Today: I will be mindful of ways that I see myself as better than others. When I listen to people today, I will listen to them as equals; when I speak, I will speak to others as equals. I will enrich my life by considering how I can invite different people and unusual experiences into my life today.
When you recognize as your equals those with whom you disagree, true opportunities for dialogue emerge - opportunities that are denied when you think of yourself as better than, or less than, others. Martin Buber wrote about the "I-Thou" connection, the ultimate equality, and the intention from which nonviolence originates.
Today: I will be an ally. Without blaming or judging others, I will listen from my heart, and speak out with love for those who are disrespected, abused or not listened to. I will find out how I can be an advocate in current conflicts, such as in The Sudan or Tibet.
When we choose to be an advocate for nonviolence and decide right now that we will be the one to stop the violence, we release peace into the world.
Today: I will write about the choices I face throughout the day and on how they translate my commitment to nonviolence into my thoughts, words and actions.
"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is the light that guides your way." -Heraclitus
Do you think the statement “We always have a choice” is true? Do you ever think that you don’t have a choice? Do you ever think you must be violent? Can you always choose nonviolence?
Today: A simple way to raise my awareness of honoring others is to do so at mealtime. Before each meal today, I will stop to think about all the people involved with the food I eat and I will silently say to them, "I honor you." Likewise, I will bless and honor the earth for its abundance.
People who are as described by Buddha, who work for the welfare of others, will be very deeply loved, respected and honored wherever they go. It is a simple law of human nature that we love the highest, that we emulate such people, and we want to lead the kind of life they lead. This is the saving grace of human nature: when we see someone who is patient, kind, forgiving, and forbearing, we recognize their nonviolent ways, because we too, have those qualities. As we honor them, we honor ourselves.
Today: I will practice recycling by using recycled products whenever I can. I will pay attention to what I discard, and look for ways to recycle rather than tossing. I will reduce, reuse and recycle the products I use.
Individuals like you and me who make the final decisions about what is bought and sold in the stores, how much carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere, and what is dumped into the sea. Each of us can begin to heal the environment right away by changing our daily habits.
And what about our internal environment, which is as real as the one we see around us? This internal environment has a powerful effect on the external environment: the way we think affects the way we treat the earth. When we purify this inner environment, we are not only making ourselves more secure and fulfilled, but we are also making an important contribution to the health of Mother Earth. Nonviolence extends from ourselves, not just to our brothers and sisters, but to the earth as well.
Today: I will have a conversation with someone today about what the world would be like if there were no weapons, nor any need for them. I will define new uses for the resources freed-up by not developing weapons.
What if we lived in a world where there were no weapons? What if we used the resources for developing weapons for other projects? What if we really did beat swords into plowshares? Imagine such a world for yourself and your family, because until we believe it is possible, it cannot become a reality. Peace and nonviolence does, and must, begin with each and every one of us.
Today: I will seek out someone with whom I have had a disagreement. I will set aside my own prejudices and preconceptions, step into that person's shoes, look at life through their eyes rather than my own. By doing so, I become one with him, listening and seeing with compassion. Expanding this idea to the broader world, I will engage compassion to lead my actions, my words and my life. A human being is part of the whole, called by us "universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. -Albert Einstein
Today: When I think of something or get into a situation where anger comes up, I will acknowledge the anger then breathe deeply, silently counting backwards from ten, and then decide what action to take. Mastery of nonviolence will come as I continue to practice.
After all, to attain excellence in anything we have to work at it. An Olympic swimming champion doesn't go for a workout once a week on Sunday afternoon, but practices for hours every day. The impetus to gain mastery over one's mind and senses does not come from some Olympian height, or from a distant deity; it doesn't come from any monastic rule, or even from one's spiritual teacher. It comes from deep within yourself. You have had a fleeting glimpse of the shining presence within, and in its bright remembered light, all your flaws and blemishes are thrown into sharp relief. You can't wait to start removing them.
Today: Find a very heavy object. Try to pick it up by yourself. Now ask 3 or 4 other people to assist. How did working together with other people help make this task easier for you?
When we work together, we are stronger than when we work alone. When we find ways that we can cooperate more effectively with the people in our family or workplace, school or community, we are tearing down walls of separation; we are contributing to a nonviolent culture.
Today: I will do something that shows how unique I am. I may draw a picture, sing a song, dance or write a story. I will praise, compliment or honor the uniqueness of someone I know and by doing so, notice the positive impact I make by recognizing their uniqueness.
But as our awareness grows, we will know that there is a uniqueness about everyone. The truly nonviolent person never tries to compare himself with others, or others among themselves. While being aware of our uniqueness, also being aware of our oneness creates a sense of peace.
Today: I will be open to understanding ideas and people that I have previously opposed. I will find somebody with whom I never wanted to talk to before and find a way to have a conversation with him or her.
A Turkish proverb says, “he who builds himself a fence, fences out more than he fences in.” If you don’t listen to someone because they look different or have different ideas than you, you’re building a fence around yourself and you’re missing out on having a new friend and learning something new. When we refrain from acting on a negative emotion or selfish desire, we stop building the wall around our life - we can open our life up to others. When we can be open to the opportunity for growth, we can use this as a way to find nonviolent ways to resolve differences.
