Go In Peace

This blog is on sabbatical until further notice...


Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy, peaceful, and free.

And my the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life
contribute in some way to that happiness, peace, and freedom for all.

OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

Parenting for Peace

PEACE-TEACHING PARENTING PLEDGE
Peace-teaching parenting for a peaceful society

I PLEDGE to teach children how to be kind and caring in their interactions with others. I will notice and correct instances of unkindness including nasty name-calling, bigotry, hitting, and bullying. I will teach children to notice and correct unkindness among siblings or peers.

I PLEDGE to teach children to persistently search for peaceful ways to address problems. I recognize that these teachings begin with my own behavior. I will, therefore, find peaceful ways to address any behavioral or other problem that I may have with my child.

I PLEDGE never to resort to physically aggressive discipline, including all variations of hitting, spanking, smacking, whipping, or mouth-burning. I will never threaten my children with physical aggression. I will not call children nasty names such as “bad” or “stupid,” as I recognize that words may also cause harm.

I PLEDGE that I will recognize the many other ways that I am teaching either peace or violence. In choosing to teach peace, I will not provide pretend weapons, violent music, war games, violent computer games, or violent media to children. When judging the merit of any particular item, I will simply ask: “Is this teaching peace or teaching violence?” or “Is this causing children to practice peacemaking or to practice violence?” I will not merely ask, “Is this really going to do that much harm?” We must do much more than “not cause much harm.” We must proactively cause and create peace.

I PLEDGE to practice peace everyday and in every way I can. I understand that it is the moment-to-moment practice of peace that truly teaches the lesson of peace. I will remember to sit and breathe and smile together with my children as I look into their eyes and feel love.

Signature of parent(s)

______________________________________________________________
At present, I do not directly care for children but I have signed this
pledge in my role as a parent to society’s children.

Written by Cheryl Landy, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist. Please join in helping to create a new societal standard for the practice of peace, and, a new societal standard for the treatment of children. Invite key persons of influence to parents, such as religious and educational leaders, as well as family practitioners and pediatricians, to post this Pledge and to advocate for peace-teaching parenting. Contact DrLandy@bellsouth.net/305.666.3497 for no-fee supportive educational papers. Contact www.StopHitting.org and www.epochnz.virtualave.net for peaceful discipline alternatives. Contact www.gandhiinstitute.org for peace-teaching support. This document may be copied in its entirety without permission. Copyright 2000 Cheryl Landy

Women of Peace & Power

Goddess of our mothers, our foremothers and our selves,
The Moon is new and we are new within her.
Together with the moon we make beginnings,
Set goals and lay the roots for our achievements
To fulfill when the time and moon grow full.

We are women of peace
Attaining our goals in peaceful ways.
What we ask for benefits us and benefits the earth and all.
We accept the challenge of manifesting our dreams.
We accept the responsibility for our choices.

We are careful what we ask for,
Knowing it may happen;
We are careful what we ask for,
That we violate no one's free will.

We have the awareness of women
And the power of women;
We are each the Goddess and the changing moon.

With the New Moon we begin and plant our dreams,
And watch them grow and ripen.
As we will it, so it is.

We are the New Moon.
We are Goddess.
We are the changing world.


Invocation found here.

A Call to Action

"Peace is not something you wish for;
It's something you make,
Something you do,
Something you are,
And something you give away."

~Robert Fulghum

Dayton Daily News
By Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer
Updated 9:48 PM Thursday, December 10, 2009

DAYTON — U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice lifted a glass of wine Thursday, Dec. 10, and offered a toast “to mankind’s age-old yearning for peace,” as the Dayton International Peace Museum celebrated President Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

But even as about 30 museum supporters raised their glasses, they acknowledged that Obama’s decision last week to commit 30,000 additional U.S. troops to the war in Afghanistan took some luster off the moment.

Some supporters of the museum at 208 W. Monument Ave. questioned the decision to proceed with the celebration, given Obama’s escalation of the war.

“We’re involved in two terrible wars and a third war we don’t even know about, in Pakistan,” said one of them, Vietnam veteran Gary Staiger. “How can you have peace if you don’t oppose war? That’s the problem I have with the peace museum.”

But Rice said the celebration was meant to rise above policy decisions. “The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to (Obama) as a recognition of his quest for peace, his ideals, his goals — and those goals are worth celebrating.”

In his acceptance speech, Obama himself addressed the irony of being awarded the peace prize while presiding over two wars.

Mat Cotton, a University of Dayton freshman from Chicago, said, “despite everything, I think he has created a new international climate” that makes peace more achievable.

Cotton helped launch a letter-writing campaign to the White House, asking Obama to donate some of the $1.4 million in Nobel prize money to the museum for a new program with police and juvenile court officials to help first-time youth offenders find non-violent solutions to conflicts.

“Like Obama said, it (the prize) is a call to action — for him and for us,” Cotton said. “We’ve got to start locally.”

May You Eat in Peace

Peace Prayer Bowls

46 Million Will Die for U.S. Holiday

Is that fact something for which to give thanks?

“We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing
any living creature.
By every act that glorifies or even tolerates
such delight in killing,
we set back the progress of humanity.”

~Rachel Carson

"As long as there are slaughterhouses,
there will be battlefields."

~Leo Tolstoy

"All beings tremble before violence.
All fear death.
All love life.
See yourself in others.
Then whom can you hurt?
What harm can you do?"

~Buddha




Go here to learn more.

Really?

I saw this on a car in my neighborhood yesterday.

It made me SO sad.

"You can bomb the world to pieces.
But you can't bomb it into peace."
~Michael Franti