Fall Workshops in Review

Starhawk -- October 1996
The connection between spirituality and social change work is a main focus of our interest and work here at the Neahtawanta Center. So we jumped at the chance to bring Starhawk here for a workshop entitled Building Communities of Resistance and Renewal,. We had sponsored a workshop with Starhawk in 1994, so were familiar with her ability to relate spirituality to our work for a more just and peaceful world. The workshop in October, 1996, held at the Neahtawanta Inn surpassed our expectations.

We began by delving into the following questions:

What is my community (including nonhuman members)?; Who am I accountable to?; What do I hold sacred?; How do I put my energies toward preserving and protecting what I hold sacred?; What are the personal blockages I need to get rid of in order to be more effective in my defense of the sacred?

We used ritual, discussion, trance, drumming, energy work, dance, chanting and magic to explore these questions.

Starhawk shared stories from her experience with nonviolent resistance at a nuclear power plant, led us in empowering rituals and chants, and guided us in a visualization into the future. The ritual on Saturday night began around an outdoor bonfire. As we drummed and chanted we released into the fire the personal obstacles and blockages that prevent us from doing the work we feel called to do. Then we moved in to the new oak timber room for a spirited ritual of empowerment. Because of local interest in the continuing Crystal River controversy, part of the ritual focused our energy on protecting the river from development.

The essence of the workshop was using spiritual energy to empower us to create a more peaceful, sustainable way of being on Earth. We closed with a spiral dance as we chanted the words:

Our hands will work for peace and justice,
Our hands will work to heal the land.
Our feet will trace her moving patterns
Let us dance and bless the land.

Wholesome vegetarian food, the peace of Neahtawanta, Starhawk's presence and the energy of each participant all helped to create a weekend of renewal and recommitment to working for a better world.

--Sally Van Vleck

Workshop Participants Move Closer "Toward Understanding" -- November 1996
From November 8 through November 10 , I was one of sixteen participants gathered with three facilitators for the Neahtawanta-sponsored "Toward Understanding" workshop: a weekend workshop offering education and nonviolent dialogue about sexual orientation held at the Neahtawanta Inn. A project of American Friends Service Committee and the Neahtawanta Center, this weekend was co-sponsored by a broad cross-section of Northern Michigan organizations, including Friends North, P-FLAG-Traverse City, Unity Church of Traverse City, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Traverse City and the Traverse City Human Rights Commission.

The group present was diverse, including a young lesbian couple from Muskegon, an elder parent of a gay son, Traverse City-area lesbian activists, members of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) from Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, a Traverse City minister and a pregnant lesbian masters student! Participants learned and practiced nonviolent speech techniques to help turn verbal confrontations into opportunities for sincere dialogue. Most important, perhaps, participants discussed and made decisions about what they could do about homophobia in their communities.

One of the primary messages from the weekend was the role of speech in nonviolent action. In contrast to violent speech, which seeks to force compliance, to vanquish opponents with flashes of verbal brilliance and to obliterate opposing arguments with flawless logic, nonviolent speech works to discover and build upon common ground that nurtures both parties. Speaking nonviolently comes from a profound respect for the humanity of the person to whom one is speaking. It also demonstrates a belief that the moral ground one is standing on is big enough for all.

The core curriculum of the weekend is called L.A.M.A., which consists of four steps:

Listen- Try to understand the emotion that is at the core of the question or comment: the anger, frustration, the truth offered by the person talking. Try to decipher: what do they really want to know?

Affirm-Affirm whatever (however small or vague) represents a reasonable issue or a real fear

Respond- Give the person the information they are seeking. Refer to other sources, where appropriate.

Add Information-Add information that will help the audience consider the issue in a new light or that will redirect the discussion in a more positive direction.

By practicing this method in small groups throughout the weekend, I gained a new appreciation for the importance of listening and affirming, when speaking to people with whom I disagree. While certainly the most challenging aspect of the practice, it is also the most gratifying, enabling one to develop compassion for one's adversaries .

