Share your smiles, compliments, time, talents, money, and energy with those around you. We must truly be the change that we want to see. And we can do it. We are doing it. Believe that the future is full of mindfulness where hearts mean more than our accounts.
The Love Initiative.
Notes From the Road – Bright Lights Blog
http://troubadourofpeace.blogspot.com/
Book a house concert or music for a yoga class today!!
TOUR DATES
| Date | Time | Venue | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/22/18 | 3:00 PM | Choices | Akron, OH | |
| 3/22/18 | 6:00 PM | Tea Time for Peace | Kent, OH | |
| 3/23/18 | 5:00 PM | Friends of the Metro Parks Benefit w/ the Bright Lights | Akron, OH | |
| 3/27/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 3/30/18 | 6:30 PM | 330 Day @ Akron Civic Theatre | Akron, OH | |
| 3/31/18 | 10:30 AM | Celebration of Life for Marilyn Stroud | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | |
| 4/3/18 | 6:30 PM | MLK Kirtan | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/4/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Circle | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/6/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Rhodes St Rude Boys | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 4/7/18 | 8:30 PM | Mustard Seed Highland Square w/ Bright Lights! | Akron, OH | |
| 4/10/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 4/16/18 | 7:00 PM | Wolf Creek Winery | Norton, OH | |
| 4/21/18 | 6:30 PM | Bright Lights @ the Rialto | Akron, OH | $5 |
| 4/22/18 | 4:00 PM | Yoga Central | Canton, OH | |
| 4/28/18 | 7:00 PM | Wine Mill | Peninsula, OH | |
| 5/2/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Series | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 5/4/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Gretchen Pleuss | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 5/5/18 | 12:00 PM | Cleveland VegFest | Cleveland, OH | |
| 5/5/18 | 6:00 PM | Bent Ladder winery | Doylestown , OH | |
| 5/8/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH |
Dr. Charles Mully
Mully Children’s Family USA
OnBuzz
Mother Teresa.
The Letters: The Untold Story of Mother Teresa.
will benefit Mully Children’s Family
Please join us in celebrating an amazing humanitarian
and Nobel Peace Prize winner who
served others in need.
September 29–30, 2018
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles
Note that times are for Pacific Coast Time Zone
jotff@anewwayoflife.org
323-563-3573
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Note: Last movie – SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON – with Q&A to follow with producer DAVID ARQUETTE
September 30 | 3:30 PM (RunTime: 102 minutes) – at MAYER THEATRE
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Film Synopses & Trailers
Saturday, September 29
(Screenings will be followed by Q&A with filmmakers)
RT: 30 minutes
September 29 | 11 AM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with writer/director Tiffany Johnson and producer/animator Jonathan Clark
The Real Background Check
This animated short film is based on the real life story of Tiffany Johnson, who survived life-altering trauma caused by early childhood abuse. “The Real Background Check” breaks down what happens to people before they enter the criminal justice system.
RT: 57 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with Johnny Perez (Director of U.S. Prison Programs, National Religious Campaign Against Torture)
Rikers: An American Jail
From Bill Moyers comes the first film to focus exclusively on former detainees who were held at Rikers Island. Their searing testimonials about the deep-seated culture of systemic violence and corruption that has plagued the notorious NYC jail for decades add a powerful authentic voice to investigative journalism that has reported on violence and abuses at the jail.
RT: 68 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with writer/director/producer Saffron Cassaday
Returning Citizens
“Returning Citizens” focuses on a passionate group of individuals who are looking for a second chance – or perhaps a chance they never had to begin with. Set in Southeast Washington, DC, the film offers a humanizing perspective on a community that has been negatively impacted by mass incarceration.
RT: 40 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Seaver 200 Theatre
Knife Skills
What does it take to build a world-class French restaurant? What if the staff is almost entirely men and women just out of prison? What if most have never cooked or served before, and have barely two months to learn their trade? Oscar-nominated Knife Skills follows the hectic launch of Edwins restaurant in Cleveland. In this improbable setting, with its mouth-watering dishes and its arcane French vocabulary, we discover the challenges of men and women finding their way after their release.
RT: 45 minutes
September 29 | 3:05 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
The Bail Trap: American Ransom
Money bail is one of the main causes of mass incarceration in the United States. Yet, few people know what the money bail system is, let alone how it all works or why we need to do away with it. This short film compilation from Brave New Films explains America’s broken bail system.
RT: 22 minutes
September 29 | 3:00 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with producer/director Terrell Wormley
Wild Roots
Hakeem, a reformed gang member, gets out of jail and wants to change his life around, but the hood won’t left him go easily. He knows how senseless gang banging is, but what do you do when your past catches up to you?
The Talk
After an unarmed black teen is killed, James & Maddie argue about whether they should warn their 9-year-old son about police brutality.
RT: 16 minutes
September 29 | 3:40 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with Marlon Perrier, writer/director/star of “The Talk”
Sunday, September 30
(Screenings will be followed by Q&A with filmmakers)
RT: 60 minutes
September 30 | 11 AM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with director/producer Ultan Guilfoyle, Craig Webb (Gehry Partners) & Leonard Noisette (Justice Team Director, Open Society Foundations)
Building Justice
At the invitation of George Soros and his Open Society Foundations, architect Frank Gehry arranged two ‘masters’ studios, one in SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, the other at the Yale School of Architecture, to investigate prison design as a subject for the best architecture students in the US. Partnering with Susan Burton of A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project in
Watts, Gehry and his students explored all aspects of prison design, learning first hand the design flaws of prison living from women who have been incarcerated in America’s worst prisons and visiting what are considered to be the world’s most successful prisons, in Norway.
RT: 60 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with director AJ Ali
Walking While Black: L.O.V.E Is the Answer
“Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer” presents proven action steps
to bridge the painful gap between peace officers and the communities they serve. Featuring interviews with peace
officers, faith leaders, educators, activists and others, the film offers an inspiring blueprint to end racial profiling and heal our communities.
RT: 73 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Seaver 200 Theatre
Q&A to follow with director/executive producer Rahiem Shabazz
Elementary Genocide III: Academic Holocaust
Elementary Genocide: Academic Holocaust adds more statistical proof of the scholastic inequalities faced by Original people around the country. The documentary revisits the importance of education and its impact on self-image, family structure, financial freedom and the collective future of African/indigenous people in America and abroad.
