The Daily Peacemaker

The Daily Peacemaker

por Frank Thacker

Superación personal Espiritualidad Relaciones

Temporada 2

TWO ORDINARY PEOPLE

Marlies and George share their journey in the hope that it will inspire you to add your piece to the puzzle. Working together ordinary people can create a lasting culture of peace.

DON'T DESPAIR

In working to create a culture of peace it is not uncommon to feel dismayed, disappointed and discouraged. That is pretty understandable and okay. Just don't get struck there. Accept and acknowledge your feelings and then move on. Hopefully this podcast will help you do that.

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS

This episode looks at our shadow self. It is that part of us that we do not like or are ashamed of. Thus we attempt to keep it hidden, however it is always with us, following us like a shadow. Because it is part of who we are it is always eager to show itself. It lurks in the shadow of psyche awaiting a chance to show its face. And when it does pop up, as if out of nowhere, we resort to explanations like “I misspoke”, or “that’s not really who I am.” It would be far better if we would acknowledge those parts of us that we don’t like rather than seeking to deny them or hide them in the shadows of our soul. Once we begin to accept our shadow self and even embrace it, it becomes less of a problem. Since we are aware of it, we are more able to keep it from making unexpected appearances. Also, acceptance of our shadow self begins to soothe our soul and deepen our sense of inner peace. And the stronger our inner peace, the greater our ability to work towards creating a culture of peace. As always, questions, insights and ideas are always welcome. Peace Frank Thacker

Me and My Shadow

This episode looks at our shadow self. It is that part of us that we do not like or are ashamed of. Thus we attempt to keep it hidden, however it is always with us, following us like a shadow. Because it is part of who we are it is always eager to show itself. It lurks in the shadow of psyche awaiting a chance to show its face. And when it does pop up, as if out of nowhere, we resort to explanations like “I misspoke”, or “that’s not really who I am.” It would be far better if we would acknowledge those parts of us that we don’t like rather than seeking to deny them or hide them in the shadows of our soul. Once we begin to accept our shadow self and even embrace it, it becomes less of a problem. Since we are aware of it, we are more able to keep it from making unexpected appearances. Also, acceptance of our shadow self begins to soothe our soul and deepen our sense of inner peace. And the stronger our inner peace, the greater our ability to work towards creating a culture of peace. As always, questions, insights and ideas are always welcome. Peace Frank Thacker

What’s your end game?

What’s your end game was the way a friend of mine would find out what my intention was in having a discussion with him. This podcast looks at our intentions from three different levels. Everyday activities. “What’s my intention in daily brushing my teeth” Ordinary, but not everyday events. “What’s my intention in going to this party?” Life purpose. “What’s my intention in living how I do?” Simply put the more mindful or aware of my intention in any given situation the less likely will I find myself in an uncomfortable situation. The more comfortable I am the more I can act from my true self. The more I act from my true self the more I will contribute to creating a culture of peace. Comments, ideas, question always welcome. Peace Frank Thacker

THE IMPORTANCE OF HOPE

This podcast explores the nature of hope and its importance. What is hope? Is it a virtue, as in he is a hopeful person? Is it a prayer when you tell someone you are hoping they get that new job? Or when you work hard at a task you hope to accomplish, is hope the energy that enables to work so hard It seems hope has many facets to it. In terms of creating a culture of peace hope is important because it gives us the energy to keep working at this task and it also helps us when we get discouraged and want to give up. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” We HOPE you find this podcast helps you understand hope and its importance in your efforts to do your part in creating a culture of peace. We welcome any insights, ideas or questions. Peace Frank Thacker

