The Brandeis Student Peace Alliance is hosting a Peace Day during which students and community members can learn about the violence issues affecting the greater Boston area. We have speakers from some of the most successful groups that are working to prevent these forms of violence. The main issues being covered by the forum are Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse and Gang Violence. read more »

I feel a little bit like a snail these days. It’s not only that I’m moving slow, but that I’m learning to carry my home with me wherever I go. This is the biggest lesson I think I learnt from my stay in Germany which turned out to be a good three months longer than intended on account of a broken ankle. read more »

DAY 20 Feb. 18: The thought for today is SELF-FORGIVENESS. When I judge myself, I tend to believe that who I am is what I have done or not done, what I have or do not have. I know that who I am is greater than all these things. I am greater than any mistake I have ever made. When we get even the slightest glimpse of the unity of life, we realize that sitting in judgment of other people and countries and races, I'm training my mind to sit in judgment of myself. As I forgive others, I am teaching the mind to respond with forgiveness everywhere, even to the misdeeds and mistakes of my own past. Practicing self-forgiveness is a foundation for practicing nonviolence. read more »

DAY 18 Feb. 16: The thought for today is FREEDOM. Civil Rights activist Diane Nash said, "Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders." Take a leadership role today in your own life. Find a way where you can express who you truly are.

"When people decide they want to be free, there is nothing that can stop them." -Bishop Desmond Tutu

"To be free is to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." -Nelson Mandela read more »

DAY 17 Feb. 15: The thought for today is INTEGRITY. "Do the Right Thing!" Spike Lee used these words as a title for one of his movies. When faced with a choice, listen to your conscience, and be willing to act accordingly, no matter what others may say. You know what is right to do; you can choose to do it.

Integrity asks for firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values and denies any form of corruption. Integrity is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. And when I am in harmony, I am a model of nonviolence. read more »

DAY 15 Feb. 13: The thought for today is REVERENCE. Reverence for all life is fundamental to Ahimsa; it is the ultimate rationale for nonviolence - for how can one willingly do harm to that for which one has reverence - and towards which one has the love that reverence engenders?

"In the main, reverence for life dictates the same sort of behavior as the ethical principle of love. But reverence for life contains within itself the rationale of the commandment to love, and it calls for compassion for all creature life." -Albert Schweitzer read more »

DAY 13 Feb. 11: The thought for today is CREATIVITY. The human soul's natural desire is to create. The best thing you can do to a human soul is to express the natural desire to create. Your life is your creative expression. Creativity allows something unpredictable and joyous to express through you.

"Why should we use all our creative power? . . . Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compassionate, so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money." -Brenda Ueland read more »

DAY 12 Feb. 10: The thought for today is GROUNDEDNESS. Gandhi said "To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves." Black Elk reminds us "Some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds."

This is how we are going to feel grounded, like a tree planted in the earth. Stand up straight and close your eyes. Imagine your body is a tree. Send down roots into the soil, feel the sun shining from above. Feel your branches and leaves blowing in the wind. When we feel grounded, we feel secure in our environment; and when we feel secure, we are more likely to respond to a situation in a nonviolent way. Being grounded helps us contribute to peace, to a culture of nonviolence. read more »

DAY 11 Feb. 9: The thought for today is CONTEMPLATION. For at least three minutes, relax, breathe, and let your mind be fed by whatsoever is good and beautiful. Many sacred texts tell us some variation of 'your thoughts shape your reality'.

"The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival." -Aristotle

Today: I take a moment to relax, breathe and let my mind be fed by what is good and beautiful. As I think, so I am! I will write down my thoughts and share them with others. read more »

The Department of Peace Campaign had a presence at the Teach-In on Iraq Policy at Emory-Henry College in southwest Virginia yesterday. Each speaker had five minutes. I was particularly impressed by the offering of Pat Gaskin of the ElderSpirit Community in Abingdon, VA where I intend to be living in the not-too-distant future. It was an anonymous meditation that reminded me of what Dennis Kucinich said about how the tragedy at the WTC on September 11, 2001 could have been framed as our opportunity to build community locally and globally. read more »