Janis Kelly's Blog (60)

"Peace Through Music 2:" Friday, December 4!

"In Harmony" Productions Presents:

PEACE THROUGH MUSIC...

...a First Friday gathering for peace musicians, peace makers, and peace lovers!

Please join us Friday, December 4, 2009, from 8-11 p.m. as we celebrate peace through music, dance, meditation and fellowship!

Equal parts open mic/showcase/jam session/sing-a-long and drumming circle, "Peace Through Music" offers musicians and music-lovers alike the opportunity to play, perform, present, produce and/or… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on November 27, 2009 at 7:28pm — No Comments

"I Want To Say Thank You!" (November 25, 2009)

Greetings, family!

Today is Wednesday, November 25--one day before Thanksgiving! I am in Boulder, CO, preparing for my first Thanksgiving in 20 years without any of my "family" family! As I anticipate spending time with my "spiritual" family tomorrow--first at the Center for Spiritual Living Denver, where I will be performing and leading music, and then at "Harmony House," where I will be hosting some dear friends--I find myself swept up in a wave of gratitude; so much so that I had… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on November 25, 2009 at 5:46pm — No Comments

Completion of the 12th annual Season For Nonviolence

Greetings, family!

Today is Sunday, April 5th, and we have now completed the 12th annual Season For Nonviolence. Congratulations, and thank you for joining me on this journey! It has been my distinct pleasure to offer these daily blogs, and I have sent each one out with the prayer that it be read by the perfect person at the perfect time for the perfect outcome to present itself. If even one of you has been touched by these words, my goal was accomplished, and for that I am truly… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on April 5, 2009 at 10:57pm — No Comments

Days 63-64 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Release" & "Celebration"

Greetings, family!

Today is Friday, April 3, and I am posting for the final two days of the Season For Nonviolence! For Thursday, April 2, DAY 63, the thought for today is RELEASE.

A Sufi proverb says “when the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what is found.” Release the weight of your past, the judgments of yourself and others, and be the change you wish to see. Make room for what is here in this present moment, release the hurts and resentments and… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on April 4, 2009 at 1:35am — No Comments

Day 62 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Commitment"

Greetings, family!

Today is Wednesday, April 1, DAY 62 of the Season For Nonviolence. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I've had so much fun blogging for these first 62 days that I've decided to keep posting daily blogs for the rest of the year! (April Fools!!!!) At any rate, the thought for today is COMMITMENT.

Until one is committed there is hesitancy, a chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on April 1, 2009 at 9:52pm — 1 Comment

Day 61 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Peace"

Greetings, family!

Today is Tuesday, March 31, DAY 61 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is PEACE.

“Practice watering seeds of joy and peace and not just seeds of anger and violence, and the elements of war in all of us will be transformed,” says Thich Nhat Hanh. You water seeds of anger and violence by deciding to stay angry and act violently. You water seeds of joy and peace by deciding to be peaceful, no matter what is happening to you. Peace does not… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 31, 2009 at 11:21pm — No Comments

Day 60 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Witnessing"

Greetings, family!

Today is Monday, March 30, DAY 60 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is WITNESSING.

“We are each other’s bond,” writes poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Those who practice nonviolence cannot close their eyes to injustice or cruelty. We are here to be a witness for justice and compassion. Those who practice nonviolence look at injustice or cruelty and know that it is possible for the situation to be different. You can stand up for truth by your… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 30, 2009 at 8:46pm — No Comments

Days 58-59 Of The Season For Nonviolence: "Citizenship" & "Intervention"

Greetings, family!

Today is Sunday, March 29 and I am posting this blog for DAYS 58 & 59 of the Season For Nonviolence. For Saturday, March 28, the thought for the day is CITIZENSHIP.

Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary General to the United Nations urges, “Use every letter you write, every conversation you have, every meeting you attend, to express your fundamental beliefs and dreams.” Make a difference in your community by becoming involved.

To be a… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 30, 2009 at 1:57am — No Comments

Day 57 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Service"

Greetings, family!

Today is Friday, March 27, DAY 57 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is SERVICE.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve … you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” How can you serve today?

What really gives value to anything is its usefulness in serving others. Our life draws its value not from the money we make, or the prizes we win, or the power we wield… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 27, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Day 56 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Self-Sufficiency"

Greetings, family!

Today is Thursday, March 26, DAY 56 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

People need the dignity of work and the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Economic self-sufficiency is a requirement for a nonviolent world.

"Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency."

-"Mahatma" Gandhi

 For Gandhi, economic self-sufficiency - symbolized by… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 26, 2009 at 9:55pm — No Comments

Day 55 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Responsibility"

Greetings, family!

