Last evening, 11 April 2008, Philip Glass’ Opera Satyagraha opened at the New York Met. On Sunday evening a public forum at the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine will echo back the collective reflection and inquiry of a group spending the weekend in meditation and dialogue. They seek to uncover the contribution that the lineage of Gandhi, King, and others around the world might make to social movements in this generation and the next; and, what new capacities mindfulness, contemplative and reflective practices can build for a world confronting complex and emergent challenges. This is a journey that begins - but does not complete - this weekend.
Archive for the ‘Satyagraha’ Category
April 12th, 2008
Seeking the source of Gandhi’s work
April 10th, 2008
“The fierce urgency of the now” - Martin Luther King
” We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to … take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. … Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. …. We cannot walk alone.” The global conditions presented by climate change, mass dislocations and resource wars, arms sales, peak oil, population growth (see The Shift Report, Institute of Noetic Sciences) represent as great a challenge to justice for present and future generations as humanity has ever confronted.This video is the original video of Martin Luther King’s speech - “I have a dream”. The reference to Gandhi’s satyagraha - soul force - rings out.
March 23rd, 2008
Towards a transformational ecology
“Be the change you want to see in the world“. Gandhi This blog is series of reflections - a product of inquiry, research, reflections and conversations over these weeks leading up to Gandhi’s sixtieth, and Martin Luther King’s fortieth year commemorations. The Garrison Institute New York is beginning an initiative on Transformational Ecology, beginning with the Satyagraha Project. The initiative includes a particular focus on the lineage of Gandhi and others who have provided inspirational leadership in times of crisis and profound large-scale change. What are the lessons for us to learn? Do the current times call for a new salt march - a grass roots community based global initiative? What would be the underlying - or the inner - conditions that would need to enable such a global movement for the common good? Gandhi used the term Sarvodaya meaning ‘universal uplift’ or ‘progress of all’. It speaks to a commitment to a world that works for everyone with no-one left out. Without love - without an open heart - nothing makes sense.
March 22nd, 2008
The Satyagraha Project
The project is an exploration of Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of nonviolent struggle, satyagraha or “truth force,” part of lineage of thought which also includes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr, in a new context - that of climate change and the deep social and environmental changes we must make in our time.Garrison Institute Satyagraha Project events include a retreat and a free, public event April 13 at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City. The Cathedral event features Rajmohan Gandhi, Gandhi’s biographer and grandson, performances by Philip Glass, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of Sri Lanka’s Sarvodaya movement; Sulak Sivaraksa, founder of the Thailand Spirit in Education Movement, and other distinguished participants.
March 22nd, 2008
Bringing Presence to the Satyagraha Retreat
Over the last weeks, my work has been to bring a Presencing design to the Satyagraha Retreat - which I have been invited to facilitate.I met Diana Rose, President of the Garrison Institute through working with Otto Scharmer at MIT on Presencing or “Theory U“. I have used Presencing and experience from my own research and reflective practice as the meta methodology for my work in community, business, government and cross-sectoral practice in New Zealand and more widely, over the last five years./
“The foundational capacity of the U is listening. Listening to others. Listening to oneself. And listening to what emerges from the collective.” Otto writes. ”Effective listening requires the creation of open space in which others can contribute to the whole.The capacity to suspend the “voice of judgment” is key to moving from projection to true observation. The preparation for the experience at the bottom of the U—presencing—requires the tuning of three instruments: the open mind, the open heart, and the open will. This opening process is not passive but an active “sensing” together as a group. While an open heart allows us to see a situation from the whole, the open will enables us to begin to act from the emerging whole. The capacity to connect to the deepest source of self and will allows the future to emerge from the whole rather than from a smaller part or special interest group. /
When a small group of key persons commits itself to the purpose and outcomes of a project, the power of their intention creates an energy field that attracts people, opportunities, and resources that make things happen. This core group functions as a vehicle for the whole to manifest. Moving down the left side of the U requires the group to open up and deal with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; moving up the right side requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and will in the context of practical applications and learning by doing. /
A prominent violinist once said that he couldn’t simply play his violin in Chartres cathedral; he had to “play” the entire space, what he called the “macro violin,” in order to do justice to both the space and the music. “My experience is , our work in the world must be both local and global - we nurture strong local practice fields, and, listen for the resonance of our work in the global practice field. The lineages of Gandhi and King - as well as Emerson and Thoreau and contemporary leaders of compassion - all teach us something of how to do this work. We can resource ourselves for our work in the world by deepening our relationship with their lives, and with one another. Perhaps there is no more important place for us to begin to build the future, than here.
