The Embodiment of Gratitude by Kit Miller

During our Gandhi Institute annual board meeting last week, we reflected on how well we embody the spirit of nonviolence in our thoughts, words and deeds.  We re-committed to the idea that from our mission to educate, embody and serve, embodiment is the stand-out virtue to cultivate!

One aspect of embodiment is a continued focus on celebration and gratitude.  When I was in the early days of learning Nonviolent Communication, I asked the originator of that work, Marshall Rosenberg, how he developed the capacity to become more present to his own life.  He smiled and pulled out a little book from his pocket (now perhaps he would pull out a smart phone!) and showed me his gratitude log. “This is how I do it still,” he said.  “whenever I have a  free moment I jot down what I am grateful for.”

That practice has supported me to train my attention on the ongoing flow of gifts I can tend to take for granted: blue skies and birdsong as I type in this moment, a good night of sleep, food, help from colleagues, friends, neighbors and family that flows in all of the time.  Gratitude of this kind balances tendencies I have to overwork, and to worry about the future because it invites me to awareness of what is in front of me.  It helps me to stay open and curious that I don’t know what my most important act of the day will be!  Maybe it will be the thing I predict (a meeting or writing something like this).  Maybe it will be stopping to notice and connect with someone, especially when I notice distress, instead of just walking by.

Paul Chappell, who is visiting the  Gandhi Institute later this week, added to my understanding of the importance of celebration and gratitude through his recent book Peaceful Revolution by noting that this  practice also leads to increased sense of stewardship.  More appreciation of my body helps me want to take better care of myself. The same is true for my relationships, and for the earth itself.

Invite friends and family to hear Paul speak in Rochester this Friday, Mar 23 7:30 pm- FREE! Donations gratefuly accepted.  C-span will record this talk.

http://bethechangerochester.org/ai1ec_event/paul-chappell-lecture/?instance_id=1

“The Embodiment of Gratitude” by Kit Miller

During our Gandhi Institute annual board meeting last week, we reflected on how well we embody the spirit of nonviolence in our thoughts, words and deeds.  We re-commited to the idea that from our mission to educate, embody and serve, embodiment is the stand-out virtue to cultivate!

One aspect of embodiment is a continued focus on celebration and gratitude.  When I was in the early days of learning Nonviolent Communication, I asked the originator of that work, Marshall Rosenberg, how he developed the capacity to become more present to his own life.  He smiled and pulled out a little book from his pocket (now perhaps he would pull out a smart phone!) and showed me his gratitude log. “This is how I do it still,” he said.  “whenever I have a  free moment I jot down what I am grateful for.”

That practice has supported me to train my attention on the ongoing flow of gifts I can tend to take for granted: blue skies and birdsong as I type in this moment, a good night of sleep, food, help from colleagues, friends, neighbors and family that flows in all of the time.  Gratitude of this kind balances tendencies I have to overwork, and to worry about the future because it invites me to awareness of what is in front of me.  It helps me to stay open and curious that I don’t know what my most important act of the day will be!  Maybe it will be the thing I predict (a meeting or writing something like this).  Maybe it will be stopping to notice and connect with someone, especially when I notice distress, instead of just walking by.

Paul Chappell, who is visiting the  Gandhi Institute later this week, added to my understanding of the importance of celebration and gratitude through his recent book Peaceful Revolution by noting that this  practice also leads to increased sense of stewardship.  More appreciation of my body helps me want to take better care of myself. The same is true for my relationships, and for the earth itself.

Invite friends and family to hear Paul speak in Rochester this Friday, Mar 23 7:30 pm- FREE! Donations gratefuly accepted.  C-span will record this talk.

http://bethechangerochester.org/ai1ec_event/paul-chappell-lecture/?instance_id=1

“Nonviolence and the Need to Embody Gratitude” by Kit Miller

During our Gandhi Institute annual board meeting last week, we reflected on how well we embody the spirit of nonviolence in our thoughts, words and deeds.  We re-commited to the idea that from our mission to educate, embody and serve, embodiment is the stand-out virtue to cultivate!

