THE RESOLUTIONARY VOL 5 NO 2 "The Resolutionary" is a newsletter for people committed to *************** *************** 1. PERSONAL EXPERIENCES Since I began thinking about this message the insanity of the middle-east has escalated. The violence is evidence of how much trouble we are in as a species. The horror and precariousness of what is unfolding informs me in many ways. It is tragic that 70 year olds must desperately cling to historical notions of their personal reality, and cannot participate in envisioning a future that doesn't involve perpetuating their warlike personal history. Politicians must pander to the prison of their own rhetoric, while innocents in resignation desperately seeking leadership surrender their personal sovereignty. Observers, including the media, are only too eager to let the drama roll as it conforms to their sense of reality. All conflict, I've come to think, results from abuse of a delusional sense of personal power. I say delusional because 1.) wisdom does not need nor want to assert power over another and 2.) there cannot be a winner because of the "costs" of the conflict. Are these "strong" leaders really weak, and lacking In their weakness they hold onto their power while creating chaos all around them. Unfortunately, letting go of their personal history and their positions becomes increasingly difficult as they become larger caricatures of themselves. This is a knot that perpetuates conflict. My prayer is that the following web of my personal experiences informs you as they inform me. I hope they provide some hope, and a vision of what's possible... A few years ago one of the students in my class was a man who was not very pleased with the hierarchy of his order. He had been a priest for the past 25 years. As we were discussing collaboration and conflict resolution he expressed the following question: Stewart, why is it that when business are having A few months later I was headed to the San Francisco airport. I asked the Lebanese taxi driver whether he thought there would ever be lasting peace in the middle east. Without a moments hesitation he said "YES,as soon as the leadership on both sides retreats or dies." This week I heard an NPR commentator refer to Sharon and Arafat as two septuagenarians who will do anything to maintain the appearance of control. Last week I received an update from Sri Lanka. It looks like the peace process that Sharif Abdullh (author, Creating a World that Works for All) was instrumental in implementing is working. One of the tactics used were massive meditations intended to change the energy and vibration of the population. Shortly after reading the update I spoke with a friend who has cured aids patients with healing vibrations. That reminded me of an experience I had around 1991. I was at a workshop with 250 sleep deprived men in utter chaos at around 4 in the morning. Spontaneously I started to make a vibrating humming, for me like the sound of life emerging from the primordial bog. A friend joined me, and within about a minute the entire room was humming until it became very still. Last Sunday I watched a documentary that described the grass-roots movement that lead to the final downfall of Mr. Milosevic. It was amazing to see what a group of committed people can do, even in the face of great odds. Some six weeks ago I was at a mediation seminar on power imbalances presented by a wonderful Belgian teacher named Pat Patfoort. During the course of her program she heard me speaking about how the process of eliminating terrorism was a multi-generational undertaking of getting to terrorisms source - poverty and resignation. She was very quick to point out that that might be so, but she was still holding the possibility that it could happen in a flash. 2. FROM THE FRONT LINES A couple of days ago the following account of a prayer vigil was sent to me by a someone helping me make the connections to teach in Israel. Little did she know that another person who is also working on getting me to Israel is one of the organizers of the vigil. ************* "In an atmosphere where our two nations are besieged by terror and paralyzed with fear, a circle of Israelis and Palestinians have been meeting weekly for the past 18 months. On Friday March 29th we held our 80th Old City Peace Vigil in the small courtyard overlooking the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa mosque. In a time when many in our circle feel deeply challenged to dosomething positive, silence and shared prayer seems to be the most powerful contributions we can offer at this most unforgiving time. On this holy day to the three Abrahamic faiths- Good Friday, Pesach and Salat al-Juma'ah (Muslim Friday prayers) we gathered with messages from many people and vigils around the world praying for peace in the Holy Land. As we sat in silence and we were joined by a group of Christians living at St. Andrews monastery, among them nuns and pilgrims from Germany, England, France and the Philippines. Christians linked hands with Muslims, who linked hands with Jews, and each person offered heart-felt supplications for peace. Among the unit of tough-looking border policeman in the area, one was It has been 18 months since the initial violence that signaled the onset of the intifada. For the first time in a year, clashes erupted again outside Al-Aqsa mosque between Palestinians and Israeli security forces. While worshippers were wisked away from both the Temple Mount and the Wall, soldiers and police, Good Friday pilgrims and Haredim rushed to the overlook site in the small courtyard where we hold the vigil to watch the events. Just as Devorah was offering a plea for mercy in face of clashes on the Temple Mount, we heard the loud explosions of stun grenades. At that point our friend Nizar from East Jerusalem, who had just finished Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa, joined us. We stood still, bearing witness. When quiet prevailed, Nizar lifted the Quran and read a teaching about oneness and our unity as Children of God. Eliyahu offered a teaching from the Torah about the arrogance of exclusive human ownership of God*s Land. In spite of this plague of violence, this was a most inspiring peace Please join us at the same time as the Old City Peace Vigil at 12 Noon Devorah Brous: deb2000@zahav.net.il FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN SRI LANKA, TO MY EXPERIENCE WITH A GROUP OF UNRULY MEN, I ASK YOU TO JOIN ME FOR 5 MINUTES EVERY DAY AT NOON FOR PRAYER AND SILENT DEVOTION UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS. LET US PRAY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE 100TH MONKEY IS ALIVE AND WELL, AND THAT IT'S PROGENY WILL PROPOGATE PRODIGIOUSLY! 