Social Activism and Spiritual Practice

Three years after the murder of her husband and birth of her daughter, former Black Panther Party leader Ericka Huggins found herself unjustly imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement. it was here that she taught herself meditation and embarked on a path that 37 years later has made her a leading exemplar of the integration of spirituality and social activism. 

Here, Huggins shared what she learned about herself while in solitary confinement, the legacy of the Black Panther Party, and the importance of spiritual practice for social justice work. She talks about restorative justice, how it succeeds where while punitive measures fail, and how this work can be used in schools and prisons to stop what she calls the cradle-to-prison pipeline endemic to poor communities. 

For Huggins, the “most healing thing in the world is love.” And she attempts to put that into practice in her work for social justice. What helps her in her work is her daily spiritual practice, the details of which she shares in this podcast.

Links:

Ericka Huggins website

Centre for Restorative Justice

Wikipedia Article on Restorative Justice

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Irrepressible Nature!

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Contemporary Spidermen! (at Lawrence, New Jersey)

Contemporary
Spidermen! (at Lawrence, New Jersey)

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Marcia Kass, my walking buddy, in my kitchen, getting ready to drink some Ethiopian coffee...

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Found on a telephone pole in my town. What's that movie line from Jack Nicholson: You can't handle the truth! Or I think from the Christian text: the Truth will set you free. WORD.

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Contemporary Spidermen!

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Japan: the Teacher

Author Steven Earle talks about his studies with Japanese spiritual teachers; the relationship between sound, language and reality; and the untold story of how a former spy turned businessman introduced yoga to Japan.

Earle talks about what led him in his early 20s to move to Japan, his lifelong study of the martial art of aikido, and his mentorship with Odano Sanae, who deeply influenced his understanding of the relationship between sound, language and reality. Odano’s work is the subject of Earle’s first book,  Words Characters and Transparency.

Earle shares what led him to devote fifteen years to learning about the life and work of Nakamuru Tempu, a former spy turned businessman, whose spiritual realization led him to create a unique approach to yoga practice and philosophy which influenced a post-war generation of Japanese government officials, business leaders, and artists. Earle’ tells the story of Tempu’s life and philosophy in his recently published book, Heaven’s Wind: The Life and Teachings of Nakamuru Tempu.

Links:

Stephen Earle’s Amazon page

Heaven’s Wind’s website

 

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Grounds for Sculpture

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Report: My One Week Fast from all NEWS: http://bit.ly/2xdr3B5

Report: My One Week Fast from all NEWS: http://bit.ly/2xdr3B5

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Report: My One Week Fast from all NEWS: http://bit.ly/2xdr3B5

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One-Week Fast from News: My Report

"World Peace, Through Inner Peace"

Social entrepreneur, spiritual guide and author Virginia Swain explains how personal tragedy shaped her spiritual focus, her work at the United Nations, and her vision for the transformation of America in a post 9/11 world. She also speaks about her most recent community project, America’s Soul Cafe, and provides advice to anyone seeking to integrate their quest for inner peace with peace in the world.

Virginia is the author of the recently published book, My Soul’s Journey to Redefine Leadership: A New Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of 9/11.

This interview was recorded during the  August 21, 2017 Solar Eclipse.

Links: 

Virginia Swain’s site

The Institute for Global Leadership

Center for Global Community and World Law

My Soul’s Journey to Redefine Leadership: A New Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of 9/11 (Virginia’s Latest Book)

America’s Soul Cafe

Diversity and Spirituality Network

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Spiritualities: East and West

Cross-cultural communication scholar William Kelly talks about what his extensive travels in Africa, the Philippines and Japan taught him about himself. He also talks about how Asian spirituality is fundamentally different from how most Westerners perceive it, the contrast between Asian spirituality and Western materialism; and how the current worldwide nationalistic trend may be a precursor towards a more spiritually oriented era in which global inter-connectivity is prized.

Notes:

Bill Kelly’s UCLA Faculty page

Notes for a New Age (includes Kelly’s article on the Meaning of the New Age)

Diversity and Spirituality Podcast Page

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Big morning sky above my town.

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View from Hoboken. I think that's Manhattan. The band Insect Trust, fronted by my old friend Nancy Jeffries, back in the day titled their Album, Hoboken Saturday Night. Anyone remember?

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My friend Ibou Ndoye and Liz Cohen walking to their wedding July 29 at the Hoboken pier. What a grand time!

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http://bit.ly/2vo0GEi

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About Men's Work: origins, importance and future directions

The founder of the Men’s Leadership Alliance explains how he got involved with men’s work, it’s origins and evolution, how and why native American rituals are incorporated into men’s work, and issues that white men in particular bring to him in his coaching practice.

Links:

Men’s Leadership Alliance

Inner King Training Experience

Mankind Project

4 Gateways Coaching

The Diversity and Spirituality Network

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Still Life

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"Spiritual, But Not Religious"

According to the PEW Research Center, about one fifth of all Americans don’t identify with any religion, but call themselves as spiritual in some way.

Sociologist of Religion Siobhan Chandler specializes in the study of this group, which she calls SBNRs or “spiritual, but not religious”. In this podcast, Chandler talks how she herself fits in this group; the subcategories within SBNR; the degree to which this is a global, rather than just North American phenomena, and the meaning of this category’s growth for the society as a whole.

Links:

Spiritual, But Not Religious - Siobhan Chandler’s website

YouTube presentation on SBNR

Chandler’s papers on Academia.edu

Wikipedia’s take on “spiritual, but not religious”

Diversity and Spirituality Network’s website

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