One aspect of embodiment is a continued focus on celebration and gratitude.  When I was in the early days of learning Nonviolent Communication, I asked the originator of that work, Marshall Rosenberg, how he developed the capacity to become more present to his own life.  He smiled and pulled out a little book from his pocket (now perhaps he would pull out a smart phone!) and showed me his gratitude log. “This is how I do it still,” he said.  “whenever I have a  free moment I jot down what I am grateful for.”

That practice has supported me to train my attention on the ongoing flow of gifts I can tend to take for granted: blue skies and birdsong as I type in this moment, a good night of sleep, food, help from colleagues, friends, neighbors and family that flows in all of the time.  Gratitude of this kind balances tendencies I have to overwork, and to worry about the future because it invites me to awareness of what is in front of me.  It helps me to stay open and curious that I don’t know what my most important act of the day will be!  Maybe it will be the thing I predict (a meeting or writing something like this).  Maybe it will be stopping to notice and connect with someone, especially when I notice distress, instead of just walking by.

Paul Chappell, who is visiting the  Gandhi Institute tomorrow night, added to my understanding of the importance of celebration and gratitude through his recent book Peaceful Revolution by noting that this  practice also leads to increased sense of stewardship.  More appreciation of my body helps me want to take better care of myself. The same is true for my relationships, and for the earth itself.

Invite friends and family to hear Paul speak in Rochester this Friday, Mar 23 7:30 pm- FREE! Donations gratefuly accepted.  C-span will record this talk.

http://bethechangerochester.org/ai1ec_event/paul-chappell-lecture/?instance_id=1

12th Grader Zobaida Hossain Interviews Kit Miller

Zobaida Hossain is in the 12th grade. As part of a project for a National History Day competition Zobaida interviewed Gandhi Institute director Kit Miller about her views on Mahatma Gandhi.

What is your opinion on Mahatma Gandhi’s method of nonviolence?

I think his method is and remains one of the most extraordinary means for change on both the personal and political levels that has ever been invented.

Why do you think Gandhi’s method of nonviolence was revolutionary?

I believe that Gandhi’s method of nonviolence harnessed the power and potential of human love on a scale that has never been seen, particularly in the political sphere.  In the 20^th century, more than fifty countries would shake off the yoke of colonialism at least in large part influenced by the success of his struggle in India.

Do you believe that his nonviolent method was a stronger tactic in leading India to its Independence?

If by stronger you mean stronger than violence, yes.  I will quote Professor Michael Nagler, considered to be one of the foremost experts on Gandhi in the world today.  Dr. Nagler says: “Satyagraha (nonviolence) struggles are enormously less costly than ordinary military struggles not only to human life, to psychological wellbeing (combat personnel are often deeply traumatized by what they have done in the line of duty)—but also to materials resources as well.”

If you lived in India during the time of Gandhi would you have supported him? Why or why not?

Yes!  I would have loved to have met and supported Gandhi as well as other heroes of that day, like Khan Ghaffan Khan, a Muslim Pathan who was a tremendous proponent of nonviolence.  I would have supported him for the same reasons that I support the spread and integration of nonviolence now, years after his death.  Nonviolence is the human face of sustainability.  In order to care for the current lives on earth as well as future generations, we must begin to harness all of our resources toward peaceful means and ends.

Why do you believe Gandhi was successful in his nonviolent movement towards India’s Independence?

Gandhi was successful in that 1. the British quit India peacefully, leaving behind a nation that it had somehow remained friends with.  No destructive war was waged to free India from over 200 years of colonial rule.  Gandhi was also successful because as mentioned above his example inspired people around the world to end colonialism, often nonviolently.

What do you think the outcome would have been if Gandhi had chosen to use violence? Do you think he would have had a shot at being successful?

No I don’t think he would have been.  Other violent uprisings against the British by Indians had failed and I don’t see how a violent uprising by Gandhi would have been any different.  He succeeded because he touched the deeply spiritual nature of many Indians and indeed people around the world through nonviolence.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement that has currently swept the nation is using nonviolence. Do you believe they will eventually be successful in their fight for change? 

I hope they will be.  I am worried about how life will be for you and your classmates if wealth remains or becomes even more concentrated, especially as we have so many pressing problems to work with that require the minds and creativity of us all, such as global warming.