I also gained a deep respect for the importance of straight allies in the gay/lesbian/bisexual movement. By listening to the stories of fellow lesbians/gays/bisexuals (as well as my own), I realized that because of the deep homophobia and homo-hatred in society and our own internalized oppression, most of us queer-identified folks are fighting our primary battles on the home front: our families, friends, and co-workers. Straight allies, in contrast, can spend more of their energy in the political and institutional realms, without the added attack of fighting for their own "special rights". I left the weekend grateful for the work of our parents, friends and comrades.

As always, the energy of the Neahtawanta Inn and staff provided a magical touch to the whole weekend, helping to create a special sense of community in a very short period of time. A winter storm even blessed our Sunday morning prayer gathering at the "Mossy Spot".

Gandhi's word for nonviolence was: Ahimsa, I will not harm you. Throughout that early November weekend, amidst old and new friends, I began to understand the many layers of nonviolent communication. Whether in the workplace, the home, on the street or in Congress, recognizing the divinity within my adversaries and acting accordingly, is a starting place for practicing nonviolence in my life.

--Jackie Victor

Nonviolence Training, Michigan Faith & Resistance Peace Team -- November 1996
What can I offer about the Nonviolence Workshop of which I was truly blessed to be able to attend? Well, let's see!

I enjoyed immensely the warmth of the Inn and the wonderful people who oversee it. The food was the finest. I felt comfortable and accepted. I could sing more genuine praises, but I shall get on to possible Synapse material about the workshop.

The workshop has me examining my behaviors and language that could very well be of a violent nature. It is an awareness thing. Until one is exposed to, and taught that which is not in one's daily way of being, but could very well be, one cannot make the effort to fix it. For my part, I will fix it!

The workshop has planted a seed in me to pursue peace making. Quite possibly on a world level, and most certainly on a local level. Within my own sphere of daily living, I will choose not to buy into the "good ole boy" network of violence. Considering my work environment, this will require courage and vigilance.

I also learned that those things, actions, comments, and jokes that I until now perceived as benign are actually rooted in violence. These things can and do foster violence in a covert sort of way.

Christ was the Supreme Peacemaker, and I adore him. I can certainly make the effort.

With Kind Regards,
--Thomas Reeber

It was incredibly powerful to spend an intensive weekend at the Neahtawanta Center leaving day-to-day cares behind, and focusing on conflict resolution and the practice of non-violence.

I didn't know what to expect from the training. I decided to go because of a strong feeling that "conflict," both from with-out and with-in, appears to be the cause of most unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the world.

In the days since that weekend, I have realized more fully that the quest for inner peace, and for peace on earth, must be rooted in the transformation of wasted, negative energy--conflict--into other "C's"-- commonality, communication, and cooperation. It seems to me that conflict often is just an expression, or manifestation, of one portion of the truth appearing to contradict another perspective.

What are the tools that will make this transformation take place? I'm still thinking about the enormity and complexity of the power each of us holds to change the world. But some of the basic principles are: to cultivate listening skills, to become strong enough in oneself not to be threatened by someone else's anger, to recognize our shared humanity, even with (especially with!) oppressors and evil-doers, to believe that good is stronger than evil, and to have faith that justice will prevail.

--Florence Schneider

From November 15-17, eighteen people gathered at the Neah-tawanta Center for a weekend of non-violence training, sponsored by the Michigan Faith and Resistance Peace Team. We were led through many exercises and discussions which explored the violence within; how to deal with the violence around us; and the power of working in teams.

We were enriched by our fellow retreatants, and the examples they shared, and the power of their lives. We heard how the ideal of nonviolent standing with our fellow brothers and sisters is growing in many locales throughout the world. Those of us living in the Traverse City area plan to meet regularly to share ideas, give support and learn more about nonviolent peaceful action.

--Mike McManus

Return to the Index of Synapse 38, Winter 1996