(Originally posted to the Facebook feed on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 949p)
The First Noble Truth: "That life in all the realms of birth is, by definition, ultimately unsatisfactory, suffering (dukha)." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
It is important, from a Buddhist perspective, to recognize that existence is a collection of events over which we have no ultimate control. As we will see, wanting to do this is the cause of much turmoil.
From a Communication perspective, it is important to recognize that Conflict usually arises from this very same collection of events, and from our desire to have them unfold in a manner of our choosing.
Imagine if everything always went exactly as you wanted it to go. Think about the huge amount of other events that would have to unfold "*perfectly* in order to make this happen, and about all the other folks who would have to give up their own wants and needs for this to occur.
Recognizing that things aren't ever likely to go *exactly* your way, and that when things do (for the most part) work out, that this is a pretty lucky turn of events, is the first step toward learning how to manage unpleasant conflicts.
Ultimately, the point is not to be surprised when things don't unfold like you want. This is *actually* pretty normal. Take a deep breath, keep your cool, and smile at the universe reminding you just how random and miraculous it is (and how miraculous *you* are, for that matter). Then, recognize the conflict as a chance to flex your Resolution muscles and Engage your Conflict Partner.
The Second Noble Truth: "That there is a reason for suffering, an origination of it, which is connected to our ongoing desire, a thirst that we cannot assuage, a clinging to posessions, to persons, to life itself." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
Once we've discovered the First Noble Truth that chances are astronomical that events will always unfold as we'd like them to, we can turn our attention to this next Truth, that the reason this causes suffering is that we still foolishly expect that they will, and are somehow surprised when they don't.
The Second Noble Truth suggests that this clinging to Desire, this ultimate form of selfishness, lies at the heart of all of our pain. As we will see, learning to live *in the moment,* to fore go the idea that we should expect ANYTHING but to be surprised, and to act accordingly, is the way out of pain and into peace.
From a Conflict Perspective, this approach can be extremely useful, as we receive negativity - either intended or unintended - with only bemusement and generosity of spirit. Why trouble ourselves with getting angry when things don't go our way, when our coworker doesn't respond as we'd like, or another driver cuts us off for instance (the idea goes), when things NEVER really go exactly our way in the first place.
There is a common thread running through all depictions of the Buddha, whether it be the austere meditator of more traditional forms of Buddhism, or the heftier Pure Land image that many of us are familiar with: he is always gazing upon the world with at least the hint of a smile, if not a full-faced grin. The idea seems to be that, first and foremost, and no matter what our condition or circumstances, it's ALL worth smiling at. The alternative, after all (a frown) is a pretty unpleasant experience to choose for ourselves, isn't it?
The Third Noble Truth: "That there is such a thing as freedom from or the cessation of… suffering, which will come with the rooting out (rather than the mere assuagement) of that ongoing thirst." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This Third Truth provides the bridge between the first two (that all life is suffering due to our selfish desire, and that expecting otherwise is the wrong path to peace) and the final Truth.
Here, we find the Buddha smiling past the hard ...facts he's shared thus far, and suggesting that there is no reason to fret, that there is a path beyond the suffering and foolish expectations. He is content here to simply affirm the fact of escape, as if we are being invited to recognize and ponder the validity of the concept: there is indeed a path to peace. It is a most hopeful Truth.
In regards to Conflict, it can often seem that our ongoing, chronic disputes and dysfunctional relationships with our Others are inescapable. We feel mired in a cycle of aggression and struggle, often with those we love the most, or with coworkers with whom we spend the majority of our time. Recognizing that (like any other skill) managing and transforming conflict is possible, and can be learned, is an extremely important first step in moving toward peace.
With a nod to the Buddha, we invite you to live with this thought, to embrace the idea that there is a better, more functional approach to relating to Others. Further, like the Four Noble Truths, Conflict skills are not methods by which to control the world around you, or control those Others with whom you are dysfunctionally engaged. Instead, they are skills for learning to control your own responses, to manage your mindsets and your communications so as to minimize the negative effects of conflict and to arrive more rapidly at the goal of all disputes: Resolution.
