transform-200906

a more perfect union | transform. | June 2009

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Read this newsletter online: http://transformativechange.org/docs/nl/transform-200906.html Download printable PDF version: http://transformativechange.org/docs/nl/transform-200906.pdf

what's new

welcome It's supposed to be good luck to be married in June because Juno the Roman Goddess of marriage is who we named the month for.

Statistics are still out on whether being married in June actually makes for a longer, stronger union, however. All the same we wanted to give some thought to union and conflict this month especially as some folks are celebrating hard-earned (and still working on it) freedoms: Gay Pride is celebrated all around the country honoring the Stonewall Riots and ultimately the right to express who you are and how you are-Obama, by the way, just declared June LGBT Pride Month. And Juneteenth, started in Texas, celebrates the end of slavery. Both are celebrations of community and the striving for and success of freedom from conflict, freedom of expression, freedom of body, mind and spirit. If we all look within ourselves maybe we'll find how we can "narrow the gap" between folks and dissolve our divisions.

An Invitation Into Fearlessness At the Center for Transformative Change (CXC), we define “fearlessness� as doing work for social change that is rooted in inner awareness. In a few weeks, from June 20 - 27, we are offering a rare opportunity to plunge into fearlessness through our 4th Annual Inner Justice Intensive.

Read more Check out the flyer

in SIGHT Changing the Changemakers Folks think of Israel and Palestine and think of division. In this clip, filmed at the Yes! 2004 World Jam (a conference uniting young leaders from around the world), we get a glimpse at similarities that two women on both sides of the conflict share. And at the possibility of hope in their heartfelt recognition of one another.

Watch YouTube video Global Oneness: Ibtisam Mahameed Ibtisam Mahameed is a Palestinian peaceworker living in a small Arab-Palestinian community in Fureidis, northern

a more perfect union: using our wholebody INcite with angel Kyodo williams Days after California's Prop 8 was propped up by its Supreme Court, former vice president Dick Cheney unapologetically (of course) and righteously affirmed the novel idea that "freedom means freedom for everyone...people ought to be able to enter into any kind of union they wish."

Many of us pulled the lever to cast our vote for an oddly hopeful promise of "a more perfect union" of our Divided States.

Now we watch with our breath held, our hearts in our throats, ready to

Israel.

in TIME Support Transformative Social Change: Volunteer Opportunities Available Continue the cycle of giving and receiving by volunteering your time to support transformative programs and practices getting into the hands of hard working activists, allies and all agents of social change. Volunteer from home or join us at the Center in person. All types of volunteer work welcome.

Areas that need support are Fundraising, Outreach & Promotion, Event Support. Check out in the Center to

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a more perfect union | transform. | June 2009

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put our bodies on the line as our One Government lets individual Republics of imaginary divides decide one-by-one, state-by-state, who freedom means freedom for: our embodiment of a more perfect union catastrophically undone by an unwillingness to recognize our most

volunteer today for ”Take a Stand, Sit for Change”

precious union... the one of the heart.

This month we offer back-to-back opportunities to

Sitathon etc. To inquire about volunteering email register@transformativechange.org

deepen your practice: a Dharma Talk with social

In an historic constitutional referendum in Bolivia, the voters expressed their more perfect union through the powerful symbolic act of embracing

visionary angel Kyodo williams, a workshop on fearless

a second offical flag: the formerly illegal flag of the indigenous people and of the social movement that brought down the previous corrupt governments.

Justice Daylong, and a 7-day Intensive focusing on

The seven-color Wiphala flag is arranged as 7x7 colors in a square:

breath

Historically, it is the flag of the Incan territory that spanned Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina.

Culturally, it is the flag of the Aymara-Quechua Andean and Amerindian

& Council Circle | Registration Deadline June 18

Meditation II -- part 2 of our intro series, a Social Inner Justice.

June 18 | Public Talk w/ angel Kyodo williams June 19 | fearless Meditation II: practice of the June 20 | Social Justice Daylong w/ Meditation, Talk

people.

Politically, it is pan-indigenous, multi-ethnic, cross-class and trans-issue.

With its similarity to the Gay rainbow flag and use for urban social movements, it is becoming an international symbol for diversity and

June 20-27 | Inner Justice Intensive | Registration Deadline June 12

in the CENTER Although it’s early June we’re

solidarity, equality and equity, dignity and reciprocity...all coming together.

already making plans for our 2nd Annual Sit-A-Thon which takes place this September in

A celebration of the order of the cosmos, symbol of life and fertility, its rainbow covers the spectrum of colors and represents the honoring of all that should matter to a society:

conjunction with the International Day of Peace. As was true last year, the sit-a-thon will be a chance for folks to do some walking meditation, sitting

RED for man and the earth ORANGE for society and its expression through culture and education YELLOW for energy and strength through collectivity WHITE for time and community transformation GREEN for natural resources and the land

meditation, body movement and yoga Read more...

Volunteer

inner PRACTICE Being Real with How We Feel

BLUE for the heavens and natural phenomena Last, most powerfully and sanely, VIOLET for harmonious governance and self-determination of the people.

