The Peace Lady

Go In Peace

2010-02-12T08:43:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-18T10:33:00.004-05:00

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

2010-01-15T07:43:00.001-05:00

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

2009-12-11T08:28:00.002-05:00

"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

2009-11-26T07:43:00.000-05:00

Peace Prayer Bowls

46 Million Will Die for U.S. Holiday

2009-11-13T10:43:00.004-05:00

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?

2009-11-05T10:41:00.003-05:00

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

Be the Change

2009-10-31T11:15:00.002-04:00

One of the powerful women I met at last weekend's World Peace Yoga Conference is Amy Ferguson. A beautiful, young example of following your heart ~ and fellow Ohioan(!) ~ Amy is quite talented.

We were blessed over the weekend with her music. Here is one of my favorites :-)

Be the Change

The world is pouring pain; the reasons for it got me confused.

There's people getting lost in all the ways they can abuse.

Oh oh can we, uh huh break free, from suffering, and all this greed?

The living beings don't wanna be used.

When will this hatred stop?

And my God, when will you be on top?

It's enough, all of this hurt we cause.

Ain’t no reason we gotta have it so rough.

The people all around are asking me, what can they do...

It ain't the newest thing to say the change is starting with you...

Oh oh can you, uh huh un-do, the grief you cause from eating food?

The living beings don't wanna be used.

When will this hatred stop?

And, my God, when will you be on top?

It's enough, all of this hurt we cause.

Ain't no reason we gotta have it so rough.

And now the time has come to be the change you want to see.

See everything through love instead of

Fighting for the things that separate us and we don't need; what only drives us farther apart from the peace that we are meant to be!

The Earth is pleading, "stop the raping”! Greed is bleeding me dry!

The sun is burning us 'cause all you do is damage my sky!

Oh oh the land, it's poisoned and, the water you can't drink from most the taps!

Now what we gonna go do about that?!

There's hunger all 'round the world

While the grain is fed to the animals killed; it's too much, all that we have and don't give!

That's the reason we all got it so rough!

And now the time has come to be the change you want to see!

And now the time has come to be the PEACE!

You can be the change you want to see!

You can be the PEACE!

In Today's News

2009-10-27T12:08:00.002-04:00

This AP article was picked up by both the New York Times and Washington Post!!!

Peace museum angling for Obama's peace prize money

By JAMES HANNAH (AP) – 9 hours ago

DAYTON, Ohio — A fledging museum devoted to the pursuit of peace is hoping its mission is just what President Barack Obama is looking for when he decides what to do with the $1.4 million cash award that comes with his Nobel Peace Prize.

Volunteers and supporters of the Dayton International Peace Museum are writing letters to Obama in hopes of swaying him to make a donation. Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin says city leaders also will reach out to the president. The museum's founders are also urging state officials to make an appeal.

Obama has said he will travel to Oslo, Norway, to accept the award in December, and plans to donate the cash to charity. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said this month that Obama has not decided which charity or charities will get the money.

Museum officials say they would use the prize money to expand their peacemaking and conflict-resolution programs in elementary schools and among first-time youthful offenders and at-risk youth.

The beating death of a Chicago honor student last month attracted Obama's attention. The president sent Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the city to meet with students, parents and administrators. Federal officials also promised support efforts to stop youth violence nationwide.

The idea for the Dayton museum was born at a bus-station diner in 2003 when Christine Dull and her husband, Ralph Dull, longtime peace activists who live in the Dayton area, were on their way home from New York City after visiting the United Nations.

"All of a sudden I said, 'It's high time Dayton had a peace museum,'" Christine Dull recalled. She said the couple was inspired by the realization that there were thousands of war museums and memorials throughout the world, but few peace museums.

The Dayton museum opened in 2005 in a stately 1877 Italianate mansion. The Dulls and several others used their own money to start it, along with a $10,000 grant from a local organization that supports grass-roots groups that promote social change. The museum is nonpartisan and not affiliated with any church or religion.

The museum sends volunteers to schools to urge students to make nonviolent choices, sponsors a summer peace camp and puts on a peace festival. Its former director has visited Pakistan, India and Iran multiple times to meet with peace groups and schools.