Temporada 1

Anger: Constructive or Destructive

I am so angry I could…….. How often do we hear that? It seems everyone is angry about something right now. In this episode we address this issue of anger and what we can do about it. So yes there are a lot of angry people walking around. Actually that is ok because anger is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It is simply a human feeling we all experience. The main issue is what are you going to do with that anger, that ball of energy that you are carrying around. For that is what anger is. It is energy. It is a source of energy that you can use to do something constructive or let it use you to do something destructive. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., or Gandhi or Candace Lightner where tremendously angry people but they used their anger to do something good. You may say well yeah they were great people. I’m not able to do something like that. Well maybe you are and maybe you’re not. That is not the issue here. The issue is what are you doing to do with your anger. First thing is to able to became aware of being angry. Once you are aware of your anger you can then chose to use it in a positive way. Angry about how we are destroying the environment, join a local environment group. Upset with your current senator or representative, start working for a candidate that is running against them. The possibilities are endless. It is also important to not let your anger build up because at some point it might just explode and you find yourself doing something or saying something you will regret later. So find ways to discharge it on a regular basis. Work out, write poems, beat up a pillow. Again the ways to discharge your anger are endless. So bottom line. It’s your choice to use your anger to do something constructive or let your anger use you to something destructive. Peace Frank Thacker

From Diversity to Unity via Nonviolence

In the previous episode we talked about the importance of listening to the other if we are to create unity where there is diversity. In this episode we talk about the importance of nonviolence in bringing about unity where there is a difference of opinion. By unity we don’t mean agreement on an issue but rather the creation of a sense of connection In this podcast talk about an recent encounter I had with an person with a different perspective from me on a couple of issues and how I attempted to create a sense of connection with him by using some of the principles of nonviolence. While all six of the Kingian principles of nonviolence played a part in my endeavor there were three that stood out. Principle 2, The Beloved Community is the framework for the future. This is basically about winning the person over rather than winning over the person. It is not about winning the conflict or discussion but rather getting the person to engage in building a culture of peace. Principle 4. To accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal, One needs to be able to endure being made fun of, being castigated or even dealing with physical violence without seeking to get back at the other in order for a culture of peace to grow. Principle 5. To avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence. Not only do we need to refrain from any physical violence we must also not harden our hearts toward the other. And we need to be gentle and kind to ourselves also. It is good to keep these principles in mind in our daily dealings with others who may see things differently from us. We hope this episode has been helpful in your endeavors to build a culture of peace. Peace Frank Thacker

The Art and Skill of Listening

If we are to achieve Unity in Diversity we must be able to listen to the other. There are many aspects to good learning. In this podcast we touch on three important elements of what is often called deep listening. 1. When you listen to someone you need to be able to not only listen to the words they are saying but also be able to tune into what they are feeling. This is often referred to as listening with the third ear. You hear their words but also capture their feelings, the intensity of their belief or the power of their values. 2. You need to keep an open and empty mind. Most of the time when we listen to someone express an opposing believe or value we interrupt them or half of our mind is listening while the other have is working on producing a good response that will show them how wrong they are. 3. You need to learn how to ask good questions in order to deepen your understanding of how the other person has arrived at the values, beliefs and opinion they are expressing. As a daily peacemaker you can be about creating a culture of peace and build unity in diversity by listening to the other. Listening is indeed an art and a skill. We hope this podcast helps you to develop your listening ability as this is a powerful way that you can use in your everyday life to create a culture of peace. Peace Frank Thacker

UNITY IN DIVERSITY EXPANDED

In this episode we talk about unity in diversity in terms of large groups. Thus the catchy title Unity in Diversity Expanded. We talk about four groups or four categories. These are Climate Crisis Believers, Climate Crisis Deniers, Gun Control Advocates and anti-Gun Control Advocates. In each of these four categories there are large numbers of diverse groups working on different aspects of the issue they are concerned about. The question is, can they unite. Yes if they find and articulate a common goal. In order to do this all the groups have to listen to each other and treat each other nonviolently. Can groups that are on opposite sides of an issue like gun control/no gun control find unity? Definitely possible. For example I would suspect that both gun control and no gun control groups want to stop the senseless killings happening around the world. But again for two opposing groups to achieve some sort of unity will take a lot of listening and treating each other nonviolently. And what about us as daily peacemakers. What can we do? Well pretty much the same on a smaller level whether it is a friend who has an opposing or you are part of a group working with other groups or even engaged with groups opposing your groups on a particular issue. Seek a common goal, a place where you can go together. I believe one can do this through listening and treating each other nonviolently. As Rumi said “Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. Questions, insights and observation are always welcomed. Peace Frank Thacker

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