RT: 16 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Let My People Vote
Filmed in Tampa, two days before the 2016 presidential election, this verité short covers a day-in-the-life of civil rights activist Desmond Meade. His mission? Assisting people in voting — something our “forefathers marched and died for.”
What begins as an upbeat day of faith in our democratic process, ends with a heartbreaking realization: Jim Crow is not dead.
RT: 102 minutes
September 30 | 3:30 PM
Mayer Theatre
Q&A to follow with producer David Arquette
Survivors Guide to Prison
Follows the stories of two innocent men, Bruce Lisker and Reggie Cole, who spent decades behind bars for murders they did not commit. With gripping testimony from formerly incarcerated people, guards, cops, lawyers and reformers, “Survivors Guide” exposes the failed “punishment model” and examines the programs proven to work.
Get Inspired and Engaged by the Global Community
Reconnect with the Source of Pachamama Alliance
A 75-Minute Conference Call for Our Global Community
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These calls are designed to
bring together Pachamama Alliance
participants, leaders, and supporters who are actively engaged
in creating a shift in humanity to a worldview
that honors and sustains life
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By coming together and grounding in this vision, you will:
*Feel supported in your work.
**Be inspired and energized in your unique role in a worldwide
network committed to a new future for all.
***Strengthen your connection to like-hearted people and to the spirit
that has inspired Pachamama Alliance since its inception.
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GO TO: https://www.pachamama.org/events
to reserve your space for the conversation.
Fill out the online form and submit.
You will receive a confirmation email.
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Early Childhood Education and Public Charge
November 7 at 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT – 1:00 PM PT)
On October 10, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was published in the Federal Register, outlining the administration’s intent to dramatically change the meaning and application of “public charge” provisions in immigration law. This proposal could harm the health and well-being of millions of children and families and is of great concern for young children’s development and the early childhood field as outlined in this Q&A. Staff at the Center for Law and Social Policy will provide an overview of the proposed public charge rule, its potential impact on young children, and explain how the early childhood field can support immigrant families and take action during the public comment period.
What Housing and Homelessness Advocates Should Know about the Public Charge Rule
November 8 @ 3:30 PM ET – 5:00 PM ET (12:30 PM PT – 2:00 PM PT)
On October 10, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule that would make it more likely for certain immigrants to be denied admission to the U.S. or denied green cards because they receive or would receive lifeline benefits, including public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and project-based Section 8 housing subsidies. Previously leaked drafts of this drastic policy change have already led many families to drop out of critical food and nutrition programs for their children. This chilling effect is poised to impact hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrant households that depend on these programs for survival.
PIF Campaign: New Research and Estimating the Impact of Public Charge
November 8 @ 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT -1:00 PM PT)
Join partners with the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Campaign as we discuss new research estimating economic and demographic impacts of the proposed public charge rule. During this webinar, panelists will present the findings of three new resources from Manatt Health, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Fiscal Policy Institute. For more information about the webinar, please contact Jackie Vimo and Renato Rocha.
PIF Campaign: Public Charge 101
November 14 @ 2:00 PM ET – 3:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT -12:00 PM PT)
A recurring webinar from CLASP and NILC. The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed regulation on “public charge.” If finalized, the regulation would dramatically rewrite immigration policy and make green cards only available to the highest bidder. This webinar describes public charge policy today, how it would change, and what you need to know if you work with immigrant families.
For more info: bit.ly/askPIFcampaign
AURA HOME WOMEN VETS
50 South French Broad Avenue
Suite 203
Asheville NC 28801
828-771-6979
http://aurahomewomenvets.org
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Prem Rawat Foundation Supports Veterans With Peace Education Program
This article is also available in: French
For too many veterans, finding an enduring sense of peace remains elusive long after they return from war. They often face immense challenges as they transition to civilian life, from trauma disorders to unemployment and homelessness.
Thankfully, November 11 marks an occasion to honor their service and support solutions that can improve their lives. The date is Veterans Day in the United States, and in many other countries it is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.
A growing number of veterans say the Peace Education Program is a solution that gives them the tools they need to harness their own inner-strength and overcome their obstacles. The program’s workshops feature videos of Prem Rawat’s empowering international talks on themes such as dignity, choice and hope.
“The Peace Education Program tries only to achieve one simple thing: it’s to put you in touch with yourself,” says Rawat.
While the goal is simple, the impact was profound for Alyce Knaflich, a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress, depression and homelessness for 10 years. She credits PEP with giving her the confidence to now work as the executive director of Aura Home Women Vets, a charity in Asheville, NC that provides housing and support to homeless women veterans.
Veteran Alyce Knaflich shares her story in this video.
“I was lost. Prem Rawat and his message in the program, it brought me home. And my home is my heart. Peace starts on the inside,” says Knaflich.
She has incorporated the Peace Education Program into Aura Home’s services to help her clients have the same enriching experience that she did.
“Prem’s message will help them heal their emotional stress, and ease the transition of coming out of the military and trying to find a new career path. It will help them center themselves and bring out their confidence,” says Knaflich.
Empowering Women through Writing, Weaving and Sharing
Be heard, connect with your inner resources and cultivate courage to create change.
Our Mission
To create a woven tapestry based on the stories of 1,000 women globally by 2020 that will be exhibited internationally to shine a light on the creative accomplishments of women while calling attention to the challenges women currently face world-wide.
To foster a culture of self-knowledge and sharing that builds courage and fosters a sense of power in women everywhere to contribute to their communities in positive ways.
To allow women to tell the story of their lives, as a catalyst for change, particularly by opening up discussions about issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse in a safe and supportive way.
To promote resilience, compassion, open communication, healing and peace in individuals and communities.
Intro to the Project
Participating in Woven Voices is a journey that starts with self-reflection and writing, and transforms into a woven tapestry, a visual storyboard of women’s lives from around the globe. The 3 elements of the Woven Voices project work together as tools to access, claim, and celebrate our power as individuals and together as a global community of women.
The Artist
Brecia Kralovic-Logan is a passionate champion of creativity who has spent the last 40 years helping people of all ages to embrace and express their unique individuality.
Brecia Kralovic-Logan
4164 Mount Hukee Ave
San Diego, Ca 92117
Mobile: 805-896-3287
breciakl@gmail.com
breciacreative.com
thespiralofcreativity.com
For over 25 years, we’ve inspired, educated and activated thousands of communities and organizations through our solutions-focused programs and ready-to-use social and digital tools. Together, they provide the launchpad for emerging generations and sustainability leaders to experience “ah-ha” moments that lead to extraordinary environmental and social change.
