Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend
Martin Luther King Jr.
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Friday, August 05, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Peace advocates ‘walk the walk’
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
HEIGHTS – While most activists “talk the talk,” few can claim they also “walk the walk.”
Kim Redigan of Dearborn Heights, however, is not one to sit on the sidelines when she strongly believes in a cause.
That’s why, as the 2011 Moveable Peace Walk chairperson for Catholic peace movement Pax Christi of Michigan, she hopes to raise awareness about peace initiatives and inspire others to speak and act by putting their souls and soles into their cause.
From July 30 to Aug. 9, three Peace Walks will begin toward Lansing.
The peace walks are part of Moveable Peace 2011, which came together after the U.S. Social Forum, a self-described “movement-building process” last year in mid-June 2010 in Detroit.
“People from Michigan came together committed to peace,” Redigan said. “We came together and the deal was, what (can) we do to make Michigan a more peaceful place, how do we move toward an economy… that’s more sustainable, that’s more just, ‘how do we shift our spending so that human needs are met?’”
Redigan said the Catholic Saint Francis inspired her to suggest that they “take to the road” and listen to people’s suggestions for peace.
“My inspiration for the walk was that people need to be listened to,” Redigan said. “People are really angry, people are polarized, but people are not being listened to. So that was kind of the embryonic idea. From there it morphed into this big thing called Moveable Peace.”
The group has been meeting for almost a year and are now asking Michigan’s governor and the legislature to be the first state to set up a commission for peace and justice.
“Michigan has about 200 state commissions,” Redigan said. “There’s a commission on beets I think, but there’s nothing on peace and justice.”
She said that their group has been gathering signatures on petitions across the state to support the request.
Moveable Peace Walk groups plan to leave from Detroit, Grand Rapids and Saginaw on Saturday on the way to Lansing.
Along the Moveable Peace walk routes they also plan to temporarily create a “moveable commons” showcasing programs and ideas that support peace, justice and sustainability.
A blessing and send-off is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Central Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams in Detroit.
She said the walk also is designed to help break down political barriers between conservatives and liberals.
“We need to change people’s consciousness,” Redigan said. “This is not about politics; we are so beyond that right now. We’re not going to go anywhere if we don’t break through this left-right paradigm.”
Walkers hope to follow Grand River to Lansing, traveling about 10 miles per day. Along the way she said they plan to stop overnight on the west side of Detroit, in Farmington, New Hudson, Brighton and Howell. After Howell , they will stop in Hartland, Fowlerville, Williamsburg, and East Lansing before converging with the other Moveable Peace walkers in Lansing.
“We want to hear where people are at,” Redigan said. “We want to hear from workers who are unemployed, employed, (or) under-employed. What solutions do people have? There is always better wisdom in a group.”
Area walkers also include Annette Thomas of Clarkston, Jusif Barakat of Pinckney, Gretchen Smith of Lansing, Sharon O’Hare Bruce of Lake Orion and Rudy Wood of Ferndale. Rita Carey of Westland will serve as a driver and will manage logistics.
“The young people – this appeals to them because it’s out there, it’s active, (and) it’s moving. It’s not sitting around a table at a meeting like old people do,” Redigan said.
Colleen Mills, president of Livonia-based nonprofit Citizens for Peace, said in addition to engaging with people along the route of the Moveable Peace walk and listening to their concerns, they hope to collect petition signatures calling for a Michigan commission for peace and justice.
“We have to engage the young people,” Mills said, “and get them to feel that they’re part of creating their future, which is what this is all about.”
Mills said when she heard the concept of having a Michigan Commission for Peace and Justice it “spoke to (her) spirit.”
“I said ‘we have to do this,’” Mills said. “My belief is we have to have, in the structure of government, places for people to have input– the grassroots groups, the non-profit groups, which are huge employers in state, and make this group in this state feel they are part of the decision making.”
Mills added that Citizens for Peace realizes the need to appeal to and include everyone in their message of peace.
“Regardless of what they may think on certain issues, we are all humans and we’ve got to focus on the human beings in this state,” Mills said. “That’s why the idea of having a Michigan commission for peace and justice really appealed to me.”
The group is also planning a presence at the Mackinac Bridge Walk held during Labor Day weekend.
For more information about Moveable Peace, go to www.MoveablePeace.org, its Facebook page, or www.MichiganPeaceNetwork.org.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
HEIGHTS – While most activists “talk the talk,” few can claim they also “walk the walk.”
Kim Redigan of Dearborn Heights, however, is not one to sit on the sidelines when she strongly believes in a cause.
That’s why, as the 2011 Moveable Peace Walk chairperson for Catholic peace movement Pax Christi of Michigan, she hopes to raise awareness about peace initiatives and inspire others to speak and act by putting their souls and soles into their cause.
From July 30 to Aug. 9, three Peace Walks will begin toward Lansing.
The peace walks are part of Moveable Peace 2011, which came together after the U.S. Social Forum, a self-described “movement-building process” last year in mid-June 2010 in Detroit.
“People from Michigan came together committed to peace,” Redigan said. “We came together and the deal was, what (can) we do to make Michigan a more peaceful place, how do we move toward an economy… that’s more sustainable, that’s more just, ‘how do we shift our spending so that human needs are met?’”
Redigan said the Catholic Saint Francis inspired her to suggest that they “take to the road” and listen to people’s suggestions for peace.
“My inspiration for the walk was that people need to be listened to,” Redigan said. “People are really angry, people are polarized, but people are not being listened to. So that was kind of the embryonic idea. From there it morphed into this big thing called Moveable Peace.”
The group has been meeting for almost a year and are now asking Michigan’s governor and the legislature to be the first state to set up a commission for peace and justice.
“Michigan has about 200 state commissions,” Redigan said. “There’s a commission on beets I think, but there’s nothing on peace and justice.”
She said that their group has been gathering signatures on petitions across the state to support the request.
Moveable Peace Walk groups plan to leave from Detroit, Grand Rapids and Saginaw on Saturday on the way to Lansing.
Along the Moveable Peace walk routes they also plan to temporarily create a “moveable commons” showcasing programs and ideas that support peace, justice and sustainability.
A blessing and send-off is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Central Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams in Detroit.
She said the walk also is designed to help break down political barriers between conservatives and liberals.
“We need to change people’s consciousness,” Redigan said. “This is not about politics; we are so beyond that right now. We’re not going to go anywhere if we don’t break through this left-right paradigm.”
Walkers hope to follow Grand River to Lansing, traveling about 10 miles per day. Along the way she said they plan to stop overnight on the west side of Detroit, in Farmington, New Hudson, Brighton and Howell. After Howell , they will stop in Hartland, Fowlerville, Williamsburg, and East Lansing before converging with the other Moveable Peace walkers in Lansing.
“We want to hear where people are at,” Redigan said. “We want to hear from workers who are unemployed, employed, (or) under-employed. What solutions do people have? There is always better wisdom in a group.”
Area walkers also include Annette Thomas of Clarkston, Jusif Barakat of Pinckney, Gretchen Smith of Lansing, Sharon O’Hare Bruce of Lake Orion and Rudy Wood of Ferndale. Rita Carey of Westland will serve as a driver and will manage logistics.
“The young people – this appeals to them because it’s out there, it’s active, (and) it’s moving. It’s not sitting around a table at a meeting like old people do,” Redigan said.
Colleen Mills, president of Livonia-based nonprofit Citizens for Peace, said in addition to engaging with people along the route of the Moveable Peace walk and listening to their concerns, they hope to collect petition signatures calling for a Michigan commission for peace and justice.
“We have to engage the young people,” Mills said, “and get them to feel that they’re part of creating their future, which is what this is all about.”
Mills said when she heard the concept of having a Michigan Commission for Peace and Justice it “spoke to (her) spirit.”
“I said ‘we have to do this,’” Mills said. “My belief is we have to have, in the structure of government, places for people to have input– the grassroots groups, the non-profit groups, which are huge employers in state, and make this group in this state feel they are part of the decision making.”
Mills added that Citizens for Peace realizes the need to appeal to and include everyone in their message of peace.
“Regardless of what they may think on certain issues, we are all humans and we’ve got to focus on the human beings in this state,” Mills said. “That’s why the idea of having a Michigan commission for peace and justice really appealed to me.”
The group is also planning a presence at the Mackinac Bridge Walk held during Labor Day weekend.
For more information about Moveable Peace, go to www.MoveablePeace.org, its Facebook page, or www.MichiganPeaceNetwork.org.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Citizens for Peace Third Annual Veggie Potluck
The Citizens for Peace will hold their third annual Veggie Potluck at their August 9th meeting at 6:30pm at Unity of Livonia. The meeting is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a vegetarian dish to share or a donation of $5.00. After sharing dinner, the short film, “A Life Connected”, by Nonviolence United, will be shown and discussed. One of the messages in the film is that we have the ability to “feed ourselves and every hungry person on the planet” by using one powerful tool: our fork. Find out how our food choices affect everyone around the world, including the 40,000 people who starve to death daily. Join the discussion on how to expand our circle of compassion, live our values, and change the world. For more information call Colleen at 734-425-0079.
The Citizens for Peace will hold their third annual Veggie Potluck at their August 9th meeting at 6:30pm at Unity of Livonia. The meeting is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a vegetarian dish to share or a donation of $5.00. After sharing dinner, the short film, “A Life Connected”, by Nonviolence United, will be shown and discussed. One of the messages in the film is that we have the ability to “feed ourselves and every hungry person on the planet” by using one powerful tool: our fork. Find out how our food choices affect everyone around the world, including the 40,000 people who starve to death daily. Join the discussion on how to expand our circle of compassion, live our values, and change the world. For more information call Colleen at 734-425-0079.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Budget Priorities Road Show at the Ann Arbor Art Fair
Kevin "Mr Peace" Szawala took his Budget Priorities Road Show to the Ann Arbor Art Fair. Despite the heat,he kept a smile & continued to engage people in conversations about how we should spend our tax dollars.
George & Colleen volunteered at the table and encouraged people to sign the petition calling for a Michigan Commission for Peace & Justice. They picked the day when the record temperature was 100 degrees!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
(A Passage from the book A HIDDEN WHOLENESS)
The soul is generous: it takes in the needs of the world. The soul is wise: it suffers without shutting down. The soul is hopeful: it engages the world in ways that keep opening our hearts. The soul is creative: it finds a path between realities that might defeat us and fantasies that are mere escapes. All we need to do is to bring down the wall that separates us from our own souls and deprives the world of the soul’s regenerative powers.
Parker Palmer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
The soul is generous: it takes in the needs of the world. The soul is wise: it suffers without shutting down. The soul is hopeful: it engages the world in ways that keep opening our hearts. The soul is creative: it finds a path between realities that might defeat us and fantasies that are mere escapes. All we need to do is to bring down the wall that separates us from our own souls and deprives the world of the soul’s regenerative powers.
Parker Palmer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
SOLITUDE AND COMMUNITY
(A Passage from the book A HIDDEN WHOLENESS)
We have much to learn from within, but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the inner life. We have much to learn from others, but it is easy to get lost in the confusion of the crowd. So we need solitude and community simultaneously: what we learn in one mode can check and balance what we learn in the other. Together, they make us whole, like breathing in and breathing out.
But exactly how solitude and community go together turns out to be trickier than breathing. When we say we are in solitude, we often bring other people with us: think of how often our solitude is interrupted by an interior conversation with someone who is not there! When we say we are in community, we often lose track of true self: think of how easily we can forget who we are when we get entangled in group dynamics.
If we are to hold solitude and community together as a true paradox, we need to deepen our understanding of both poles. Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one’s self. It is not about the absence of other people; it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Community does not necessarily mean living face–to–face with others: rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of other people; it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship, whether or not we are alone. When we understand solitude and community in these ways, we also understand what it means to create a circle of trust; a space between us that is hospitable to the soul, a community of solitude where we can be alone together.
Parker Palmer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
(A Passage from the book A HIDDEN WHOLENESS)
We have much to learn from within, but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the inner life. We have much to learn from others, but it is easy to get lost in the confusion of the crowd. So we need solitude and community simultaneously: what we learn in one mode can check and balance what we learn in the other. Together, they make us whole, like breathing in and breathing out.
But exactly how solitude and community go together turns out to be trickier than breathing. When we say we are in solitude, we often bring other people with us: think of how often our solitude is interrupted by an interior conversation with someone who is not there! When we say we are in community, we often lose track of true self: think of how easily we can forget who we are when we get entangled in group dynamics.
If we are to hold solitude and community together as a true paradox, we need to deepen our understanding of both poles. Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one’s self. It is not about the absence of other people; it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Community does not necessarily mean living face–to–face with others: rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of other people; it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship, whether or not we are alone. When we understand solitude and community in these ways, we also understand what it means to create a circle of trust; a space between us that is hospitable to the soul, a community of solitude where we can be alone together.
