{"id":19124,"date":"2020-07-28T09:42:55","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T13:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=19124"},"modified":"2020-07-28T09:55:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T13:55:05","slug":"being-peaceful-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=19124","title":{"rendered":"Being Peaceful Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0_DxNpW1kHQ\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nonviolence: A Spiritual Superpower<\/strong><br>Tuesday, \u202fJuly 28, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Be the change you wish to see in the world.<\/em>&nbsp;\u2014Gandhi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>My good friend, John Dear, is a devoted student of Mohandas Gandhi and has dedicated his life to the promotion of nonviolence through his activism and writing. John writes:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his search for God and truth, Mohandas Gandhi [1869\u20131948] concluded that he could never hurt or kill anyone, much less remain passive in the face of injustice, imperialism, and war. Instead, Gandhi dedicated himself to the practice and promotion of nonviolence. He concluded that nonviolence is not only the most powerful force there is; it is the spiritual practice most neglected and most needed throughout the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNonviolence means avoiding injury to anything on earth, in thought, word, or deed,\u201d Gandhi told an interviewer in 1935. But for Gandhi, nonviolence meant not just refraining from physical violence interpersonally and nationally, but refraining from the inner violence of the heart as well. It meant the practice of active love toward one\u2019s oppressors and enemies in the pursuit of justice, truth, and peace. \u201cNonviolence cannot be preached,\u201d he insisted. \u201cIt has to be practiced.\u201d For fifty years, Gandhi sought to practice nonviolence at every level in life, in his own heart, among his family and friends, and publicly in his struggle for equality in South Africa and freedom for India. It was the means by which he sought the ends of truth; in fact, he later concluded that the ends were in the means, or perhaps they were even the same. In other words, the practice of nonviolence is not just the way to peace; it is the way to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gandhi\u2019s nonviolence was a religious duty. It stood at the center of his spirituality, all his spiritual teachings, and his daily spiritual practice. Gandhi concluded that God is nonviolent, and that God\u2019s reign is the reign of nonviolence. \u201cNonviolence assumes entire reliance upon God,\u201d Gandhi taught. \u201cWhen the practice of nonviolence becomes universal, God will reign on earth as God reigns in heaven.\u201d After years of studying the various religions, Gandhi concluded too that nonviolence is at the heart of every religion. It is the common ground of all the world\u2019s religions, the hidden ground of peace and love underlying every religion. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gandhi thought that the force of nonviolence was more powerful than all nuclear weapons combined and that if we all practiced perfect active nonviolence, we could unleash a spiritual explosion more powerful than the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. \u201cI am certain that if we want to bring about peace in the world,\u201d Gandhi told a group of visitors a few months before his death, \u201cthere is no other way except that of nonviolence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNonviolence is the greatest and most active force in the world,\u201d Gandhi wrote. . . . \u201cMy optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the individual to develop nonviolence. The more you develop it in your own being, the more infectious it becomes till it overwhelms your surroundings and by and by might oversweep the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"336\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-28-at-9.47.50-AM-500x336.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-28-at-9.47.50-AM-500x336.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-28-at-9.47.50-AM-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-28-at-9.47.50-AM-768x516.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-28-at-9.47.50-AM.png 1884w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Story from Our Community:<\/strong><br><em>As I read the daily meditation this morning, I felt as if something bigger than me was telling me everything is going to be okay. My kids and I have just moved to a new town after leaving an abusive husband. It was not easy, and these first few days have been a struggle. We are healing, and I see this time in my life as more than just a change of address or a new job but as a transformation. I\u2019ve been through the dark night, the fire, and I will be stronger. I am excited to see what our new lives will include. Thank you for the daily meditations.<\/em>&nbsp;\u2014Name withheld<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nonviolence: A Spiritual SuperpowerTuesday, \u202fJuly 28, 2020 Be the change you wish to see in the world.&nbsp;\u2014Gandhi My good friend, John Dear, is a devoted student of Mohandas Gandhi and has dedicated his life to the promotion of nonviolence through his activism and writing. John writes: In his search for God and truth, Mohandas Gandhi [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19124"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19128,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124\/revisions\/19128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}