"I believe there is a critical mass for good in the world now. And we want to be part of that," Christine Dull said.

Some peace organizations are flourishing.

The United States Institute of Peace, a government-funded, independent group that works to prevent and resolve conflicts around the world, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. It has grown from three employees to around 250 and is building a new headquarters on the national mall in Washington near the Lincoln Memorial, giving it high visibility.

"It's a symbol of our nation's commitment to peace-building," said spokeswoman Lauren Sucher.
Richard Deats, former executive director of the U.S. branch of the Nyack, N.Y.-based Fellowship of Reconciliation, has followed, lectured and written about the peace movement for years. He said a peace museum is a physical sign of humanity's desire for peace and called the Dayton museum "significant."

"It's very important as a cultural landmark where peace is being studied," Deats said.
Photos and biographies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel Peace Prize winners, including Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. hang on the Dayton museum's walls. Shelves are lined with books on peace. One room is devoted to the United Nations. Another resembles a school classroom with posters on how to deal with bullies.

One exhibit includes photos from the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, and poems written by survivors.

"There are a couple of generations that have no idea what nuclear bombs can do, and we think they need to be educated on that," Christine Dull said.

The Dulls have had a passion for peace nearly all of their adult lives.

Ralph grew up in the Church of the Brethren, which historically has taken a strong stance for pacifism. He was a conscientious objector during the Korean War, working for two years in the slums of Baltimore instead of serving in the military.

In 1983, the couple began traveling to the Soviet Union on friendship trips. In 1989, they lived in a collective farm village there while two Soviet farmers worked on their farm in Ohio.
"We went for friendship purposes because we felt that no matter what our governments were doing, we thought that the people should get to know each other," Christine Dull said.
Over the years, the Dulls have taken part in countless peace rallies and vigils.

When peace talks between leaders of the war-torn Balkans were held at nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1995, Christine played her cello outside the base's fence line in tribute to Vedran Smailovic, the Sarajevo cellist who became a symbol of courage for playing in the city's bombarded streets during its siege.

Today, the Dulls are part of a museum that has 75 volunteers and counts former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, actor Martin Sheen and singer Willie Nelson as honorary trustees.

The couple often is seen at community events riding in their PeaceMobile, a colorfully painted motor home with an exhibit inside. It is among several such vehicles around the country. Only rarely do the Dulls get a hostile reception, such as the time they asked for permission to join a parade in a local suburb.

"The man yelled at me over the phone and he said, 'What's the matter with you, lady? PeaceMobile? Don't you know we have a war going on?'" Dull said, laughing.

If the museum receives funds from Obama, it wouldn't be the first time it has gotten peace prize money. In 2005, Holbrooke donated $10,000 of his $25,000 Dayton Peace Award to the museum after he was honored for his role in forging the agreement reached at Wright-Patterson that ended fighting in the Balkans.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Happy Peace Day 2009!

2009-09-21T09:45:00.007-04:00

Better than a thousand hollow words
is one word that brings peace.
~Buddha

Today is the U.N. sponsored
International Day of Peace.

Watch the 1st ever 24-hour Peace Day Broadcast
here:

May Peace Prevail

2009-09-11T06:43:00.002-04:00

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

~Albert Einstein

Out of Our Heads
by Sheryl Crow

If you feel you wanna fight me
There's a chain around your mind
When something is holding you tightly
What is real is so hard to find

Losing babies to genocide
Oh where's the meaning in that plight
Can't you see that we've really bought into
Every word they proclaimed and every lie, oh

If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts

Someone's feeding on your anger
Someone's been whispering in your ear
You've seen his face before
You've been played before
These aren't the words you need to hear

Through the dawn of darkness blindly
You have blood upon your hands
All the world will treat you kindly
But only the heart can understand, oh understand

If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow your
Tears and look to your heart

If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow your
Tears and look to your heart

Every man is his own prophet
Oh every prophet just a man
I say all the women stand up, say yes to themselves
Teach your children best you can

Let every man bow to the best in himself
We're not killing any more
We're the wisest ones, everybody listen
'Cause you can't fight this feeling any more, oh anymore

If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow your
Tears and look to your heart