Parker Palmer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
PLAY FOR PEACE GAMES NIGHT FUNDRAISER FOR MOVEABLE PEACE WILL BE TUESDAY, JULY 12th AT UNITY OF LIVONIA!
Come to a fun evening of peace games and support Moveable Peace! The Citizens for Peace is sponsoring a games night with easy to learn games, refreshments and prizes.
Admission is $10. to help with the Budget Priorities Road Show that will be traveling around Michigan with a Penny Poll, video camera to tape residents sharing their ideas, and the petition calling for a Michigan Commission for Peace & Justice.
This is your opportunity to contribute to this peace effort while having a lot of fun!
For more information, call Colleen at 734-425-0079.
PEACE!!
Come to a fun evening of peace games and support Moveable Peace! The Citizens for Peace is sponsoring a games night with easy to learn games, refreshments and prizes.
Admission is $10. to help with the Budget Priorities Road Show that will be traveling around Michigan with a Penny Poll, video camera to tape residents sharing their ideas, and the petition calling for a Michigan Commission for Peace & Justice.
This is your opportunity to contribute to this peace effort while having a lot of fun!
For more information, call Colleen at 734-425-0079.
PEACE!!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
See Me Beautiful
Look for the best in me.
That’s what I really am
And all I want to be.
It may take some time,
It may be hard to find,
But see me beautiful.
See me beautiful
Each and every day:
Could you find a way
To see me shinning through
In everything I do
And see me beautiful?
Kathy and Red Grammer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Look for the best in me.
That’s what I really am
And all I want to be.
It may take some time,
It may be hard to find,
But see me beautiful.
See me beautiful
Each and every day:
Could you find a way
To see me shinning through
In everything I do
And see me beautiful?
Kathy and Red Grammer
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Thursday, June 02, 2011
The Earth Charter is the Topic of the June 14th Citizens for Peace Meeting
The Tuesday, June 14th meeting of the Citizens for Peace will have a presentation by Nancy Seubert, on the Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace Section of the Earth Charter. Nancy is the coordinator of the IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office.
The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-
being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a product of decade-long, worldwide, cross cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values.
The public is invited to the meeting at Unity of Livonia (Five Mile between Middlebelt & Inkster). The meeting begins at 7 pm.
For more information, call Tada Gunter at 734-425-0120.
The Tuesday, June 14th meeting of the Citizens for Peace will have a presentation by Nancy Seubert, on the Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace Section of the Earth Charter. Nancy is the coordinator of the IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office.
The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-
being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a product of decade-long, worldwide, cross cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values.
The public is invited to the meeting at Unity of Livonia (Five Mile between Middlebelt & Inkster). The meeting begins at 7 pm.
For more information, call Tada Gunter at 734-425-0120.
ARLINGTON MICHIGAN
What an honor to be part of Arlington Michigan in Livonia this year!
The display was a powerful reminder of the true cost of war.
Thank you to the Veterans for Peace for making the display.
A special thank you to Steve Saelzler for devoting his entire Memorial Day to
this event. He said "Some people curse the darkness. We bring light to the world."
Thank you to all of the Citizens for Peace for volunteering to be at the exhibit
for the nine hours the display was up.
Many people drove or walked by and were reminded of the meaning of Memorial Day.
The people who came to spend time reflecting, praying, remembering loved ones, or thinking of all of our soldiers, were grateful for the opportunity.
Here's a link to some photos of the day. Peace, Colleen
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacegal2010/sets/72157626850152182/.
What an honor to be part of Arlington Michigan in Livonia this year!
The display was a powerful reminder of the true cost of war.
Thank you to the Veterans for Peace for making the display.
A special thank you to Steve Saelzler for devoting his entire Memorial Day to
this event. He said "Some people curse the darkness. We bring light to the world."
Thank you to all of the Citizens for Peace for volunteering to be at the exhibit
for the nine hours the display was up.
Many people drove or walked by and were reminded of the meaning of Memorial Day.
The people who came to spend time reflecting, praying, remembering loved ones, or thinking of all of our soldiers, were grateful for the opportunity.
Here's a link to some photos of the day. Peace, Colleen
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacegal2010/sets/72157626850152182/.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Playing for Peace Concert: A Great Kickoff for Moveable Peace!
A good time was had by all of the attendees at the Playing for Peace Concert! So many talented musical artists donated their time & talent to support the kickoff of Moveable Peace: an effort to "move peace" all over Michigan! Thanks to all of the artists, the Citizens for Peace volunteers, the Moveable Peace Committee, and especially to Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala for contributing to the success of a beautiful evening!
The big surprise was having "Generations" joining us at the last minute! Dean Rutledge (center of photo playing the banjo) played with the Kingston Trio, the New Christi Minstrals, and was the opening act for Peter, Paul & Mary! It brought back such lovely memories!
I felt the "peace energy" & good vibrations all night!
Thanks to our performers:
John Wilson, Bill Meyer, Ryan Castelli, Joe Kidd & the Sedition World Orchestra, Diane Western, David Nefesh, John Smolinski, Michael Krieger, Rev. Matthew Long, Ruby Woods, Generations: Harry Miller, Steve Kowalski, Dean Rutledge, Judy Insley, Floyd Raeon, Xavier Moore, Darrin Breil and Kevin 'Mr Peace' Szawala!
WOW!!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Kevin Szawala Shares Information about Moveable Peace, The Playing for Peace Concert, and His Poetry & new CD at Citizens for Peace Meeting!
Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala, the state coordinator of the Department of Peace Campaign, gave a thoughtful talk at our May meeting. He shared the information about the Budget Priorities Road Show he will be taking all over Michigan. He will be performing at the Playing for Peace Concert Friday, May 13th at Unity. He will join an eclectic group of artists to support Moveable Peace. Join us!
Here's one of his poems he shared with us.
Thanks Kevin! Peace, Colleen
"Jobs N' Human Needs Under Attack" by 'Mr. Peace'
I was asked 2 speak 2day 2 send people off on an upbeat note
So I wanted 2 share with u all a little something that I wrote
Social n' political unrest, economic turbulence
N' all these tax cuts 4 the rich that just don't make sense!
See, we're gathered here 2day because our jobs, education, quality of life n' human needs, r all under attack,
But we're optimistic becuz' 'People Power' is startin' 2 make a comeback
U look 2 examples like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya n' Madison, Wisconsin
The epicenter of the Midwest 2 reverse a wave of unprecedented revisions with legislation
Fightin' 2 defend worker's rights n' doin' whatever it takes
N' we'll do the same thing, even if that means weeks of non-stop protests, here in the Great Lakes State!
Cuz' it ain't fair when the working families n' middle class r forced 2 suffer n' live on smaller budgets
No, we need Systematic Change 2 put a stop 2 the Big Corporation tax cuts
We gotta band 2gether, it's time 4 all of us 2 unite!
It's our Collective Responsibility; staying 'Collective' 4 Collective Bargaining in this fight!
N' people often ask me if all of this stuff makes me lose sleep at nite
I simply reply, "Yeah, u better believe it! N' I won't rest 'til I see the Light,
Begin 2 shine thru the Dark Room of Injustice, where People, finally come b4 Profits!
N' the terms, "Common Good" n' "Just Society", become a top priority, not just the next looked over topic
I even heard it said here 2day in this room, where we treat these democratic wordz just like Oxygen
Where u can't breathe w/o them, similar 2 not bein' able 2 live w/o bein' surrounded by water here in Michigan
So let's take action, collaboratively address these issues head on by calling on our Congress,
N' by signin' a Petition az a Coalition 2 form a Commission 4 Peace n' Justice
We will prevail n' do what's necessary 2 alter the course of history
There's Power in Numbers, n' our Numbers r Growin', az we reach more n' more communities
Yeah, my hope 4 a brighter, a more just 2morrow, comes from all the energy that each one of you brings
N' the powerful phrase that made sure the country we live in would never be the same: "Let Freedom Ring!"
Peace In.
Kevin 'Mr. Peace'Szawala
856-MR_PEACE
(856-677-3223)
Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala, the state coordinator of the Department of Peace Campaign, gave a thoughtful talk at our May meeting. He shared the information about the Budget Priorities Road Show he will be taking all over Michigan. He will be performing at the Playing for Peace Concert Friday, May 13th at Unity. He will join an eclectic group of artists to support Moveable Peace. Join us!
Here's one of his poems he shared with us.
Thanks Kevin! Peace, Colleen
"Jobs N' Human Needs Under Attack" by 'Mr. Peace'
I was asked 2 speak 2day 2 send people off on an upbeat note
So I wanted 2 share with u all a little something that I wrote
Social n' political unrest, economic turbulence
N' all these tax cuts 4 the rich that just don't make sense!
See, we're gathered here 2day because our jobs, education, quality of life n' human needs, r all under attack,
But we're optimistic becuz' 'People Power' is startin' 2 make a comeback
U look 2 examples like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya n' Madison, Wisconsin
The epicenter of the Midwest 2 reverse a wave of unprecedented revisions with legislation
Fightin' 2 defend worker's rights n' doin' whatever it takes
N' we'll do the same thing, even if that means weeks of non-stop protests, here in the Great Lakes State!
Cuz' it ain't fair when the working families n' middle class r forced 2 suffer n' live on smaller budgets
No, we need Systematic Change 2 put a stop 2 the Big Corporation tax cuts
We gotta band 2gether, it's time 4 all of us 2 unite!
It's our Collective Responsibility; staying 'Collective' 4 Collective Bargaining in this fight!
N' people often ask me if all of this stuff makes me lose sleep at nite
I simply reply, "Yeah, u better believe it! N' I won't rest 'til I see the Light,
Begin 2 shine thru the Dark Room of Injustice, where People, finally come b4 Profits!
N' the terms, "Common Good" n' "Just Society", become a top priority, not just the next looked over topic
I even heard it said here 2day in this room, where we treat these democratic wordz just like Oxygen
Where u can't breathe w/o them, similar 2 not bein' able 2 live w/o bein' surrounded by water here in Michigan
So let's take action, collaboratively address these issues head on by calling on our Congress,
N' by signin' a Petition az a Coalition 2 form a Commission 4 Peace n' Justice
We will prevail n' do what's necessary 2 alter the course of history
There's Power in Numbers, n' our Numbers r Growin', az we reach more n' more communities
Yeah, my hope 4 a brighter, a more just 2morrow, comes from all the energy that each one of you brings
N' the powerful phrase that made sure the country we live in would never be the same: "Let Freedom Ring!"
Peace In.
Kevin 'Mr. Peace'Szawala
856-MR_PEACE
(856-677-3223)
Monday, May 09, 2011
Colleen Mills Invited to Talk on The Tony Show Friday Morning At 7a.m.!
The Tony Trupiano show is back on am 1310!
His show is called First Shift and airs Monday through Friday from 6 am - 9 am. He invited me to talk about the Playing for Peace Concert kickoff event for Moveable Peace at 7 am this Friday! Call in and support Tony's show. The call in number is 888-552-3595. You can also listen live online at www.thetonyshow.org.
"First Shift with Tony Trupiano is devoted to the higher idea of what community is and toward that end our goal on a daily basis is to shed light where there is darkness, expose wrong and to establish right, create opportunity and provide a platform for extended debate but also to provide, expect, and demand solutions to problems."
...from thetonyshow.org website.
Peace, Colleen
The Tony Trupiano show is back on am 1310!
His show is called First Shift and airs Monday through Friday from 6 am - 9 am. He invited me to talk about the Playing for Peace Concert kickoff event for Moveable Peace at 7 am this Friday! Call in and support Tony's show. The call in number is 888-552-3595. You can also listen live online at www.thetonyshow.org.
"First Shift with Tony Trupiano is devoted to the higher idea of what community is and toward that end our goal on a daily basis is to shed light where there is darkness, expose wrong and to establish right, create opportunity and provide a platform for extended debate but also to provide, expect, and demand solutions to problems."
...from thetonyshow.org website.
Peace, Colleen
Arlington Michigan
Join the Veterans for Peace and the Citizens for Peace as we observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 30, 2011. Stop by and reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day at Arlington Michigan, a display of crosses with the photo and name of each Michigan soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The display will be at the Livonia Civic Center Park (South side of Five Mile, East of Farmington Rd.) from 9 am - 6 pm. PEACE! Colleen
Sunday, May 08, 2011
What a Busy Week for the Citizens for Peace!
In one week we visited our Senator, our Congressman and Congressman Conyers to talk about peace! Colleen is giving Congressman Conyers a folder with the US Peace Index, information about Moveable Peace, the flyers for the Playing for Peace Concert and Arlington Michigan, and the MI Department of Peace Political Action Guide. He invited her to come to his office and discuss all of the information. He hadn't heard about the US Peace Index or Moveable Peace. He suggested a forum with Congressman McCotter in the 11th District and in his District. He is supportive of HR 808 and the People's Budget! I look forward to working with Congressman Conyers this summer!