"That the way to [root out the ongoing thirst which causes suffering] is to practice the... Noble Eightfold Path." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This, then, was the final of the Buddha's primary thoughts on how to live a functional life: to follow the path of Compassion outlined by these eight approaches:
Right Views
Right Intention
Right Effort
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Speech
Right Mindfulness
Right Meditation
We'll spend the forthcoming eight research posts unpacking these ideas a bit more in order to relate them to Conflict Resolution and Community, but we'd like to pause now and point out the following: that the emphasis here, the primary takeaway, is that all happiness and peace begins and ends with the Self, that no Other can ever ultimately provide what we truly seek: only we can do that, only we can escape suffering, and only as a result of our own choices. Further, from this perspective, Self can only honestly equal Other if we know this.
For the Buddha, once the Self has developed their perspectives and actions in such a way as to align with the compassion and generosity of spirit that leads away from selfish desires and delusional "control" thinking, one will discover true tranquility, embody it, and be able to almost effortlessly share this tranquility with the world, with all Others. The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community.
Rupert Gethin
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 1: Right View.
COMMENT:
We stated before that "The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community."
In returning to examine each element of this recip......e, we begin with the Buddha's admonition to remember the Truth of Suffering described by the Four Noble Truths, which boils down for our purposes to the idea that believing in a reality that will bend to our will and desires at every turn is ultimately delusional.
Instead, the idea is to let go, to understand that reality is continuously unfolding due to any number of dependent variables, what Buddhism refers to as pratitya samutpada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratitya_samutpada
This means that when a conflict with the world arises, when events unfold like we *don't* want them to, when we are at odds with any Other in any given moment, that this is actually much closer to reality *as it is* and so shouldn't be cause for concern or alarm. Instead, we should employ our communication skills in order to partner with our Other and return to communion, harmony, and peace.
This, then, would be "Right View" as incorporated into a mind centered on Conflict Resolution and Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 2: Right Intention.
COMMENT:
When Right Intention is coupled with Right View, we see the "Wisdom" or prajna section of the Eightfold Path completed. Right Intention has to do with ideas of desirelessness, friendliness, and compassion. These combined result in a Spirit of Generosity that sets the stage for the remainder of the Path, which explores ideas of Conduct/Communication and the Wisdom of Self-Awareness.
However, The Path should not be considered to be 8 increasing steps toward nirvana, and should instead be viewed as operating in tandem, unfolding together in a gradual transformation of consciousness that arrives at the cessation of suffering.
When channeled through ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community, Right Intention can be considered paramount in learning to develop the type of mind-set that contributes to diminishing negative interaction. To remain at Peace, and to bring others there as well, one's intentions *must* be centered on Peace, in order that dysfunctional influences from Others don't lead us astray.
When our intention is to remain in Communion, to discover a means by which to help Others join us there, and to align with those higher aspects of Self that we describe as Ideals (Honesty, Compassion, Generosity, Trustworthiness, Grace, etc.), then the work is well underway in developing, giving birth to, and sustaining Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 3: Right Speech.
COMMENT:
Communication is central to numerous theologies throughout various world traditions, and Buddhism is no exception. With Right Speech, we arrive at the section of the Eightfold Path that concerns actions and conduct, particularly the idea of...... refraining from false, divisive, hurtful, or idle speech (gossip).
The implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be readily apparent. Minding the manner in which we express ourselves to the world is the very definition of nonviolent communication, and so avoiding lies, demonization of the Other, causing of pain, and peddling of subjective perspectives as truths is a crucial thing to keep in mind.
This isn't to say that we won't engage in such behaviors, especially as we first begin attempting to reorient our approach to communication. We *will* do these things, likely for the rest of our lives, to some extent. Nobody's perfect.
The point is to begin paying attention to both our intentions as well as to the results of our actions. More importantly, perhaps, it is about holding ourselves accountable to the Self that we want to be as opposed to the Self that we might accidentally create through our misconduct, the Self that Others often see more clearly.
In Conflict Resolution theory, this is described as the difference between our *espoused theory* of who we are and our *actual* Self. Incorporating Right Speech into our perspective means incorporating a focus on the nature of our words and the effect they have on Others, and is an extremely important first step in creating true Community for our Selves and all Others with whom we Commune.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 4: Right Action.
