UPCOMING 2020

Mindful Peacebuilding Community Via Zoom

meditation, deep listening, open-hearted sharing

for healing, community, and skill-building in these times

send email to request Zoom Link to:

mindfulpeacebuilding@gmail.com

NEXT LISTENING CIRCLE - SAT AUG 22, 2pm PST

SATURDAY AUG 29

Join Special Guests

(scroll down for details)

Saturday, Aug 29

11am PST--Kazu Haga

Trainer in Kingian NonViolence

Founder of East Point Peace Academy

Author: Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm

2:30pm PST--Florencia Ramirez, Margot Gibney

Encampment For Citizenship Youth Leadership Program

DETAILS

MPB ANNUAL GATHERING

SAT AUG 29

This year: Zooming Together!

Sat Aug 29--Morning

11amPST/2pmEST

Speaker: Kazu Haga, East Point Peace Academy

eastpointpeace.org

creatingfreedommovements.org

Kazu Haga will join Mindful Peacebuilding on zoom from the Bay Area.

He is founder of East Point Peace Academy, trainer in Kingian NonViolence

inside and outside of prisons and jails, and author of the Parallax Press book

Healing Resistance, A Radically Different Response to Harm. East Point

Peace Academy has just received a $300,000 grant! check out eastpointpeace.org

Sat Aug 29--Afternoon

2:30pm PST/5:30pm EST

Speakers: Florencia Ramirez and Margot Gibney

Florencia Ramirez is author of Eat Less Water,

The Solution to Worldwide Water Shortages is in our Kitchens

eatlesswater.com.

Margot Gibney is Executive Director of the

Encampment for Citizenship Youth Leadership Program

encampmentforcitizenship.org

Photo: Youth Participants in Encampment for Citizenship after workshop

about voting challenges and strategies at the 2018 Encampment

Mindful Peacebuilding is happy to network with the Encampment for Citizenship, a non-profit organization which focuses on youth leadership, community, and social justice. Residential summer programs with year-round follow-up for young people of widely diverse backgrounds and nations provide young people with a compelling experience in democratic living, with emphasis on critical thinking and social action. This is a transformative experience-- young people become more committed to active citizenship and involvement in their community as justice seekers as they become more informed and sensitive about the key issues of our time. One project of the Encampment, with Florencia Ramirez, is with farmworkers and schools in Ventura County relating to pesticide use.

LISTENING CIRCLES - SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and their granting a space of silence to the speech-makers and their own moment of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness, listening, and regard for the rule, "thought comes before speech." Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner. No one was quick with a question, no matter how important, and no one was pressed for an answer. A pause giving time for thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and conducting a conversation. --Luther Standing Bear

Aug 8 and Aug 22 - Listening Circle

Sept 12 and Sep 26 - Listening Circle

2pm-4pm Pacific

3pm-5pm Mountain

4pm-6pm Central

5pm-7pm East Coast

Zoom link will be emailed

by request closer to the events...

if you are not on the email list

please request zoom link

mindfulpeacebuilding@gmail.com

Listening Circles

Offerings and Links

For Meditations, Quotes, Songs, Stories

Click: Resources

***********************************

ONGOING

Racial Equity Practice

Healing Our Ancestors, Healing Ourselves

Engaging Current Challenges

Practice at San Quentin State Penitentiary

Re-Entry Support

OrigamiClasses

Support for Annual Day Of Peace

Mindfulness Practice

at Mariposa Institute, Ukiah, CA

Co-Hosted with SugarPlum Sangha

Mindful Peacebuilding

Through Music and Other Arts

Caring for The Earth

Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change

***************************

2018 - 2020

2020

Sat, May 16

via Zoom

2pm-4pm PST

Creative Arts Sharing

Bring if you wish

some creative art to share

Sat, May 9

via Zoom

2pm-4pm PST

Listening Circle--Longer Check-Ins

Bring your presence, your compassion,

your open-hearted listening

Sat, April 25

via Zoom

2pm-4pm PST

Listening Circle

Speaker: Shabana Shabazz, Ramadan

Dedication of the Month (April)

Passover, Easter,

Ramadan, Earth Day

Sat, April 18

via Zoom

2pm-4pm PST

Creative Arts Sharing:

Music, Poetry, Haiku, Collage

Sat April 11

2pm-4pm PST

Listening Circle: Corona Virus

Sat Mar 28

2pm-4pm PST

Listening Circle: Corona Virus

Dedication of the Month:

March: Women's History Month

International Women's Day,

World Water Day, Cesar Chavez Day

Mon Jan 13

5pm-6:15pm PST

vegan/vegetarian potluck

6:30pm-9pm PST

Participatory Workshop

with Rosa Zubizaretta

OMAH (Opening Minds and Hearts)

Skill-building

for Heart-Opening Conversations in 2020

includes Empathy Circles and Dynamic Facilitation

Co-Hosts:

Mindful Peacebuilding and Edwin Rutsch/Empathy Circles

Sat, Jan 11

10am - Noon PST

Gather at 9:45am

Guest Shabana Shahbaz from the

Masjid Ar-Rehman Mosque in Richmond, CA

will speak about her life in Pakistan, England and the US,

and her recent Umrah to Mecca in honor of Abraham and Sarah and Ishmael.