Report from Occupy Wall Street

Mohandas Gandhi’s theory of social action entails that we select the right cause, use the right means, and leave the results to a higher power. Before spending two days and one night in Zuccotti Park, the makeshift encampment and epicenter of Occupy Wall Street, I had serious doubts about the movement’s cause, means, and even spirituality. From far away in Rochester, it appeared that this planned revolt was more like a political circus orchestrated by angry and disenfranchised youth. The general message seemed to center on corporate reform but included a plethora of issues typically associated with the radical left. Moreover, it was difficult to discern any form of spirituality emanating from scanty, slanted and superficial news stories in publications like the New York Times.

After witnessing these events first hand, I can report that Occupy Wall Street may not have a specific cause but speaks with a clear voice. The “core” demonstrators want the world to know that corporate greed is poisoning the heart of American democracy. They also want the world to know that young people are tired of sitting on the sidelines while their government fails to provide meaningful jobs, adequate health care, and effective environmental conservation.

I discovered that protestors use a variety of means to express their concerns. These means include music, street art, political theater, and subversive forms of journalism. On the scene, it is clear that the protestors are able to talk about these complex issues with both thoughtfulness and tremendous passion. One of the more encouraging examples I can share with readers is a communication technique known as the “people’s mic.” Denied access to electronic amplification, protestors have developed a means of sharing information that uses the collective voice of the crowd to echo the words spoken by individuals. This tactic struck me as a profound demonstration of ingenuity in the face of adversity.

But some of the means are crude and counter-productive. One protestor was ominously dressed in zombie garb and walked around limply with a sign that read “When the world ends, I will eat the bodies of the rich.”

In general, the chaotic scene is imbued with a healthy appreciation for nonviolence that acted as a sort of glue to the many conflicting elements that appear to be in tension with each other and could erupt into violence otherwise. For example, the three major rules that everyone must obey as they enter “Liberty Plaza” include: no drugs and alcohol; no stepping on the park’s flowers; and no disrespecting other people’s belongings. Nevertheless, this community is not as autonomous as it pretends to be. After spending the night in the park, I awoke at dawn to witness several NYPD and paramedics lifting an unconscious man onto a gurney and rushing him to the hospital. The OWS medics were forced to stand on the sidelines while the city’s emergency responders attempted to save the man’s life.

As for the movement’s spirituality, I did see so-called anarchists flaunting their atheism in a rather bellicose way, and most people would concede that this is a secular movement.  Yet the very sight of thousands of people exercising their inalienable right to speak truth to power is a tantalizing experience. I also admired the small but energetic bands of protesters singing civil rights hymns that would have brought a smile to the face of Martin Luther King, Jr.

So yes,  from my viewpoint, this movement does have a certain spiritual vitality.  However, it is far too early to surmise where this powerful energy is going and just how far it can take a grassroots revolution founded on such an unspiritual ambition as occupation.

George Payne

Payne is a peace activist with the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

Welcome

Dear Friends,
I am delighted to launch this blog on behalf of the MK Gandhi Institute, to extend our conversations to include you.

This extraordinary technology gifts us with the ability to face some truths together, truths about our time that are so daunting that they need to be borne and witnessed in community, however virtual. In the US, a truth we need to face is the growing likelihood that our commitment to military expansion can no longer be halted by the democratic process. Consequently, poverty and the violence that accompanies it is growing in many communities. Pressing issues of structual injustice go unacknowledged. Meanwhile, climate change is accelerating, no matter how much it is ignored in the media and by most leaders.

In this blog you will see posts from myself and other Gandhi staff. We hope you will accompany us as we look back to nonviolent leaders and movements for inspiration–the big guys like Gandhi and King as well as extraordinary heroes who are more obscure, such as Abdul Ghaffar Khan– and as we look forward, interpreting this rich legacy for its applicability to our lives, work and projects.

We need to know others are with us, arm in arm, to give us courage to gaze at the daunting issues of our day. If this blog offers a sense of community or shared values or inspiration to you, let us know. If we miss the mark, let us know. We dedicate the merit of this blog to each of you reading these words, searching for answers.

in peace and hope,
Kit Miller