If we could only get out of our heads, out of our heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow your
Tears and look to your heart

3 Days of Peace and Music

2009-08-16T17:10:00.006-04:00

* * *

"Woodstock was not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was about spirituality, about love, about sharing, about helping each other, living in peace and harmony."
~Richie Havens

* * *

"There was a genuine feeling of brotherhood among the people who were there. Nobody killed anybody, nobody raped anybody, nobody shot anybody. In the history of humankind, I think it's probably the only group that size that didn't do any of that. "
~David Crosby

* * *

"...an extraordinary weekend at a certain time in history where the atmosphere was charged with politics and with meaning. People there had a spirit and instead of choosing to act like idiots for three days, even the police decided to act like human beings for three days."
~Joan Baez

Back to the Garden

(Crosby, Stills and Nash)

Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell where are you going?
This he told me

Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Well, then can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smog,
And I feel like I'm a cog in something turning.
And maybe it's the time of year,
Yes and maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am,
But life is for learning.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon.
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon.
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

By the time we got to Woodstock,
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes
Riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are caught in the devil's bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Who Would Jesus Shoot?

2009-06-28T06:51:00.002-04:00

Blessed are the peacemakers

for they shall be called children of God.

~Jesus

Pastor Organizes Gun Celebration at Church

By EMILY FRIEDMAN

June 5, 2009 —

A pastor in Kentucky is redefining the tradition of wearing your Sunday best to services by encouraging his congregation to strap on holsters and bring their weapons to church.

Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky., says that he organized an "Open Carry Celebration" to promote responsible gun ownership.

"As a Christian pastor I believe that without a deep-seeded belief in God and firearms that this country would not be here," Pagano told ABCNews.com. "I'm not ashamed of that fact. I'm proud of it."

The celebration scheduled for Sunday, June 27, will feature YouTube videos promoting gun safety and will ask congregants to join in singing patriotic songs, according to Pagano.

A $1 raffle to win a free handgun will also be part of the festivities.

"This will basically be a display," said Pagano, who owns two hand guns, a Walther P99 and a Sig Sauer 225. "Nobody is going to be taking anything out and waving it. We're promoting responsible and safe gun ownership."

Pagano said that the raffle will also be done legally through a local gun range and the gun will only be given to someone who has met "national standards." Money raised from the raffle will go toward the cost of a gun and any extra will be donated to charity.

There will be extra security present during the service, said Pagano, and guns will be checked to make sure they are unloaded prior to entering the church.

While Pagano says that the majority of the congregation voted in favor of the celebration -- he said otherwise they would not have planned it -- others are not as happy.

Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said that encouraging people to bring guns to a church is a contradiction in terms.

"Christ tells us to put down the sword and this pastor seems to be encouraging them to take up the sword," said Helmke.

According to national statistics, guns kill 86 people each day in the U.S., 34 of which are homicides. The remaining incidents are either suicides or accidents, according to Helmke, who estimates that two to three people are killed each day by an accident involving a gun and twice that many are injured because of a gun.

Critics Call Pastor's Gun Celebration Misguided

Helmke said that ensuring that guns are unloaded when they arrive at the church does not guarantee anyone's safety.

"Yes, having the guns unloaded is helpful, but every day in this country someone is killed or injured by a gun they thought was unloaded," he said. "If you take a clip out of a semi-automatic a lot of people still think it's unloaded when really there is still a bullet in the chamber."

"I'm all for pushing responsibility, but encouraging more guns is not the way to do it," said Helmke, who suggests advocating for a law to require background checks on people buying guns.

"If Pastor Pagano was doing things to push for background checks on sales and to put restrictions on the types of guns that can be sold to the public, then I'd salute him," said Helmke.

Rev. Jerry Cappel, president of the Kentuckian Interfaith Community, a coalition of local religious leaders in the Louisville area, said that he, too, thinks Pagano's celebration is "misguided."

"I'm not opposed to people having guns. I have three," said Cappel. "But you don't have to be extreme to find this inappropriate."

"You can be OK with the right to carry arms, but still find that joining the right to carry and Christ to be misguided," said Cappel.