March 22nd, 2008
Presencing and Theory U in action
Otto Scharmer from MIT is acknowledged as the lead theoretical proponent of Theory U, and a partner in generating a global body of practice across many communities of people committed to enable a profound shift in complex system settings. This short video shot by Seventh Generation of Otto in conversation in December 2007 in Rhode Island, speaks to how contemplative traditions and traditional wisdoms are finding their way into contemporary innovation practice.
In the introduction to his book Theory U, Otto Scharmer writes: “The real battle in the world today is not among civilizations or cultures but among the different evolutionary futures that are possible for us and our species right now. What is at stake is nothing less than the choice of who we are, who we want to be, and where we want to take the world we live in. The real question, then, is “What are we here for? ”Our old leadership is crumbling similar to the way the Berlin Wall crumbled in 1989.
What’s necessary today is not only a new approach to leadership. We need to go beyond the concept of leadership. We must discover a more profound and practical integration of the head, heart, and hand — of the intelligences of the open mind, open heart, and open will — at both an individual and a collective level.” On my blog here, I’ll be exploring some of our practice here in New Zealand using presencing and our reflections and refinements in practice and theory. Presencing has emerged as the process-craft of CommonGround, our shared practice field.
March 22nd, 2008
Seeking the Source - Garrison Institute, New York
The Garrison Institute is located on the Hudson River north of New York City, the Institute is housed in a beautifully renovated 77,000 square foot facility on the estate of a former Capuchin monastery.The Institute explores the intersection of contemplation and engaged action in the world. Founded in 2003, its mission is to apply the transformative power of contemplation to today’s pressing social and environmental problems, helping build a more compassionate, resilient future. Retreat programs and gatherings bring inspiring teachers and teachings from diverse wisdom traditions to wide audiences, supporting individual growth and communities of practice.
February 6th, 2008
Parihaka - Aotearoa New Zealand’s lessons in passive resistance
On November 5, 1881 the peaceful village of Parihaka was invaded by 1600 armed constabulary. Some 2000 men, women and children were expelled from the settlement to jails nationwide, crops were burned and homes destroyed. Te Whiti and many of his supporters were arrested and held without trial for long periods, some up to 18 years. Many were driven off their lands and out of the area, never to return. The Premier’s attempts to defend the governments actions provoked a constitutional crisis—the Governor of New Zealand was out of the country when Cabinet approved the invasion. The Chief Justice allowed the invasion to proceed.In all, the government illegally confiscated or alienated 7,770 km² (1.92 million acres) of Māori land in Taranaki and some reparations were made to the tribes in the mid-20th century and continue to be negotiated in the 21st.
Redress. Several Taranaki tribes were affected by the Parihaka incident. Between 2001 and 2006, the New Zealand government provided redress and a formal apology to four of those tribes, Ngati Ruanui, Ngati Tama, Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi and Ngati Mutunga, for a range of historical issues including Parihaka. Tens of millions of New Zealand dollars were provided as redress to the tribes in recognition of their losses at Parihaka and the confiscations. Most of the confiscated land is now privately owned, and worth considerably more. Although there were more violent incidents during the New Zealand land wars, the memory of Parihaka is still invoked as a symbol of colonial aggression against the Māori People, having a similar resonance in New Zealand to the Wounded Knee Massacre in the United States.In 1989 musicians Tim Finn and Herbs released the song Parihaka about the incident. A peace festival has been held there since 2006.