Drawdown EcoChallenge is:
- a 21-day engagement program focused on carbon reduction;
- a challenge taking place April 3-24 and;
- following actions highlighted in Drawdown, a book based on meticulous research that maps, measures, models, and describes solutions to global warming that already exists and;
- where participants track and share their progress online in a robust platform and earn points for taking action and;
- the combination of collective action, camaraderie, and friendly competition makes change a little easier — and a lot more fun and;
- providing tools and inspiration to turn intention into action, and
- giving participants a fun and social way to think about and act on proven solutions to reverse global warming!
Over eighty actions within seven challenge categories
provide participants with diverse options to reduce carbon usage.
The EcoChallenge Platform is a signature offering of EcoChallenge.org (formerly Northwest Earth Institute), a sustainability organization that provides innovative social and digital tools designed to be a launchpad for emerging generations and sustainability leaders to experience “ah-ha” moments that lead to extraordinary environmental and social change. EcoChallenge.org also hosts a global October EcoChallenge which is free and open to everyone, everywhere. Over 73,500 people from 101 countries have used the EcoChallenge Platform and the organization has engaged over 250,000 people throughout its 25-year history. The EcoChallenge Platform can also be used to create custom Challenges that meet the engagement and action goals of your workplace, college, or community.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 227 2807
|
Water: Reconnecting the People of African Descent, UN High Level Political…
Event Information
Description
We envision a world where women’s history inspires all people to have equal respect for everyone’s experiences and accomplishments and to see there are no obstacles to achieving their dreams.
Electronic Field Trips
When a field trip is out of the question, bring the museum to you! The National Women’s History Museum is offering 45 minute electronic field trips for 4th through 11th grade classes, non-profit organizations, corporations, extracurricular groups (and more!) on a variety of topics this fall. Interact with a Museum Educator through field trips that are streamed directly into your classroom using the Zoom video platform, and offer your students a glimpse into how museums bring history to life. All sessions last one class period and include pre-and post-program curriculum materials.
Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/electronic-field-trips-tickets-68218392047
Prices:
- $125 – private schools, youth organizations, homeschool associations, clubs, corporations, & non-profits
- $100 – public schools
- No Charge – Title I schools (contact us to verify status as a Title I school and to schedule the field trip)
Current Electronic Field Trips:
Standing Up for Change: African American Women and the Civil Rights Movement
In the 20th century, African American women formed the backbone of the modern Civil Rights Movement. They were the critical mass, the grassroots leaders challenging America to embrace justice and equality for all. This program discusses women’s critical roles in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Little Rock’s Central High School integration, and the little-known women behind the scenes of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Join us to explore the Civil Rights Movement through the perspectives of its women leaders.
Taking a Stand Part 1: The Beginnings of Woman Suffrage (1776-1872)
Though the woman suffrage movement started in 1848, the movement had roots going back to the beginning of the country. This program will explore the early factors in the suffrage movement including key women such as Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony. Learn about the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States and the legislation that was put in place to halt the movement.
Taking a Stand Part 2: Woman Suffrage and Protest at the White House (1872-1920)
By the early 20th century women had yet to achieve the vote nationally. A group of women, adopting radical tactics from their British counterparts, brought their protests to Washington, DC and the White House fence. Learn how Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) drew public attention to their cause and became a model for peaceful public protest marches in the United States.
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Previous Electronic Field Trips (videos are currently free for use):
Women Pioneers of Computer Programming
In 1943 the US Army hired six women mathematicians to set up and operate the Army’s newest top secret weapon in World War II. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was the first electronic, digital computer. These unsung heroes figured out how to wire the electrical connections that enabled ENIAC to complete 300 multiplications per second. This field trip incorporates math and science content including electronic circuits and geometry. To see a recording of this program, click here.
Katherine Johnson and the Mathematics of the Space Race
Getting astronauts to space and back involves more than rockets and hardware. During America’s space race in the 1950s and 60s, mathematicians performed calculations that determined the geometry for space orbit. Women “computers”, including National Women’s History Museum’s Women Making History honoree Katherine Johnson, were integral members of NASA’s teams. Join us to learn the mathematical concepts behind space orbit and the women who sent America’s astronauts into space. To see a recording of this program, click here.
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It takes an African American woman until almost the end of August (2019) to make the same amount that a white man made through Dec 31, 2018.
That’s why we are launching our Equal Pay for Equal Work Petition to
#DemandMore here at NWHM.
Add your name now to sign on and help us reach our goal of 10,000 members strong!
“…Each one of us can make a difference, and together, we make change.”
SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI
Connecting Across Divides.
Living Room Conversations are a conversational bridge across issues that divide and separate us. They provide an easy structure for engaging in friendly yet meaningful conversation with those with whom we may not agree. These conversations increase understanding, reveal common ground, and sometimes even allow us to discuss possible solutions. No fancy event or skilled facilitator is needed.
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Homelessness: 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Q & A with Hosts!
Homelessness
August 22, 2019 @ 7:00 – 9:00 pm ET
4:00 – 6:00 pm PT (adjust for your time zone)
Homelessness in America is a problem that reminds us daily of our failure to be our best. How do we explain to children the presence of hungry, cold, neglected and often mentally ill men women and children on our streets in the midst of plenty? If we gather neighbors, business owners, health care workers, police, government officials, homeless people and their families in conversation might we build trust and begin to explore opportunities to do better? Conversations are admittedly only a starting point, but isn’t it time to start?
Registration
Origins
Living Room Conversations is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 as a result of a transpartisan partnership focused on revitalizing civil discourse through conversation.
Major disagreement on important issues is a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to create insurmountable divides. We hope for a world in which people who have fundamental differences of opinion and backgrounds learn to work together with respect – and even joy – to realize the vibrant future we all desire for ourselves and our families. Through applying and adapting our conversational model, we hope participants will build relationships that generate understanding and enable collaborative problem-solving.
Divides Aren’t Inevitable.
Living rooms used to be the place where people would gather to socialize and relate with each other. Inviting someone into your home was to treat them as valued and worthy of respect. But before they were called living rooms these rooms were referred to as “parlors” – a term that comes from the French and means place for speaking.