Co-Hosts: Mindful Peacebuilding and Jewish Gateways

2019

Tues Dec 31

4pm - 8pm

New Years Eve

108 Bells

Sat Dec 14, 1:30pm

2pm - 5pm

Honoring December Holidays

Fri, Nov 15

7pm - 9pm

Gather at 6:30pm

Mindful Peacebuilding Through Music

Impromptu Musical Evening

Sat Nov 16

Gather at 1:30pm

2pm - 5pm

Mindful Pre-Thanksgiving

Sunday Oct 13, 8amPST.

"Apologizing to Mother Earth

and the Land Ancestors"

with Louise Dunlap

(recording of EarthHolders' webinar

Info: simona.coayladuba@gmail.com)

Louise's forthcoming book is about her ancestors, the land they settled and passed down, and the stories of settlement that they did not tell

www.louisedunlap.net

June 15, 2019

Gathering with

Encampment for Citizenship

May 16-27, 2019

Bodhisattvas In Action:

Engaging Societal Challenges with the Energy of Mindfulness

Mindful Peacebuilding Retreat

co-hosted with Sugarplum Sangha

at Mariposa Institute, Ukiah, CA

Practice and Teachings offered by Dharma Teachers and lay practitioners

from the Plum Village Community of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Br Phap Tri, Diane Little Eagle, Jo-ann Rosen and others

Apr 6

Mindful Pre-Passover

Passover Resource Reader Available

Mar 31

Racial Equity Practice with Sandra Kim

Mar 23

Children's Inclusivity Library Reading

and Origami Paper-Crane Making for Immigration Protest

Feb 16

Quarterly Mindful Music-Making

Mindful Peacebuilding Through Informal Music Making Together

Fiddle, Ukulele, Recorders, Piano, Guitar

Jan 4

Combatants for Peace

hosted by MPB Middle East Listening Circle

2018

Dec 31

New Years Eve Bell of Awakening

Sounding the Bell 108 Times

Dec 15

Benefit with Charity Cellists

for MPB Projects

San Quentin Post-Release Emergency Fund

Transforming Trauma Training:

Community Resilience Model (CRM)

with Israelis and Palestinians

Nov 20

Thanksgiving Resource Reader

Available by Request

Nov 2

Mindful Peacebuilding Through Informal Music Making Together

Fiddle, Ukulele, Recorders, Piano, Guitar

Oct 27

Transforming Trauma: Community Resilence Model (CRM)

Introduction with Victoria Mausisa

Sep 22

Inter-Faith Pilgrimage To Angel Island

Mindful Peacebuilding members joined this pilgrimage

organized by Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

Aug 25

Compassionate Eating

for Ourselves, Animals, and Our Planet

(Click on Resources)

Aug 25

MPB Inclusiveness Library

for Children and Adults

Reading and Discussion

THE NAME JAR by Yangsook Choi

Having just arrived from Korea with her family, Unhei is anxious about making friends.

Worried that no one will be able to pronounce her name, she decides to pick a new name.

But when a large glass jar filled with names appears on her desk, Unhei happily discovers that her classmates want to help.

GIFT ECONOMICS

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE WELCOME

DONATE to Mindful Peacebuilding on this website or mail a check to MPB, PO Box 5612, Elmwood Station, Berkeley CA 94705. All donations are welcome, and tax-deductible.

MPB is a volunteer organization/community.

Contributions support programs .

• Support at San Quentin Penitentiary: includes weekly origami classes, Annual Day of Peace, Post-Release Emergency Fund
• Healing Historical Harm 1) Classes and book and discussion groups focused on white awareness of privilege and power 2) Roots Retreats 3) Inclusivity Library for Children and Adults 4) Multicultural Skillbuilding 4) Community Resilience Model for Transforming Collective Trauma
• Earth Awareness and Protection
• Creative Arts  - Poetry, Music and other creative arts
• Community Service/Public Presence/Action Alerts
• Listening Circles, Mindful Holiday Gatherings, Mindfulness Retreats

RESOURCES

MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS

Meditations for Opening the Heart-Mind:

Four Elements of Love—kindness, joy, compassion, equanimity

Compassion Meditation

adapted from Mindful of Race, by Ruth King., p 159

Become aware of the in-breath, the out-breath

Notice and send a greeting to parts of the body:

toes, knees, hip-bones, heart, lungs, kidneys,

reproductive system, digestive system,

the spine, the collar bones,

the eyes, ears, tongue, teeth, jawbones,

throat, energy center between the eyes

energy center at the top of the head

Now bring awareness to the inner children of different ages,

and offer them the following words of compassion and kindness.

Continue in widening circles of awareness

to near and dear ones, and those not known...

I am here. I am here for you.

I care about you.

I care about your joy.

I care about your suffering.

I am holding your pain and sorrow with compassion

May you be soothed, may you be healed.

May your fears dissolve.

I’m sorry you have been harmed, ignored, and dismissed.