Peace, Colleen
Rosemary Doyle Delivers a Book Instead of a Pie
Rosemary Doyle delivered the book "A History of War" and the Press Release on the US Peace Index to Congressman McCotter's office for the Mother's Day "Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie" Campaign. She also provided a letter from Colleen Mills, President of the Citizens for Peace, requesting that the Congressman support HR 808 and share the information of the US Peace Index with his colleagues. We will share his response.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Peace Wants A Piece of the Pie Mother's Day Visit.
We visited Senator Stabenow's office for the annual Mother's Day "Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie" campaign. Gloria arranged the meeting with Barbara McCallahan, senator Stabenow's assistant. We had a great discussion of the new US Peace Index that focuses on using funds for social uplift to save billions of dollars and create millions of jobs. We requested Senator Stabenow to introduce the Department of Peace legislation in the Senate and to share the US Peace Index findings with her colleagues. Tada, Colleen, Sally and Gloria are shown with Barbara McCallahan.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
The following email I received helped me understand my mixed feelings over the death of Osama. I have feelings of sadness and relief. Killing another human being does not seem to be the right thing to do to bring justice. However, knowing that he no longer exists really means
that there may be a new beginning, hopefully, for the better. This article was an examination of
conscience for me. What do you think? Rosemary Doyle, Citizens for Peace
Dear Mr. Bin Laden,
Just so you know. I won?t be having cocktails at the White House or
marching in the streets to celebrate your passing. When I heard you
were gone, I only felt sadness. It is not a sadness that comes from
any sort of love or solidarity or even pity. Do not misunderstand me.
It is a deep sadness that comes when we glorify and justify violence
as a means to destroy what we deem evil. It is something you were
especially good at.
So why am I sad? I have sadness that your hatred has poisoned and
murdered so many; sadness that fear and revenge is called justice;
sadness that we Americans have justified tens of thousands of deaths
in Afghanistan, nearly 1 million in the Iraq war, and many other
targeted killings in Pakistan that weren?t you. I imagine we will see
your death as a ?successful campaign? with no American lives lost. The
irony will escape us. I wonder if it does you.
We talk about ?the enemy? and ?evil? when we speak of you. Since that
bitter September day in 2001, we have used the word evil as if a human
can be evil to their core. You join the ranks of evil-doers like
Hitler and Mussolini. My guess is that in some way, you have enjoyed
that, although you knew we were wrong. You embraced that sort of
extreme ideology that labeled Americans and others who disagreed with
you as evil. For you, and for us, the way we try to remove evil is to
hunt it down and kill it, saying ?praise god? all the way down. We?re
not so very different, you and we Americans.
?We think evil acts (and people) should be taken care of through war
and violence
?We call upon God to justify our violence
?We use our financial resources to support wars that agree with us
across the world
?We recruit our children to be our front line warriors while we give
orders from board room
Mr. Bin Laden, I think that what you stood for and how you worked was
evil, but I never thought you were. Even you were not outside the
possibility of grace and change. I think of you as wounded and broken,
mislead, oppressed and wrong, but not evil.
I suppose that makes me an extremist also. But, if I am going to be an
extremist, it will be to say that no human being is evil, not even
you. You will be accountable for your actions and although I do not
fancy standing beside you ?when the roll is called up yonder,? I do
not hold those things in my hands. And I believe that love survives
and that grace can change and heal us AND those we offend ? and that
it is not my job to decide what happens to you.
I won?t be the life of anyone?s death party.
So now, partly because I know your body will not receive any burial
prayer, I offer a prayer for your death. And it is to our mutual
creator.
God of love, Creator of all good and precious human beings. We offer
to you our brother, Osama Bin Laden. He came into this world just like
we did, born into imperfection and a broken and unjust world, human
with potential for so much good. He made choices that took him on a
horrible path. He hurt so many of your beautiful children. We know he
is accountable to his actions and attitudes. Will you help those
innocent ones whose lives he has destroyed to forgive him so that they
can move forward into love? Will you open up the eyes of those who
have loved and admired him to the possibility of grace and kindness
toward even those they fear? Will you please take all of our feelings
and after we have had a season to acknowledge them, create something
hopeful out of them? Please break through the bitterness of fear and
revenge and bring healing. We want to give him into your hands, though
we do not know if our hearts will let us. We trust that your broken
heart can somehow heal us and even him. A-men.
that there may be a new beginning, hopefully, for the better. This article was an examination of
conscience for me. What do you think? Rosemary Doyle, Citizens for Peace
Dear Mr. Bin Laden,
Just so you know. I won?t be having cocktails at the White House or
marching in the streets to celebrate your passing. When I heard you
were gone, I only felt sadness. It is not a sadness that comes from
any sort of love or solidarity or even pity. Do not misunderstand me.
It is a deep sadness that comes when we glorify and justify violence
as a means to destroy what we deem evil. It is something you were
especially good at.
So why am I sad? I have sadness that your hatred has poisoned and
murdered so many; sadness that fear and revenge is called justice;
sadness that we Americans have justified tens of thousands of deaths
in Afghanistan, nearly 1 million in the Iraq war, and many other
targeted killings in Pakistan that weren?t you. I imagine we will see
your death as a ?successful campaign? with no American lives lost. The
irony will escape us. I wonder if it does you.
We talk about ?the enemy? and ?evil? when we speak of you. Since that
bitter September day in 2001, we have used the word evil as if a human
can be evil to their core. You join the ranks of evil-doers like
Hitler and Mussolini. My guess is that in some way, you have enjoyed
that, although you knew we were wrong. You embraced that sort of
extreme ideology that labeled Americans and others who disagreed with
you as evil. For you, and for us, the way we try to remove evil is to
hunt it down and kill it, saying ?praise god? all the way down. We?re
not so very different, you and we Americans.
?We think evil acts (and people) should be taken care of through war
and violence
?We call upon God to justify our violence
?We use our financial resources to support wars that agree with us
across the world
?We recruit our children to be our front line warriors while we give
orders from board room
Mr. Bin Laden, I think that what you stood for and how you worked was
evil, but I never thought you were. Even you were not outside the
possibility of grace and change. I think of you as wounded and broken,
mislead, oppressed and wrong, but not evil.
I suppose that makes me an extremist also. But, if I am going to be an
extremist, it will be to say that no human being is evil, not even
you. You will be accountable for your actions and although I do not
fancy standing beside you ?when the roll is called up yonder,? I do
not hold those things in my hands. And I believe that love survives
and that grace can change and heal us AND those we offend ? and that
it is not my job to decide what happens to you.
I won?t be the life of anyone?s death party.
So now, partly because I know your body will not receive any burial
prayer, I offer a prayer for your death. And it is to our mutual
creator.
God of love, Creator of all good and precious human beings. We offer
to you our brother, Osama Bin Laden. He came into this world just like
we did, born into imperfection and a broken and unjust world, human
with potential for so much good. He made choices that took him on a
horrible path. He hurt so many of your beautiful children. We know he
is accountable to his actions and attitudes. Will you help those
innocent ones whose lives he has destroyed to forgive him so that they
can move forward into love? Will you open up the eyes of those who
have loved and admired him to the possibility of grace and kindness
toward even those they fear? Will you please take all of our feelings
and after we have had a season to acknowledge them, create something
hopeful out of them? Please break through the bitterness of fear and
revenge and bring healing. We want to give him into your hands, though
we do not know if our hearts will let us. We trust that your broken
heart can somehow heal us and even him. A-men.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
What: Playing for Peace Concert
Where: Unity of Livonia, on Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster
When: Friday, May 13, 2011, 7-9:30pm – doors open at 6:30pm
Who: Musicians performing to raise funds for Moveable Peace – all welcome
Livonia, MI – A dozen talented local musical performers will be Playing For Peace during a 2 ½ hour concert at Unity of Livonia, Friday, May 13. The eclectic peace players will render performances, ranging from pop, blues, and jazz, to country and folk, to hip hop suitable for all ages.
The concert features 30-year veteran entertainer Bill Meyer, country folk artist Joe Kidd, pop/rock/folk songs of David Nefesh, soulful, a cappella vocals of Ruby Woods, and uplifting songs of Michael Krieger. The contemporary acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo sounds of Judy Insley and Floyd Raeon will include a touch of bluegrass. Kevin Mr. Peace” Szawala will perform consciousness-raising hip-hop aimed at today’s youth. Many of these local favorites will have CDs and performance schedules available.
The Peace Players will perform to raise funds for a statewide effort this summer by a coalition of Michigan Peace groups to increase awareness of the need for a viable culture of peace. Termed “Moveable Peace” the summer activities include coordinated community events, a traveling mobile exhibit featuring a nine foot tall “Peace Mama” puppet, and Peace emissary Kevin Szawala.
A ten-day peace walk from all over the state to Lansing, a convergence of peace representatives statewide at the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day, and participation in the Detroit Labor Day Parade are planned.
Highlight of the summer’s activities will be the submission of a petition to the state legislature and governor requesting the establishment of a Michigan Commission for Peace & Justice.
A donation of $10 per person is requested at the concert. Unity of Livonia is located on Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
For more information contact Colleen Mills, Citizens for Peace, at 734-425-0079 or cmills0079@yahoo.com
Where: Unity of Livonia, on Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster
When: Friday, May 13, 2011, 7-9:30pm – doors open at 6:30pm
Who: Musicians performing to raise funds for Moveable Peace – all welcome
Livonia, MI – A dozen talented local musical performers will be Playing For Peace during a 2 ½ hour concert at Unity of Livonia, Friday, May 13. The eclectic peace players will render performances, ranging from pop, blues, and jazz, to country and folk, to hip hop suitable for all ages.
The concert features 30-year veteran entertainer Bill Meyer, country folk artist Joe Kidd, pop/rock/folk songs of David Nefesh, soulful, a cappella vocals of Ruby Woods, and uplifting songs of Michael Krieger. The contemporary acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo sounds of Judy Insley and Floyd Raeon will include a touch of bluegrass. Kevin Mr. Peace” Szawala will perform consciousness-raising hip-hop aimed at today’s youth. Many of these local favorites will have CDs and performance schedules available.
The Peace Players will perform to raise funds for a statewide effort this summer by a coalition of Michigan Peace groups to increase awareness of the need for a viable culture of peace. Termed “Moveable Peace” the summer activities include coordinated community events, a traveling mobile exhibit featuring a nine foot tall “Peace Mama” puppet, and Peace emissary Kevin Szawala.
A ten-day peace walk from all over the state to Lansing, a convergence of peace representatives statewide at the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day, and participation in the Detroit Labor Day Parade are planned.
Highlight of the summer’s activities will be the submission of a petition to the state legislature and governor requesting the establishment of a Michigan Commission for Peace & Justice.
A donation of $10 per person is requested at the concert. Unity of Livonia is located on Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
For more information contact Colleen Mills, Citizens for Peace, at 734-425-0079 or cmills0079@yahoo.com
Join us for our May 10th Citizens for Peace Meeting!
Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala will be talking about the Moveable Peace Budget Priorities Road Show he will be conducting all over Michigan this summer. He will share the information about Peace Pizzazz, an annual event in Western Michigan sponsored by the 6th District Department of Peace group. Kevin is the State Coordinator of the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign. He is a motivational speaker who at a young age has devoted his life to creating more peace on our planet starting right here in Michigan. It will be a fun and informative presentation. See you at Unity of Livonia on Tuesday, May 10th at 7 pm. Bring your friends!
Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala will be talking about the Moveable Peace Budget Priorities Road Show he will be conducting all over Michigan this summer. He will share the information about Peace Pizzazz, an annual event in Western Michigan sponsored by the 6th District Department of Peace group. Kevin is the State Coordinator of the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign. He is a motivational speaker who at a young age has devoted his life to creating more peace on our planet starting right here in Michigan. It will be a fun and informative presentation. See you at Unity of Livonia on Tuesday, May 10th at 7 pm. Bring your friends!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein Peace to You and Yours with Love Jerry
Sunday, April 03, 2011
CITIZENS FOR PEACE APRIL MEETING
What: Unmasking Youth Violence
When: April 12, 7:00 PM
Where: Unity of Livonia, 28660 Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster roads
Unmasking Youth Violence is the topic of the Citizens for Peace monthly meeting Tuesday, April 12th at Unity of Livonia. The public is invited.
Guest speaker David J. Harding, PhD, University of Michigan, will highlight the social organization of violence in poor communities. He will examine consequences of growing up in a violent environment and how violence affects adolescent decision making as well as how it affects other aspects of their lives.
A Harvard graduate, Dr. Harding is Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Ford School of Public Policy Research. He has studied urban poverty and inequality, incarceration & prison reentry for the past ten years.