COMMENT:
With Right Action, we move beyond Intention (the source of Action), and arrive at the idea of developing mindfulness around the nature and results of our choices.
At the heart of this portion of the Eightfold Path we discover the precept against harming living beings, which, like awareness around Intention, easily translates to ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community.
Indeed, this principle may come closest to drawing our attention to the manner in which we relate to Others, and so encourages us to focus on the manner in which we create reality for *everyone* (including our Selves) through our choices and actions.
It is important to recognize here that this is not quite the traditional Golden Rule approach of doing unto others as we'd have them do to us. Right Action means that we refrain from causing pain, period. The subtle difference here is important, because definitions of pain and sorrow differ from person to person. Hence, the enlightened being recognizes the need to develop an acute awareness of their Other's definitions and assessments of reality, and to respond accordingly.
Techniques in Nonviolent Communication and Reflective Listening go a long way toward actualizing this awareness, and toward inviting our Other to join us in a shared understanding of "what is really happening."
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 5: Right Livelihood.
COMMENT:
This fifth precept remains in the section of the Eightfold Path that deals with conduct. While there can be many interpretations regarding this part of the Path, we at The Institute choose to focus on the idea that it be regarded as a summation of Right Speech and Right Action.
Given the interconnectedness and interdependence that Buddhism regards as the nature of reality, a cursory examination of the global marketplace, and the numerous factors that play a role in determining one's chosen profession (socioeconomic, educational, and geographical, to name just a few), extrapolating this precept as far as it *can* go can be problematic to say the least.
In the vanijja sutta, the Buddha said to refrain from dealing in weapons, humans, meat, intoxicants, and poison. One would be hard-pressed (and very lucky) to discover a profession that doesn't, at some point in the process, contribute to environmental degradation or non-fair-trade practices. While we heartily endorse approaches to doing business that fall closer in line with ethical standards, we recognize the extent of the nature of economic activity as it exists right now on a global scale, and must prefer a more simplistic interpretation of Right Livelihood as it relates to conflict resolution and community.
To that end, we at The Institute choose to focus on those aspects of Right Livelihood that contribute to a peaceful and productive workplace. We encourage Conflict Resolution training for all new hires (and re-training for long-standing employees), regular and facilitated opportunities to communicate as a staff both intra- and inter-departmentally, and the establishment of an Ombuds office on site (or even better, via a neutral third party) who can mediate conflicts as they arise. In focusing one's org and one's individual efforts on communicating effectively and compassionately with one's coworkers, one contributes to the type of environment that can define Right Livelihood in *any* profession.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 6: Right Effort.
COMMENT:
This precept of the Eightfold Path closes out the section on conduct, and focuses on making sense of what is functional and dysfunctional, then making every effort to reside in the former and to abandon the latter.
From a Conflict Resolution perspective, this has to do with training the Self to recognize those triggers that give rise to Anger, so we can avoid it and respond to these triggers more functionally. It is also important to stay in touch with our emotional state at any given moment in order to quickly step away from Anger (or any other dysfunctional emotional states or actions) and toward Peace.
Finally, being able to recognize a brewing conflict, or the factors which lead to negative interactions (such as lack of agency and lack of authenticity in communication), and then taking measures to alleviate the associated frustrations is crucial. Learning to be constructively assertive, listen ardently, and brainstorm various options for resolution is a vital first step toward living a life marked by Right Conduct.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 7: Right Mindfulness.
COMMENT:
With this 7th element of the Path, we enter into the "meditation" section of the Eight precepts. Along with the last portion of the path, Right Concentration, Mindfulness can be considered a collection and implementation of every other aspect of the Path: Right View, Intention, Speech, Action, Livelihood, and Effort.
Mindfulness is the practice of remaining ardent, alert, and aware of the habits and moment-to-moment experience of body and mind. It is the idea that we are constantly shedding the selfishness, greed, and distress associated with our subjective interpretation of the world as good or bad, or as we want it to be, and instead embracing the world "as it is," in its fullness and truth.