Our modern world no longer limits our place for speaking to a physical location. We live our lives in our communities and online. Our living room is wherever we find ourselves connecting with others.
Living Room Conversations can take place anywhere, which these days includes the virtual world. Video chat allows us to bring each other into our homes, with all that represents, at a scale never before imagined.
The rationale behind Living Room Conversations is to increase understanding, reveal common ground and allow us to discuss possible solutions. No fancy event or skilled facilitator is typically needed. When people of all walks of life begin to care about one another, they can begin working together to solve the problems of our time.
Living Room Conversations is an effort of a small team supported by amazing volunteers.
We’re always on the look out for more team members who share our passion for bridging divides. There’s lots of work to be done.
The Pilot
In late 2010, Joan Blades partnered with dialogue experts, Walt Roberts, Debilyn Molineaux, Amanda Kathryn Roman and Heather Tischbein, to create a structured, intimate conversation format that would empower everyday citizens to discuss important issues with friends of differing political affiliations and backgrounds. The theory was that if two friends with different points of view, each invited two friends to join a conversation, with full disclosure about the intent and structure of the conversation, they could create a safe space for a respectful and meaningful exchange of ideas, develop new relationships and perhaps find common ground. This was the Living Room Conversations pilot project.
By early 2011, the pilot revealed that the Living Room Conversations structure worked. Both the observed and independent conversations were successful. Participants found they were anxious at the outset but soon felt comfortable using the format. In fact, these early conversations fostered relationships that continue to this day.
The Project
Inspired by the success of the pilot, Amanda Kathryn Roman and Joan Blades formed a transpartisan political partnership, recruited an advisory board and launched the website to make the Living Room Conversations open-source format available to individuals and organizations around the country. Their hope was to empower participants to begin to reweave the fabric of our civil society by demonstrating that respectful conversation can enrich our lives and enable us to create better solutions to the challenges we face together.
Early participants had conversations about the role of government, money in politics, immigration, gay marriage and more. In 2013, our first high profile conversation, cohosted by Joan Blades and Mark Meckler (Tea Party Patriots), discussed crony capitalism and identified the need for criminal justice reform as an area of 100% agreement. common ground This led to further discussion and impactful collaborative action.
Living Room Conversations is constantly evolving. We have a growing list of champions who speak publicly about Living Room Conversations or use the format in their work, as well as a growing number of partners who are using our open-source format in large and small ways. We look forward to developing and sharing materials for more issue areas, and creating a cycle of online-to-offline community building as we learn from and support each other in becoming a more respectful, civil society.
Topics A-Z
Browse all our Conversation Guides below from A-Z. Click the links to explore each Conversation Guide. You can also download a PDF of the conversation for your own use.
Socially Conscious Leadership from the Inside Out
Our guest this week has come to believe that “No matter how wonderful a program is, if it is done as a bestowing – a certain group of people making decisions for another group – that is never going to bridge the divide in our city.” Does your work fit within this paradigm of “bestowing,” and how do you plant seeds for a deeper mindset or consciousness shift to address underlying structural issues? Share Your Reflection »
Dallas-based therapist, activist, writer, community leader and speaker Michelle Kinder examines and teaches conscious leadership “from the inside out.” She offers practical, achievable steps for parents, teachers and others to support children’s social-emotional health, and for business and other leaders to drive transformation in their lives and organizations. While exploring the lack of mental health resources in southern Dallas, Kinder got to know the work of the Momentous Institute, a 99-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit organization that has been building and repairing social-emotional health through education and mental health programs. Momentous Institute serves vulnerable children through therapy services, curriculum and teacher training focused on See full.
Five Questions for Michelle
What Makes You Come Alive?
Thank you for asking. Learning makes me come alive. Learning combined with contribution has long been a winning formula for me feeling most alive. Over the years I developed the habit of checking in with myself every six months or so with the questions “Am I learning? Am I contributing?” There have been interesting seasons on how the two balance each other. There are times that striving to contribute crowded out the kind of white space by brain needs for deep learning and I have had to course correct. And there have been other times that I was learning a lot, but didn’t feel like I was being a good steward in terms of making a difference for other people or for causes I care about. I should also say that because I am currently in a season of more white space and more time for discernment, increasingly, simple pleasures are what make me come alive. Listening to birds, watching our dogs, yoga, running, sunshine, good coffee and the sound of my girls laughing together. Things like that.
Pivotal turning point in your life?
When I was in High School I left my family in Guatemala and came to the states to attend boarding school. It was a transformational experience. The wonderful faculty there saw qualities in me that they nurtured into leadership and I really learned who I was and what I was capable of during those four years. Interestingly, in my previous school, there were teachers who experienced the exact same qualities as problematic, annoying or something to control. Having that experience has made me very interested in how adults show up in the lives of children in a way that respects the enormous privilege and responsibility. I always say there are no neutral interactions when it comes to our relationships with children – all interactions are either positive, negative or missed opportunities.
An Act of Kindness You’ll Never Forget?
When I was in college, my 24-year-old sister died suddenly and it was an enormous challenge to go back to school while navigating the grief process. Several weeks into it, when people had stopped checking in, I found a card tucked into one of my books. It was from a classmate I knew somewhat, but not super well. It said something like, “I know time has passed but your hurt hasn’t.” I still tear up thinking about that act of kindness. It meant so much and it has shaped my desire to show up for others in similar ways.
One Thing On Your Bucket List?
Have the kind of flexibility to visit different places for a month at a time and work remotely while folding into the local scene.
One-line Message for the World?
Regardless of the situation, if you ever aren’t sure how to be most helpful, regulate your own nervous system.
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Awakin Circles: A hub for local meditation circles that started in the Silicon Valley and have now spread to 80+ cities around the globe. The circle start with an hour of silence, followed by a circle of sharing and dinner in silence. A newsletter with a passage selected from various wisdom traditions and an audio reading is sent out to 87,000 subscribers each week. See also Awakin Calls that hosts weekly conversations with wide-ranging thought leaders.
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ServiceSpace is an organization run entirely by volunteers. We leverage technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. Our aim is to ignite the fundamental generosity in ourselves and others, creating both inner and outer transformation.
ServiceSpace was conceived by volunteers, was built by volunteers, and is run by volunteers — all for the benefit of volunteers. Our projects range from a daily positive news service, to an acts-of-kindness portal, to a gift-economy restaurant. Regardless of the endeavor, we act in concert to create service opportunities for each other and to support each other’s service journeys.
