Category: Peace and Nonviolence

If you can’t imagine it, you can’t have it.  Turn off the stories about war and crime.  Allow yourself to imagine your neighborhood, your community, and the world to be a peace-filled, nonviolent place.

Today is the 9th day of the 2013 Season of Nonviolence, which continues through April 4.  Promote peace by smiling at someone you don’t know and see what happens.  Most of the time, the smile is returned and a brief connection is made.

To connect with someone who seems very different from you, get to know them better.  As a caregiver, I love to ask my dementia clients about their past.  I’m frequently amazed by their stories and always find something in common that connects us.

Buddhism teaches to embrace our feelings of anger or irritability with tenderness, rather than resistance.  Gently acknowledge these feelings as part of yourself and be there for them, and they will subside.

Gun control opponents argue that David killed Goliath with a rock, but we wouldn’t think of banning rocks to prevent violence.  I agree, but there’s no comparison.  I’d rather defend myself against a person with a rock rather than one with a gun any day, wouldn’t you?

Buddhist practice is based on nonviolence, and this extends to our breathing.  Rather than trying to alter your breath by breathing slower or more deeply, just breathe naturally, in and out.  Notice how good that feels.