Today: I will look for three ways to see beyond outer differences in opinions, appearances, or goals. I will seek out someone who looks different from me; looking beyond these outer differences I will see the unity which is inside and journal about what I have discovered.
Most communities are made of diverse groups of people who have different opinions, who look different, and who speak many different languages. Our challenge is to see beyond outer differences in opinions and appearances and find a meeting point of underlying unity that exists in diversity. There is peace and nonviolence in unity as we recognize who we are in others, a transformation from separateness to unity.
Today: I will speak my truth quietly and clearly, and not enter into the spirit of argument. I will listen with an open heart, with compassion, to the truth as perceived by others.
We might not always agree with other people, but when we really listen to what they have to say we are having a dialogue. We never argue in a dialogue. We say what we think and then we listen to the other person so we can understand what they think and learn from them. When we engage in dialogue, we seek not to prove we are right, or that the other person is wrong, but to state clearly - from a place of ahimsa and truth force - what we believe to be true. We listen deeply so as to be able to understand the perspectives of those who do not appear to share our understanding.
Today: I will do something kind for someone for no reason other than to be kind. I will bring beauty to a place where it may be needed without letting anyone know I was the one who did it. I will write about how I felt and then share this story with someone.
Today: When I find myself disagreeing with someone, I will focus on understanding what they are saying - and why. I will listen compassionately to them, with a silent thought of love, and tell them what I understand them to be saying. With empathy, I will state clearly and quietly what I believe they are saying.
True understanding requires suspending our judgments and listening from an open heart. When we understand from the other person's point of view, a healing can begin, because behind every harsh thought, behind every unkind word, behind every act of violence, is an unhealed wound.
Today: I will focus on what I can find to love in the person I like the least. As I meet people during the day, I will reflect on how love can enhance the relationship.
All the great texts encourage us to "love your enemy." The ancients understood that this is where the creative energy comes from. An enemy does not have to be life-threatening or violent; an enemy can just be a thought that gets us to look at something in a different way. Consider the power of befriending someone you previously thought was an "enemy". In a conflict, rather than putting your energy toward winning, see what channeling that energy toward a loving, nonviolent solution can accomplish.
"Acknowledge
1. a. To admit the existence, reality, or truth of.
b. To recognize as being valid or having force or power.
2. a. To express recognition of: acknowledge a friend's smile.
b. To express thanks or gratitude for. "
-The American Heritage® Dictionary
Today: In each of the four meanings quoted above, I will take time to acknowledge each person I meet or see today - including myself - in the spirit of ahimsa and forgiveness.
I will take time today to acknowledge the realm of nature, the community of life on Earth, and the Earth itself.
Today: I will give sincere praise to at least three people today for their personal qualities, achievements, or helpful service, and then to myself. I will journal about the experience and feelings of each encounter.
Today: I will find three ways to give generously of my time, talent and resources to others. I will create a 'Gift Certificate' for someone.
Today: As I interact with and observe people during the day, I will be aware of ways in which I respect each person. I will draw a picture of someone for whom I have a great deal of respect, then frame the picture with words that describe this person.
Today: I will choose to see the good in others instead of finding fault. I will spend the entire day without criticizing anything or anyone; if I am tempted to criticize, I will write down the criticism rather than speaking it, then later discover where the criticism is coming from within me.
Today: I will write an apology letter to myself for anything I have done to myself that I wish I had not, or ways that I have disappointed myself and not fully lived up to my potential. I'll mail the letter to myself and when it arrives, I will read it in a quiet place.
Today: As I reflect on what is difficult for me to accept - in myself, in other people, and in the state of the world - I'll let go of any resistance or judgment, and allow myself to accept and acknowledge whatever I have been resisting.
Today: I will list five things for which I am grateful for and share these good things with another, then reflect on who and what made those experiences possible. I will write a “thank-you” note to someone who would least expect me to thank them. I'll journal about my feelings with regard to this.
Today: I will nurture a plant or plant a seed in, and for, the earth. When I am in a confrontational situation, I will recall that sense of being grounded and respond in a nonviolent way.
Today: I take a moment to relax, breathe and let my mind be fed by what is good, beautiful, and peaceful. As I think, so I am! I will write down my thoughts and share them with others.
Today: I will reflect on an incident in my life to find the "gift" it has brought me. I will write down two ways I can use this memory to become a more creative and peaceful person. Consciously, I share this gift with others.
Today: I consciously expand my knowledge about nonviolence. I will share what I have learned with at least three other people, and invite them to learn, too.
(Suggestions: Watch the video "A Force More Powerful" and/or "Gandhi"; read the book "Nonviolence" by Kurlanski, and/or "Nonviolent Communication" by Rosenberg.)
Today: I will write down three ways I can simplify my life and put at least one of them into practice today. I will give away something I have not used in the past year.
Today: I will write what I believe about nonviolence. I will create an “I Believe in Nonviolence” t-shirt, bumper sticker, song, or art, and be aware of the simple demonstrations of peaceful responses.
Today: I will make a list of at least five ways that I can take care of myself, physically, mentally, emotionally, and I will honor that list today through demonstration.
These are part of the "Season for Nonviolence" daily affirmations. I lost several in my computer! I will attempt to post a new one daily until the cycle is completed!