In September of 2011, we formally changed our name from CharityFocus to ServiceSpace. Founded in 1999, ServiceSpace was originally started to help non-profits with technical services. Over the past dozen years, the organization has become an umbrella for many generosity-driven projects. Thus we have expanded our services from focusing just on helping charities, to encouraging everyday people to contribute in meaningful ways to the world around them. As the name suggests, our new expanded ServiceSpace platform allows people to stay connected with others interested in service, participate in service opportunities through any of our dozen projects, organize their own local service event using our tools, and stay connected to inspirational content. Above all, we believe in the inherent generosity of others and aim to ignite that spirit of service. Through our small, collective acts, we hope to transform ourselves and the world.
We hold these three principles steadfast within our organization:
Stay fully volunteer-run.
ServiceSpace was founded by volunteers and is run by volunteers. There is no paid staff, no office, and no central facilities. All ServiceSpace programs are conceived, designed, implemented, and administered by people who selflessly give their time so that others can benefit from those services.
Based on twelve years of our experience with a volunteer-run infrastructure, we’ve developed a streamlined process that structures projects in a distributed and decentralized manner. This allows more volunteers to give small chunks of time and still deliver high quality services to the end-receiver.
Being volunteer-run also allows us to organically self-organize. Instead of hierarchies and prefabricated business plans, our volunteer infrastructure is dynamic, low-cost and open to radical change. Everything is based on relationships and presence, and that creates a powerful context to BE the change.
We continue to be amazed at what inspired and dedicated individuals can do. Margaret Mead eloquently said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” We could not agree more.
Serve with whatever we have.
We have chosen a slightly different path than most organizations, and choose not to focus on fundraising, grants, or other sources of revenue – for example, none of our websites contain any advertisement. All services are distributed are gifted without any fees. Thus, we serve with whatever support and resources that come in organically when people are truly moved to give.
ServiceSpace projects are built within a gift-economy system, an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a traditional market economy, one’s wealth is increased by saving. In a gift economy, giving leads to increase: an increase in connections and relationship strength.
Our services are given freely, without asking for anything in return. Instead of scarcity and fear for an uncertain future, our second principle roots us in abundance and trust. We have realized that over time, if you serve with pure intentions, people’s cups of gratitude overflow. They don’t give to fulfill a need, they give as an expression of their own solidarity and joy. These genuine gifts, no matter how small or large, are what sustains us.
Focus on the small.
Our attempt is to do “small acts with great love”. As our tagline says, “Change Yourself, Change the World.” If we started out by having a goal to change the world, we might have been a little disappointed in our abilities; when we start with ourselves, we notice that the ripples around us continue to get bigger and bigger and as more people try to do small acts, we have every potential to change the world.
Just as every tiny bit of a hologram contains information of the whole, we feel that paying attention to the process, to the present moment, gives us plenty of information to become instruments of a larger, systemic change.
This is how ServiceSpace makes things happen. But essentially the engine that drives the organization is inspiration, pure and simple. We learn from each other, spur each other, help each other, and frequently amaze each other. Sure, we are stirred by the words and lives of great men and women like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa; but the examples set by our ServiceSpace colleagues–everyday heroes–are the real sustaining forces behind our projects.
Every two minutes a woman dies from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, and millions around the world are denied the choice of if and when they want to have children.
UNFPA Supplies supports over 20 million women and girls worldwide with family planning services, contraception, and vital maternal medicines, and since 2007 they have saved over 1.1 millions lives.
Without additional support, their vital work — and the safety of over 20 million women and girls — will be at risk. Call on world leaders to step up for women and girls by pledging new funds this year.
Thank you so much,
Annabelle Roberts
17 September 2019 – Opening of the General Assembly regular session | 24 September 2019 – Opening of the general debate.
Sign the petition telling world leaders — including the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany — to pledge new funds to UNFPA Supplies and protect women’s lives everywhere. We’ll be handing your signatures over to decision makers this September at the United Nations General Assembly, so add your name now!
FOR SAMA
TUESDAY, September 10, 2019
4:00pm – 6:30pm
Konover Auditorium
Dodd Center
University of Connecticut
FREE ADMISSION
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Sponsored by
Department of Digital Media and Design
Human Rights Institute
Huskies for Human Rights
Middle East Studies
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Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
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ECOLISE
The European Network for Community-led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability, is the initiator and main organiser of the European Day of Sustainable Communities. We have 46 member networks and organisations across Europe
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A celebration of local communities taking action for a zero-carbon, regenerative and inclusive Europe.
This is an ECOLISE flagship event. #EDSC19 #SustainableCommunity
Become a co-creator of the day! For details see https://www.sustainable-communities.net/
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Transition Thrive Online Training
Thursday, September 26, 2019 – 11:00am – Thursday, November 21, 2019 – 12:30pm
All times Pacific. We are currently offering two registration options through this page: a $120 Standard Ticket to cover the basic costs of producing this course and a $180 Sponsor Ticket to help subsidize scholarships. If you would like to request a need-based scholarship or group discount, please contact don@transitionus.org
Transition Thrive can be thought of as the sequel to Transition Launch Training. While Launch focuses on the first few steps of the Transition process – understanding the global context, forming an initiating group, raising awareness, and cultivating partnerships with like-minded organizations – Thrive builds upon this foundation to provide answers to how to broaden, deepen, and scale up the impacts of local community resilience-building initiatives over time.
Over the course of eight weekly sessions, you will form mutually-supportive relationships with other participants, develop new abilities and knowledge, receive guidance for overcoming the specific challenges you are facing, and create a robust action plan to take your work to the next level.
Prior participation in a Transition Launch Training is recommended, but not required. This course is open to social change activists from all over the world, but is currently only available in English.
Sessions at a Glance
1. Maps for the Transition Journey (October 3): Identify your initiative’s current strengths and weaknesses using the Transition Healthcheck and explore how The Five Stages of Transition can provide an achievable path to thriving.
2. Cultivating the Collective Genius (October 10): In this session, we will look closely at our individual wholeness and unique collaboration styles while exploring ways of cultivating these so that the collective genius in our groups is more likely to emerge.
3. Running Successful, Practical Projects (October 17): This session will share design ideas for projects that bring tangible benefits to your community, engage and energize volunteers, and support working groups to be effective and rewarding.