I will stay with you. I will breathe with you.

I may not know how to support you in the best way,

but it is my wish to do so.

I am here. I am here for you.

I care about you.

I care about your joy.

I care about your suffering.

I am holding your pain and sorrow with compassion

Equanimity Meditation

adapted from Mindful of Race, by Ruth King., p 249

May I see the world with quiet eyes.

May I offer my care without hesitation,

knowing I may be met with gratitude, anger,

or resistance.

May I find the inner resources

to genuinely contribute where needed.

May I contribute where needed

without attachment to outcome.

May I remain peaceful within.

I care about the pain of others,

yet I know I cannot control it.

May I offer care,

knowing I don’t control the course of life,

suffering, or death.

I wish all beings contentment,

but I cannot make their choices for them

I care for all beings,

and I realize my way is not the only way.

All beings have their own journey,

and I have mine.

May I offer my support,

knowing that what I offer

may be of great benefit,

some benefit, or even no benefit.

May I bear witness to things just as they are.

May I offer my prayer without conditions,

knowing I may be met with appreciation,

resentment, and resistance.

From: Awakening Joy: Ten Steps to Happiness

by James Baraz

Step 1- Inclining the Mind Toward Joy

Step 2- Mindfulness: Being Present for Your Life

Step 3- Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart

Step 4- Finding Joy in Difficult times

Step 5- The Bliss of Blamelessness

Step 6—The Joy of Letting Go

Step 7—The Sweetness of Loving Ourselves

Step 8—The Joy of Loving Others

Step 9—Compassion: The Natural Expression of a Joyful Heaert

Step 10—The Joy of Simply Being

Prayer for Healing

M’She-beirach—Debby Friedman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX5TWsfykSs&list=RDpHKo3CjuzpY&index=2

Mi shebeirach avoteinu

M’kor hab’racha l’imoteinu

May the source of strength

Who blessed the ones before us,

Help us find the courage

to make our lives a blessing

And let us say,

Amen

Mi shebeirach imoteinu

M’kor habrachah l’avoteinu

Bless those in need of healing

with r’fuah sh’leimah

The renewal of body

the renewal of spirit

And let us say,

Amen

Meditation: GRACE

adapted from Joan Halifax, Standing At the Edge:

Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet, p 241-242

Gather attention

Recall Intention

Attune to Self and Other

Consider What Will Serve

Engage and End

Mother's Day Proclamation--Boston, 1870

Written by abolitionist Julia Ward Howe

--

https://peacealliance.org/history-of-mothers-day-as-a-day-of-peace-julia-ward-howe/

“Arise, then… women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
whether our baptism be that of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies.
Our husbands shall 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, 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 vindicate 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 council.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them then solemnly take council with each other as to the means
whereby the great human family can live in peace,
each bearing after his own kind the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask
that a general congress of women, without limit of nationality,
may be appointed and held at some place 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.“

On Compassion For Animals and Compassionate Eating

https://youtu.be/GDMwYC9qZ-w

https://youtu.be/78qgek8GJ9k

Thich Nhat Hanh

from: The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

"If while we eat, we destroy living beings or the environment, we are eating the flesh of our own sons and daughters. We need to look deeply together and discuss how to eat, what to eat and what to resist. If we are mindful, we will know whether we are ‘ingesting’ the toxins of fear, hatred and violence, or eating foods that encourage understanding, compassion, and the determination to help others."

Meditation on Mindful Consumption

Touching the Earth

I touch the earth three times to nourish my awareness of the suffering of all species in the world and to help me to nourish my compassion.

I have made the vow to be vegetarian and I feel happy and peaceful because of this. I know that vegetarian food can taste good and be wholesome at the same time... There are many people who are vegetarian because they are aware that to be vegetarian is beneficial for spiritual, physical and mental health. There are also people who are vegetarian because they want to nourish their compassion.

I am happy when I see that there are associations that are striving to protect animals by preserving their natural habitats or preventing people from using animals in harmful experiments. . . .

QUOTES

Audre Lorde

.. .and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak . . .

Luther Standing Bear

Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and their granting a space of silence to the speech-makers and their own moment of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness, listening, and regard for the rule, "thought comes before speech." Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner. No one was quick with a question, no matter how important, and no one was pressed for an answer. A pause giving time for thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and conducting a conversation.

Henri Nouwen

Two Super-Powers: Deep Listening and Speaking from the Heart
We cannot change the world by a new plan, project or idea. We cannot even change other people by our convictions, stories, advice and proposals, but we can offer a space where people are encouraged to disarm themselves, lay aside their occupations and preoccupations, and listen with attention and care to the voices speaking in their own center.

Robert Kennedy

Joannesburg, South Africa, 1963

Tiny Ripples of Hope
Few have the greatness to bend history itself,

but each of us can work

to change a small portion of the events,

and in the total of these acts

will be written the history of this generation.

It is from numerous diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a [wo]man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the life of others, or strikes out against an injustice, [s]he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope that crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. 

And I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.

Mohandas K. Gandhi

The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree;

and there is just the same inviolable connection

between the means and the end

as there is between the seed and the tree.