The Citizens for Peace is a non sectarian, non profit community based organization working to create a culture of Peace.
Meetings begin promptly at 7 p.m. at Unity of Livonia, 28660 Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster roads. For further information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079/ cmills0079@yahoo.com.
What: Unmasking Youth Violence
When: April 12, 7:00 PM
Where: Unity of Livonia, 28660 Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster roads
Unmasking Youth Violence is the topic of the Citizens for Peace monthly meeting Tuesday, April 12th at Unity of Livonia. The public is invited.
Guest speaker David J. Harding, PhD, University of Michigan, will highlight the social organization of violence in poor communities. He will examine consequences of growing up in a violent environment and how violence affects adolescent decision making as well as how it affects other aspects of their lives.
A Harvard graduate, Dr. Harding is Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Ford School of Public Policy Research. He has studied urban poverty and inequality, incarceration & prison reentry for the past ten years.
The Citizens for Peace is a non sectarian, non profit community based organization working to create a culture of Peace.
Meetings begin promptly at 7 p.m. at Unity of Livonia, 28660 Five Mile Road between Middlebelt & Inkster roads. For further information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079/ cmills0079@yahoo.com.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest” Unknown author Peace to You and Yours with Love Jerry
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Congratulations Sally!
Sally Peck, our Inner Peace Director, was presented with the Annual Purple Ribbon for Peace Award at the Pax Christi Conference on Saturday, March 26th! Sally is a life-long peace activist who worked to eliminate the death penalty. Her acceptance speech was very powerful. She mentioned Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote "A country that spends more on its military than programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." What an inspiration and example to all of your grandchildren who were there!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Citizens for Peace and Madonna University Present a Nonviolent Film Festival
“Peacemaking is not for wimps”, someone once said. The Citizens for Peace Nonviolent Film Series which begins Wednesday, April 6th at Madonna University, clearly illustrates that.
These films will be shown to the public – one each Wednesday for 3 weeks- and will highlight unique and powerful methods of bringing about Peace in nonviolent ways.
On April 6th “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, will be aired. It is a riveting account of how brave, relentless women prevented rival tribal warlords and a cruel dictator from tearing apart the West African nation of Liberia. Fed up with years of internal strife that threatened the existence of that nation, these visionary women used nonviolent tactics to bring about the rebuilding of Liberia after decades of civil strife.
Special guest speaker Barbara Tally, Executive Director of the Detroit West District Peace Center, will facilitate a discussion afterwards and share her experiences in Liberia.
Next, on April 13th, “The Singing Revolution” celebrates how the people of tiny Estonia (population 1.3 million) threw off the shackles of the Soviet Union, not with weapons, but with song! Yes, using song, a million people came together on the brink of extinction to fulfill a dream.
Finally, on April 20th, Hollywood actor & United Nations Messenger for Peace, Michael Douglas, narrates “Soldiers of Peace”. This film illustrates how some of the worlds’ problems can be dealt with in positive ways. People working creatively for peace in Columbia, Ireland, England, Liberia, Nigeria, USA, & Kenya will be featured.
All films will be shown at 7 p.m. in Madonna University’s new Franciscan Center. Turn right on Bridget Drive, off Schoolcraft, west of Levan. Free parking in West lots A & B. Refreshments are available. Donations: $5.00 per event. Students: free.
For additional information, phone or email Colleen Mills 734-425-0079/ cmills0079@yahoo.com
“Peacemaking is not for wimps”, someone once said. The Citizens for Peace Nonviolent Film Series which begins Wednesday, April 6th at Madonna University, clearly illustrates that.
These films will be shown to the public – one each Wednesday for 3 weeks- and will highlight unique and powerful methods of bringing about Peace in nonviolent ways.
On April 6th “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, will be aired. It is a riveting account of how brave, relentless women prevented rival tribal warlords and a cruel dictator from tearing apart the West African nation of Liberia. Fed up with years of internal strife that threatened the existence of that nation, these visionary women used nonviolent tactics to bring about the rebuilding of Liberia after decades of civil strife.
Special guest speaker Barbara Tally, Executive Director of the Detroit West District Peace Center, will facilitate a discussion afterwards and share her experiences in Liberia.
Next, on April 13th, “The Singing Revolution” celebrates how the people of tiny Estonia (population 1.3 million) threw off the shackles of the Soviet Union, not with weapons, but with song! Yes, using song, a million people came together on the brink of extinction to fulfill a dream.
Finally, on April 20th, Hollywood actor & United Nations Messenger for Peace, Michael Douglas, narrates “Soldiers of Peace”. This film illustrates how some of the worlds’ problems can be dealt with in positive ways. People working creatively for peace in Columbia, Ireland, England, Liberia, Nigeria, USA, & Kenya will be featured.
All films will be shown at 7 p.m. in Madonna University’s new Franciscan Center. Turn right on Bridget Drive, off Schoolcraft, west of Levan. Free parking in West lots A & B. Refreshments are available. Donations: $5.00 per event. Students: free.
For additional information, phone or email Colleen Mills 734-425-0079/ cmills0079@yahoo.com
Friday, March 11, 2011
“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility.
Kate D. Wiggins
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Kate D. Wiggins
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Monday, February 21, 2011
How Could So Many Murder So Many?
This is the question Robert Weir will pose at our March 8th Citizens for Peace meeting.
The Holocaust is not only about Germans and Jews but about any people, anytime, anywhere! Robert will share his experiences visiting the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in East Berlin starting with a 12 minute video followed by a discussion of the similarities between then and now. Bring your friends to this powerful presentation!
This is the question Robert Weir will pose at our March 8th Citizens for Peace meeting.
The Holocaust is not only about Germans and Jews but about any people, anytime, anywhere! Robert will share his experiences visiting the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in East Berlin starting with a 12 minute video followed by a discussion of the similarities between then and now. Bring your friends to this powerful presentation!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Monday, February 07, 2011
CITIZENS FOR PEACE FEBRUARY MEETING
The Season of Nonviolence is from Jan. 30 - April 4!
Let us all make the commitment to practice nonviolence in our thoughts, words and actions every day.
Our February meeting has the theme "Choosing Nonviolence". We will be discussing 4 peacemakers:
Thoreau, Gandhi, King & Anderson Sa.
Think about how you practice nonviolence in your own life.
See you at our meeting at Unity of Livonia, Feb. 8th at 7 pm.
The Season of Nonviolence is from Jan. 30 - April 4!
Let us all make the commitment to practice nonviolence in our thoughts, words and actions every day.
Our February meeting has the theme "Choosing Nonviolence". We will be discussing 4 peacemakers:
Thoreau, Gandhi, King & Anderson Sa.
Think about how you practice nonviolence in your own life.
See you at our meeting at Unity of Livonia, Feb. 8th at 7 pm.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
THE FOUR AGREEMENTS
BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using words to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
DON’T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement you can transform your life.
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment: it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Don Miguel Ruiz
BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using words to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
DON’T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement you can transform your life.
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment: it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Don Miguel Ruiz
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Moveable Peace Presents a Letter Requesting a Michigan Commission of Peace and Justice!
The Citizens for Peace support the effort to "Move Peace" all over Michigan.
I have drafted a letter that will have a petition for the creation of the Commission of Peace and Justice. It will be presented on August 9th after a 10 day walk to Lansing. Here is the first draft. Comments are appreciated. Peace, Colleen
Letter of Petition for the Creation of a Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice
“The underlying key to success…is to change our culture. We need to go from negative to positive, we need to stop looking in the rear-view mirror and look toward the future. We need to stop being divisive and start being inclusive.” - Gov. Rick Snyder
The leadership expressed by our new governor gives hope to the 150 groups in the Michigan Peace Network – www.michiganpeacenetwork.com. It is time to celebrate the achievements of our citizens groups with the recognition necessary to continue moving Michigan in a positive direction. It is time to include the peace and justice community in the structure of our government. With the vision of changing our culture to one of peace, we submit this letter to Governor Rick Snyder.
To the Honorable Rick Snyder:
The Michigan Department of State Police posted the 2009 FBI Regional Violent Crime Report indicating that Michigan accounts for over 20% of the murders, rapes and aggravated assaults of the 12 Midwestern States.
The U.S. Census web site indicates that approximately 1,347,721 Michigan citizens live in poverty and about 1.8 million Michigan residents are the working poor without enough to cover their basic needs.
The peace and justice community sees a connection with the money spent on war, and the lack of money going to the State of Michigan to help with the human needs that must be met to assure a culture of peace.
By supporting and highlighting the work of the various organizations and groups working for peace and justice around the State, a Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice could be the catalyst for positive change.
It is time to raise our citizens’ awareness of the many peace and justice groups operating to improve the lives of all the residents of our state. Representatives from the groups could serve the State of Michigan by providing information, suggestions and alternative solutions to our problems. Utilizing the awareness of the grassroots network working in Michigan will assist our state in articulating and implementing positive changes to move Michigan closer to creating a culture of peace.
Therefore, we the people of the State of Michigan are respectfully calling on the Governor and the Legislature to create a State of Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice.
The Citizens for Peace support the effort to "Move Peace" all over Michigan.
I have drafted a letter that will have a petition for the creation of the Commission of Peace and Justice. It will be presented on August 9th after a 10 day walk to Lansing. Here is the first draft. Comments are appreciated. Peace, Colleen
Letter of Petition for the Creation of a Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice
“The underlying key to success…is to change our culture. We need to go from negative to positive, we need to stop looking in the rear-view mirror and look toward the future. We need to stop being divisive and start being inclusive.” - Gov. Rick Snyder
The leadership expressed by our new governor gives hope to the 150 groups in the Michigan Peace Network – www.michiganpeacenetwork.com. It is time to celebrate the achievements of our citizens groups with the recognition necessary to continue moving Michigan in a positive direction. It is time to include the peace and justice community in the structure of our government. With the vision of changing our culture to one of peace, we submit this letter to Governor Rick Snyder.
To the Honorable Rick Snyder:
The Michigan Department of State Police posted the 2009 FBI Regional Violent Crime Report indicating that Michigan accounts for over 20% of the murders, rapes and aggravated assaults of the 12 Midwestern States.
The U.S. Census web site indicates that approximately 1,347,721 Michigan citizens live in poverty and about 1.8 million Michigan residents are the working poor without enough to cover their basic needs.
The peace and justice community sees a connection with the money spent on war, and the lack of money going to the State of Michigan to help with the human needs that must be met to assure a culture of peace.
By supporting and highlighting the work of the various organizations and groups working for peace and justice around the State, a Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice could be the catalyst for positive change.
It is time to raise our citizens’ awareness of the many peace and justice groups operating to improve the lives of all the residents of our state. Representatives from the groups could serve the State of Michigan by providing information, suggestions and alternative solutions to our problems. Utilizing the awareness of the grassroots network working in Michigan will assist our state in articulating and implementing positive changes to move Michigan closer to creating a culture of peace.
Therefore, we the people of the State of Michigan are respectfully calling on the Governor and the Legislature to create a State of Michigan Commission of Peace & Justice.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Rabbi Michael Lerner
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When Generosity, Love, and Kindness are Public Policy, the Violence We Saw in Arizona (& is pervasive in American culture) Will Dramatically Diminish
by Rabbi Michael Lerner
The attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gifford and the murder of so many others in Arizona has elicited a number of policy suggestions, from gun control to private protection for elected officials, to banning incitement to violence on websites either directly or more subtly (e.g., Sarah Palin’s putting a bull’s-eye target on Gifford’s congressional district to indicate how important it would be to eliminate her from the Congress).
On the other hand, we hear endless pleas to recognize that the assassin was a lonely and disturbed person whose choice of Hitler’s Mein Kampf as one of his favorite books reflects his own troubled soul, not his affinity to the “hatred of the Other” that has manifested in anti-immigrant movements that have spread from Arizona to many other states and in the United States has taken the form of anti-Islam, discrimination against Latinos, and the more extreme right-wing groups that preach hatred toward Jews.
The problem with this debate is that the explanatory frame is too superficial and seeks to discredit rather than to analyze. I fell into this myself in the immediate aftermath of the murders and attempted assassination. I wrote an op-ed pointing to the right wing’s tendency to violent language and demeaning of liberals and progressives, and its historical tie to anti-Semitism and anti-feminism. Once I heard that the arrested assassin had a connection to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, I reacted from my own childhood pain at realizing that most of my extended family had been murdered by the Nazis. So I pointed to the current violent language used by the right-wing radio hosts and some of the leaders and activists of the Tea Party, and how their discourse helps shape the consciousness of those in pain and provides them with a target. But the problem really is much deeper, so I’m sorry I put forward an analysis that was so dominated by my own righteous indignation that it may have obscured a deeper analysis, and mistakenly insinuated that all Arizonans were responsible for the racism in the current policies toward immigrants and that all people on the Right embrace the hate rhetoric of some of their most extremely popular hate addicts like Glenn Beck, or the ignorance of history that led Sarah Palin to label as "blood libel" the criticisms directed at her. I apologize again, as much for the tone of anger as for the content of that kind of generalization. And although Michael Bader has made a persuasive case that we must challenge media that pretends that use of threats of violence comes as much from the Left as the Right (see his piece at www.tikkun.org), I was very happy that President Obama's call for tolerance and mutual respect seemed to be getting a good response across the political spectrum (and only wish that his call to avoid violence was adopted by his own administration in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and around the world--apparently unaware that if you train your own population to go kill people around the world, some will come home with a love of guns and a certainty that violence and toughness are the ways to deal with problems).
