Featured Blog Posts (279)

Feminism, friendship and spirituality

March 8 is International Women’s Day but in Toronto, we celebrate IWD on the Saturday closest to March 8 I usually do I went to the rally and march that has been held every year since 1975.

On March 8. I had lunch with my friend Velcrow on Toronto Island, where he lives. I’ve been having some trouble healing from a leg injury that is causing me a lot of pain. I’ve been to the chiropractor, who made it worse, the massage therapist and the Chinese doctor who make it better for a day or… Continue

Added by Judy Rebick on March 9, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

Can Sufism Counter the Taleban?

Sufis by Velcrow Ripper

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7896943.stm

By Barbara Plett

BBC News, Lahore

It's one o'clock in the morning and the night is pounding with

hypnotic rhythms, the air thick with the smoke of incense.

I'm squeezed into a corner of the upper courtyard at the shrine of

Baba Shah Jamal in Lahore, famous for its Thursday night drumming

sessions.

It's packed with young men, swaying to the… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on March 16, 2009 at 3:00pm — 6 Comments

The Gift of Acknowledgement

One of the simplest, most powerful things we can do in our everyday human interactions, is to acknowledge another person. To see them, to give them the gift of empowerment. Costs you nothing, but can be absolutely transformative for that person. It's the stellar opposite of that old stand by - judgement, criticism, disapproval. A spiritual activist looks for ways to encourage, to cajole the best of another, to add fuel to their spark, to light their fire by truly seeing… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on March 16, 2009 at 2:23am — No Comments

Compassion on Two Legs

Spring 2000, Pak Mun Dam, Thailand

I'm at a protest camp in Thailand, on the Mun River, trying to shut down the world banked funded Pak Mun Dam project, which has been devastating communities and eco systems. My Filipino friend Cray and I are having a beer with a couple of hard nosed activists from the anti-fascist squatter scenes of Berlin. Cray let it slip that he is an unapologetic Roman Catholic, like many Filipinos, and it turns out the squatter guy… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on March 12, 2009 at 5:00pm — 2 Comments

GUILT: An Exploration

My new book came out this week - it feels quite strange having it 'out there' at last, as this one feels particularly personal, having more creative and personal material in it. Looking forward to hearing how people receive it...

This book is a journey; an exploration into those areas of life which both fascinate and repel us. Through the weaving together of an account of a group of… Continue

Added by caroline brazier on March 9, 2009 at 10:57pm — No Comments

25 Chronological Things About Me

On the 10th of January, I accepted David Califa's invitation to join iPeace's admin team. A few weeks ago, David asked us admins to participate in the "25 Things About Me" meme so that he could use the texts to introduce the team to the members of the network.

Knowing my skills with the hyperlinked fabric that makes the web, David suggested that I do a multimedia things. So… Continue

Added by Christopher Stewart on March 11, 2009 at 6:30am — 18 Comments

Leave Me Alone (Don't Ever!)

I once had a friend who was in a relationship crisis, and he was completely distraught. His life had been dedicated to spiritual practice, and increasingly, to teaching meditation and spiritual thought. He said to me, with a look of confusion, "I can go into deep Samadhi (Samadhi is a high state of meditative awareness) in meditation, but I can't figure out relationships."

I've experienced the same struggle in my own life, and I have a feeling we're not alone. But increasingly, I am… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on March 9, 2009 at 5:14am — 3 Comments

LANTERNS OF MEMORY

Here's a short film I did based around an interview with a Hiroshima Survivor. It was part of a series of short films that later became part of my featured documentary, Scared Sacred.

By the way folks, you can help spread these videos by rating them high and reposting your comments on you… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on March 3, 2009 at 9:30pm — 30 Comments

“Inner Peace – step by step?” (Part III)

Now, how to get to our innate core, our divine essence of our pristine being in order to find inner peace?

First, we need to come to a rest, to a change of perspectives: away from the predominant external societal "THEY-expect-me-to-act-so-and-so"-view…..

Let’s start with rising self-approval. Instead of expecting or even being depending on the approval of others. Stop being a workaholic in ticking off all those to-do-lists, physically or mentally. Stop being a… Continue

Added by Dirk Boehmer on February 17, 2009 at 7:00pm — 6 Comments

“Inner Peace – How to?” (Part II)

"No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical."

