Peaceful Warrior?

What Does It Mean To Be A Peaceful Warrior?

Is There Truly Such A Thing?

Is The Term "Peaceful Warrior" A Paradox? An Illusion?

If Not, What Are The Qualities Of A Peaceful Warrior?

What Are The Characteristics?

What Are The Values Of Such A Person?
Are You One?

Men in Brotherhood: Introduction

Earlier today, I read yet another by now very tiresome to me re-telling of Donald Trumps recent expression of inner unresolved pain in the form of repeating the birther's claim that President Obama was very potentially born in another country. My mind drifted to all the various and pathological ways we men engage with one another in the world. Of course, the birther movement itself is filled with women as well as men who express this particular brand of psychological injury through what may at first appear to be a vindictive need to attack a specific individual--Barack Hussein Obama. I however know what is occurring is a simple disowning of something within that is uncomfortable and that discomfort is then being displaced or projected onto the American President. I know it comes from a wounded place rather than simply a place of trying to reveal the truth to people because of the vitriol that underlies most of it as well as the, for lack of a better word, plain ole energy of it all. It has the DNA markers of pain not a pure desire to enlighten. That DNA marker betrays any truly or potentially altruistic motivation, I believe.

Still, for some reason however, my mind went to the unconscious masculine specifically, whose actions I have observed so much in this life. So as all of this swirled in my head---the wars various men have started and sustained over the years, gang warfare, corporate madness, fear of The Sacred Feminine, school age bullying and such--my mind temporarily stopped. Soon an idea emerged. That idea was to start a series on this blog that celebrates the ways in which men strive for connection and brotherhood with one another rather than ways to destroy or cut each other down or apart. And so this series was birthed: Men in Brotherhood.

And so it is...

Muslim Prayer For Peace (in the Middle East)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to the Lord of the universe who has created us and made us tribes and nations, that we might know each other. If the enemy inclines towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust in God, for the Lord is the One that hears and knows all things. And the servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, And when we address them, we say PEACE.”

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I Have A Dream Speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

Martin Luther King, Jr.
August 28, 1963
Washington, DC

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.

Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.

Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all God's children.

Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.


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 wrong 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. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.


No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day out on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat and injustice of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.


Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

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Verbal and Image Based Violent, Hate Filled or Vitriolic Rhetoric 101

Verbal and image based violent, hate filled or vitriolic rhetoric 101: Everything is energy. Energy can be defined as, "the ability one system has to produce change in another system." With this definition inflammatory rhetoric (political or otherwise) can clearly be viewed as a form of energy especially if the rhetoric is embedded in corresponding and similarly inflammatory imagery and/or video. Each Human Being is also its own individual system. When these two systems interact (inflammatory rhetoric and any individual or groups of Human Beings), violence, which can bring about anything from small to catastrophic changes in the system, can occur. Class dismissed.

sage mahosadha

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Peacemaking Circles

Peacemaking Circles: A process for solving problems and building community

The peacemaking circle is a process that brings together individuals who wish to engage in conflict resolution, healing, support, decision making or other activities in which honest communications, relationship development, and community building are core desired outcomes.

"Circles" offer an alternative to contemporary meeting processes that often rely on hierarchy,
win-lose positioning, and victim/rescuer approaches to relationships and problem solving.
Derived from aboriginal and native traditions, circles bring
people together in a way that creates trust, respect, intimacy,
good will, belonging, generosity, mutuality and reciprocity.
The process is never about "changing others", but rather is an
invitation to change oneself and one’s relationship with the
community.