So here is the analytic key to understanding what we must do:
We live in a society in which the fundamental framework of meaning to life has broken down as the ethos of selfishness, materialism, looking out for number one, and “making it” at all costs, endemic to the capitalist order and a part of all previous class based or patriarchal societies. People increasingly see each other through the framework of “what can YOU do to advance my interests, pleasures, or desires?” People are valued by the capitalist order to the extent that we can help the elites of wealth and power increase their wealth and power. When we no longer can, we find ourselves unemployed and desperate to survive economically, socially ostracized, and lonely. No wonder, then, that so many people decide that the only rational behavior is to maximize their own advantage and pursue their own self-interest without regard to the consequences for others. In so doing, we mis-recognize each other, and are in turn mis-recognized by everyone else. Instead of being seen as the embodiment of a sacred or holy or God energy (what religious people call “being created in God’s image”), we are seen as beings whose primary value is based on whether we can fulfill someone else’s agenda. And in that sense, we are not recognized for who we most really and deeply are! This misrecognition makes us feel lonely and misunderstood by almost everyone.
When surrounded by people who only see you in these narrow utilitarian or instrumental terms, many people feel lonely (even inside their own families) and devalued. Of course, this plays out differently for different people. Some will simply become depressed and withdrawn. Others seek comfort in alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, or promiscuous consumption of material things. Still others will seek the momentary experience of solidarity with someone at a football or baseball game when their team is winning, or in a religious or political movement that affirms their value but demeans everyone outside their side, or even in the fantasized community they access through Facebook or other online adventures.
And then there are many who find no such compensatory framework for the real pain that they share with so many millions of others. They become lonely and withdrawn and retreat into their own fantasy world, and in more extreme cases become mentally ill or otherwise dysfunctional. It is a huge mistake to imagine that these conditions develop independent of the social order--just ask yourself why the proportion of violence in the US compared to our population is so much greater than that in other advanced industrial societies (clue: it is not in our genes, it is in the way we have organized our society).
We at the Network of Spiritual Progressives have called for a new kind of politics that seeks to build a society based on love, kindness and generosity — we call it “The Caring Society — Caring for Each Other, Caring for the Earth.”
Several of the people who knew the assassin said that they knew that he was acting weird and felt the need to stay away from him. A community college ousted him. No one thought to organize a group of people to reach out to him, to help him out of his isolation or to get him connected to professionals who might treat him. That is just not part of the ethos of a “looking out for number one” society. Too many people have been taught to think “don’t get involved with someone else’s problems — it might get you into trouble in unpredictable ways.”
So many people walk by the homeless, angry at them for having reminded us of the daily suffering caused by an economic system of which we are part but which we do not think we could change without spending a lot more energy than we have, and risking potentially dangerous confrontations with the rich and powerful forces that control our society. We don’t want to get involved with them, not only because doing so may open us to be vulnerable to their suffering, but also because we ourselves don’t feel that we’ve gotten the recognition we deserve for our own suffering, so “why should I spend my time involving myself with these strangers whose suffering would only add to my burden, particularly since I doubt I have the capacity to do much for them?”
Too many people imagine that we can simply turn our back on the suffering of others, or control it through a military, police, and psychiatric system when the daily barrage of media propaganda hasn’t been sufficient to keep the “dangerous others” in line. Yet we are mistaken, because the suffering of others cannot be escaped and manifests in the election of increasingly right-wing politicians, in crime, and in psychotic behavior from people who may someday enter our personal space in a violent way as did the assassin in Tucson! At your local supermarket, or on the highways, or in a movie theatre or coffee shop or in a shopping mall, or where your children go to school! It has already happened in all of these places, and it will get worse!!! Or perhaps you imagine you could just stay in your home and never leave, and thus be protected? A far more rational, though by no means easy, way to get lasting protection for yourself and your children or grandchildren is to create the Caring Society.
Creating a caring society would require a new bottom line so that every social and governmental policy, every corporation, every school and university, and even every personal behavior is judged to be rational, productive or efficient not only to the extent that it maximizes money or power, but also to the extent that it maximizes love and caring, kindness and generosity, and ethical and ecological sensitivity, as well as enhances our capacity to respond to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the grandeur and mystery of all that is. Allow yourself to imagine a society based on these principles, teaching them in schools, making them the core of the message of the media, and rewarding the behavior of those who embody this New Bottom Line in their work world and/or in their personal lives. This is the Public Policy that would make a huge reduction in violence in our lives and our society!!!
Two major policy initiatives embody this approach and need your support:
1. The ESRA (Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution being introduced into Congress this week on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision. The ESRA aims not only to overturn that decision but also to eliminate all private money in national elections and replace it with public funding. It requires media to supply free and equal time for all major candidates while banning private advertising during the months before the election, and it requires large corporations to get a new corporate charter once every five years — a process that requires them to prove a satisfactory history of environmental and social responsibility to a jury of ordinary citizens using the new bottom line as their guide for assessing corporate social responsibility. The ESRA also requires teaching the values of caring for each other and for the earth at every grade level in any school receiving public funding directly or indirectly (please read it and ask your elected representatives and your city council and state legislature to endorse it — www.spiritualprogressives.org/ESRA and join our campaign to build public support).
2. The GMP (Global Marshall Plan) which would replace the strategy of domination as the way to achieve Homeland Security with a strategy of generosity. The GMP would commit the United States to dedicating 1-2 percent of our annual Gross Domestic Product each year for the next twenty to a program to eliminate domestic and global poverty, homelessness, hunger, and inadequate education and inadequate health care. The program would also seek to repair the global environment and enlist all the other advanced industrial countries in this same venture. (Please read it and ask your elected representatives and your city council and state legislature to endorse it at www.spiritualprogressives.org/GMP and join our campaign to build public support.)
Only within a society whose economic and political institutions are reshaped around this new bottom line do we have a chance of dramatically reducing violence and increasing our safety as individuals or our “homeland security” as a society. It’s not enough to have love in our hearts, because the assumptions and consciousness that is shaped by our contemporary schools, media, and daily experience in the world of work dramatically shape the minds of everyone around us in ways that make it near impossible for anyone but the most privileged or the born saints to keep true to the values of love, kindness, generosity, and caring for each other and the earth while we maneuver through daily life and try to make a living.
Anything short of that societal transformation toward the Caring Society is actually utopian and fanciful, and leads to blaming each other or some group or policy option for the irrational behaviors that are tearing our society apart. So, yes of course, gun control would be helpful as would more psychological support services. Yes, the violent discourse of the Right, like the violence that young men are taught to esteem as they are given the option of “serving their country” through the armed services with its legalized murder of Afghanis and Iraqis, and the media saturation with violence all contribute to our normalizing individual and social pathology, are not just “background” but infuse the consciousness of everyone with the notion that violence is the “realistic way” to deal with whoever is deemed “the enemy.”
We Americans shut our eyes to the 12,000-20,000 children under the age of five who die each day (approximately 12 million a year) from hunger or diseases related to malnutrition and inadequate health care facilities around the world. We don’t even count this as violence, though the mal-distribution of wealth and hence of food and health care are part of the system in which we daily participate and to which we pay our taxes and support by our consumerism. We shut our eyes to the suffering of the poor in our own society, not realizing that in so doing or in supporting lower taxes and cuts of government services we are striking out against the poor in violent ways, guaranteeing that they will be thrown from their homes and denied adequate food, shelter, and health care. We refuse to see the structural violence built into the daily operations of the global economic system of which we are a central part and the violence that we do when we vote against those who would provide adequate support for the poor, the homeless, the downtrodden.
Yet we must not forget that all this violence is only a manifestation of the violence to our humanity that occurs daily in a society in which each of us is constantly being devalued and mis-recognized unless we clawed our way to the top of the economic or political ladders to become “successful.” So I understand and sympathize with those on the Right who say, “hey, don’t blame me” because in fact their behaviors are just another part of the cry of pain that so many people feel deeply and have no way of understanding or dealing with. Our society is bursting with the silent screams of tens of millions of people suffering systematic and daily assaults on their dignity, their humanity, and their capacities to be loving, kind, gentle, and generous. So much unrecognized and pervasive pain! Until we transform this big picture, all the little efforts, all the noble reforms, all the good intentions, will amount to little. Moreover, and this is the point missed by those who say “later we’ll deal with that pain, but first we must defeat the Right and provide jobs and food and shelter,” we will never be in a position to deliver on people’s material needs until we build a movement of the majority of Americans to do that, and we will never succeed in building such a movement until we can effectively address this pervasive pain and provide adequate alternatives to the pain reduction provided by fundamentalist religions, drugs, alcohol, profligate materialism, and politics aimed at blaming some relatively powerless group for all the pain whose origin actually lies in the fundamental ethos of our global economic and political system. And that, more than anything else, is why we need a worldwide tikkun olam (healing, repair and transformation of the world). How to get there is described in the Spiritual Covenant with America that guides Tikkun's action and education arm: The Network of Spiritual Progressives.
Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue. To see how to turn these ideas into actual political practice, read the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ESRA) and the Global Marshall Plan (GMP), and then please join as a member of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (all can be found at www.spiritualprogressives.org).
Join or Donate Now!
When Generosity, Love, and Kindness are Public Policy, the Violence We Saw in Arizona (& is pervasive in American culture) Will Dramatically Diminish
by Rabbi Michael Lerner
The attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gifford and the murder of so many others in Arizona has elicited a number of policy suggestions, from gun control to private protection for elected officials, to banning incitement to violence on websites either directly or more subtly (e.g., Sarah Palin’s putting a bull’s-eye target on Gifford’s congressional district to indicate how important it would be to eliminate her from the Congress).
On the other hand, we hear endless pleas to recognize that the assassin was a lonely and disturbed person whose choice of Hitler’s Mein Kampf as one of his favorite books reflects his own troubled soul, not his affinity to the “hatred of the Other” that has manifested in anti-immigrant movements that have spread from Arizona to many other states and in the United States has taken the form of anti-Islam, discrimination against Latinos, and the more extreme right-wing groups that preach hatred toward Jews.
The problem with this debate is that the explanatory frame is too superficial and seeks to discredit rather than to analyze. I fell into this myself in the immediate aftermath of the murders and attempted assassination. I wrote an op-ed pointing to the right wing’s tendency to violent language and demeaning of liberals and progressives, and its historical tie to anti-Semitism and anti-feminism. Once I heard that the arrested assassin had a connection to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, I reacted from my own childhood pain at realizing that most of my extended family had been murdered by the Nazis. So I pointed to the current violent language used by the right-wing radio hosts and some of the leaders and activists of the Tea Party, and how their discourse helps shape the consciousness of those in pain and provides them with a target. But the problem really is much deeper, so I’m sorry I put forward an analysis that was so dominated by my own righteous indignation that it may have obscured a deeper analysis, and mistakenly insinuated that all Arizonans were responsible for the racism in the current policies toward immigrants and that all people on the Right embrace the hate rhetoric of some of their most extremely popular hate addicts like Glenn Beck, or the ignorance of history that led Sarah Palin to label as "blood libel" the criticisms directed at her. I apologize again, as much for the tone of anger as for the content of that kind of generalization. And although Michael Bader has made a persuasive case that we must challenge media that pretends that use of threats of violence comes as much from the Left as the Right (see his piece at www.tikkun.org), I was very happy that President Obama's call for tolerance and mutual respect seemed to be getting a good response across the political spectrum (and only wish that his call to avoid violence was adopted by his own administration in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and around the world--apparently unaware that if you train your own population to go kill people around the world, some will come home with a love of guns and a certainty that violence and toughness are the ways to deal with problems).