4. REDUCE CONFLICT AROUND YOU Last week I received an email from my friend Fred Hertz who had been traveling in Israel for the last ten days. I was concerned about him when he left - and that was before the insanity of this past week. I was relieved to hear that he had made it home safely. The last message in his report was that we should all: appreciate the ease of your lives and the beauty I couple that with a conversation I had with a friend a few days ago. My friend recently realized that her best work in the world was taking care of her immediate vicinity. It was not necessary to be part of some organized, orchestrated plan to heal the world. The goal was to take care of the patch of earth she occupied - literally, as a portion of her work was restoring patches of scorched. 5. SERVICE OFFERINGS In the spirit of the messages I have been receiving to minimize conflict and to work close by I take permission to offer my work to those connected to me by this newsletter. I want to serve you by following the request to create less conflict in the world and to work with people and situations that are close to you. I help people resolve conflict and collaborate effectively so that they can accomplish what they were born to do. I have reached a personal junction. For the past seven years I have been honing my skills as a resolutionary, teacher, and consultant. I've written one critically acclaimed book (Getting to Resolution: Turning Conflict Into Collaboration) and have another coming out in November. (The Book of Agreement: Ten Essential Elements for Getting the Results You Want.) The early reviews are beyond what I hoped for. Now it's time to be delivering more direct service. Two weeks ago I attended Mark Victor Hansen's, (one of the founders of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" Empire) "Mega Book Marketing University." It was a great wake up call about how ineffective I've been at communicating the services I provide for individuals and organizations I work with personally, and the value of the content I've developed. I think that part of my hesitancy has been a fear of greater success, and a belief that material abundance was the antithesis of "service." I am ready to step beyond those limitations. My work is driven by the inquiry that arose from my frustration as a highly skilled trial lawyer. The tools I have developed are meant to help everyone avoid the potential pitfalls of what can be a ponderous legal system, including some of the people operating within it. Of greater value is the focus on achieving desired results. In most situations I can point you in the direction of far superior results at a fraction of the cost. Unless you are very wealthy, legal battles are not something you can afford, financially or emotionally. When you receive communications from me please think of situations in your life, and the lives around you, that are paying a price for unresolved conflict. Please note that the collective cost and negativity of unresolved conflict affects us all, even when we are not involved. Please remember that I, acting as a Resolutionary, can both resolve and prevent conflict. If you have friends, colleagues or relatives that can't afford the cost of conflict, lost productivity, loss of relationship and the accompanying emotional pain - please send them to me. I will work with them to decide the best way I can be helpful. There are many choices. People often tell me of an experience with a lawyer, facilitator, consultant or mediator they were not fully satisfied with. When I ask them why they didn't call me they often reply that they didn't think I did that kind of work. I think I'm known as having developed a body of content, but people don't see how my knowledge applies to their situation, or are concerned that I'm too expensive. Please give me the opportunity to see if I can help. Please call for a free consultation! Please think of me as a resource for yourself, your loved ones, your network, and your organization. I can help in all of the following situations: Organizations - Retreats - design and facilitation Divorce Mediator Coach We all get lost - sometimes we need a spark Legal Consultant Collaboration Creating Joint Vision I have recently decided to resume doing public seminars, something I have not done since 1994. Please look for the announcement of public seminars in the east, west and middle of the country. Please let me know if you are interested in organizing a public or private seminar - for friends or colleagues, or for your organization. The pre-publication revues for THE BOOK OF AGREEMENT have exceeded even my optimistic dreams. I have also just signed a contract to do a training video with Vision Point Productions. Some Upcoming Events: April 13: Defense Research Institute, Chapel Hill, NC What shall we do? Let us now begin the worldwide conversation of the heart The wisdom we need to guide us is among us. Let us gather This is not the time for opinions. This is the time for careful consideration. Let us turn, each of us, to the wisdom There is wisdom everywhere. It is time to meet with each other We have the wisdom among us. -- Deena Metzger (Edited into verse by Tom Atlee from Deena Metzger's open letter of 3/29/02 and approved as a poem by Deena Metzger.) ************* Stewart Levine, Esq., Resolutionary
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