Richard Rohr: The Compassion Interviews

The Compassion Interviews is a project of mine at PeaceInRelationships.com. I am trying to interview the most compassionate people I can find to supplement the lack of compassionate role models in the media. With 10 interviews completed, I have to say that this project has changed my life. I’m realizing that compassion is the key to not only happiness, but also success and peace.

Father Richard Rohr is a Franciscan friar and blogger for the Huffington Post. Author of over 30 books including Falling Upward and From Wild Man to Wise Man, Father Rohr has spoken around the world about Christian contemplative practices, male spirituality, radical compassion, and silence. He is founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In this interview we discuss:

• How we cannot just wish to be compassionate
• How to enjoy life by experiencing it at depth
• How technology can be an instrument for our liberation
• Why now more than ever wise elders are needed
• How powerlessness leads to real power
• The six big issues that the dualistic mind cannot process or deal with—love, death, suffering, infinity, God, and sex
• How Scripture supports Christ as a meditator

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Monthly Peace Challenge: We Are Family

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace and make sure you copy your URL to the Linkz collection. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges in 2014 will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt. Yes, I’ve decided to offer the second annual Bloggers for Peace T-shirt as a prize. I envision a day when we will all gather for a Bloggers for Peace Conference donning our various Bloggers for Peace T-shirts.

We’ve been blogging for peace for over a year, so I’m going to push you with this challenge. This month, I want you to focus on your family. Is there anyone you don’t fully embrace in your family? Do you feel resentment, shame, or anger towards someone blood-related?

Yep, I went there. Let’s deal with it. This months challenge is to make peace in yourself with someone close to you. Here are some suggestions:

• Write a letter to someone that begins “I resent…” Explain exactly how you feel about this resentment in this letter. Let your anger out if you have any. Release all the negative energy surrounding this person. Sending the letter or reading the letter out loud to the person is optional.
• Write a letter confessing all the secrets you have been withholding from someone close. Check out a book called Radical Honesty for examples. You might also want to listen to some Byron Katie CDs to find the courage to do this “work.”
• Write a love letter to someone in your family who you can’t seem to connect with. Tell them all the wonderful things that they have brought into your life. What events do you remember that you enjoyed with them?
• Describe an event from more than one perspective where someone caused you misery.
• Tell a story about a family event that included “necessary suffering” and healing/forgiveness.

Don’t forget to link to at least one other B4Peace post and add your post to the Linkz collection. Here is how:

• Copy your URL to the Linkz collection. You’ll find the link below. It’s the drunk blue frog smiling for peace. Click on it and follow directions.
• Go visit this site to read and comment on other posts related to this Monthly Peace Challenge.

Last Chance for 2013 Bloggers for Peace T-shirt

Everyone who completed all the 2013 Monthly Peace Challenges make sure you email me your shirt size, blog name, and address to everydaygurus@gmail.com by February 15, 2014. I want to place the order for t-shirts. Once I place the order, you cannot receive your free t-shirt if you did not email me. Thank you.

Monthly Peace Challenge: The Neuroscience of Peace

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace and make sure you copy your URL to the Linkz collection. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges in 2014 will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt. Yes, I’ve decided to offer the second annual Bloggers for Peace T-shirt as a prize. I envision a day when we will all gather for a Bloggers for Peace Conference donning our various Bloggers for Peace T-shirts.

For the first Monthly Peace Challenge of 2014, I first thought about resolutions, but resolutions are usually destined to fail and make us feel bad about ourselves. So I’ve simplified the challenge. What one thought will you focus on this year to bring more peace?

Neuroscience tells us that “neurons that fire together wire together” which means that we actually change our brains by what we think. Changing our brains changes our thoughts, behaviors, habits, and destinies.

Decades before fMRI brain scans, Gandhi said,

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”

So I’m just asking you to post one thought that you will focus on this year. Call it a mantra, a resolution, a pebble in the pond of your consciousness that will send out ripples of peace throughout the year.

You can use these websites to pretty up your thought:

• Quozio.com
• Recitethis.com

For example, my thought for the year is:

“Abide” is a word that I am focusing on in meditation. It means:

• To remain in a place
• To continue to be sure or firm; endure
• To dwell or sojourn
• To put up with; tolerate
• To wait patiently for: “I will abide the coming of my lord” Tennyson
• To withstand

“Abide as the Stream” is a term Dr. Rick Hanson gifted me with in his essay Eddies in the Stream. In his essay, Dr. Hanson explores the intersection of neuroscience, quantum physics, and enlightenment. To abide as the stream means to sit in the field of infinite potential, “fertile noise,” or “quantum foam.”

When I am able to “abide as the stream” during meditation, I feel an overwhelming sense of connection with all beings that I can only describe as love. So my thought for the year is to “abide as the stream of love.” I want to spend as much time as possible realizing this thought. What thought do you want to realize this year?

