“We As A People Will Get To The Promised Land!” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr…

Liu Xiaobo, 2010 Nobel Peace Laureate from China, tireless advocate for social justice and democracy, died under guard on July 13, 2017. “He was the first Nobel Peace laureate to die in state custody since Carl von Ossietzky, the German pacifist and foe of Nazism who won the prize in 1935 and died under guard in 1938 after years of maltreatment…. Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said … ‘Liu Xiaobo will remain a powerful symbol for all who fight for freedom, democracy and a better world.’” See story: Buckley, C. (2017, July 13). Liu Xiaobo, chinese dissident who won nobel while jailed, dies at 61. The New York TImes. In the face of violence, abuse, oppression, and an eleven year prison sentence for inciting subversion of state power for speaking out for democratic reform in China, preventing him from receiving the Nobel Prize in person, he said, “I have no enemies and no hatred… Hatred only eats away at a person’s intelligence and conscience, and an enemy mentality… can poison the spirit of an entire people, lead to cruel and lethal conflict among our own people, destroy tolerance and human feeling within a society, and block the progress of a nation toward freedom and democracy… I hope I can rise above my personal fate to contribute to progress for our country and to changes in our society. I hope that I can answer the regime’s enmity with utmost benevolence, and that I might use love to dissipate hate.” Xiaobo, L. (2012). No enemies, no hatred: Selected essays and poems. P. Link, T. Martin-Liao, & X. Liu (Eds.). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. The best of our spiritual traditions do not merely implore us to love one another, but also, they teach that we must find a way to love even our enemies. As the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserted, loving our enemies does not mean that we have to like them. It does mean, however, that in order to build the beloved community, we must come to see and understand our inherent interconnectedness, our common humanity. We must look deeply and see the truth that the enemy is our sister, our brother, our selves; and that we cannot find liberation, justice, peace, and true freedom, without one another. As Gandhi said, unless the British leave India as our friends, we have not truly won our independence. Consistent with this legacy of advocates for freedom and justice, Mr. Liu’s refusal to hate in the face of hatred, his courage to sacrifice his very life for peace, invites new life, and an ocean of connection. “Beijing has inadvertently transformed two thirds of the world’s surface into a vast aquatic protest zone, activists have said, after the ashes of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo were cast into the sea in what friends believe was a bid to submerge his political ideas.” Phillips, T. & Haas, B. (2017, July 18). China’s ocean burial of Liu Xiaobo backfires as activists stage sea protests. The Guardian. In celebration of Liu Xiaobo, who continues to inspire us to live lives of truth, without enmity, I share below a song I wrote and recorded in his honor. May Liu Xiaobo’s prophetic witness inspire you to live free, without hatred or enemy. No Enemies – A Tribute to Liu Xiaobo, Anthony Nicotera with Doug Derryberry (click above and play on homepage; lyrics below) You see the day when you and me Can be who we’re meant to be Say what we want to say about liberty and democracy You dream the day when all will see We have no enemies Celebrate that we are free Make Charter 08 a reality End struggle philosophy You have no enemies Judges judge you they’re not your enemy Love for hate you say will set all of us free You have no hatred you just want us to see See the day when you and me Become beloved community Overcome our enmity Embrace our unity We have no enemies You have no enemies and no hatred They torture you but they’re not your enemy Love for hate you say will set all of us free You beat their swords and you challenge them to be Be all that you can be, be the sower who plants the seed Be the one who tends the trees, be the gardener who pulls the weeds Be the child who leads the way, be the light on our darkest day Be the one who stops the tank, standing tall, holding rank Be all that you can be, we have no enemies Police arrest you but they’re not your enemy Love for hate you say will set all of us free You have no hatred you just want us to see See the power that we possess when we put our arms to rest You want for them what you want for you and me Be the one or the 99 lose your life and you will find You have no enemies We’re one community human family See my bother he’s not my enemy See my sister she’s just like you and me Love for hate you say will set all of us free I see the day when you and me can be who we’re meant to be Live in a land of equality true democracy Where all walk safe and free Celebrate our dignity We have no enemies Free at last free for all to see Thank God almighty thank God that we are free Beloved community The day will come when all will see Your empty chair is filled with peace Liu Xiaobo finally free Charter 08 a reality We have no enemies and no hatred You have no enemies and no hatred We have no enemies and no hatred We have no enemies

Planting Seeds of Mindfulness is a film by MindfulCloud which debuted at the Illuminate Film Festival in June 2016. I have been focusing some of my Circle of Insight work on support for our MindfulWorld Films. MindfulCloud collaborated with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay or teacher) and his global community to help educators and families develop mindfulness skills. Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1967. Check out the The Guardian’s Google seeks out wisdom of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and the short video below of the beginning of Oprah’s interview with Thich Nhat Hanh. SILENCE Brother Phap Lu explains the Pebble Meditation, animated in the film, Planting Seeds of Mindfulness. Use it to practice mindful meditation and to enter more deeply into fresh, calm, solid, liberating silence. Breathing in, I see myself as a flower, Breathing out, I feel fresh. Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain, Breathing out, I feel stable, solid. Breathing in, I see myself as still water, Breathing out, I feel calm, I reflect things as they are. Breathing in, I see myself as space, Breathing out, I feel free. STORY Children Beyond, We Are All One Children Beyond is Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay and Regula Curti. They and the Beyond Foundation seek to unite cultures through music to create understanding, awareness, dialog and respect. Children Beyond gathered 30 children from different cultures and nations to sing together sacred prayers and mantras from the world’s great religious traditions. Children Beyond’s self-titled CD is also the award-winning soundtrack to the Planting Seeds of Mindfulness movie. Each song is a prayer that has its own centering and healing effect. This music both reminds and invites us to know more deeply that we are all one human community. SONG Listen to and watch Tina Turner and Children Beyond – “the ribbon we share, and love takes care… forget it never, to sing forever.” Stream Planting Seeds movie, Children Beyond music & inspiring clips from Thay at MINDFULWORLD

Words of Wisdom – Creating Your Constructive Program Joanne Sheehan, in Gandhi’s Three Elements of Nonviolent Social Transformation, shares, “We are quick to identify and protest the things we don’t like in our society, but we are often asked ‘so what are you for?’ As revolutionaries we need to start building a new society in the shell of the old. Gandhi said we should not wait for one to crumble before starting the other. Constructive program brings people together to do the kind of community work that is empowering, bringing them to a point of self reliance and being ready to develop a new society.” (Click image for Gandhi’s text) Silence Listen deeply to the stillness in your soul. What sacred word, sound or phrase speaks to you? Perhaps a line from a sacred text, a favorite poem, an Om, Shanti, or song lyric. Whatever it is, make it your mantra. Repeat it in silence. Allow it to speak to you. Allow it to inspire the creation of your own constructive program. Story On Being’s Krista Tippett interviews Vincent Harding – Is America Possible? The late civil rights leader and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reflects on lessons from the civil rights era that can be applied today in the creating of a contemporary constructive program. “To develop the best humanity, the best spirit, the best community, there needs to be discipline, practices of exploring… How do we talk together in ways that will open up our best capacities and our best gifts?” (Click image to listen) Song I invite you to listen to Stand Up by Sugarland. As we create our constructive program, we stand up and use our voice, we stand up for the voiceless, and we invite others to stand up and use their voice. Make 2017 Constructive – Stand up and Create Your Constructive Program.