Sacred Activism: Mindfulness and Racial Justice by Dr. Marisela B. Gomez,
“I’ve come to understand that the space for deep-rooted change opens up only when we can embrace the spiritual and the political, come to see our “enemies” as our brothers and sisters acting unskillfully, and view our fragmented communities in their whole, true, and often painful interrelatedness…Sacred activism is available to all of us today and is as simple as taking a first breath in mindfulness, listening deeply to those around us, or fully seeing whatever is present before us. Mindfulness helps us heal from our personal fragmentation so that we can approach our community fragmentation with an open and courageous heart, effecting social change from a place of love and understanding of ourselves, of the communities we serve, and of those we are used to calling enemies.” Full article
A Labor of Love by Maureen Purtill
“On September 26, 2013, a mass movement succeeded in persuading 
Governor Jerry Brown to sign the California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. How did they do it? By inventing a new way of combating injustice. They believe that deeper shifts in the structures of society are more likely to be achieved if exploitation and abuse are addressed without demonizing those who are responsible, an approach that creates a much more positive atmosphere for change.” full article
More from the Transformation section of www.opendemocracy.net
6 Ways to Keep Terrorists from Ruining the World by David Wong
David Wong writes: [In responding to terrorism] “escalating the violence is an act of weakness and fear. It’s a crisis of faith — the belief that your way of doing things is fragile — a house of cards will tumble at the slightest tremor. That peaceful civilization just doesn’t work.” Full article
Is escalating the violence the only possible response to terrorism?
Robert Parry asks : “Can Obama Level With the People?
If Obama were to choose that route – which could be implemented through a combination of truth-telling to the American people and pragmatic big-power diplomacy with Russia – he could at least start addressing the underlying causes of the violence tearing apart the Middle East and now spreading into Europe.” Full article
Responses to Hate
These 5 Wise Quotes remind us how love responds to hate and give us some clues about how to deal with the tragedy in France. Full article
Ashes Over America (A Wake Up Call to the Nation)
Robert T. Latham was an Interim Minister at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland and he gave this sermon on September 16, 2001. Its message seems as alive and pertinent today as it was the week of 9/11. Full article
For Our World A poem written on 9/11 by Mattie Stepanek Full poem