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Explorations in Kindness
Kindness is Our Safety Net
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| Dear Friends, |  It is finally time to send out a new "Explorations in Kindness" newsletter. So much has happened in the past year since I sent out the last one! In this issue, I share how having my house foreclosed helped me learn the deep value of kindness as a safety net in times of trouble. I also pose questions we all must ask ourselves when others in trouble come to us for help. I then give a glimpse into a project under development by MettaKnowledge for Peace and Imam Johari Abdul Malik: developing a nonviolence training program for Muslim seminarians in training. What better way to enact kindness than to bring the messages of peace of M.K. Gandhi, M.L. King, Jr., and Muslim peacemaker, Maulana Wahiddudin Khan to individuals who will be on the spiritual frontlines of the transnational Muslim community? You can also read a short excerpt from my forthcoming book Sitting on the Cushion of Mother Earth: How Native Spirituality Can Help Heal the World from Trauma and Violence to be released by Lambert Academic Publishers in early 2011.
In the meantime, during the holiday season, we should remember that the original immigrants from Europe to the shores of the United States would not have survived their first hard winter if it had not been for the kindness of the Native Americans who helped them. May we remember our innate human capacity for kindness in our prayers for peace and healing on the Earth during this holiday season!
Yours in peace,
Rachel Mann, PhD
Founder, MettaKnowledge for Peace
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| Kindness is Our Safety Net |
 In the past three years, I have had occasion to experience how little safety net there is for Americans in the wake of the economic crisis. I started my business right before the market crashed in late 2008. Due to a combination of factors, by December, 2009, my house was being foreclosed. Thanks to the generosity, love and kindness of old friends, I was able to move in with them while I continued to work on getting my business off the ground. <more>
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Jihad and Nonviolence: A Proposal for a Nonviolence Training Program for Muslim Seminarians
|  Imam Johari Abdul Malik, Director of Outreach at Dar al Hijra in Falls Church, Virginia and Rachel Mann, PhD are collaborating on the development of a nonviolence training program for Muslim seminarians in training. On October 22, 2010, they presented their proposal at the International Institute for Islamic Thought in Fairfax, Virginia. A brief article on the presentation can be found at the IIIT web site. We are seeking funding for this very important project. For a full description of the project and more information, click here.
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Sitting on the Cushion of Mother Earth: A Forthcoming Book by Rachel Mann, PhD
|  Keep your eyes open in early 2011 for the release of Sitting on the Cushion of Mother Earth: How Native American Spirituality Can Help the World Heal from Trauma and Violence. For glimpse into the contents, click here. |
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When we look deeply into the self by whatever means, invariably we end up engaging in a process of transforming our pain and sorrows and peeling away layers of family and social conditioning that do not truly serve us. We also begin the journey into finding greater meaning for our lives and a more palpable connection to something larger than ourselves, by whatever name.
In service of peace,
Rachel |
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