From a Conflict Resolution and Community perspective, this expresses as a welcoming embrace of any Anger or Negativity that our Other brings to us, seeing it as an opportunity to implement our skills for Peace rather than as an excuse to engage in Aggression. It also means being present to our own missteps in Communication, so that we can more quickly make amends and repair any damage we've made to the idea that we are all interdependent, and that our Peace is everyone else's Peace as well. It is being present at every turn to enact and engage in Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 8: Right Concentration.
COMMENT:
This final portion of the path has to do with maintaining a purified, wholesome, conscious awareness, a single-pointedness of attention that strives to elevate the mind to a higher state in and through devoted presence with the object of one's focus.
Given that among the most important skills in learning to manage and resolve conflicts is active, ardent listening, the implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be clear.
Another idea arising from Right Concentration, perhaps more significant, is the notion that one's conscious awareness and unified mind might always choose Peace as their object of focus. Learning to train one's thoughts so that they are discovering and enacting tranquility in every moment can be a tall order, but is far from impossible. Indeed, defining and controlling one's mindset and frame of reference is always the first proving ground for learning how to be a successful Resolver, and for translating *every* encounter into one marked by joy and grace.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Dirty Laundry
(Originally posted to the Facebook Feed on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 840a)
Here's a fun story we've seen floating about on the internet. Many thanks to Institute friend Tara for first bringing it to our attention.
===========
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, the wife saw their neighbor through the kitchen window, hanging laundry on the clothesline.
“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
After that, every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
Some time later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line outside and remarked to her husband, "Look, she finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her."
The husband smiled, then responded. "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows," he said.
And so it is with life. What we see when looking at others depends on the purity of the window through which we view them.
Here's a fun story we've seen floating about on the internet. Many thanks to Institute friend Tara for first bringing it to our attention.
===========
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, the wife saw their neighbor through the kitchen window, hanging laundry on the clothesline.
“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
After that, every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
Some time later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line outside and remarked to her husband, "Look, she finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her."
The husband smiled, then responded. "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows," he said.
And so it is with life. What we see when looking at others depends on the purity of the window through which we view them.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
foreword: forward
With these words, as with all of my work, I aim for nothing less than the transformation of global consciousness. Recognizing that this is a very tall order, I've decided to start with you, with teaching you how to become a Resolver as best I know how. In fact, this is the only place that I can start, because the transformation of global consciousness can only occur one person at a time, one link at a time, in what I hope will be an ever-increasing, momentum-gathering giant leap forward, of which I hope to be (and hope you will be) a very small, but very significant, part.
All major transformations for our species have begun this way, in the mind of one human and then transferred piece by piece, person by person, heart by heart, until they simply became "the way things are." In her book The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong describes the relatively short period of extreme change (only a couple of hundred years) that took place during what she calls the Axial Age, and which gave birth to numerous religious traditions that continue to influence minds today, including Judaism (which paved the way for Christianity and Islam), Hinduism, and Buddhism. Let's add here other ideas throughout the course of human history that have marked significant shifts, born of the musings of folks such as Plato, Virgil, Shakespeare, Guttenberg, Linnaeus, Jefferson, Lincoln, Salk, Stanton, and Einstein. I'll stress here that these are only a tiny few of the minds that have revolutionized everything, and brought all of humanity forward to this moment fairly successfully, brought us to this space in time that finds, among other things, me writing and you reading.
Now to be clear, I hardly confuse myself with any of the names listed above. But I do recognize that I'm standing on the shoulders of these giants, and some other giants of whom you may have not yet heard but who I think will end up being equally significant to our species, folks like Alfred North Whitehead, Emile Durkheim, and Martin Buber (to name only a few, people you'll learn more about in these pages). I am deeply indebted to these and all of the other thinkers listed above, as are you, I believe you'll find, if you stop and consider them for a moment. I don't think it can be denied that we owe them for all the possibilities that they strove for, all the hope that they poured into the world by pursuing perfection, grace, and understanding, for leaving the world better than they found it, for us. Indeed, we owe them our very selves. So I think that we also owe them the act that is picking up the standard where it fell from their hands and trudging forward as far as we can go in the direction they were pointing. We owe them tomorrow.