Don’t forget to link to at least one other B4Peace post and add your post to the Linkz collection. Here is how:

• Copy your URL to the Linkz collection. You’ll find the link below. It’s the drunk blue frog smiling for peace. Click on it and follow directions.
• Go visit this site to read and comment on other posts related to this Monthly Peace Challenge.

Thank you for spreading the peace. {{{hugs}}} Kozo

FREE Bloggers for Peace T-shirt

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed a year of Blogging for Peace. I hope writing and publishing your peace posts brought you as much peace as it brought me. In gratitude for your heartfelt sincerity, dogged perseverance, and radical honesty, I would like to give you a free Bloggers for Peace T-shirt.

I’ve decided to use Peace Cat for the 1st Annual Bloggers For Peace T-Shirt. Shout outs to Rarasaur and Grayson Queen for designing and creating Peace Cat.

If you completed all 12 Monthly Peace Challenges, then email me your name, address, blog name, and shirt size (Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, etc.). My email address is everydaygurus@gmail.com

If you did not complete the 12 Challenges, but would like to have a Bloggers For Peace T-shirt, then email me and I will send you an address to send a check or money order. I’m thinking $20/shirt which includes shipping and handling.

I want to thank everyone who participated in Bloggers For Peace this year–even if you just read Peace posts. I feel a shift in the Universe that I hope we can expand upon in 2014.

Thank you for reading, smiling, and/or sharing.

Peace in 2014 (Pi4teen)

Peace in 2014

I’m on vacation with no computer, but I wanted to start the new year with a post for peace. Love you all. {{{hugs}}} kozo

Doing the Best That I Can for Peace

In all truthfulness, my intention is to become fully enlightened in this lifetime. I know what some of you are thinking because I have heard it expressed to my face and behind my back. Who does this guy think he is? Get Real. Why don’t you try for something obtainable?

Why is it OK to have intentions to be a billionaire, but when someone has intentions to become self-actualized we scoff or judge them as delusional, self-indulgent, or presumptuous? I’ve even had people tell me, ‘Yes, that is a noble goal, Kozo, but how are you going to support yourself?”

Since its December, I keep thinking about George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life. I like to think that if you were a truly authentic, loving, compassionate person then the world would support you in times of need.  Moreover, you would change the world just by BEING more than a billionaire could DO with all their money. If we look at all the great gifts to humanity, very few of them come in the form of money–Christ on the Cross, Buddha’s teachings, Mandela’s unification of South Africa, MLK’s dream, Gandhi’s ahimsa, Mother Teresa’s service, Joan of Arc’s sacrifice, Emerson’s writings, Shakespeare’s plays, Chief Seattle’s warning, Bob Marley’s music. Note how many of these enlightened beings were living for a higher consciousness/power.

Be the change you wish to see in the world.”~Gandhi

I may not become fully enlightened in this lifetime, but I can already say that becoming more loving, compassionate, peaceful, and equanimous have already made changes in my life, my relationships, my community, and, yes, our world.

I was talking to a friend who said that she doesn’t want to be happy all the time. She believes that anger is necessary to cure the injustices of the world. I could feel her desire to make the world a better place, but I had to question her strategy. A few quotes come to mind.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”~MLK

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”~Gandhi

My intention is to bring peace just like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Buddha, and Jesus. Yes, I said it. I want to be a peacemaker like these great figures from our past. Call me egotistical (although part of becoming enlightened requires dissolution of the ego, so I guess that problem will fix itself) or delusional (all these peacemakers were called delusional at some point in their lives).

I know a lot of kids who want to be LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Oprah, or Steve Jobs. Their parents smile and encourage these aspirations. I hope my two sons want to be the Buddha, Jesus (although being the parent of Jesus might be the toughest role in history), Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or the Dalai Lama. They may never be recognized as great spiritual leaders, but imagine the loving and compassionate men they will become if they become one-tenth as awakened as their role models.

Thank you for reading, smiling, and/or sharing.

What are your intentions for your life? Please share.

Monthly Peace Challenge: Party On, Garth!

Hurray! This is the last challenge of the year. Those of you who have been here since January have one more post to get your FREE B4Peace T-Shirt! I will continue posting challenges next year for a different prize (to be determined), but this challenge ends an incredible first year of Bloggers for Peace. Before I give you the challenge, I want to thank everyone who participated in B4Peace this year. I can honestly say that you brought more peace in my life which means you brought more peace in the world. Special thanks to Rarasaur who designed the B4Peace logos, badges, and T-shirt (hint, hint).

After last months challenge of loving thy enemy, I want to give you a party.  So this months challenge is to plan a party that will ripple peace to the world. Use everything in your imagination for this peace party. Here are a few ideas:

• You can hold your party anywhere. Where would you host your peace party? How many people would be at the party?
• You can invite any guest you want from the past, present, or future. Who will play music at the party? Who will contribute artwork for the party? Who will give speeches?
• What food can you serve that would bring peace in its consumption?
• What about a group activity at your party? Would you have everyone at the party participate in one action for peace?
• Feel free to use images, videos, or music in your post to give others the idea of what your party would be like.
• What combination of events, people, and place would bring about the most peace at your party? What if you had Bob Dylan perform a duet with Ysuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)? What if you had a panel on compassion featuring Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and Mother Teresa? Let your imagination run wild for peace.
• What would you have at your party that would bring more joy, smiles, love, and peace into the world?