Today Wednesday, March 25, DAY 55 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is RESPONSIBILITY.

The quality of your community starts with you. Take responsibility wherever you are. Whatever we are today is the result of what we have thought, spoken, and done in all the previous moments before now. The responsibility for both present and future is in our own hands. If we live right today, then tomorrow will be right. This applies to our… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 26, 2009 at 4:51am — No Comments

Day 54 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Giving"

Greetings, family!

Today is Tuesday, March 24, DAY 54 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is GIVING.

Practice generously giving by sharing time, talent, energy and material resources with others. Whatever you give, do it without thinking of getting anything in return. Do it as a service, not reluctantly, but with joy. That is a real gift.

Whatever you give, be sure it is from the heart:

“Not in what we give, but what we share,

For the… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 24, 2009 at 9:27pm — No Comments

Days 51-53 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Advocacy," "Equality," "Action"

Greetings, family!

Today is Monday, March 23, and I will be posting for days 51-53 of the Season For Nonviolence today, on the following topics: ADVOCACY, EQUALITY and ACTION.

DAY 51 Mar. 21: The thought for today is ADVOCACY. “When someone stands up to violence” says Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, “a force for change is released. Every action for peace requires someone to exhibit the courage to challenge violence and inspire love.” Thich Nhat Hanh's life is about… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 23, 2009 at 6:23pm — No Comments

Day 50 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Choice"

Greetings, family!

Today is Friday, March 20, DAY 50 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is CHOICE.

Be aware of any jokes or remarks that show disrespect toward ethnic groups, women or men, classes of people, religious groups, gays or lesbians. By being considerate of every person's dignity and by choosing not to participate in disrespectful communication, I am contributing to a nonviolent society.

"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 20, 2009 at 7:08pm — No Comments

Day 49 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Honor"

Greetings, family!

Today is Thursday, March 19, DAY 49 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is HONOR.

"Those who are good and pure in conduct are honored wherever they go. The good shine like the Himalayas, whose peaks glisten above the rest of the world even when seen from a distance. " -The Buddha

People who are as described by Buddha, who work for the welfare of others, will be very deeply loved, respected and honored wherever they go. It is a… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 19, 2009 at 9:01pm — No Comments

Day 48 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Ecology"

Greetings, family!

Today is Wednesday, March 18, DAY 48 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is ECOLOGY.

Gandhi said "To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves."

Individuals like you and me make the final decisions about what is bought and sold in the stores, how much carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere, and what is dumped into the sea. Each of us can begin to heal the environment right away by changing our… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 18, 2009 at 7:51pm — No Comments

Day 47 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Disarmament"

Greetings, family!

Today is Tuesday, March 17, DAY 47 of the Season For Nonviolence (happy St. Patrick's Day as well!). The thought for today is DISARMAMENT.

What if we lived in a world where there were no weapons? What if we used the resources for developing weapons for other projects? What if we really did beat swords into plowshares? Imagine such a world for yourself and your family, because until we believe it is possible, it cannot become a reality. Peace and… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 17, 2009 at 7:23pm — No Comments

Days 45-46 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Mastery" & "Compassion:"

Greetings, family! Today's blog is for DAYS 45 & 46 of the Season For Nonviolence. For Sunday, March 15, the thought is MASTERY.

Labor organizer, Cesar Chavez taught "If you use violence you have to sell part of yourself for that violence. Then you are no longer a master of your own struggle." To practice nonviolence you must learn to master your anger. Breathe deeply, silently counting backwards from ten to calm yourself and cool off before you speak or act with impatience or… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 16, 2009 at 8:54pm — No Comments

Day 44 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Cooperation"

Greetings, family!

Today is Saturday, March 14, DAY 44 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is COOPERATION.

When we work together, we are stronger than when we work alone. When we find ways that we can cooperate more effectively with the people in our family or workplace, school or community, we are tearing down walls of separation; we are contributing to a nonviolent culture.

Today: Find a very heavy object. Try to pick it up by yourself. Now… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 14, 2009 at 7:04pm — No Comments

Day 43 of the Season For Nonviolence: "Uniqueness"

Greetings, family!

Today is Friday, March 13, DAY 43 of the Season For Nonviolence. The thought for today is UNIQUENESS.

Dale Carnegie says "The greatest need people have is for love and approval." Most of us cannot help comparing ourselves with others, at least now and then. This has become so entrenched in our culture that in order to have self-esteem, it seems almost necessary to say "I am better than he or she" implying therefore I am good. As long as we compete with… Continue

Added by Janis Kelly on March 13, 2009 at 6:58pm — No Comments