Conflict is inevitable. Try living without it. Even if you live by yourself hundreds of miles from another human being, conflict will happen. It rains on the day

Taken as a whole and liberated from the neo-colonial closet, it represents that more perfect union that we should all strive for in our quest for a fair and equitable society.

you were hoping for sun; your key gets stuck in the door lock; your car breaks down on the highway. We are even conflicted with ourselves.

Some worry that Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous President may be inadvertantly diminishing the symbol—as savvy politicians have been wont to do— putting a cursory end to movements of the people by absorbing their symbols and slogans into government. Our own Civil Rights Movement came to an abrupt, stunted and co-opted halt on Lyndon B. Johnson's appropriative declaration that "we shall overcome."

Read more...

outer ACTION Stop. Listen. Learn In Hebrew Selah is a term of prayer indicating the reader stop

But as powerful as symbols, phrases and slogans are, they only derive

and listen. This is in keeping with

their energy from the wellspring of the people they represent. People that don't just stand in the truth, but express it through the way they

Jewish Funds for Justice’s Selah Leadership Program which asks

live. And just as "words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver

participants—Jewish activists who work in secular and

slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and

non-secular organizations—to heed their own inner

creed their full rights" the more perfect union we seek for this country will not arise from a speech, a bailout, or even a healthcare plan.

voices in order to “hear” and cultivate their purpose to develop into stronger more powerful leaders.

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What it will arise from is the embodiment of that more perfect union by folks that know and act on what's right: like the whites and blacks that fraternized in backwoods jook joints, using rhythm to find harmony. From learning how to dance together, they eventually found the ability to pray, sit and stand together "always at great risk."

Selah Leadership Program Overview What's It Like to Be a Part of Selah?

social CHANGE Faith & Gay Marriage: When

It will arise from the embodiment of principles in and by the people that

Love is a Call for Justice

show up every day to "narrow the gap" between the hope for our society and "the reality of (our) time." It will arise through the embodiment of actions that manifest the longing held in our hearts, the vision that we

Love is calling. And that call has been heard by those whose faith

cannot yet see, but can feel the truth of in our very core. Thus with great faith, we reach inward, act outward, and move toward it. Our more perfect union will arise from within the people.

breathes service and love for all beings.

"We have been very reluctant, I think, to talk about our individual

Some think this union will come as the result of the broad view of Analysis: political, social, grounded. Others believe we'll be brought

faith journeys and what motivates many of us to be

together by the deep current of Spirit: fundamental, ethical, rooted.

want to be disrespectful,” says Human Rights Campaign

involved in the justice movement, because we didn’t Religion and Faith Program director Harry Knox, an

In the end, it will express itself as nothing that we currently know of, but rather as a constellation, integration and distillation of all. It will be

ordained Methodist minister from Georgia. “But what

individually-particularized, collectively-driven and universally-appealing.

It will be a social movement because we are social creatures that can form the shape that expresses what we wish to become. It will be a

we need to recognize we have to reclaim it, which is the

cultural movement because together we create the conditions in which new ways can thrive. It will be self-determined and other-honoring. It will be systemic, endemic and talismanic. More than anything, it will,

faith.’

because it must, be transformative. Our more perfect union will be neither this nor that. Leaving nothing and none of us behind, it will be WholeBody: a Third Way that embraces and embodies being fully Human: ever-evolutionary, ever-revolutionary, ever-dynamic and always Divine.

we have lost in that process has been important, and power of authenticity. What motivates us individually as advocates and activists? For many people, it is their Read more...

Human Rights Campaign Religion and Faith Program

in the MIND Your Brain on Cortisol Ages ago the stress response all

From there, state-by-state and heart-by-heart, in our more perfect union, we can get Dick Cheney's wish granted.

Jai Bhim! We shall overcome...Si, se puede. A Better World is Possible.

Venceremos...Yes, we can. By any means necessary: Power to the People.

Power by the People. Power FROM the People.

of our bodies have was a good thing. It allowed us to escape from lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my) at the very first sign of danger. These days, barring all of our friends living their 'Grizzly Adams' fantasies out in the wild, for most of us the stress response we experience comes on from pressure at work, at home, and in all those places that are not “dangerous”.

Read more...

Oxytocin & Cortisol, the Chemicals of Love & Fear

"the best workshop i've ever taken. radically changed

angel Kyodo williams, is founder of urbanPEACE and it's Center for Transformative Change. A social visionary and leading voice for transformative social change, she is the author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace.