4. Reaching Beyond the Choir (October 24): Learn how to create a tipping point of support for your initiative and cultivate strategic partnerships by telling your best stories, harvesting metrics, and designing value propositions.
5. Building Momentum and Capacity (October 31): In this session, we will cover running larger campaigns, forming diverse coalitions, taking a multi-faceted approach to fundraising, and establishing a healthy formal organization.
6. System-Changing Strategies (November 7): This session will explore the mindsets, practices, and structures that support community-wide and whole systems strategies, such as creating localized food systems or transforming local economies.
7. In It for Life (November 14): Here, we will discuss some of the unique challenges we encounter as long-term change-makers, and will suggest tools, mindsets, inner postures, and practices that help us stay inspired and prevent burnout.
8. Bringing It All Back Home (November 21): In this final session, we will circle back to the Transition Healthcheck to harvest key insights from this course, address major challenges, and create an action plan for your group to thrive!
How Does It Work?
Thrive Online consists of a series of eight pre-recorded presentations that will be made available for you to watch before engaging in weekly 90-minute live videoconferences exploring each of these topics in greater depth. We will also provide you with access to a private discussion forum that you can use to share resources and continue conversations in between sessions.
Please don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself to be tech-savvy. The platforms we use are designed to be easy to navigate, and we will provide personalized technical assistance throughout the course to ensure that your experience is as enjoyable as humanly possible.
While this online format enables you to participate in an international learning cohort from the comfort of your own home – at a lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint than traditional face-to-face offerings – if you’d prefer to host a Thrive Training in your local community, please click here to learn more about how to do that.
Facilitation Team
Don Hall has had the good fortune to participate in the Transition Movement in a variety of capacities for more than a decade. Initially serving for two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Transition Colorado, he went on to found and direct Transition Sarasota (Florida) from 2010 to 2016. Don was named Co-Director of Transition US in 2017. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University.
Michelle Colussi has worked in community and economic development for over 20 years with a focus on community resilience and organizational capacity-building and planning. She was a co-founder of Transition Victoria (BC) and their flagship programs: Building Resilient Neighbourhoods and Resilient Streets. She has delivered Launch Training since 2009 and chaired the University of Toronto’s Transition Emerging Research Advisory Group.
Rebecca Blanco completed a Master’s and a Doctorate and has been a psychotherapist for 40 years. Her interest in eco-psychology sparked her conviction that personal transformation within an ecological-social context is crucial for a regenerative world. She’s participated in a mentorship with Dr. Andy Fisher and The Work That Reconnects Training. Rebecca is a workshop facilitator at Forest Center.
Sally Ludwig is a co-founding member of Transition Guelph, with particular interests in inner dimensions of personal and community resilience, ecological and climate justice, effective collaboration, and social applications of Permaculture. She is a trainer for Transition and facilitator of the Work that Reconnects, educator, mentor and consultant. Secretly, she throws seed bombs and does guerilla planting of fruit trees and raspberry bushes.
Start: Monday, January 13, 2020• 5:30 PM
End: Monday, January 13, 2020• 8:30 PM
Location:Cherokee United Methodist Church•2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
Host Contact Info: southcarolina@poorpeoplescampaign.org
Join the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival in South Carolina for the eighth stop of the We Must Do M.O.R.E. national tour as we Mobilize, Organize, Register and Educate.
Click here if you’d like to volunteer and help make this tour a success!
The tour in South Carolina will culminate with a Moral Monday March and Mass Meeting on Monday, January 13th in Charleston, SC. This will follow a weekend of activities a community canvas to register people for a movement that votes and a community site visit.
Monday, January 13th | Charleston, SC
South Carolina Moral Monday March & Mass Meeting
5:30 PM – Gather for the march
6:30 PM – Mass Meeting begins
Cherokee United Methodist Church, 2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
**No large bags or umbrellas will be allowed in the mass meetings and small bags are subject to being searched.
At the Moral Monday, we will hear from South Carolinians directly impacted by systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the corrupt moral narrative. We will also hear from Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis, Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing a 25-state We Must Do MORE national tour from September 2019 to May 2020. This tour will lead into the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, where thousands of poor people and moral agents will gather at the nation’s capitol on June 20, 2020 to demonstrate their power.
We will demand the implementation of our Moral Agenda and call all people of conscience to engage in deeply moral civic engagement and voting that cares about poor and low-wealth people, the sick, immigrants, workers, the environment, people with disabilities, first nations, the LGBTQ community, and peace over war.
Des Moines Iowa Mass Meeting | We Must Do MORE National Tour
Start: Wednesday, January 15, 2020• 7:00 PM • Central Time (US & Canada) (GMT-06:00)
End: Wednesday, January 15, 2020• 9:00 PM • Central Time (US & Canada) (GMT-06:00)
Host Contact Info: iowa@poorpeoplescampaign.org
If you are interested in helping make the Iowa We Must Do MORE tour a success, visit: CLICK HERE to Volunteer
Need a ride or have extra seats to offer in yours? Please sign up here on our MORE Tour Mass Meeting Carpool system.
**No large bags or umbrellas will be allowed in the mass meetings and small bags are subject to being searched.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing a 25-state We Must Do MORE national tour from September 2019 to May 2020. This tour will lead into the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, where thousands of poor people and moral agents will gather at the nation’s capitol on June 20, 2020 to demonstrate their power.
We will demand the implementation of our Moral Agenda and call all people of conscience to engage in deeply moral civic engagement and voting that cares about poor and low-wealth people, the sick, immigrants, workers, the environment, people with disabilities, first nations, the LGBTQIA+ community, and peace over war.
Iowa is the eighth stop on this tour.
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
Sneak Peek Showing of “We Cried Power: A documentary of the PPC”
Dayton: January 19th at 12:00PM
College Hill Community Church
1547 Philadelphia Drive
Dayton, Ohio 45406
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/
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EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
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THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN AND WE THE WORLD ARE COLLABORATING
Visit OUR Facebook page to watch a virtual screening of “We Cried Power”.
There will be a panel discussion afterwards.
Visit the facebook page here – We, the World
to watch the live screening
of the PPC documentary on January 26th, at 6:00 pm.
