A Life Connected

This is a nice introduction to one of the best teachers of interconnection. Thich Nhat Hanh’s words and work have influenced our work greatly.
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A 15-minute talk presented by matt bear of NonviolenceUnited.org on Nonviolence and living “A Life Connected.” Given to 400+ high school students and staff in 2009 (Denver, CO).

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From the inspiring Julia Butterfly Hill, a very nice description of the desperate need for reconnection.  Our interconnection is real — like gravity.  This is the nature and purpose of Nonviolence — the active support, connecting and reconnecting, of our fundamental interconnection with one another.

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A really nice 10-minute lecture introducing the concepts of principled Nonviolence (Nonviolence as a way of life as a strategy for building a better world).

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I watch this video again and again. And I learn something every time. Martin Luther King, Jr. does a wonderful job of explaining part of the philosophy of Nonviolence. He also reminds us of the importance of training, self-discipline, and courage.

Enjoy!

- matt

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An excerpt from the documentary “King in Chicago”. Interviews with activists who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement.

We especially like the advice that Nonviolence requires that each of us recognize our own contribution to the problem.  We must in a sense first point the finger at ourselves and remove our investment in the problem so that we may instead be part of the solution.

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I love this little lesson on interconnection by Thich Nhat Hanh.

:) m

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Cesar Chavez, co-founder of United Farm Workers, explains the power of boycotts and the idea behind voting with our dollars. Cesar voted with his dollars consistently — choosing vegan, organic, and fair-labor and refusing to support products that caused suffering for people, for the planet, or for animals.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. explains how critics of Nonviolence (like Malcolm X) mistake active Nonviolence for inaction, non-cooperation for passivity.  He also eloquently addresses those who feel that Nonviolence is impotent because it simply pacifies or makes comfortable one’s opponent rather than evoking change. I particularly like the way Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the criticisms being attributed to Malcolm X by the commentator without returning the criticism.

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A Life Connected: Vegan. The first in a series based on our A Life Connected project.

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