There are two extremely important names that I left off of the above list that I'd like you to think about now, because it is these two gentlemen who we will, more than anyone, be following as we make our way together in learning about both Conflict Resolution and Community. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as The Mahatma, "the great-souled one") and The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are men who changed everything, for everyone, and they did it just this last century, laying the groundwork for a new human path unlike anyone before them had ever done. The history of human interaction has always been marked by conflict, by struggle, by war, by the idea that in order to settle differences, physical violence and aggression were often not only necessary, but normal. It has always been "the way things are."
This is no longer the case.
It can be said that Gandhi and King waged the only truly successful revolutions in human history, if success is measured in terms of the means by which they were striving rather than by the end which they had in mind. These two men stood against injustice and oppression without employing the usual tools of these approaches to social control. They avoided lifting a single hand in aggression, and ultimately arrived via these means at the end they sought. Thanks to the work these truly gentle men did in responding to violence not with swords but with words, with nonviolent acts, with compassion, grace, and fortitude, we have two nearly perfect examples of what it means to interact differently as humans, to interact from a perspective that incorporates peace, respect, and dignity as "normal" and eschews violence and all other forms of aggression as (at the very best) woefully misguided, or (at the very worst) as harbingers of doom.
Today, we also have another thing which folks in the past who were trying to improve upon our course had no access to: we have the capacity for instantaneous communication and preservation of knowledge delivered via the internet and telecommunications. We have remembered, preserved, and built upon Gandhi's and King's work because in a lot of ways we have had no other choice: the memory of their accomplishments is freely accessible and openly available to anyone with an internet connection or a library card. We cannot gaze upon the image of either of these two men without thinking about Compassion (or without knowing fairly clearly what that idea means), and all humans who have heard their story are party to this experience. In other words, we have our standard-bearers; they have not fallen. We must only choose to follow.
This is where you come in. To my mind, the Global Transformation I spoke of above has to be an inner transformation. If we are to truly follow in the path of Gandhi and King, then the harsh reality is that we'll have to look at ourselves and root out the violence and aggression therein: this would seem most helpful and most useful, and would play a significant role in simmering down the boil that many would say characterizes human reality these days. It isn't violence and aggression over there that is the problem (although it is indeed a problem) - it's the violence and aggression right here that diminishes our capacity to believe in peace, in one another, and in ourselves. And now, for the first time in human history, we have the opportunity and the means by which to join with others in fashioning a Community of Resolvers that brings the knowledge and sensibilities born of these great thinkers to every other community to which we belong. Indeed, nonviolence is no longer only a political tool, it is a way of being, and the success or failure of this way of being is in our hands, and no one else's.
And this, dear reader, is the reason I described the path to peace as a "harsh reality." If you truly want to be at peace with your Self and with Others, then it's up to you. You'll likely have to take some hard looks at your own actions, intentions, and choices. Conflict isn't "out there" somewhere, in our coworkers or life-partners or kids, or in the strangers at the mall or on the freeway. It's within, in our responses to them. Like Gandhi and King, you'll have to really know this, and be ready to instantly forgive and to take responsibility for Resolution, even when you didn't "start" the conflict. In short, you'll have to let their mission guide you, and not your ego. If you think you're up to this task, if you're serious about becoming a Resolver, if you agree with me that there are few things more empowering, enlightening, or hopeful than learning how to bring everyone - especially ourselves - that elusive peace which we all seek, then by all means: please join me in turning the page.
- Michael Bush
Founder / Director
All major transformations for our species have begun this way, in the mind of one human and then transferred piece by piece, person by person, heart by heart, until they simply became "the way things are." In her book The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong describes the relatively short period of extreme change (only a couple of hundred years) that took place during what she calls the Axial Age, and which gave birth to numerous religious traditions that continue to influence minds today, including Judaism (which paved the way for Christianity and Islam), Hinduism, and Buddhism. Let's add here other ideas throughout the course of human history that have marked significant shifts, born of the musings of folks such as Plato, Virgil, Shakespeare, Guttenberg, Linnaeus, Jefferson, Lincoln, Salk, Stanton, and Einstein. I'll stress here that these are only a tiny few of the minds that have revolutionized everything, and brought all of humanity forward to this moment fairly successfully, brought us to this space in time that finds, among other things, me writing and you reading.
