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ACTION
Things you can do...
http://www.helping.org/
A
resource of links to organizations you will find useful in times like these.
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U.S. Embassy, Tel Aviv
From
the Thank You Image Gallery
http://thankyou.fast-networks.net/
WORK
THAT WE EACH CAN DO DURING THE CURRENT CRISIS
©2001 Gordon Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin
1.
Watch or read the news with a new lens, reflecting on deeper questions:
a) Examine the inner, spiritual forces at work behind this
crisis.
b)
Note symbolism in the event.
c) Observe the spiritual lessons being learned:
·
understand the meaning of the event by identifying with the
participants.
·
develop compassion and love for humanity.
·
see how the event serves a larger purpose in human evolution.
·
research the history and karma of the situation; seek to
understand the deeper causes and longer cycles that have created this event.
2.
Write, call or email your Congressperson and let him/her know your
views about an appropriate response to this crisis.
3.
Call in to talk shows, write articles, emails or letters to the editor –
help shape public opinion by providing a compassionate and wiser
understanding of what has occurred, helping others resist the desire for
revenge, while promoting compassion and justice through international law.
4.
Convene a citizen dialogue group and listen deeply and carefully to
how different people are responding to this crisis. Ask the question, “Why
are people around the world so angry at the United States?”
·
Refuse to become entrenched in a polarized position, yet stand
for principles.
·
Work to find common ground.
·
Find the grain of truth, the positive intent in each position.
·
Use a whole systems approach -- see how all issues are
interconnected with other factors.
·
Explore the deeper causes, to create lasting, more effective
solutions.
·
Include ethics and values in all discussions.
·
Build a higher synthesis of the wisest of all views.
5.
Do one thing that symbolizes your commitment to humanity -- join or
contribute money or time to an organization that is effectively creating
alternatives to retribution and war;
volunteer your time to help the
victims; donate blood, etc.
-
Focus on the
positive and the best in humanity -
Give
attention, energy and support to
everything that promotes greater harmony, compassion and justice in the
world.
Adapted
from Spiritual Politics: Changing the World From the Inside Out by Gordon
Davidson and Corinne McLaughlin, Ballantine Books, 1994.
For
information: The Center for Visionary Leadership, 3408 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20016; (202) 237-2800; cvldc@visionarylead.org.
Website: www.visionarylead.org.
INVOCATION OF THE SOUL
OF AMERICA
May we as a nation be
guided by the Divine to rediscover the sacred flame of our national
heritage, which so many have given their lives to safeguard;
Let the wounds of
separation and division be healed by opening our hearts to listen to the
truth on all sides, allowing us to find a higher truth that includes us all;
May we learn to honor and
enjoy our diversity and differences as a people, even as we more deeply
touch our fundamental unity;
May we, as a people,
undergo a transformation that will draw forth soul-inspired leaders who
embody courage, compassion and a higher vision;
May our leaders inspire us,
and we so inspire each other with our potential as a nation, that a new
spirit of forgiveness, caring and honesty be born in our nation;
May we, as a united people,
move with clear, directed purpose to take our place within the community of
nations to help build a better future for all humankind and all life;
May we as a nation
rededicate ourselves to truly living as one nation, one humanity, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all;
And may God's Will be done
for the United States, as we, the people, align with that Will.
The Center for Visionary
Leadership
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A Letter From James Twyman:
Dear Friends,
Many of you will remember
when I was invited to Iraq by Saddam Hussein
in 1998. We were on the verge of war and I was asked to sing the Peace
Concert at the national theater in Baghdad, a concert that was attended
primarily by government officials. I was able to secure valuable contacts
during that journey, feeling that there would come a time when I would need
to use them again. That time has come.
Last year over 250,000
prayers were contributed to the Million Prayer
March after Yasser Arafat said that it would take "a million strong
prayers to bring peace to the Middle East." (A web site had been set up
to collect the prayers.) It is safe to say that this statement applies
to the whole world, for our prayers of peace are needed now more than
ever.
I have arranged through a
contact in Iraq to have the million prayers
of peace delivered through that country to the Taliban government in
Afghanistan. Likewise, because there is evidence to suggest that Iraq
was involved in the planning of these attacks, another copy of the
prayers will be delivered to Baghdad, hopefully to Saddam Hussein
himself.
Finally, because this
prayer march originated with the conflict in the
Middle East, a conflict that has increased in the last year, a
computer disk containing the million prayers will be secretly inserted
into the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, lending energetic support to
peacemakers on both sides of that terrible war.
We need your help if we are
to meet our goal of a million prayers of
peace. Can you think of a simpler, more profound way for you to be
personally involved in the process of healing? Please pass this on to
everyone you know, and tell people you meet. Simply click onto this
link or go to www.PrayersofPeace.com,
then follow the instructions.
The events of September 11
were a wake up call. We need to actually
create a world of peace and compassion, not expect it to happen on its
own. Can your one prayer make a difference? YES!!! Add a prayer
every day...ten prayers a day. Till we reach our mark. It is up to you.