~ Niels Bohr

"When we are children, we are more open to our feelings and rely on them to make decisions. As we grow and are educated, we are taught how to think logically and our reliance on our feelings diminishes. A truly wise person has learned to balance the intuitive understanding of his heart with the rational knowledge of his head. It is through this twinned approach that flashes of inspiration can be manifested… Continue

Added by Dirk Boehmer on February 17, 2009 at 7:00pm — 6 Comments

Inner Peace – What for?” (Part I)

"Violence often prevails in conflicts because it is a much easier path than Peace. Violence does not usually start on its own: it grows from the fertile ground of intolerance, bigotry, self-centeredness - the baser areas of the personality. To practice Peace requires a rigorous evaluation of yourself and the acknowledgment of your own flaws and limitations, so that you can change the path you are on. This is the first step on the Path of Peace.

Together we all are humanity,

Humanity… Continue

Added by Dirk Boehmer on February 17, 2009 at 7:00pm — 14 Comments

Noa and Mira Awad - Musical Show of Unity Upsets Many in Israel

Originally published in the New York Times

By ETHAN BRONNER

Published: February 24, 2009

TEL AVIV — Achinoam Nini, a singer and peace activist, has long stirred controversy here. Known abroad by her stage name, Noa, she has recorded with Arab artists, refused to perform in the occupied West Bank, condemned Israeli settlements there and had concerts canceled because of bomb threats from the extreme… Continue

Added by David Califa on March 3, 2009 at 9:09am — 38 Comments

My awakening

I've really been able to open my eyes to the world by joining Ipeace!

In real life I haven't had the chance to find many people who share the kind of views shared here. So I thought I must be like an exception, and I thought its strange that there are so few people who think and care about the world. But now I have found this community and it really shook me up. I think its so magnificent that it's possible to unite people from all over the world, and there can be many many… Continue

Added by Yao Panthamor on January 28, 2009 at 9:18pm — No Comments

Little Blessings for my friends - a healthy body and mind is a peaceful one...

Below it the textual portion of my latest newsletter... Peace begins in our own hearts and minds... If we are unwell, we'll we be angry, more apt to respond negatively to what appears before our nose... Below is an intro to my understanding concerning body/mind... enjoy..

Little Blessings for my friends

For those of you who don’t know, I am a rebel. Trained in the 60’s on the streets of NYC, purified by disease and pain, educated by my need to survive, I sit here today… Continue

Added by gabriel on February 26, 2009 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

25 Random Things About Me

1) No one but my Family knows that I have a very Green Thumb..I can grow anything I set in the ground..A gift from My Grandparents who were organic earth lovers long before it was fashionable to be..We cured smoked preserved virtually everything..Their homemade Iced Tea Lemonade and Ice Cream recipes are still part of the early Family secrets in my care...shhhh don't say that to loud..

2) I have always had many different pets… Continue

Added by Daton O Fullard on February 25, 2009 at 10:30am — 39 Comments

Evolve for peace

Before you begin, let me offer these words. I’m not apologizing, but I do realize many of you have and or are still working very hard for what you have and believe that it is a good thing to accumulate stuff, money, etc, to live a big life, have nice things and to leave your children with a fine inheritance… Good good…

These comments are not meant as an attack, but instead as commentary on American consumerism, something that has brought our country nearly to its knees, and by… Continue

Added by gabriel on February 25, 2009 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments

Velcrow Ripper Talk Part 2

Here's part two of my Fierce Light Talk in Nelson,…

Added by Velcrow Ripper on February 24, 2009 at 11:54pm — No Comments

Velcrow Ripper talk - Part One

Here's part one of a talk I gave in Nelson a few weeks back, the day after a screening of my feature documentary on spiritual activism, "Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on February 24, 2009 at 4:47am — 1 Comment

SELF – A.WAR.ENESS

A silent prayer

and

a global wish:

More "wars", but only within our own HEARTS

W.A.R.s

of W.isdom,

of A.ttentiveness

of R.espect.

Against prejudice,

against humiliation,

against debasement

against emotional blinkers.

Inmost WARs in our souls!

For a true 360 degree perspective

showing us the GRAND PICTURE,

the prosperous landscape of… Continue

Added by Dirk Boehmer on February 17, 2009 at 6:58pm — 1 Comment

Grateful Mornings

I’ve recently started waking up every morning with a thought of thankfulness. Taking a few moments before I begin my day, to think of a few things that I can be truly thankful for, sets me on a bouyant path, out of the right side of my bed and into the day. It’s a simple thing, but so easy to forget. Gratitude is a tremendously powerful force that aligns us with an attitude of celebration, openess, spaciousness. Thank you world! Thank you… Continue

Added by Velcrow Ripper on February 23, 2009 at 6:32am — 3 Comments