Now to be clear, I hardly confuse myself with any of the names listed above. But I do recognize that I'm standing on the shoulders of these giants, and some other giants of whom you may have not yet heard but who I think will end up being equally significant to our species, folks like Alfred North Whitehead, Emile Durkheim, and Martin Buber (to name only a few, people you'll learn more about in these pages). I am deeply indebted to these and all of the other thinkers listed above, as are you, I believe you'll find, if you stop and consider them for a moment. I don't think it can be denied that we owe them for all the possibilities that they strove for, all the hope that they poured into the world by pursuing perfection, grace, and understanding, for leaving the world better than they found it, for us. Indeed, we owe them our very selves. So I think that we also owe them the act that is picking up the standard where it fell from their hands and trudging forward as far as we can go in the direction they were pointing. We owe them tomorrow.
There are two extremely important names that I left off of the above list that I'd like you to think about now, because it is these two gentlemen who we will, more than anyone, be following as we make our way together in learning about both Conflict Resolution and Community. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as The Mahatma, "the great-souled one") and The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are men who changed everything, for everyone, and they did it just this last century, laying the groundwork for a new human path unlike anyone before them had ever done. The history of human interaction has always been marked by conflict, by struggle, by war, by the idea that in order to settle differences, physical violence and aggression were often not only necessary, but normal. It has always been "the way things are."
This is no longer the case.
It can be said that Gandhi and King waged the only truly successful revolutions in human history, if success is measured in terms of the means by which they were striving rather than by the end which they had in mind. These two men stood against injustice and oppression without employing the usual tools of these approaches to social control. They avoided lifting a single hand in aggression, and ultimately arrived via these means at the end they sought. Thanks to the work these truly gentle men did in responding to violence not with swords but with words, with nonviolent acts, with compassion, grace, and fortitude, we have two nearly perfect examples of what it means to interact differently as humans, to interact from a perspective that incorporates peace, respect, and dignity as "normal" and eschews violence and all other forms of aggression as (at the very best) woefully misguided, or (at the very worst) as harbingers of doom.
Today, we also have another thing which folks in the past who were trying to improve upon our course had no access to: we have the capacity for instantaneous communication and preservation of knowledge delivered via the internet and telecommunications. We have remembered, preserved, and built upon Gandhi's and King's work because in a lot of ways we have had no other choice: the memory of their accomplishments is freely accessible and openly available to anyone with an internet connection or a library card. We cannot gaze upon the image of either of these two men without thinking about Compassion (or without knowing fairly clearly what that idea means), and all humans who have heard their story are party to this experience. In other words, we have our standard-bearers; they have not fallen. We must only choose to follow.
This is where you come in. To my mind, the Global Transformation I spoke of above has to be an inner transformation. If we are to truly follow in the path of Gandhi and King, then the harsh reality is that we'll have to look at ourselves and root out the violence and aggression therein: this would seem most helpful and most useful, and would play a significant role in simmering down the boil that many would say characterizes human reality these days. It isn't violence and aggression over there that is the problem (although it is indeed a problem) - it's the violence and aggression right here that diminishes our capacity to believe in peace, in one another, and in ourselves. And now, for the first time in human history, we have the opportunity and the means by which to join with others in fashioning a Community of Resolvers that brings the knowledge and sensibilities born of these great thinkers to every other community to which we belong. Indeed, nonviolence is no longer only a political tool, it is a way of being, and the success or failure of this way of being is in our hands, and no one else's.
And this, dear reader, is the reason I described the path to peace as a "harsh reality." If you truly want to be at peace with your Self and with Others, then it's up to you. You'll likely have to take some hard looks at your own actions, intentions, and choices. Conflict isn't "out there" somewhere, in our coworkers or life-partners or kids, or in the strangers at the mall or on the freeway. It's within, in our responses to them. Like Gandhi and King, you'll have to really know this, and be ready to instantly forgive and to take responsibility for Resolution, even when you didn't "start" the conflict. In short, you'll have to let their mission guide you, and not your ego. If you think you're up to this task, if you're serious about becoming a Resolver, if you agree with me that there are few things more empowering, enlightening, or hopeful than learning how to bring everyone - especially ourselves - that elusive peace which we all seek, then by all means: please join me in turning the page.
- Michael Bush
Founder / Director
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