May Peace Prevail on Earth!
James Twyman
HOPE AND HEALING.COM
STRENGTHEN
YOUR FAMILY
Many people are concerned because there seems to be so many new, difficult
problems families face today. We read and hear about social and economic
pressures causing problems in families, and how families are finding it more
difficult to cope with those pressures.
Some families are able to cope successfully with these problems. Dr. Stinnet
of the University of Nebraska conducted a study in which he identified those
characteristics about strong families which enable them to cope with today’s
world.
APPRECIATION
Strong families have developed ways to express appreciation for each other.
Remember to say thank you. Too often we don’t say thank you out loud.
Tasks in the family become easier when we know we are appreciated. Praise for a
job well-done makes us eager to do our best the next time. Ask the “expert”
in your family to show you how to do something you would like to learn to do and
that they know how to do.
TIME TOGETHER
Strong families go out of their way to organize their lives so that they have
time to spend together. Develop a special time. Dinnertime might be the honored
time when all will be present, to talk and to listen. Make use of this time to
show interest and support for each family member. The family as a whole values
and enjoys each family member’s special qualities and abilities, and go out of
their way to encourage each other as individuals. While your family is
developing a special time, look for group activities that can be fun for the
whole family from the youngest to the oldest.
COMMUNICATION
Strong families are able to talk together in an open and straightforward way.
They are good listeners. Even strong families disagree, but they try to identify
the problem and try to find a solution rather than blaming the problem on
someone, ignoring it, making personal attacks or resorting to yelling or
violence.
Encourage talking. Discourage sulking, pouting, silences, yelling,
accusations and indirect discussion (talking to others rather than the person
they feel they have a problem with) by reminding family members when they are
using these methods. Be sure that everyone has a chance to talk and is listened
to in return.
COMMITMENT
Strong families are committed to promoting each other’s happiness and
welfare. For family members, family time, family obligations and other family
members come first. Involve all family members in planning family activities. It
is easier for family members to feel closely involved and more committed to
family life if everyone helps make the decisions for the family.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Strong families are better able to deal with problems in the family because
of the four strengths listed above. They don’t enjoy problems, of course, but
they are able to look at a troubling situation and see some positive aspect
about it, no matter how small. Their good communication skills helps them cope
and so does the fact that each family member can be flexible. Practice looking
for something good, even in bad situations. Many problems may prove to be less
serious than they first seem when you remain calm and discuss the situation.
Even a really difficult problem can seem less terrible if you know the whole
family will stick together to solve it.
Strong families don’t just happen. They are made of people who are
committed to each other and to the family. They believe that there is a meaning
to life and that they are in charge of their own destinies. They like, and
appreciate, and enjoy each other, and are not afraid to talk about problems or
disagreements. It is not easy to build a strong family. It takes real work and
effort. However, a strong family can be a haven in a difficult world and is well
worth the work.
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LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
Ten things you can do to shape history
By Fran Korten
Executive Director, The Positive Futures Network
At the Positive Futures Network, publishers of YES! magazine, we have
compiled a list of ways we can all steer history by helping America hold
to
its highest ideals. We are taking each of these actions ourselves and
hope
that you will too. On the YES! Website http://www.yesmagazine.org
you'll find the following resources to help
you:
*talking points you can use in your communications
*sample letters to the editor
*sample letters to Congress
*useful Websites
*thoughtful analyses
*prayers and timeless quotes that can nourish us all.
Together we can make a big difference. Here's our 10 suggested actions
-- Use them, add to them, modify them, share them with friends -- and above
all, let your voice be heard.
Reconnect with your spiritual foundation. Let yourself experience your
full range of feelings at this time. Reconnect with the spiritual force
that animates the best in you. Then let your every action flow from your
strength and compassion.
Write or call your congressman and local government officials.
Handwritten
faxes are the best; phone calls next; emails and printed letters are
third
in effectiveness. Be succinct. To learn how to contact your U.S.
representative go to www.house.gov; to contact your U.S. senators, go to
www.senate.gov.
Write letters to the editor. Bring your own unique experiences to bear
to
make a simple point.
Get on talk shows. Phone into local and national shows - not just NPR
but
commercial stations as well to tell of your own reactions, a relevant
incident, what an organization you belong to is doing. You can also add
your comments on many Websites.
Gather in groups. Don't let the television paralyze you into passivity.
Gather at your place of worship, in your neighborhood, at work, at school
to discuss your reactions. Give everyone a chance to speak and affirm
the
legitimacy of everyone's feelings. Talk about what you can do at this
pivotal historical moment.
Talk to the kids. Talk to them straight at the level they can absorb and
show your compassionate side. Turn off the TV and strictly limit their
exposure to the endless images of violence.
Sign a petition, join a rally. Numbers count! On the YES! Site you'll
find
a link to several excellent petitions. You may know of others. Sign on
to
something and join in events that send a big message.
Show support for Arab friends and colleagues. Take preventative action
to
help make sure that we don't repeat such terrible mistakes as we made
after
Pearl Harbor with our Japanese-American citizens. Talk with people of
Arab
descent, go to a mosque, show understanding and support.