Pam Gersh, a Louisville resident who helped organize a Million Mom March against gun violence in the area in 2000, said that she sees no point to what Pagano is doing and wishes there was more of a "concrete plan" when it came to preaching responsible gun ownership.

"The serious issue of gun violence is not being addressed," said Gersh. "I don't really understand the purpose of what Pagano is doing here."

Gersh mentioned that it's even more frustrating that news of Pagano's celebration comes just less than a week after controversial abortion doctor George Tiller was fatally shot in his Kansas church.

"Where there are killings of people like Dr. Tiller in church and there is no discussion of gun violence and only of abortion, then it shows there's no real open dialogue about how to solve this problem," said Gersh.

Pastor Says He's Celebrating Right to Carry Guns

But Pagano, who says the celebration has been in the works for almost a year, disagrees and says that people's dissent on his celebration has exemplified exactly what he's trying to promote: personal freedoms.

"I understand their concerns and I applaud them for their expression because the whole point of this is to promote the First and Second Amendments," said Pagano, referring to the amendments that guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.

* * *

June 27, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A gun-toting Kentucky pastor says it's OK to pack heat at church — at least for one day.

Ken Pagano asked his flock to bring their unloaded handguns — in holsters — to New Bethel Church in Louisville for a celebration of the Second Amendment. When the event got under way a little after 5 p.m. Saturday, about 200 people — many carrying small firearms — sat in the Pentecostal church sanctuary.

"We are wanting to send a message that there are legal, civil, intelligent and law-abiding citizens who also own guns," Pagano said in greeting the audience, which included people who do not belong to his church.

"If it were not for a deep-seated belief in the right to bear arms, this country would not be here today," he said, drawing hearty applause and exclamations of "amen!"

Pagano says he got the idea for the event after some of his church members expressed concern about the Obama administration's views on gun control, though the president hasn't moved to put new restrictions on gun ownership. He says the gathering was meant to promote safe gun ownership.

The "Open Carry Celebration" included a handgun raffle, patriotic music and screening of videos on gun safety. The church hung patriotic banners on the wall that read "In God We Trust."

The pastor said that he himself did not carry a gun at the event.

Pagano's Protestant church, which attracts up to 150 people to Sunday services, is a member of the Assemblies of God and is in a conservative part of southwest Louisville.

A coalition of peace and church groups staged a gun-free event across town at the same time.

Remember the Horrors of War, Seek Peace

2009-05-25T14:56:00.008-04:00

* * *

"There has never been a good war or a bad peace."
~ Benjamin Franklin

* * *

On my way to work each day last week, I drove past the marquee of a catholic church that read:

"Greater love has no man than this but to lay down his life for his friends."
~John 15:13

It bothered me.

Is the church condoning war?

Or reminding us of Jesus' sacrifice?

Are they drawing a link between the two?

I was troubled.

By the end of the week, I had come up with my own version:

"Greater love has no one than this, but to non-violently work for peace, justice, and equality, so that it is not necessary for anyone to die in conflict with another."

May we honor those who have given their lives for ALL countries by striving to live in harmony with each other so that wars may cease and peace prevail.

Image from peace.ca

Standing for Peace on Mother's Day

2009-05-06T09:12:00.009-04:00

* * * * * * * * *
Mother's Day Proclamation

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
* * * * * * * * *

Early "Mother's Day" was mostly marked by women's peace groups. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War.

In New York City, Julie Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day" anti-war observance in 1872, which was accompanied by this Mother's day Proclamation.

Today, women still stand for peace. Visit this site to see how you can be involved this Sunday.

" I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace."

Poster by Jane Ann Altman available here.

Be the Change

2009-04-30T09:02:00.003-04:00

CD/DVD release is this week!

Go here to learn more.

A Life Connected

2009-04-22T08:27:00.013-04:00

Peace comes in many forms.

What you choose to consume for food is one of them.

“Every day you are invited to make choices.
Live your values. Change the world.”

Please go here to watch a video in honor of Mother Earth and Her creatures.

