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Publication of the Research/Action Team on Nonviolent
Large Systems Change, |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Media Notes and
Peace Studies Journal Lists |
Nonviolent Change Journal helps to network the peace community: providing dialoguing,
exchanges of ideas, articles, reviews, reports and announcements of the
activities of peace related groups and meetings, reviews of world
developments relating to nonviolent change and resource information
concerning the development of human relations on the basis of mutual respect. Vol. XX, No.3
Spring 2006 What Are You Up To? Please
share with us what you are doing relating to nonviolent change. Send us a
short report of your doings, learnings, ideas, concerns, reactions, queries,
etc. We will print them here.
Responses can be published in the next issue. Steve Sachs: I am
concerned that the point has probably been past when further nuclear
proliferation can be prevented. On that, and numerous issues, it is now
important for world leaders to adjust to new realities and changing power and
other situations, in creative ways, to prevent catastrophe. It appears, to
me, increasingly important to develop collaborative international
relationships if we are to deal effectively with the planet's deepening
problems, for everyone's benefit. I see as hopeful much of the On a more personal basis, in spite of attempts to slow down,
just a bit, this has been a somewhat busier period for me, particularly in
writing. Events have moved me to be involved in developing a number of papers
on American Indian affairs, including the article in this issue, while
completing a coauthored book on American Indian renewal (now close to done),
and compiling this journal and Indigenous
Policy (at www.indigenouspolicy.org), while working on other matters. I very
much hope that more folks will become involved in putting together, editing,
and shaping Nonviolent Change, and
invite inquiries from perspective collaborators. Please email it to me, Steve Sachs Darling G. Villena-Mata: Hello dear people. As I became increasingly involved with my academic work
and in committee work in internationalizing our college, I realized that I
needed to balance that with my passion for my own writing and for my personal
projects that deal with helping myself and others to remember who we are:
human beings. Often I see in my
students the stress to perform and to ‘do’ as who they are. I am reminded of Lao-tzu, the Chinese philosopher
of olden times. I have my psychology students look at how
much they matter and make a difference, simply by being. How by unfolding who they are; loving human
beings, that in itself impacts their environment. My work is in psychological trauma where
often people feel that it is not safe just to “be”. That ‘doing’ becomes the master and the ‘be-er’
is the servant. It becomes a vicious circle where people are afraid of
letting go of whatever they are ‘doing’ in order to try out ‘being’. Reflection on one’s life when living in
traumatic situations is often not something that people have sought to experienced
as part of their daily lives. Time is
an enemy for that kind of environment and reflection certainly takes
time. People often feel that they
cannot ‘risk it’. So the story
continues and the cycle of trauma or at the minimal, the cycle of stress
leads the way. I am reminded of an African writer Chinua
Achebe who said in one of his writings that the ‘story owns us.’ It does indeed, if we do not wake up to our
humanity and the realization that we are storytellers and storywriters of our
lives. I am therefore in the beginning
phases of writing a second book on becoming human. My first one was on
societal trauma (Walking Between Winds:
A Passage Through Societal Trauma). I am also just starting to develop a
project to establish a ‘heart tank’ retreat: CirclePoint Homestead. This will be a place where people whose jobs,
work, projects and desire to help human beings become awaken to that fact can
come and get re-nourished in an environment conducive to play, healing,
resting, breathing, and as a colleague said to me, ‘just chilling’ out as we
look up at the blue sky and feel the green grass underneath us, as the gentle
breezes of peace caresses our skin. It
will be a place where like minded people can rest and relax, write and share
their passions of being human, debrief from their work, and get in touch with
what we are trying to role model to those whom we serve: to have faith in
being human and to give them the tools to sustain that peace within and
around them. It is in the concept of a
of retreat with an artist colony type where you can have a place to develop
your ideas, bounce off the ideas with others, and/or just rest and allow that
part of your brain and all of your body to enjoy the peace of who you are. Those of you who are ‘out there’ and those
of you who want to be ‘out there’ helping to turn the tide of the traumatic
stories into ones of peace and love will find at this Homestead a place to
regroup and rest; to remember who you are.
To stay for the weekend to 6
months or in between or longer; whatever your need may be. If you like, I will keep you posted. If you
are interested to know more, contact
me. To
take my own advice, I am re-prioritizing and honoring my limits and energy so
that I can have a balance life.
Therefore, this will be my last participation of the journal as a
webmaster and co-editor. I
ask of you to please consider getting involved in keeping this journal going. Without your active support, the
development and publication of this journal falls on a few who have been
working on this journal for many years. If you decide that this
journal is worthwhile and the information and thoughts expressed in these
issues are important enough to be distributed, may I ask you to consider volunteering
a few hours of your time per issue to format and put up the issue on the
web? Please contact the chief editor, Steve Sachs Thank you for your
readership and the passions you continue to share in helping to transform our
struggling world community into one of peace. We are all
related. Walk in beauty that you are.
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