Don’t forget to link to at least one other B4Peace post and add your post to the Linkz collection. Here is how:

• Copy your URL to the Linkz collection. You’ll find the link below. It’s the drunk blue frog smiling for peace. Click on it and follow directions.
• Go visit this site to read and comment on other posts related to this Monthly Peace Challenge.

Related articles

• Monthly Peace Challenge: Love Thy Enemy (everydaygurus.com)

Letter to My Enemy Within

Dear Kozo,

Your arrogance and lack of compassion have made more enemies for us than friends.

Your selfishness and lack of empathy have sunk our career, nearly ruined our marriage, and destroyed our reputation.

Despite these failings, I forgive you. I forgive your sharp tongue, your lack of impulse control, and your insecurities. I forgive because I don’t want to be like you–lacking empathy. I forgive because by accepting you, I engulf you. I make your need to be special unnecessary.

I don’t just forgive you; I love you. I love you because by loving you I love all my enemies. I love you because I understand how all your trespasses were a desperate search for love. All your attacks were a cry for help. All your hostility stemmed from a desire to be held.

I will always love you because you are not just a part of me; you are a part of humanity. You are Godliness, Christ Consciousness, and Buddha Nature all at once. You deserve my love like a baby deserves a mother’s love. You will always be my baby. I try to lead by example, so that one day you will be a compassionate man.

With All My Heart,

Kozo

This post is part of the Bloggers for Peace Monthly Peace Challenge: Love Thy Enemy.

For more information on Bloggers for Peace click on the logo in the right hand menu.

Thank you for reading, smiling, and/or sharing.

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• B4 Peace November: Love Thy Enemy (ellynbaker.wordpress.com)
• November Post for Peace (grandmalin.wordpress.com)
• Love Thy Neighbor (nhfaithfusion.com)
• A Happier Thanksgiving (cardcastlesinthesky.wordpress.com)
• Monthly Peace Challenge: Love Thy Enemy (everydaygurus.com)

Beautiful Blogger Quotation: Rarasaur

I’ve been wanting to use quotations from Rarasaur ever since I started BBQ. Today, I read one of her posts (http://rarasaur.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/did-the-captain-of-the-titanic-cry/) that floored me. It changed my view of love, relationships, and life.

I’m asking anyone who reads this to try to be the person Rara is talking about–be someone who believes in others regardless of all their worst moments. If we can do that, world peace is a piece of cake.

This post is part of BBQ—Beautiful Blog Quotations.

Feel free to join the fun.

• Take a quotation from a favorite blogger
• Create a BBQ post with the quotation
• Link back to the blogger you quoted
• Tag your post BBQLUV
• Link to other BBQLUV posts (optional)

Related articles

• BBQ: Tracy from FEC-This (everydaygurus.com)
• A Peppered BBQ (rarasaur.wordpress.com)

Monthly Peace Challenge: I Have a Dream

Peace is spreading. Last month’s peace challenge had more participants than any other peace challenge this year! (So many people posted for peace that I have not gotten to all the posts yet. Sorry, I’m a bit behind due to back to back conferences.) We are also adding new bloggers for peace everyday thanks to the Daily Post Blog Events listing. I can feel the momentum of peace shifting. Let’s keep the ball rolling.

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace and make sure you copy your URL to the Linkz collection. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt.

It has been a little over 50 years since Martin Luther King gave his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. One of my favorite parts of this speech was when Dr. King visualized what his dreams for America would look like:

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Let’s visualize what a peaceful world will look like. For this month’s peace challenge, I challenge you to publish what your dream of peace looks like. Here are a few prompts. Feel free to use one or create your own.

• With as much detail as possible, describe a day in a world full of peace.
• What would the radio, internet, television sound/look like in a peaceful world?
• Pick a spot in the world today that has conflict and re-vision this area as peaceful.
• What would all the people who are in active duty to conflict do if we had world peace? How would we alter our spending, resources, and brain power if we didn’t have to worry about war?
• Describe the world you want your children to live in. How would they feel? What would they be doing and with whom?
• Pretend you are the only one living who remembers a world without peace. How would you describe how grateful you are to be living in a peaceful world?

Don’t forget to link to at least one other B4Peace post and add your post to the Linkz collection. Here is how:

• Copy your URL to the Linkz collection. You’ll find the link below. It’s the drunk blue frog smiling for peace. Click on it and follow directions.
• Go visit this site to read and comment on other posts related to this Monthly Peace Challenge.

Related articles

• Monthly Peace Challenge: Quote This (everydaygurus.com)