Circles intentionally create a sacred space that lifts barriers
between people, opening fresh possibilities for connection,
collaboration and mutual understanding. The process works
because it brings people together in a way that allows them to
see one another as human beings and to talk about what matters.
Circles can be understood in terms of the values and principles upon which they operate, and the
structures they use to support these values and principles.
Values and Principles- Though each circle develops its own values and principles, all
peacemaking circles generally:

1. are designed by those who use them
2. are guided by a shared vision
3. call participants to act on their personal values
4. include all interests, and are accessible to all
5. offer everyone an equal, and voluntary, opportunity to participate
6. take a holistic approach, including the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual
7. maintain respect for all
8. encourage exploring instead of conquering differences
9. invite accountability to others and to the process

Structure- Circles provide effective support to groups seeking to stay on course with the values
and principles they have established for their circle.
The circle process is "simple but not easy," and must be experienced to be fully grasped and
replicated. There is an intangible quality to circles that must be experienced to be understood.
However, there are some key structures that help to define the circle.

1. The meeting space is the most visible structure. Participants are seated in a circle focusing on
the center where symbolic objects may be placed to remind participants of values shared among those in the circle.

2. A talking piece is used as a way to ensure respect between speakers and listeners. The
talking piece is passed from person to person within the circle and only the person holding
the piece may speak.

3. Two "keepers" of the circle have been identified. The
keepers guide the participants and keep the circle as a safe
space. While it is possible to have only one keeper,
generally a team of two is preferable.

4. Ceremony and ritual are used to create safety and form.

5. Consensus decision making honors the values and
principles of peacemaking circles and helps participants
to stay grounded in them.

Benefits of Circles- Circles strengthen relationships and build community. They do so
through the process they use to deal with specific issues around which a peacemaking circle
might be called. As they experience circles, participants begin to develop the physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual habits of peacemaking. The circle process helps to shift old patterns in
how individuals and communities interact, a shift that over time becomes reflected in interactions
outside the circle. Circles:

1. build relationships
2. foster open dialogue
3. encourage values-based action
4. provide a space to acknowledge
responsibility
5. facilitate innovative problem-solving
6. address the deeper causes of conflict
7. empower participants and communities
8. break through isolation
9. bring healing and transformation

When to Use Peacemaking Circles-There are different reasons for bringing people together,
and so circles are used for different purposes. Circles may be called for conflict, talking, healing,
brainstorming and management, court-related issues, art, support, and family issues. Circles are
appropriate in business, family, judicial, social service, artistic and other settings.
Circles are effective in any group settings in which there is a desire for:

1. Healing rather than coercion
2. Individual and collective accountability rather than only
individual accountability
3. Democratic, egalitarian and spiritual values
4. Focusing on the commonalities, instead of the differences,
between people
5. Building community
6. Individual and collective change and transformation

Sources: Carolyn Boyes-Watson, Suffolk College; Jon Prichard, University of Maine; Pranis, K., Barry

Stuart and Mark Wedge, 2003, Peacemaking Circles, From Crime to Community, Living Justice Press.

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Peace and Freedom

If one is truly Free he/she is also completely at peace with the world they inhabit and everything and every relationship the world has brought to them.

This does not mean there will not be life challenges that will be recognized and experienced as life challenges. It does not necessarily mean all the insanity that occurs in life is not somehow recognized and hopefully mindfully addressed. It also does not mean we have to engage deeply and in real time with everyone life has brought to us. In some cases we simply may need to state either to ourselves when we are in a place of Presence or to the other person directly-- "I love you. I truly do, whether you accept that or not. Still, what you are showing me right now is not what I want to have in my life right now. It may not always be that way. It is however, that way right now."

So freedom and peace have nothing to do with engaging emotionally with people who clearly are not beneficial for us to be around or to engage with interpersonally. It does mean, not taking a stance of judgment about such people or mistaking their false self for their true self. If there are situations or relationships one is not completely at peace with, true freedom has not been achieved. If one has deep life regrets, longstanding grievances (including grievances toward parents, caretakers, and ex-romantic partners), has enemies, engages in the behavior of constantly replaying tapes in the head, experiences rage, feelings of superiority or inferiority, frequent complaining, a need to often blame others or situations for our circumstances or have a general lack of deep connectedness to all of life; neither true Freedom nor true Peace has been achieved and there is still important work that needs to be done in our lives.

© Raven/Sage Mahosadha

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