Visit the following sites to learn more:

Nonviolence United

The World Peace Diet

Vegan Action

Go Veg

Tribe of Heart
(watch the original Peaceable Kingdom movie here)

Caring Consumer

Vegan Peace

Vegan Shirt

Veg Resource Group

The World Peace Yoga Conference

Remember the Peace

2009-04-08T08:30:00.003-04:00

"Remember the peace you feel holding a sleeping baby. As one step toward creating a more peaceful world, spend thirty minutes every day rediscovering that sense of peace."

From the 2009 Mothers Acting Up Calendar

Untapped Source of Peace

2009-04-02T14:23:00.008-04:00

Reading this amazing book, I found a powerful poem.

Go here to see the words and hear it read by the author.

(Then, perhaps, come back and leave a comment with your reaction.)

White Candles for Peace

2009-03-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Some time ago I started a ritual of lighting a white candle for peace each Sunday. As a sacred gesture of holding space for peace in my heart and in the world I have adopted this custom on my traditional sabbath day.

My white candle for peace may burn for the majority of the day and evening, or for just a little while. Either way, it is an intentional act that has become a part of my contemplative life.

In her book, In the Shadow of the Shaman, Amber Wolfe suggests:

"Light white candles in a dark room. As you focus on the glow of the candles, visualize warm, peaceful energy spreading and creating a flow of harmony worldwide."

Having watched the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas last night, I am profoundly reminded why it is I choose to cultivate a life of peace and nonviolence. Every person on this planet is of equal value and worth. The divine spark lives in each one of us. It is a white light that shines from our souls just like the white candle.

I may not be able to overturn corruption or stop wars, but I can be the change I wish to see and use my own life to spread goodness, love, light, and peace.

I have a vision of hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions (!) of white candles burning for peace all around our planet.

Will you help me make that happen?
Will you join me today in symbolically or literally lighting your own white candle for peace?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us.

When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace....

The Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989

H. H. The Dalai Lama

Peaceful Loving

2009-03-26T08:12:00.000-04:00

"You can never make peace once and for all. You can make peace only for the moment, for now. It is a trap to think that once is enough - that because you worked so hard to feel at peace with your father yesterday, you should not hate him today. When you find yourself hating him today, the danger is in giving up and saying, "It's no use - I guess I'll always hate him. He's just hateful." Instead, you could say, "I did it yesterday, so it will be easier today, because now I've had practice."

Cultivate the habit of peace, so when someone acts in a way that used to trigger a heartfelt no, you're ready for it. You stay at peace, and you have a chance to love.

Take a stand that you love the people in your life. Then if, say, your child misbehaves, you never question the love. Your stand will displace the doubts that arise out of the misbehavior. Do not use the inevitable negative circumstances to invalidate love. Loving often means asserting YES in the face of NO from your friends and relatives. If you wait to love until your neighbors give approval, you may wait forever. Your neighbors are waiting for you to lead them. By loving you change your society, which in turn makes human nature more loving.

Each of your relationships is an invitation - to keep the peace, to grow, to learn, to change society, and to make a peaceful, loving planet. Do we, such small lovely creatures, really know what ripples our tears of love bring across the universe?"

~from The Art and Practice of Loving
by Frank Andrews

Peace for Our Children

2009-03-21T08:56:00.000-04:00

Find this poster here

Peace Cookies

1/2 cup butter ~ to soothe old wounds between nations
1 cup brown sugar ~ like the good earth we need to preserve
1 egg ~ from which life is given, not to be taken by war
5 Tbsp milk ~ for the children, the same all over the world
1 tsp vanilla ~ some of us are vanilla
1 and 1/4 cup oats ~ harvested in August, the month Hiroshima is remembered with great sorrow
3/4 cup sesame seeds ~ for the many seeds of goodwill that can blossom into world peace
3/4 cup raisins ~ grapes dried in the sun; the same sun shines on all of us
1 and 1/4 cup flour ~ wheat sheaves tied, united as nations by strings of hope for peace
1/2 tsp salt and baking soda ~ season your lives with loving kindness
1 tsp cinnamon ~ spice up your life by working for peace
chocolate chips ~ some of us are chocolate, we need ALL colors
1/2 tsp baking powder ~ so we can rise to the occasion of peace!

Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, while you contemplate peace.

Enjoy with friends and loved ones.

Share some with your enemies.