Learn more. Learn about the Middle East, about responses to
international
crises, about international law and the appropriate responses to acts of
terrorism. Alternet.org and commondreams.org
are great source of
information and opinion on this crisis.
Take time to play, to laugh, and to enjoy the exquisiteness of the gift of
life to let your own soul be a source of goodness in this universe.
Remember, every time you speak up, you give courage to others to do the
same.
We, at the Positive Futures Network and YES! magazine wish you well in all
your efforts at this historical moment of danger and opportunity.
....AND IF YOU WANT MORE READING MATERIAL...
http://www.zmag.org/ZNET.htm
- Go WAY down and then click on "Reactions
to the Terror" http://mai.flora.org
Where Do We Go From Here?
...Albert Einstein stated that the problems of our world cannot be solved with the
same thinking that created the problems to begin with. The events of September
11, 2001 may well represent the first opportunity in the new millennium for the
most powerful nation in the history of the earth to demonstrate to the world
that there is another way to deal with those who oppose our ideals of peace and
freedom. The choices that we make as a people will define us as a nation and lay
the foundation of global policies for generations to come.
What Do We Do?
Clearly, there is nothing that can justify the unthinkable acts of tragedy and
pre-meditated attacks that have resulted in the loss of so many lives.
Just as clearly, there is nothing that we can do to any individual or any nation
to bring back the immeasurable number of lives that have been lost.
Our office has been flooded with telephone calls and email messages asking a
simple question: "What do we do?"
I will be the first to state clearly that I do not have "the answer"
to this question. Each individual must find a way to reconcile the events
of the last days in their minds and in their hearts. Sometimes it helps to
break the big problems into manageable pieces. I offer the following
as guidelines only, in an effort to serve those who have asked for
recommendations and guidance.
With these ideas in mind, our first actions must be near-term:
1. To care for our own.
-To search for survivors.
-To support our rescue and recovery teams, our
governmental and organizational leaders.
Clearly our nation has been attacked. We must demonstrate that not only has the
attack failed to fragment our country, it has melded our nation into a unified
force of support and solidarity.
-To take the necessary precautions to secure our nation
in the presence of the very real threat of additional attacks.
2. To choose our response wisely and responsibly
-To understand that the policies of
"globalization" have melded us into a global family. The choices
made over the next days and weeks will affect all people of all nations and have
the potential of lasting consequences for the quality of life and the future of
our world.
-To invoke our power of prayer, a very real power
that quantum science now defines as our ability to participate in a unified web
of energy that links all of creation.
-Through our prayers, empower our leaders to
choose wisely, with the guidance of our creator, for the good of all people with
the long-term vision of a global peace rather than a short-term goal of
balancing an act of terror.
3. Ultimately, to realize that there is no "them" and
"us." We share the same world and there is a "we" - different aspects of the
same conscious body. When the dust has settled, ultimately, we must look
deep within ourselves to know what it is within ourselves that is mirrored by
increasingly greater acts of terror and destruction. From dysfunctional
families, to school shootings, to acts of terror against the United States on
foreign soil, to the attacks upon our own soil, we are witnessing a pattern of
increasingly greater acts of anger and lack of respect for human life directed
toward Americans. Imposing a military action on the "outside"
does not change the thinking that led to the acts to begin with. If we
have the wisdom to recognize the language of "mirrors," we will have
witnessed an obvious indication of the need for change.
The Prayer
Though we may each feel as though we are being tested, the oldest texts of
humankind suggest that moments such as this can become less of a test and more
of an opportunity to demonstrate to the world, and to one another, precisely the
kind of people and nation that we have become.
As we consider our response to the tragedies, we must remember that we are no
longer responding alone. Our response will have implications that reach deep
into the hearts and the streets of our closest allies and most distant
neighbors. While a response is certainly warranted, the world is looking to us,
the most powerful nation in the history of the earth, to temper our response
with reason, justice and a consideration for our global family and collective
future.
I invite you to join me in a prayer empowering our leaders with the wisdom of a
greater power as they implement their choices of response. Utilizing our
"lost mode of prayer" identified in the Great Isaiah Scroll, where we
feel as if the outcome has already occurred, rather than asking for
intervention, our prayer may begin as:
Dear God,
In this time of great tragedy, we give thanks for the courage within our leaders
to recognize the difference between the anger in their minds, the wisdom of
their hearts and the courage to act wisely in their choices.
May each leader have the strength to act for the good of all people, in all
nations and our collective future as a global family.
Through this prayer we claim that peace, democracy and human life are stronger
and more enduring than the buildings that symbolize them. We breathe life
into their existence from the dust of hate that is transformed by our soil.
For these blessings in our lives, we give thanks,
Amen
My prayer is that these insights are meaningful to you in your life. Without
doubt, the world changed on September 11, 2001. What remains to be seen is
precisely how the change unfolds.
Many blessings of peace,
Gregg Braden
Melbourne, Australia 2001
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