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/
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EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
pictured above: Brooke Medicine Eagle
www.Spiritual-Wildfire-Summit.
com Joan D’Argo
I’m thrilled to invite you to a FREE global online Summit that starts Feb. 2-7 called:
Igniting the Worldwide Spiritual Wildfire We Need Now: A Call to Action
LINK TO: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
I’ll be participating with 23 other featured speakers including Sandra Ingerman, Andrew Harvey, Nina Simons, Cynthia Jurs, Steve Farrell and Lyla June Johnston and I’d love for you to join us! Each of us will be offering inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
The Spiritual Wildfire Summit is organized to address the fact that we live in epic times. In fact, we are experiencing nothing less than the reinvention of civilization. Yet as we dive into uncharted waters and move closer to a critical tipping, we see a worldwide awakening beginning to catch fire. The Spiritual Wildfire Summit offers inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
To register for this free event click here. Link to: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
Together we can create a new world based on compassion, wisdom, justice, and joy!
During this FREE 6-day global online summit, together we will experience & integrate profound ways to restore the Story of Our Awakened Hearts.
This transformational event is FREE to all registered attendees! You do need to RSVP in order to receive all of the info you need to participate in this unique and never before seen gathering of visionaries!
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My Queer Valentine Reception
Hosted by Torpedo Factory Art Center and Target Gallery
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Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7 PM – 10 PM
Next Week18–32°F Sunny
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105 N. Union St, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
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Art in Person and in Progress. Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to 165 working artists, seven galleries, The Art League, and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. Free admission.
My Queer Valentine Shows the Richness of LGBTQ Life
The warmth of recognition is strong inside the exhibition.
“Acrylic” by Aurele Gould, 2017
I took my girlfriend to see My Queer Valentine on a Monday morning; it was a date, I told her. We took the Metro down to King Street and walked to the Alexandria waterfront. Once we got there, we strolled into The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery, hands interlocked.
For My Queer Valentine, the contemporary gallery’s spring show, the small space is filled with large-scale photographic prints, paintings on both large and small canvases, and sculpture. Visually, the pieces cover a broad range of styles, including a digitally influenced take on Abstract Expressionism, geometric interpretations of fire, Basquiat-esque mark-making and writing over photographs, sculpture with few references to recognizable forms, canvases made three-dimensional by the attachment of glittery found objects, and small silkscreen prints. Thematically, they may at first seem to not cohere, but that’s only because My Queer Valentine’s juried works cover a diverse and rich swath of queer life.
As for taking my girlfriend, I had another motive that I didn’t say aloud, though she may have picked up on it. I wanted to enter that exhibition as a visibly gay person, and I wanted to see how that affected my experience of the art. It was the right choice. My Queer Valentine does more than curate work that examines what it means to be LGBTQ in the 21st century: It creates a queer space warm with the joy of recognition.
Some works speak directly to that joy, like artist Cat Gunn’s abstract canvases. Their dramatic patterns represent the harmony of being in a relationship where their partner sees them as their authentic, nonbinary self, they write in the wall text. There are glittering squares and wobbling lines moving back and forth across the plane, but things seem to be coming together the longer you look—parts that once made no sense have an internal logic that reveals itself with sustained attention and open mindedness. Recognition can be dangerous, and the closet offers safety, but it also means hiding behind a mask. The relief of dropping the charade and being seen is transcendent.
My Queer Valentine isn’t camp, not as a whole, but it’s full of artworks made by people who understand the humor and the wondrous pompousness of queer glamor. (That glamor and its high drama are knowingly self-important because there are still so many people who wish we didn’t have it.) The first pieces the viewer encounters play with the feminine trappings of artificial jewelry, glitter, plastic, and resin, all in bright, loud colors; one piece dripping with sequins invites viewers to “lick me until ice cream.” That kind of playful sexuality thrives in many of the works, even the more subdued ones. A beige canvas on the opposing wall asks the onlooker to “come (cum on my) back.” The half-joking, half-serious attitude toward sex is one of My Queer Valentine’s greatest strengths, highlighting the laughter and joy inherent in queer life and queer sex.
Linda Hesh’s “Kissing Booth” is another joyful artwork. It’s not a stunning feat of technique and construction; it’s just a wood and steel booth, like one you might see at a county fair in the ’50s. It advertises itself as, unsurprisingly, “KISSING BOOTH.” It’s not anchored to a wall. Instead, it stands out from a corner and beckons viewers to come in, where they might notice that its gingham pattern is made up of pictures of kissing same-sex couples. I’ll admit my biases here: I’ve always had a love for participatory art. But the booth’s standing invitation to come inside, to take a picture kissing underneath it, and to share that picture with the world is a brave act, even in 2020 in Alexandria—brave for the artist and the piece inviting those kisses, brave for the people who choose to do so. Even though queer desire is hypervisible in contemporary life, it’s not always recognized as a loving, human affect. By asking people to kiss, Hesh affirms the romance of the gesture and the genuine safety of the space around it.
The most striking pieces were by D.C.-based photographer Matt Storm, a transgender man. His work is challenging, cheeky, and hard to look away from. The two images on display come from his Act of Looking series, where he returns to the same studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the famous gay vacation spot, to photograph his body “to create an expanded lexicon of ways to see a body, inclusive of ways to see my body,” he writes in his artist’s statement. In the first image, we see him standing naked, in a pose that looks relaxed but requires him to hold himself in place with his own strength. His muscles are tense but not flexed. His face isn’t overly expressive, but there’s a spark of playfulness in his eyes and a hint of a smile on his mouth. And his arm drapes behind his back, coming to rest between his legs, where he holds his fingers playfully—an obvious commentary on how, as he says, “my body is incongruous with how we are taught to see bodies.” In another, he clasps his hands in front of his crotch, fingers crossed. We can’t see his face, but we can feel the humor. The piece is titled “Crossing my Fingers, Getting Away with Something.”
But a different series of works stopped me in my tracks. Aurele Gould’s photographs pulled my gaze from the moment I entered the gallery. When I saw her triptych of an athlete putting pre-wrap around another girl’s thigh, I felt a lump in my throat. “A moment of transference is constructed, a care and an intimacy among women,” she writes in the wall text. Immediately I thought of Barbara Kruger’s 1981 piece “Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals),” which famously says “You construct intricate rituals that allow you to touch the skin of other men” over an image of men roughhousing. But I thought of it less because of its artistic impact and more because, for years, queer kids on Tumblr have been using it as a memetic reference point for jokes about the forbidden, magnetic pull of another person’s skin. In the three images of the piece, we see hands grab the inner thigh, let go to wrap the tape around, and return to place both hands on the partner’s leg.