So here is the analytic key to understanding what we must do:
We live in a society in which the fundamental framework of meaning to life has broken down as the ethos of selfishness, materialism, looking out for number one, and “making it” at all costs, endemic to the capitalist order and a part of all previous class based or patriarchal societies. People increasingly see each other through the framework of “what can YOU do to advance my interests, pleasures, or desires?” People are valued by the capitalist order to the extent that we can help the elites of wealth and power increase their wealth and power. When we no longer can, we find ourselves unemployed and desperate to survive economically, socially ostracized, and lonely. No wonder, then, that so many people decide that the only rational behavior is to maximize their own advantage and pursue their own self-interest without regard to the consequences for others. In so doing, we mis-recognize each other, and are in turn mis-recognized by everyone else. Instead of being seen as the embodiment of a sacred or holy or God energy (what religious people call “being created in God’s image”), we are seen as beings whose primary value is based on whether we can fulfill someone else’s agenda. And in that sense, we are not recognized for who we most really and deeply are! This misrecognition makes us feel lonely and misunderstood by almost everyone.
When surrounded by people who only see you in these narrow utilitarian or instrumental terms, many people feel lonely (even inside their own families) and devalued. Of course, this plays out differently for different people. Some will simply become depressed and withdrawn. Others seek comfort in alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, or promiscuous consumption of material things. Still others will seek the momentary experience of solidarity with someone at a football or baseball game when their team is winning, or in a religious or political movement that affirms their value but demeans everyone outside their side, or even in the fantasized community they access through Facebook or other online adventures.
And then there are many who find no such compensatory framework for the real pain that they share with so many millions of others. They become lonely and withdrawn and retreat into their own fantasy world, and in more extreme cases become mentally ill or otherwise dysfunctional. It is a huge mistake to imagine that these conditions develop independent of the social order--just ask yourself why the proportion of violence in the US compared to our population is so much greater than that in other advanced industrial societies (clue: it is not in our genes, it is in the way we have organized our society).
We at the Network of Spiritual Progressives have called for a new kind of politics that seeks to build a society based on love, kindness and generosity — we call it “The Caring Society — Caring for Each Other, Caring for the Earth.”
Several of the people who knew the assassin said that they knew that he was acting weird and felt the need to stay away from him. A community college ousted him. No one thought to organize a group of people to reach out to him, to help him out of his isolation or to get him connected to professionals who might treat him. That is just not part of the ethos of a “looking out for number one” society. Too many people have been taught to think “don’t get involved with someone else’s problems — it might get you into trouble in unpredictable ways.”
So many people walk by the homeless, angry at them for having reminded us of the daily suffering caused by an economic system of which we are part but which we do not think we could change without spending a lot more energy than we have, and risking potentially dangerous confrontations with the rich and powerful forces that control our society. We don’t want to get involved with them, not only because doing so may open us to be vulnerable to their suffering, but also because we ourselves don’t feel that we’ve gotten the recognition we deserve for our own suffering, so “why should I spend my time involving myself with these strangers whose suffering would only add to my burden, particularly since I doubt I have the capacity to do much for them?”
Too many people imagine that we can simply turn our back on the suffering of others, or control it through a military, police, and psychiatric system when the daily barrage of media propaganda hasn’t been sufficient to keep the “dangerous others” in line. Yet we are mistaken, because the suffering of others cannot be escaped and manifests in the election of increasingly right-wing politicians, in crime, and in psychotic behavior from people who may someday enter our personal space in a violent way as did the assassin in Tucson! At your local supermarket, or on the highways, or in a movie theatre or coffee shop or in a shopping mall, or where your children go to school! It has already happened in all of these places, and it will get worse!!! Or perhaps you imagine you could just stay in your home and never leave, and thus be protected? A far more rational, though by no means easy, way to get lasting protection for yourself and your children or grandchildren is to create the Caring Society.
Creating a caring society would require a new bottom line so that every social and governmental policy, every corporation, every school and university, and even every personal behavior is judged to be rational, productive or efficient not only to the extent that it maximizes money or power, but also to the extent that it maximizes love and caring, kindness and generosity, and ethical and ecological sensitivity, as well as enhances our capacity to respond to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the grandeur and mystery of all that is. Allow yourself to imagine a society based on these principles, teaching them in schools, making them the core of the message of the media, and rewarding the behavior of those who embody this New Bottom Line in their work world and/or in their personal lives. This is the Public Policy that would make a huge reduction in violence in our lives and our society!!!
Two major policy initiatives embody this approach and need your support:
1. The ESRA (Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution being introduced into Congress this week on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision. The ESRA aims not only to overturn that decision but also to eliminate all private money in national elections and replace it with public funding. It requires media to supply free and equal time for all major candidates while banning private advertising during the months before the election, and it requires large corporations to get a new corporate charter once every five years — a process that requires them to prove a satisfactory history of environmental and social responsibility to a jury of ordinary citizens using the new bottom line as their guide for assessing corporate social responsibility. The ESRA also requires teaching the values of caring for each other and for the earth at every grade level in any school receiving public funding directly or indirectly (please read it and ask your elected representatives and your city council and state legislature to endorse it — www.spiritualprogressives.org/ESRA and join our campaign to build public support).
2. The GMP (Global Marshall Plan) which would replace the strategy of domination as the way to achieve Homeland Security with a strategy of generosity. The GMP would commit the United States to dedicating 1-2 percent of our annual Gross Domestic Product each year for the next twenty to a program to eliminate domestic and global poverty, homelessness, hunger, and inadequate education and inadequate health care. The program would also seek to repair the global environment and enlist all the other advanced industrial countries in this same venture. (Please read it and ask your elected representatives and your city council and state legislature to endorse it at www.spiritualprogressives.org/GMP and join our campaign to build public support.)
Only within a society whose economic and political institutions are reshaped around this new bottom line do we have a chance of dramatically reducing violence and increasing our safety as individuals or our “homeland security” as a society. It’s not enough to have love in our hearts, because the assumptions and consciousness that is shaped by our contemporary schools, media, and daily experience in the world of work dramatically shape the minds of everyone around us in ways that make it near impossible for anyone but the most privileged or the born saints to keep true to the values of love, kindness, generosity, and caring for each other and the earth while we maneuver through daily life and try to make a living.
Anything short of that societal transformation toward the Caring Society is actually utopian and fanciful, and leads to blaming each other or some group or policy option for the irrational behaviors that are tearing our society apart. So, yes of course, gun control would be helpful as would more psychological support services. Yes, the violent discourse of the Right, like the violence that young men are taught to esteem as they are given the option of “serving their country” through the armed services with its legalized murder of Afghanis and Iraqis, and the media saturation with violence all contribute to our normalizing individual and social pathology, are not just “background” but infuse the consciousness of everyone with the notion that violence is the “realistic way” to deal with whoever is deemed “the enemy.”
We Americans shut our eyes to the 12,000-20,000 children under the age of five who die each day (approximately 12 million a year) from hunger or diseases related to malnutrition and inadequate health care facilities around the world. We don’t even count this as violence, though the mal-distribution of wealth and hence of food and health care are part of the system in which we daily participate and to which we pay our taxes and support by our consumerism. We shut our eyes to the suffering of the poor in our own society, not realizing that in so doing or in supporting lower taxes and cuts of government services we are striking out against the poor in violent ways, guaranteeing that they will be thrown from their homes and denied adequate food, shelter, and health care. We refuse to see the structural violence built into the daily operations of the global economic system of which we are a central part and the violence that we do when we vote against those who would provide adequate support for the poor, the homeless, the downtrodden.
Yet we must not forget that all this violence is only a manifestation of the violence to our humanity that occurs daily in a society in which each of us is constantly being devalued and mis-recognized unless we clawed our way to the top of the economic or political ladders to become “successful.” So I understand and sympathize with those on the Right who say, “hey, don’t blame me” because in fact their behaviors are just another part of the cry of pain that so many people feel deeply and have no way of understanding or dealing with. Our society is bursting with the silent screams of tens of millions of people suffering systematic and daily assaults on their dignity, their humanity, and their capacities to be loving, kind, gentle, and generous. So much unrecognized and pervasive pain! Until we transform this big picture, all the little efforts, all the noble reforms, all the good intentions, will amount to little. Moreover, and this is the point missed by those who say “later we’ll deal with that pain, but first we must defeat the Right and provide jobs and food and shelter,” we will never be in a position to deliver on people’s material needs until we build a movement of the majority of Americans to do that, and we will never succeed in building such a movement until we can effectively address this pervasive pain and provide adequate alternatives to the pain reduction provided by fundamentalist religions, drugs, alcohol, profligate materialism, and politics aimed at blaming some relatively powerless group for all the pain whose origin actually lies in the fundamental ethos of our global economic and political system. And that, more than anything else, is why we need a worldwide tikkun olam (healing, repair and transformation of the world). How to get there is described in the Spiritual Covenant with America that guides Tikkun's action and education arm: The Network of Spiritual Progressives.
Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue. To see how to turn these ideas into actual political practice, read the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ESRA) and the Global Marshall Plan (GMP), and then please join as a member of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (all can be found at www.spiritualprogressives.org).
Slow down, pause, become still. Notice your breath and breathe.
With softness and tenderness bring awareness to
How we focus on our differences rather than our similarities
How we find guilt in our brothers/sisters rather than their innocence
How we seek for all the answers outside our self when all the answers are within
How we come from a space of lack or deficiency rather than a space of fullness and completeness
How we are always complaining, finding fault, and criticizing rather than knowing our experiencing through love, appreciation, and gratitude
What would it be like if you could interpret your experiences through the lenses of the latter?
What could your reality be?
Take a moment to imagine, to visualize, what it would look like, and then rest in this space.
Can you touch the preciousness, the gentleness, the warmth of your inner experience?
Can you sense your inner peace, serenity, your love of self.
Trust and know that it is already there.
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
With softness and tenderness bring awareness to
How we focus on our differences rather than our similarities
How we find guilt in our brothers/sisters rather than their innocence
How we seek for all the answers outside our self when all the answers are within
How we come from a space of lack or deficiency rather than a space of fullness and completeness
How we are always complaining, finding fault, and criticizing rather than knowing our experiencing through love, appreciation, and gratitude
What would it be like if you could interpret your experiences through the lenses of the latter?
What could your reality be?
Take a moment to imagine, to visualize, what it would look like, and then rest in this space.
Can you touch the preciousness, the gentleness, the warmth of your inner experience?
Can you sense your inner peace, serenity, your love of self.
Trust and know that it is already there.
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Public Invited to First AAUW Meeting of 2011
“How to Decrease Violence against Women and Girls through Education” will be the topic of the AAUW, Livonia Branch January 18th meeting. Colleen Mills, president of the Citizens for Peace, will share possible solutions to the violence plaguing women and youth in the U.S. The fifty minute presentation is designed to increase awareness of the severity of the problem.
The question” Why are we violent, but not illiterate?” posed by Coleman McCarthy, a peace educator, will be discussed during the presentation.
This meeting is open to the public and will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church located at 34567 Seven Mile Road, west of Gill. It begins at 7 p.m.
The Livonia AAUW promotes lifelong education, and positive societal change to enhance the quality of life for women and girls.
For more information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Citizens for Peace Ring in the New Year!
“Ring the Bell”, a program focused on putting a stop to domestic violence, will be highlighted at the first Citizens for Peace meeting of 2011, Tuesday, January 11th.
The work of Mallika Dutt, the founder of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization, will be shown in a video presentation. Mallika has been using media and education for 30 years to change the culture of violence. Her innovative program involves encouraging the partnership of men and boys to stop the cycle of domestic violence.
“Ring the Bell, or, “Bell Bajao”, began in India, and with the help of the Clinton Global Initiative and the support of the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is going global.
The meeting will start at 7 pm. at Unity of Livonia, located on Five Mile between Middlebelt and Inkster. All are welcome. For more information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079.
“Ring the Bell”, a program focused on putting a stop to domestic violence, will be highlighted at the first Citizens for Peace meeting of 2011, Tuesday, January 11th.
The work of Mallika Dutt, the founder of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization, will be shown in a video presentation. Mallika has been using media and education for 30 years to change the culture of violence. Her innovative program involves encouraging the partnership of men and boys to stop the cycle of domestic violence.
“Ring the Bell, or, “Bell Bajao”, began in India, and with the help of the Clinton Global Initiative and the support of the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is going global.
The meeting will start at 7 pm. at Unity of Livonia, located on Five Mile between Middlebelt and Inkster. All are welcome. For more information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079.
Friday, December 24, 2010
This season give your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To every child, a good example.
To all, charity.
To yourself, respect.
~ Oren Arnold
Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree but in the hearts of true friends.
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To every child, a good example.
To all, charity.
To yourself, respect.
~ Oren Arnold
Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree but in the hearts of true friends.
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thanks to Lynda Herman for sharing this lovely poem at our meeting!
What Do You Want For Christmas?
By Maureen Killoran
Headphones to grant me some private space…
tickets to some far-off exotic place…
What do you want for Christmas?
Clothing to dress me to paint the town red…silk
sheets to wrap me when I go to bed…
What do you want for Christmas?
Harry Potter’s a good one…the kids will go wild…
and I love him too, ‘cause I’m really a child…
What do you want for Christmas?
