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A Christmas past – just one year ago 12-24-09It’s totally not too late! Whether you’re reading this on Christmas Eve or later, please focus for a moment on this question: Who in your acquaintance is negotiating this holiday season from a new vantage point because of a major change i... read more… Violence comes from thinking you need a bigger share 11-06-09This headline is but one quote from a stunning speech offered here in Sonoma on Oct. 20, 2009. Vandana Shiva, gracefully robed in her traditional Indian sari, held the large audience in the Veterans Memorial Building spellbound with her vast wi... read more… I visited her Bija, she was abroad; now she’ll be in Sonoma 10-16-09Bija Vidyapeeth, an organic farm and learning center situated in the beautiful hills of the Himalayas in northern India, was founded by Vandana Shiva as an international school of sustainable living.Bija Vidyapeeth, translated “School of ... read more… Global warming on the other side of the world 7-10-09This time it was a short flight to India. Well, virtual India perhaps. Landing at Chicago’s Midway Airport in late June, I was met by the couple who had hosted my visit to their country six months earlier.Who knew that so many thousands have im... read more… Learning about Mahatma Gandhi can be motivating and exhilarating 4-24-09In February, more than a dozen of us set out on an exploration of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the whole question of nonviolence. In solidarity with India’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of King’s pilgrimage there to ... read more… African Americans commemorate King in Gandhi's land 2-13-09As you hold this Sonoma Valley Sun in your hands, a number of African Americans of distinction are flying into New Delhi under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department. Tomorrow, as you and I gather at the Sonoma Valley Library for a concurrent e... read more… India, United States and Sonoma celebrate golden anniversary together 2-06-09Just over 100 years ago, Mohandas Gandhi launched a new way of waging conflict. Non-violence as a strategy for conflict resolution was not new. But Gandhi was the first to apply its power to wide-ranging social change. For the first time in history a... read more… Gandhian influence still strong in India 1-23-09Everywhere I went during my just-completed journey abroad, when people learned I was from the U.S., there were huge cries of exhilarated joy over the Obama victory. In airports and train stations, on the streets, at meetings – it was simply uni... read more… Stretching for power of the best kind 1-16-09It was quite dark by the time we reached the Ashram Seethanagaram, where the lovely director showed us to our rooms and several women swung into action to provide dinner. When “the girls” had finally finished their clean-up assignments, t... read more… A yellow brick road and others not so friendly 1-09-09Getting through the front door took a bit of negotiation. But then, since our visit had been officially cleared several days earlier, persistence paid off and eventually the locks were opened and we stooped through a low doorway into the reception ar... read more… Debunking superstitions and accepting cultural tradition 1-02-09Have you ever seen actual specimens of human organs? Drs. Samaram and Maru regard education as such an important component of their health care system that a substantial portion of the hospital they built is dedicated to educational displays. So, for... read more… Non-violence speaks around the State 12-25-08For quite a long time, I have very much enjoyed public speaking, always on the lookout for new opportunities to share whatever knowledge I had on a subject that exceeded what people in the audience knew. However, this promised to be a speaking tour ... read more… |
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