Opening Breath and Affirmation:
Take a deep breath and say, I will be Nonviolent by controlling my thoughts and keeping them POSITIVE.
Quote of the Day:
"If world peace is really to come, it’s going to be through the efforts of nonpacifists in vast numbers joining with the pacifists." –Charles P. Lutz
Today in Social Movement History:
On February 18, 1919 50,000 strikers tie up Barcelona, Spain to protest various injustices.
Activity of the Day:
The Two Hands of Nonviolence Posture – 20 min.
Today we’ll explore responses to violence with our bodies. The exercise is called, “The Two Hands of Nonviolence.”
First, there’s avoiding violence. This can be depicted by, bending over at the waist, covering your ears with your hands, and closing your eyes. It’s a sense of retracting from the situation and of not being involved. One could also just turn around.
Next, there’s accommodating violence. This can be depicted by extending your arms in front of you at about a 45-degree angle with your palms facing up. It’s that experience of simply passively accepting whatever is happening.
Next, there’s counter-violence, meeting violence with violence. This can be depicted by extending your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground, palms facing out away from you, pushing outward.
Finally, there’s active nonviolence. This can be depicted by combining two of the aforementioned poses - one arm is outstretched at a 45 degree angle with the palm facing up and other arm is straight out in front of me, parallel to the ground. Finally, pulling these two hands (keeping them in their same mode) closer to my body -- in a relaxed but steady way.
Active nonviolence is a process that holds these two realities in tension and is like saying to a person:
On the one hand, (symbolized by the hand that is out in front of me),I will not cooperate with your violence or injustice; I will resist it with every fiber of my being.
On the other hand, (symbolized by the hand that is open) I am open to you as a human being.
Perform each of these slowly. You are invited to hold each pose for 15 to 30 seconds. Ask people to notice any feelings or sensations that they experience as they hold the poses and imagine in front of them someone with whom they are in conflict. After going through the entire set, ask people to return to the approach they think they use most in responding to conflict or violence. Then ask them to return to the approach they think they use the least.
Respond:
Write, draw, or pair up with someone near you who also did the activity above and share the following:
- What did you notice in doing the postures?
- What did you feel in your body?
- Which response do you most commonly do?
- Did you notice any difference between the first three responses and the fourth (Two Hands) response?
Activity and Response from Engage: Exploring Nonviolent Living (Session 3: Ways We Often React, page 56-57) Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service.
