On Aug. 24, 410 C.E., Alaric with his army of Goths entered Rome and sacked the capital of the empire. The shock echoed throughout the circum-Mediterranean world and Europe: How could this happen to the “eternal city”? Though the scale of the attack was so much smaller, and it failed, many people throughout the much larger modern world today were shocked that this could happen to the “indispensible nation.” There are other differences, of course. The Roman emperor did not call down the attack on his own city!

It has long been our belief at Metta that the key leverage point for changing humanity from its disastrous course is the uplifting of the human image from that of a separate material fragment adrift in a meaningless universe to an evolving spiritual being inseparable from others and the rest of creation, endowed with the privilege and responsibility of playing our role, individually and together, in the unfolding of human destiny. 

We need the worldview that’s always been there, but is mostly buried in what are called the world’s wisdom traditions — and that have now, for the first time in over 300 years, the solid backing of science. The core of this worldview for our purposes is its strikingly different image of who we are as human beings. We are not primarily separate bodies, as advertisers and others try incessantly to tell us. We are body, mind, and spirit, or consciousness — indeed primarily consciousness. And that has tremendous consequences.

There are five things each of us can do to recover a saner image of who we are, whether we think of ourselves as peace activists or not. We can all do them, every day, and thus they answer somewhat to Gandhi’s famous charkha, or spinning campaign at the heart of his work to reform and liberate India. Organizations and campaigns will grow out of this kind of personal change.

The film "Faith Under Fire," which tells the true story of a woman who prevented a school shooting, is a reminder that nonviolent approaches to conflict resolution remain largely unknown.

Science has become a powerful ally in creating a vitally needed "new story" for our culture which will greatly facilitate the transition to a world of peace and justice.

At the very beginning of his presentation, Michael shares a preview of the documentary the Metta Center is working on with Lou Zweier

There is everything we can do, with enough time and determination, about the underlying cause of all shootings, which is the culture of violence that has become so much the ‘woodwork’ of our ‘entertainment,’ our unconsciously preselected and slantingly presented ‘news,’ and yes, our foreign policy, our mass incarceration, our gross inequality and the disintegration of civil discourse.

Not every action is going to be effective, especially if we are walking into a situation where the level of dehumanization is extreme — where people are prepared to harm or kill others. How then can we draw from the power of nonviolence in a situation of escalating violence?

Nonviolence can be a safe, effective and lasting way to defeat injustice, but like any other science it takes knowledge, courage and determination.

To ask the kind of questions posed here is therefore an essential, culturally subversive act; to answer them somewhat along the lines suggested is to stake out a position on the far side of the “Great Turning” or cultural paradigm shift that must happen to save our democracy and our future.

We have noted with great appreciation the signs of greater sophistication here and there across the growing movement. These include recognizing the need for all the points just listed, the relaxation of the rigidity of certain ideologies, for example that against any kind of leadership, and doubtless others that will manifest in the coming months.

What is the affinity between nonviolence and democracy? This is quite an important question, because there’s an intuitive resonance between those two great concepts but many people remain enthralled by the widespread myth that “freedom” must be won and kept by force.

The successful resistance has long held an important place in the canon of successful nonviolent actions catalogued by Gene Sharp in his pioneering works on nonviolence. Though it was marred by some fighting (and had a violent aftermath, as communists and labor unions tried to take over) it was in fact a classic example of the power of civil resistance to protect a democratic order from takeovers or invasions.

Meditation practices differ in how they attempt to master the suppression of the thoughts, feelings, ideas and memories that constantly crop up. Elsewhere you can read about focusing thoughts on the breath, for as Ramana Maharshi says, “Breath is the gross form of mind.” What we are going to present here is the technique of concentrating on the words of an inspirational passage, akin to the medieval practice of lectio divina, Latin for “divine reading.”

Unwavering respect for one’s opponent is not only the most effective persuasion, but lays the groundwork for lasting change, because human dignity is the basis of all justice and peace.

People from every walk of life — scientists, artists, people of faith and so on — are already looking for a “new story” of human possibilities, beyond the narrative that has led to materialism, greed and violence. In our search, we can hear the voices of countless ancestors who saw this truth, who lived in accordance with its wisdom and left us the legacy of their perennial vision.

What would a nonviolent media system look like? How could it make the existing corporate model obsolete?

Nonviolence can take many forms, and there is an appropriate way to apply it in providing non-military interventions for intrastate conflict.

The most restorative, and effective, practice I have heard of arose among the Babemba in South Africa (and other sub-saharan regions), where an offender sits in the middle of a circle with the entire village around him and every person in the village in turn says something positive about him.