There’s camera equipment, that’s sure to appeal…
there’s software galore at really good deals…
What do you want for Christmas?
I look in my closets, I look at my house, there’s
nothing I need,…no, not even a mouse…
What do you want for Christmas?
Would it mater, I wonder, if there under the tree,
was a wee tiny package all wrapped up for me, and
when opened, ‘twas empty, no present I’d see…just
a feeling of peace and…serenity.
What do you want for Christmas?
And maybe compassion, wrapped up with a bow, a
gentle enfolding so really I’d know what could and
what couldn’t, what is and what ain’t. Just some
understanding. (I won’t be a saint.)
What do you want for Christmas?
It’s asking too much, now, to ask for world peace, but
on my list it’s up there, that wars may soon cease.
and justice, for children, that all may be fed, and
wanted, and cuddled and tucked into bed.
What do you want for Christmas?
The economy needs us, or so we’ve been told…
spending our dollars in purchases bold..but still,
in the silence of this holy night, I know what I want
most is not sold with bright lights. What I deeply
need is to set aside fear, to let myself reach out in
this coming year…to know with my heart the
whole world as my kin…that Love may be born,
and Peace may begin.
What do you want for Christmas?
Rev. Dr. Maureen Killoran is now serving in Vero Beach, FL as
an Interim Minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition.
What Do You Want For Christmas?
By Maureen Killoran
Headphones to grant me some private space…
tickets to some far-off exotic place…
What do you want for Christmas?
Clothing to dress me to paint the town red…silk
sheets to wrap me when I go to bed…
What do you want for Christmas?
Harry Potter’s a good one…the kids will go wild…
and I love him too, ‘cause I’m really a child…
What do you want for Christmas?
There’s camera equipment, that’s sure to appeal…
there’s software galore at really good deals…
What do you want for Christmas?
I look in my closets, I look at my house, there’s
nothing I need,…no, not even a mouse…
What do you want for Christmas?
Would it mater, I wonder, if there under the tree,
was a wee tiny package all wrapped up for me, and
when opened, ‘twas empty, no present I’d see…just
a feeling of peace and…serenity.
What do you want for Christmas?
And maybe compassion, wrapped up with a bow, a
gentle enfolding so really I’d know what could and
what couldn’t, what is and what ain’t. Just some
understanding. (I won’t be a saint.)
What do you want for Christmas?
It’s asking too much, now, to ask for world peace, but
on my list it’s up there, that wars may soon cease.
and justice, for children, that all may be fed, and
wanted, and cuddled and tucked into bed.
What do you want for Christmas?
The economy needs us, or so we’ve been told…
spending our dollars in purchases bold..but still,
in the silence of this holy night, I know what I want
most is not sold with bright lights. What I deeply
need is to set aside fear, to let myself reach out in
this coming year…to know with my heart the
whole world as my kin…that Love may be born,
and Peace may begin.
What do you want for Christmas?
Rev. Dr. Maureen Killoran is now serving in Vero Beach, FL as
an Interim Minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Don't Miss the Last Meeting of the Year!!
Imagine being able to control stress, boost your immune system, improve your memory, and increase your happiness! Come to the last Citizens for Peace meeting of 2010 on Tuesday, Dec. 14th and learn about Heart Math and "Be Peace"! The focus is on living from the heart. The meeting begins at 7 pm.
See you there!
Peace,
Colleen
Imagine being able to control stress, boost your immune system, improve your memory, and increase your happiness! Come to the last Citizens for Peace meeting of 2010 on Tuesday, Dec. 14th and learn about Heart Math and "Be Peace"! The focus is on living from the heart. The meeting begins at 7 pm.
See you there!
Peace,
Colleen
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
"Organizing for Peace" Video
Colleen Mills, President of the Citizens for Peace in Livonia, Michigan, shares her strategies and visions for organizing for peace with respect to the campaign for a United States cabinet-level Department of Peace in the video "Organizing for Peace".
Colleen Mills, President of the Citizens for Peace in Livonia, Michigan, shares her strategies and visions for organizing for peace with respect to the campaign for a United States cabinet-level Department of Peace in the video "Organizing for Peace".
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
SEEDS OF PEACE
Peace made the front page of the Observer today, Thanksgiving Day!
The Churchill High School students wrote messages of peace on colorful paper & planted their "seeds of peace" with bulbs around their beautiful peace pole!
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20101125/NEWS10/11250595/Churchill-students-plant-seeds-of-peace.
I'm very thankful to all of the seeds of peace our group has planted for the last seven years! As we watch our seed grow, we can all be grateful for our commitment
to peace.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Colleen
Peace made the front page of the Observer today, Thanksgiving Day!
The Churchill High School students wrote messages of peace on colorful paper & planted their "seeds of peace" with bulbs around their beautiful peace pole!
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20101125/NEWS10/11250595/Churchill-students-plant-seeds-of-peace.
I'm very thankful to all of the seeds of peace our group has planted for the last seven years! As we watch our seed grow, we can all be grateful for our commitment
to peace.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Colleen
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
It is not just a person's physical constitution, their intelligence, their education, or even their social conditioning that enables them to withstand hardship. Much more significant is their inner development. And while some may be able to survive through sheer willpower, the ones who suffer the least are those who have a high degree of patience and courage in the face of adversity.
The Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
The Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
What a fun 7th Anniversary Party!
Thanks to Linda for organizing the wonderful event. Here are the quotes with Native American Wisdom we shared in our four groups. We could select one a day to think about & share with others.
Thanks to Nancy for the presentation on the Medicine Wheel. It was a terrific visual with so much information included. I learned a lot!
Thanks to Caroline for her thoughtful reading!
Thanks to Lynda for leading us in the relaxing yoga flow with the Native American music. How perfect to conclude a great celebration!
Thanks to the planning committee: Dottie,Tada, Gloria and Becky for the planning, shopping, decorations, etc.
Thanks to everyone who brought delicious food to share!
Thanks to everyone joining the Citizens for Peace as we work to educate ourselves on ways to create more peace in the world, starting with each one of us!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Thanks & Peace,
Colleen
Thanks to Linda for organizing the wonderful event. Here are the quotes with Native American Wisdom we shared in our four groups. We could select one a day to think about & share with others.
Thanks to Nancy for the presentation on the Medicine Wheel. It was a terrific visual with so much information included. I learned a lot!
Thanks to Caroline for her thoughtful reading!
Thanks to Lynda for leading us in the relaxing yoga flow with the Native American music. How perfect to conclude a great celebration!
Thanks to the planning committee: Dottie,Tada, Gloria and Becky for the planning, shopping, decorations, etc.
Thanks to everyone who brought delicious food to share!
Thanks to everyone joining the Citizens for Peace as we work to educate ourselves on ways to create more peace in the world, starting with each one of us!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Thanks & Peace,
Colleen
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Citizens for Peace 7th Anniversary Party!
We will celebrate our 7th year of working together to create a culture of peace at our meeting on Tuesday, November 9th at 6:30 pm. The theme is "Peace & Gratitude".
It is a potluck party, so we will have dinner before we enjoy the surprises the party committee has planned for us. See you Tuesday!
Peace, Colleen
We will celebrate our 7th year of working together to create a culture of peace at our meeting on Tuesday, November 9th at 6:30 pm. The theme is "Peace & Gratitude".
It is a potluck party, so we will have dinner before we enjoy the surprises the party committee has planned for us. See you Tuesday!
Peace, Colleen
Friday, November 05, 2010
Love is what we are born with. We don’t learn love; it is already etched in our heart.
However we do learn fear. Fear is the obstacle that blinds us to the love in our heart.
So to experience our love in its fullest authentic capacity, we must unlearn our fear.
Our spiritual journey, the meaning of our life, is the unlearning of our fears and prejudices, to reacquaint our self to the ever present beauty of the love in our heart.
Paraphrased Marianne Williamson
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
However we do learn fear. Fear is the obstacle that blinds us to the love in our heart.
So to experience our love in its fullest authentic capacity, we must unlearn our fear.
Our spiritual journey, the meaning of our life, is the unlearning of our fears and prejudices, to reacquaint our self to the ever present beauty of the love in our heart.
Paraphrased Marianne Williamson
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Saturday, October 02, 2010
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar."
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Volunteers Do Make a Difference
Volunteers give their time and share their expertise, education, and talent. What motivates them to provide such a service? Come to a presentation by one couple, Ann and Rick Abdoo, who volunteered for twelve years at a Boys and Girls Club located on the Pine Ridge, South Dakota Indian Reservation. Hear their story, see the pictures of their journey, and learn about the Lakota culture.
Attend the Citizens for Peace meeting on Tuesday, October 12th 7 pm at Unity of Livonia. The meeting is open to the public. For more information, call Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Don’t just sit there, do something
Anxiousness, agitation, tightness, constriction, harried, impatience, tension, nervousness, panicky, restlessness, uneasiness, uptight
Don’t just do something, sit there
Serenity, tranquility, calmness, stillness, peacefulness, relaxation
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Anxiousness, agitation, tightness, constriction, harried, impatience, tension, nervousness, panicky, restlessness, uneasiness, uptight
Don’t just do something, sit there
Serenity, tranquility, calmness, stillness, peacefulness, relaxation
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tweets | Peace Week
Tweets Peace Week: "Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. -Napoleon #peace"
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Meeting Minutes for August 2010
For those who would like to know what happened at the August 2010 meeting click Here
For those who would like to know what happened at the August 2010 meeting click Here
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Citizens for Peace Meeting Highlights Book Collection
Readings of selections from the Livonia Civic Center Library Peace Collection will highlight the Citizens for Peace meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Unity of Livonia, located on the north side of Five Mile road between Middlebelt and Inkster. The public is invited.
The Peace Collection, comprised of several hundred books on peace and nonviolence, was funded by the Citizens for Peace. The library has established a “Peace Center” in the middle of the upstairs adult books section. The books are identified by a blue dove on the spine. Peace books suitable for children are located in the children's section on the main floor.
The Livonia collection is believed to be one of few if not the only public library collection featuring books with the theme of peace and nonviolence, according to Citizens for Peace President Colleen Mills.
The brief oral readings will be by members of Citizens for Peace and include both adult and children's books. For more information, contact Mills at (734) 425-0079.
Readings of selections from the Livonia Civic Center Library Peace Collection will highlight the Citizens for Peace meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Unity of Livonia, located on the north side of Five Mile road between Middlebelt and Inkster. The public is invited.
The Peace Collection, comprised of several hundred books on peace and nonviolence, was funded by the Citizens for Peace. The library has established a “Peace Center” in the middle of the upstairs adult books section. The books are identified by a blue dove on the spine. Peace books suitable for children are located in the children's section on the main floor.
The Livonia collection is believed to be one of few if not the only public library collection featuring books with the theme of peace and nonviolence, according to Citizens for Peace President Colleen Mills.
The brief oral readings will be by members of Citizens for Peace and include both adult and children's books. For more information, contact Mills at (734) 425-0079.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
My Declaration of Self-Esteem
by Virginia Satir
I AM ME
In all the world; there is no one else exactly like me.
There are people who have some parts like me, but no one adds up exactly like me.Everything that comes out of me is authentically me because I alone chose it.
I own everything about me.My body, my mind, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or to myself
I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears.
I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.
Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me.
By so doing I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts.
I can then make it possible for all of me to work in my interest.
I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know.
But as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles, and for ways to find out more about me.
However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time, is authentically me.
If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt, turn out to be unfitting, I
can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for thatwhich I discarded.
I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do, I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, to make sense and order out of the world of people, and things outside of me.
I own me, and therefore I can engineer me.
I AM ME !
I AM OKAY!
Peace to You and Yours eith Love
Jerry
by Virginia Satir
I AM ME
In all the world; there is no one else exactly like me.
There are people who have some parts like me, but no one adds up exactly like me.Everything that comes out of me is authentically me because I alone chose it.
I own everything about me.My body, my mind, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or to myself
I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears.
I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.
Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me.
By so doing I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts.
I can then make it possible for all of me to work in my interest.
I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know.
But as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles, and for ways to find out more about me.
However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time, is authentically me.
If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt, turn out to be unfitting, I
can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for thatwhich I discarded.
I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do, I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, to make sense and order out of the world of people, and things outside of me.
I own me, and therefore I can engineer me.
I AM ME !
I AM OKAY!
Peace to You and Yours eith Love
Jerry
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
ATTITUDE
by
Charles Swindoll
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
by
Charles Swindoll
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
ONE PEACE 2010 Celebrates the UN International Day of Peace
The third annual ONE PEACE event celebrating the United
Nations International Day of Peace, will present two visually stunning films at the Livonia Civic Center Library on Tuesday, September 21st from 6 - 9 p.m.
