Peace On Podcast by The Peace Alliance

What are YOUR favorite ways to help Get Out The Vote?  Do you have a story from your experience of Getting Out The Vote, that you find inspiring?  Empowering?  Please come and share!!  By sharing resources and stories about WHAT WORKS for us, we aim to ramp up our collective contribution to the robust health of this democracy.

This evening, all of us are the "Special Guests," as we come together toward the shared governance that is our American Dream.  Of course our international friends are always welcome and honored guests as well - and this journey toward an ever healthier system is one we share worldwide.  

We will provide the context, set the stage, and offer some resources - but our deeper power is in what all of us bring to the table.    

Our own Liz Gannon Graydon shared a beautiful story of the evolution of her marriage to Rob, and their joint efforts to build peace in various ways and projects over the years. Just this last week, Rob was the recipient of a kidney transplant, and on the road to recovery - a miracle. Their journey together includes the creation of What Better Looks Like, short films Rob created to help children in difficult situations, and a film in progress about a beautiful painting that, when the pieces are all brought together, is envisioned to create world peace. From their journey, she posed the question: What piece are you holding that you know is a key to the larger picture of creating peace? Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

What are the stories that need to be released in order to make space for lightness? This is the question posed by Neena Barreto, our guest at the Hope Story Circle. Are stories holding us back, do they become a crutch or a burden? Having lived a life in a diverse area of California, teaching in public schools for 20 years, she moved to a smaller town in Oregon. There, she found herself moving through and then releasing stories, to become unburdened and find lightness.  Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

Our own Patty La Taille was our special guest, telling the story of her unexpectedly extended time in Portugal during the pandemic. Originally planned for January to April, she and her partner had limited language capabilities yet feeling cared for by the locals and government in Portugal. She had ongoing concern for her family and friends in the United States, and was unable to leave until August. What do we do when our choices are taken away? How do we care for one another, express empathy for each other when we are vulnerable? Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

Mike Robbins led the conversation today, the day following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, encouraging all of us to realize that we — individually and collectively -- have what this moment requires, and to think back on a time when we didn’t know how we would move forward, and we did. Liz closed with the thought that, like in baseball and tennis, in order to keep playing we need to hit the ball one more time. Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

 

Overview, tips and role playing a meeting with a Member of Congress

You are invited to the third call in a three-part series on "Truth and Reconciliation," as we continue our foundation-building work, and prepare to launch the next phase of this timely and much-needed initiative. 

This Tuesday, Jelena and I were joined by our new partner in this work, JoHanna "J" Thompson.  J has been an invaluable contributor to the work of creating Restorative Practice Guidelines for the State of Florida.  She holds a masters degree in Public Administration from New York University's Wagner School of Public Service, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Columbia University. 

A masterful communicator and holder of space, J's career has been "dedicated to creating collaborative spaces across an intersection of networks, fostering relationships, and maintaining a vision to increase the capacity of influencers, community organizers, programs and campaigns,working toward equitable social and transformational justice." 

 

So you can see how J is a great partner for us in this work!!

The wounds of America's past and present - from indigenous cultural and literal genocide, through slavery and Jim Crow, to the present day - cry out for a learning and healing process.  We begin with ourselves, while building steps toward active processes to spread this healing worldwide.  We intend this Tuesday's conversation to be another forward step along that journey.   

Joel Kimmel joined us once again, inviting everyone to consider the idea of allowing: what would you like to allow to become visible that would allow you to make a contribution to those around you? Also, to ask visioning questions, such as, no matter who wins - how are we going to bring this country back together? So that everyone can feel taken care of? What does that look like? Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

Matthew Albracht, Board member of the Peace Alliance, was our guest. Matthew shared about his personal journey towards peace, from beginnings in Texas as a boy in a small community near Amarillo, to working with Marianne Williamson on combining spirituality with politics. The most recent layer in his journey is related to diet and nutrition, and he’s written a book on the topic. He was interested to discover how diet impacted his mood in only a few weeks, and beyond the climate change aspects impacted by industrial agriculture, how people can positively shift their consciousness with food. We invited the group in break-out sessions to explore what layers they might deepen, or embrace, to expand their own journey towards peace. Check the calendar of Events at www.peacealliance.org - join us at the next Hope Story Circle and share your emerging stories!

Overview of DoP Legislation and Scheduling a Meeting.  Join us for Training Call #2 on September 16.  Register here. [link:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/2c8bf2e4f5c5c7568c34be5db4a05ad8]