War and Peace

I've been having a lot of discussions lately about traditional activism and what works and what doesn't work so well anymore.

A lot of this has stemmed from my growing conviction that we cannot work for justice and create a culture of peace in this world unless we are coming from a centre of peace ourselves. I know this from personal experience .. sometimes I feel like the past two years has been about being sent to the mountaintop to be still. Instead of rushing around trying to accomplish things from a place of frantic activity.

I still have many things to learn. The times when I need to be still are the times when I can't get myself to do it. But I guess that's why meditation and prayer are called a "practice" .. because we need lots of it.

I think one of the reasons I never did a lot of work on myself in the past is because it felt narcissistic and self-centred. Now I am starting to realize there is a difference between being self-absorbed and having a strong sense of self. Because without a strong sense of self, how can we effectively do the social change work that we are called to do?

So much activist work is based on anger and fear. One of the best things to happen in a long time is a growing realization by many people that our activism is so much stronger when coming from a solid spiritual core. And not necessarily in the "religious sense".

I found a wonderful web page on the principles of spiritual activism. It's here if you want to read the whole thing.

These are the main points: (Source: Global Renaissance Alliance -- see link above)

1. STILLNESS AS AN ACT OF POWER
The cultivation of a quiet mind is the most effective antidote to chaos.

2. ENVISIONING AS AN ACT OF POWER
In the material realm, power is determined by material wealth; in the spiritual realm, power is determined by spiritual wealth.

3. INTERPERSONAL HEALING AS AN ACT OF POWER
The source of war lies in each of us, as does the source of peace. As we rid our own hearts of the spark of violence, we are fostering peace in the world.

4. DEPTH OF INSIGHT AS AN ACT OF POWER
The most powerful axis of activism today is vertical rather than horizontal. The depth of a conversation is more important than how many people are involved in it.

5. RADICAL GOOD WILL AS AN ACT OF POWER
Recognition and affirmation of the spiritual innocence in all human beings creates a field of possibility for the emergence of miracles.

6. CREATING SACRED SPACE AS AN ACT OF POWER
The simple configuration of people gathered in a circle, sharing prayer and meditation and heartfelt conversation, casts a web of healing power affecting not only the members of the circle but the world at large.

7. SPIRITUALLY CENTERED ACTION AS ACT OF POWER
The New Activist wields power by standing for what could be, as opposed to fighting what is. Making a stand for a new possibility, we attain the power to create it.

Pretty powerful, eh?

And speaking of activism on a slightly different tangent, there's a good chance I could be in the Himalayas in the spring working on a new radio series called "The Green Planet Monitor". For some reason, any of my ideas about staying in one place for a long time just don't seem to be gathering any steam. I think my address for a while is supposed to be No Fixed Address. And hey, why not?

One of my friends remarked that this must be really stressful for me to not have a home. But really, it's not. I've done this many times before and there's something about wandering around that I really like.

Just wish I could get this Hamilton house situation wrapped up so that I can have no ties to place at all. That's the only thing really dragging me down right now .. and also because as long as Barry and I co-own the house, we can't really walk away from each other as we both would like to do right now. But maybe there's a gift in that somewhere too ... think I'd better go sit on the dock and meditate for a while.