The program will begin with, “The Awakening Universe,” a short film by award-winning writer and filmmaker Neal Rogin, and Drew Dellinger. This beautiful film takes the viewer on the ultimate journey —from the birth of the universe, through the arising of galaxies, the formation of the earth, the emergence of life, and finally to the development of human consciousness. Using awe-inspiring images and a sweeping original score, this amazing film shows how science, spirit and ancient wisdom are all converging, revealing an entirely new context for human life.
The next film, “Visions of a Universal Humanity,” is the second movie in the award-winning Humanity Ascending Documentary Series produced by the Foundation for Conscious Evolution. In this riveting film, futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard brings together some of the finest minds of our time, including world renowned physicist Freeman Dyson, biologist Bruce Lipton, scholar Jean Houston and others who present cutting edge perspectives on humankind's potential to create a positive future for the earth. The film was inspired by a personal experience Hubbard had many years ago. “I felt every basic social system shift simultaneously as innovations and
breakthroughs seemlessly connected,” she said. “We are all members of one living planetary body—our story is the birth of a new humanity.”
The evening will be hosted by ONE PEACE, a local non-profit group dedicated to bringing people together to help spread peace throughout the world. This event is a rare opportunity for participants to experience beauty, inspiration, hope, awe, intellectual stimulation and mind-expanding possibilities.
Open to the public. $5.00 Donation Appreciated. Come early and browse the tables. Films will be available for sale. This is the third year the Citizens for Peace is sponsoring the ONE PEACE event. Please join us.
Contact: Colleen Mills
Phone: (734) 425-0079
Website: www.OnePeace.us
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Take my hand
We will walk
We will only walk
We will enjoy are walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere
Walk peacefully
Walk happily
Our walk is a peace walk
Our walk is a happyiness walk
Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.
Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.
Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
We will walk
We will only walk
We will enjoy are walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere
Walk peacefully
Walk happily
Our walk is a peace walk
Our walk is a happyiness walk
Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.
Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.
Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, August 07, 2010
"When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Peasce to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Thich Nhat Hanh
Peasce to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
2nd Annual Vegetarian Potluck Tuesday, August 10th!!
Join us for our Second Annual Vegetarian Potluck on Tuesday, August 10th at 6:30 pm.
There will be lots of healthy, delicious vegetarian food to enjoy as we think about the impact of the consumption of meat in the US. Bring a dish to share or make a donation.
We will view the talk Ocean Robbins gave at last year's Peace Alliance Conference in DC. Ocean founded YES (Youth for Environmental Sanity) when he was only 16!
See you Tuesday!
Join us for our Second Annual Vegetarian Potluck on Tuesday, August 10th at 6:30 pm.
There will be lots of healthy, delicious vegetarian food to enjoy as we think about the impact of the consumption of meat in the US. Bring a dish to share or make a donation.
We will view the talk Ocean Robbins gave at last year's Peace Alliance Conference in DC. Ocean founded YES (Youth for Environmental Sanity) when he was only 16!
See you Tuesday!
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Stopping Nukes, Stopping Wars
Phyllis Bennis will be the keynote speaker at the annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki event on Thursday, August 5th at 7:30 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany, Ferndale
(3 blocks south of W. Nine Mile, west side of Woodward). We are cosponsoring this event. The indoor program will be followed by a Peace Walk in downtown Ferndale.
Phyllis Bennis will be the keynote speaker at the annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki event on Thursday, August 5th at 7:30 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany, Ferndale
(3 blocks south of W. Nine Mile, west side of Woodward). We are cosponsoring this event. The indoor program will be followed by a Peace Walk in downtown Ferndale.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Compassion is like a sense of caring, of concern for others’ difficulties and pain. Not only family and friends, but all other people, even enemies. If we think only of ourselves and forget about other people, our minds occupy a very small area and even tiny problems appear very big. When you develop concern for others, your mind automatically widens; your own problems, even big ones, will not be so significant.
Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Friday, July 23, 2010
FILM: COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
It is predicted that this must see movie will have a similar impact on the nuclear threat as The Inconvenient Truth did for the environment. The film features an array of international experts and statesmen and ends with a powerful message: no country should have nuclear weapons! Showing at the Royal Oak Main Art theater with discussion following the 4:30 p.m. shows on Friday & Saturday July 30 & 31.
To register for the event and get FREE tickets, go to the
website of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice: www.icpj.net/countdown
It is predicted that this must see movie will have a similar impact on the nuclear threat as The Inconvenient Truth did for the environment. The film features an array of international experts and statesmen and ends with a powerful message: no country should have nuclear weapons! Showing at the Royal Oak Main Art theater with discussion following the 4:30 p.m. shows on Friday & Saturday July 30 & 31.
To register for the event and get FREE tickets, go to the
website of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice: www.icpj.net/countdown
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Acceptance of suffering does not mean we should not do everything in our power to solve a problem whenever it can be solved. However, acceptance of the suffering that we are already undergoing helps us not to make it worse with the additional burden of mental and emotional suffering. For example, there is not much we can do about old age. Far better to accept our condition than to fret about it.
The Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
The Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Peace does not mean no more conflict among humanity. Conflict is bound to happen, so in order to keep peace in spite of conflict, the only realistic method is the spirit of dialogue, respecting the other side and understanding their viewpoint. We need to try and solve problems in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, in a spirit of reconciliation and compromise.
Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Dalai Lama
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
First Step’s Domestic Violence Work Topic of Citizens for Peace July Meeting
Learn about the work First Step is doing in our community to help end domestic violence on Tuesday, July 13th at the Citizens for Peace meeting. Carmen Dominguz, a social worker at the Redford and Plymouth offices of First Step, will discuss the prevention domestic violence.
First Step believes that prevention is a key component to ending violence in our communities and manages innovative violence prevention and intervention programs. Since 1978 First Step has been working in 35 communities of Wayne County to assist families dealing with domestic violence. In 2007 – 2008, First Step staff and volunteers touched the lives of over 15,493 people. Prevention of domestic violence through education, advocacy and appropriate intervention is their ultimate goal.
Support the efforts of First Step by coming to the meeting and finding out how to help reduce domestic violence in our community. The meeting begins at 7 pm at Unity of Livonia, located at 28660 5 Mile Rd.
Learn about the work First Step is doing in our community to help end domestic violence on Tuesday, July 13th at the Citizens for Peace meeting. Carmen Dominguz, a social worker at the Redford and Plymouth offices of First Step, will discuss the prevention domestic violence.
First Step believes that prevention is a key component to ending violence in our communities and manages innovative violence prevention and intervention programs. Since 1978 First Step has been working in 35 communities of Wayne County to assist families dealing with domestic violence. In 2007 – 2008, First Step staff and volunteers touched the lives of over 15,493 people. Prevention of domestic violence through education, advocacy and appropriate intervention is their ultimate goal.
Support the efforts of First Step by coming to the meeting and finding out how to help reduce domestic violence in our community. The meeting begins at 7 pm at Unity of Livonia, located at 28660 5 Mile Rd.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Within you there is a stillness
and a sanctuary
to which you can retreat at anytime
and beyourself.
~Herman Hesse~
Teachers who inspire
realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us.
They will be stumbling blocks
or stepping stones'
it all depends on how we use them.
~Unknown~
Peace to You an Yours with Love
Jerry
and a sanctuary
to which you can retreat at anytime
and beyourself.
~Herman Hesse~
Teachers who inspire
realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us.
They will be stumbling blocks
or stepping stones'
it all depends on how we use them.
~Unknown~
Peace to You an Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The secret of attraction is to love yourself. Attractive people judge neither themselves nor others. They are open to gestures of love. They think about love, and express their love in every action. They know that love is not just a mere sentiment, but the ultimate truth of the heart of the universe.
Deepak Chopra
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Deepak Chopra
Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The U.S. Department of Peace: A Brief History and Bright Future
by Antony Adolf
George washingtonJohn F. Kennedy, that great orator if not practitioner of peace, once said: "Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."
But what most Americans don't realize is that this gradualness as manifested in the initiative to create such "new structures," a federal U.S. Department of Peace to coordinate and fund peace work nationally, has been part of the American Dream since the country was founded.
I was recently invited to speak on peace activism, peace professionalism and peace journalism (no, the three aren't mutually exclusive) at the Midwest U.S. Department of Peace Conference in Detroit. The experienced vitality of the attendees who came in from six states and dozens of cities re-energized me, and I returned home reminded that there are a lot of people who work proudly and effectively for peace despite still being in the shadows of most media. To be among them, sharing stories and ideas, was a privilege I am unlikely to forget, and with a bright future ahead, neither will the history of which we are a part.
Not only are there a lot of Americans working for peace right now, there has been ever since there has been Americans. Peace isn't just a fad that came and went with hippies in the 60s; it is part of the very fabric of this country, if also one we often forget or are made to. In a powerful presentation by the charismatic President of Citizens for Peace, Colleen Mills, our host along with sponsor The Peace Alliance, a perhaps surprising brief history of the U.S. Department of Peace initiative was given.
1783: George Washington called for a proper “Peace Establishment”.
1792: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. Benjamin Rush call for an “Office of Peace” with peace education in all schools.
1936: Dr. Frederick Kettner publishes essay “The Need for a Secretary of Peace”.
1943 -1968: Eighty-eight Congressional bills are introduced calling for a Department of Peace in the House or Senate.
1961: President John F. Kennedy launches the Peace Corps.
1969: Senator Vance Hartke (IL), and Rep. Seymour Halpern (NY), introduce a Bill for a Department of Peace with a Peace Academy.
1984: The U.S. Institute of Peace created (its beautiful new building is currently under construction).
1993: President Bill Clinton launches Americorps.
2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), and Sen. Mark Dayton (MN) introduce Bills calling for a Department of Peace.
2010: The U.S. Department of Peace is named in Change.org's "Ideas for Change in America."
Of particular note is that peace has always been a bipartisan issue insofar as both Republicans and Democrats have been involved in the U.S. Department of Peace initiative throughout its long and distinguished history. The initiative is also global, and with successes in a few countries already. Will Americans lead or follow when it comes to peace in the 21st century?
As campaigning for the November elections picks up steam, we can each do our part to make some of it push the gears of the U.S. Department of Peace forward. We're in good company, there's lots of us if you look, and it's part of our and peace history, too.
Antony Adolf is the author of Peace: A World History
by Antony Adolf
George washingtonJohn F. Kennedy, that great orator if not practitioner of peace, once said: "Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."
But what most Americans don't realize is that this gradualness as manifested in the initiative to create such "new structures," a federal U.S. Department of Peace to coordinate and fund peace work nationally, has been part of the American Dream since the country was founded.
I was recently invited to speak on peace activism, peace professionalism and peace journalism (no, the three aren't mutually exclusive) at the Midwest U.S. Department of Peace Conference in Detroit. The experienced vitality of the attendees who came in from six states and dozens of cities re-energized me, and I returned home reminded that there are a lot of people who work proudly and effectively for peace despite still being in the shadows of most media. To be among them, sharing stories and ideas, was a privilege I am unlikely to forget, and with a bright future ahead, neither will the history of which we are a part.
Not only are there a lot of Americans working for peace right now, there has been ever since there has been Americans. Peace isn't just a fad that came and went with hippies in the 60s; it is part of the very fabric of this country, if also one we often forget or are made to. In a powerful presentation by the charismatic President of Citizens for Peace, Colleen Mills, our host along with sponsor The Peace Alliance, a perhaps surprising brief history of the U.S. Department of Peace initiative was given.
1783: George Washington called for a proper “Peace Establishment”.
1792: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. Benjamin Rush call for an “Office of Peace” with peace education in all schools.
1936: Dr. Frederick Kettner publishes essay “The Need for a Secretary of Peace”.
1943 -1968: Eighty-eight Congressional bills are introduced calling for a Department of Peace in the House or Senate.
1961: President John F. Kennedy launches the Peace Corps.
1969: Senator Vance Hartke (IL), and Rep. Seymour Halpern (NY), introduce a Bill for a Department of Peace with a Peace Academy.
1984: The U.S. Institute of Peace created (its beautiful new building is currently under construction).
1993: President Bill Clinton launches Americorps.
2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), and Sen. Mark Dayton (MN) introduce Bills calling for a Department of Peace.
2010: The U.S. Department of Peace is named in Change.org's "Ideas for Change in America."
Of particular note is that peace has always been a bipartisan issue insofar as both Republicans and Democrats have been involved in the U.S. Department of Peace initiative throughout its long and distinguished history. The initiative is also global, and with successes in a few countries already. Will Americans lead or follow when it comes to peace in the 21st century?
As campaigning for the November elections picks up steam, we can each do our part to make some of it push the gears of the U.S. Department of Peace forward. We're in good company, there's lots of us if you look, and it's part of our and peace history, too.
Antony Adolf is the author of Peace: A World History
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