Want to read other essays or just keep up with angel? Be sure to read her blogs, join her fan page in Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Blog: new Dharma: live, love & lead from the heart Facebook: Fan angel here Twitter: Follow angel for tweets of wisdom on Change Web: www.angelkyodowilliams.com

my work." fearless Meditation is our 3-part signature series that teaches practical meditation in a social justice context is offered for no charge for agents of social change: fearless Meditation II: practice of the breath | Fri June 19

in the BODY Union with Change The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root 'yuj,' meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite". The various physical and

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a more perfect union | transform. | June 2009

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angel Kyodo williams' next public talk: Thursday | June 18 | 7:20pm @ Center for Transformative Change

http://transformativechange.org/docs/nl/transform-200906.html

mental disciplines of yoga are a method to attain union —to align with our truth. Explore the posture Yoga Mudra to experience the feeling of union—with yourself

newDharma Talk The Four Actions For our issue on conflict and union we have included talks in a four-part series on the Four Actions. These are the actions that are often best to take to not just meet the conflict, but to get to know it well. They

as well as your intentions for changing the world.

Read More ...

wellness & being well Probiotics: Little Guys for Life These days, when you go to the

are: Pacify, Enrich, Magnetize, and Destroy. Unlike our usual attempts to avoid, confront or delay conflict, the Four Actions--when followed in order and with intention--actually allow us to be in relationship to conflict. We get to claim our part in it and because

doctor, it seems like they want to prescribe anti-biotics for every ailment you've got. Whatever it

of that enter into, go through, and come out the other side of what conflict is with more wholeness of self and a better connection (or letting

is, let's kill it, is the standard procedure. But what are

go) of whomever or whatever we are at odds with, giving room for more harmonious relations all around.

don't distinguish between friendly and unfriendly

”Gandhi was fond of speaking about the fact that there was always truth in the other’s story and that it was our job to look for the truth that existed on the so-called other side... magnetizing is like the hyper

--- they're called probiotics!

version of that because not only do we look for the truth we actually claim all of the hard challenging things as our own so that there’s nothing left of blame so that there’s nothing left for us to push away from ourselves and say, “Well that part I don’t have to take responsibility for, that’s not mine that’s their fault they should do something about that.”

we really killing? The thing with anti-biotics is that they bacteria. Yes, there are such things as friendly bacteria Read More...

Make Your Own Sauerkraut What is Kombucha? And Learn How to Make Your Own

june wallpaper

In magnetizing we are beyond that”.

— angel Kyodo williams Listen The Four Actions: Pacify Listen The Four Actions: Enrich Listen The Four Actions: Magnetize Listen The Four Actions: Destroy Download PDF Read a Transcript of the Four Actions: Destroy bamboo tails Taken in Kyoto, Japan just outside a small but famed restaurant that serves the best soba noodles. The sharp

activists, allies & agents of change

contrast of deep green horsetail against bright orange bamboo strips is both playful and serene. its a great metaphor for the balance of enjoying life fully...and

The People, United

with intention. its also a snappy background to perk up

This month instead of profiling a person we’re focusing on two organizations, one based in Israel,

any office environment.

the other in Palestine, both of which use spirituality and nonviolence as a way to broaden the movement

Download this image as wallpaper with or without

for peace in the Middle East. Sabeel, which means ‘the way’ or ‘spring of life-giving water,’ is a Palestinian organization that’s been around since 1990 and is an “ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement” that uses spirituality to promote social action. Though working to better the lives of Palestinians as a whole while working for justice, Sabeel ultimately strives to make the world a better place for all people. The Middle Way: Compassionate Engagement in Society, based in Israel and founded by Palestinians and Israelis alike, began in 2002 after the intifada [an Arabic word translated as ‘uprising’]. The Middle Way (MW) is an apolitical

calendar for your desktop.

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connect | share | support transform feedback editor@transformativechange.org Share your transformative story how are you changing the WAY change is done

organization that encourages peace through organized silent walks in Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as through dialogues. An Israeli branch of The Peacemaker Community originally founded by Roshi

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Bernie Glassman coordinates the dialogues.

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Learn more about www.sabeel.org

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Learn more about www.middleway.org

resources for change…

How can we be more unified? Below are resources that help connect and inform, including exclusive audio from Alice Walker's interview with KPFA's Maline Razazan on her visit to Gaza.

Topia.net

Tell-All-Your-Friends

Registration and other questions 888.XSOCHANGE (new number! toll free) register@transformativechange.org

Empire State Pride Agenda

Center for Transformative Change is the first national

COMMUNITIES OF COLOR STATEMENT RE PROP 8 DECISION.pdf

center entirely dedicated to bridging the inner and

President Obama Declares June LGBT Pride Month

outer lives of social change agents, activists and allies

International Campaign for Tibet

to support a more effective, more sustainable social

Alice Walker: "The Siege of Gaza is an Attack on the Common Heart"

justice movement.

[1hr audio] Alice Walker: "The Siege of Gaza is an Attack on the Common Heart"

Donate to the Center to support our work Visit the Center's website

[itune/iphone version] Center for Transformative Change

quote of the month “Sometimes...working for peace means placing ourselves at great personal risk. But to do anything else is to risk our souls—and our world.

No real peace will ever last without economic and social justice.”

2584 MLK Jr. Way Berkeley, CA 94704 · USA +1.510.549.3733 Google the Center

—Ocean Robbins, Yes!

Center for Transformative Change is a project of urbanPEACE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization whose mission to inform, incite and empower a broad-based, presence-centered transformative social change movement.

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