Likewise, I’d been primed to see Gould’s piece “Acrylic” before I walked in—it represents My Queer Valentine online—but I stopped myself from making a beeline to it. When I did make my way over and allowed myself to look, I noticed for the first time the two models’ sharp, long, matching acrylic nails gently cradling each other’s faces. That striking image is made more striking by those glittery nails. Gould knows this: “I like how thought processes can fold unto each other, like thinking about when stereotypes can be used and who they can be used by,” she wrote in the wall text. I felt a pang of recognition. I smiled. The two lovers in the photograph stared at me, nails shining, and I took my girlfriend’s manicured hand and stared back.
105 N. Union St., Alexandria. (703) 746-4587. torpedofactory.org.
WORLD INTERFAITH HARMONY MEET
City: Mount Abu
+919079295525
Organizer: Brahma Kumaris
Location:: Gyan Saroval – Academy for a Better World, Mt.Abu, Rajasthan, India
Email: ecoshanti@brahmakumaris.com
World Interfaith Harmony Meet is being organized by Brahma Kumaris at its international Head Quarter Complex Gyan Sarovar, an academy for a better world.
This event is being celebrated during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Gyan Sarovar. Many spiritual, religious and faith leaders will be participating in the meet. The aim and objectives of this event are to share common interests and to also come to common understanding regarding actions that could be taken to mitigate climate-related issues, inter-regional harmony, and value-based education systems. The list of the invited guests include:
HH Dalai Lama Ji,
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Ji,
Sri Ravi Shankar Ji,
Dadi Janki Ji, and many others.
Gyan Sarovar
The Academy for the Better World, known in Hindi as Gyan Sarovar, offers residential programs and courses on development and practical implementation of human, moral and spiritual values and principles.
The Brahma Kumaris started building the campus for the Academy for a Better World, an institution of higher learning established by the Brahma Kumaris along with its sister institution, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust, and Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation, in 1991. The aim was to provide a training facility for the institution’s outreach to all sections of society. Within a few years, 28 acres of land near the institution’s headquarters in Mount Abu was transformed into a modern village complex in a quiet, rural setting.
The campus includes Universal Harmony Hall, an auditorium that can seat 1,600 people and has facilities for simultaneous translation in 16 languages; the International Spiritual Art Gallery housing sculptures, murals, audio-visual and laser displays and other works of art from around the world; the International Center for Higher Learning comprising 13 seminar and training rooms; accommodation for up to 1,500 people; kitchen and dining facilities that can cater to 1,200 people at a time; three man-made lakes that irrigate the 15,000 trees planted to provide fruits and vegetables and a rural retreat atmosphere; and a solar water heater for cooking. The telephone exchange, computers and emergency lighting systems are powered by solar and wind energy, and a unique waste treatment plant is capable of treating 200,000 liters of washing, kitchen and bathroom waste water daily, of which nearly 80 percent is available for re-use.
In 1996, the Academy was presented to Habitat II, the second UN Conference on Human Settlements held in Istanbul, Turkey. It was recognised as part of the Best Practice Initiative for Human Settlements.
“When you increase the number of gardens, you increase the number of heavens too!”
Take Action on National Refugee Shabbat
National Refugee Shabbat 5780, which will take place on March 20-21, 2020, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals around the country to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers.
Register: Learn more about how your community or group can participate at hias.org/nrs – it’s not too late!
There are also many ways individuals can take action for refugees and asylum seekers in the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, as well as on the actual Shabbat itself (in accordance with individual Shabbat practice). Feel free to share the list below widely with family and friends.
12 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION THIS NATIONAL REFUGEE SHABBAT
1. Advocate – Call your Member of Congress to ask them to stand for the rights, safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers.
2. Get Involved in the Election – Research the candidates running in local elections in your area, and let them know that the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are among your top priority issues this year.
3. Update Your Facebook Photo Frame – Show your support for refugees by updating your Facebook profile picture with the HIAS #JewsforRefugees frame. Click here for directions.
4. Join the “Jews for Refugees” Facebook Group – Joining this group is a great way to connect with thousands of other committed individuals across the country, access up-to-the-minute information about the Jewish response to the refugee crisis, and share the actions that you are taking. Click here to join.
5. Donate Your Miles to Asylum Seekers – HIAS has partnered with Miles4Migrants (M4M), a nonprofit charity dedicated to using donated frequent flyer miles and money for the relocation of refugees and those seeking asylum – including families recently separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. HIAS and Miles4Migrants (M4M) will work to identify refugees and asylum seekers who need assistance purchasing airfare to reunite with their families. Donate your frequent flyer miles here the week of National Refugee Shabbat.
6. Buy Refugee-Produced Goods – Support refugees and asylum seekers around the world and in your local community by buying refugee-produced goods and/or researching refugee-owned restaurants in your community and having a meal there. Check out this website to purchase goods made by a collective of African asylum-seeking women living in Tel Aviv, Israel.
7. Give Life to Refugees and Asylum Seekers – In the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, set up a Facebook fundraiser to benefit HIAS’ work.
8. Scholarships for Displaced Students – Research whether your local universities and colleges offer scholarships to refugees and asylum seekers. If not, reach out and ask them to consider starting such a program. Check out Columbia University’s program for an example.
9. Have A Difficult Conversation – Using the HIAS Conversational Guide for How to Talk About Refugees with Family and Friends, commit to having at least one conversation with someone in your life who has expressed concern about welcoming refugees to the United States or even someone who has made disparaging remarks about refugees or asylum seekers.
10. Light Shabbat Candles with Intention – As you welcome Shabbat on March 20, use this reading before lighting Shabbat candles to set an intention to stand with refugees and asylum seekers around the globe.
11. Host A Gathering In Your Home – Invite a small group of friends over to your home for Shabbat dinner or lunch or a havdallah (the ceremony for closing Shabbat) wine and cheese gathering. At the gathering, consider using the HIAS National Refugee Shabbat 5780-2020 Programming Content Resource. Use the text study on page 6 of this guide as a jumping off point for conversation, take a look at and discuss the refugee art on page 13 of this guide, or screen the movie suggested on page 14 and 15 of this guide.
12. Start A Book Club – Start a book club – for adults or young people – to read books by and about refugees and asylum seekers. Use this list as a jumping off point for suggestions or search google for even more ideas.