After traveling from Oakland to Auckland, then catching a plane from New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia - 24 hours later I’m finally here!

I’ve gone all this way to attend the Annual Gathering of Pace e Bene Australia, and to assist the Interfaith Center - Presidio in webcasting the Parliament of World Religions.

Despite very little sleep, which translates to nearly 36 hours awake, I’m finally ready to hit the sack. Dale Hess, a member of Pace e Bene Australia, is letting me stay at his home this week. Many thanks to him and the Australian hospitality.

Before venturing into the city tomorrow for the first day of the Parliament, I wanted to give you a round up of today’s events - specifically the Annual Gathering for PeB AUS. Amongst the highlights was having the chance to meet Simon Reeves, their new Peace Associate, as well as several other coordinating members of the organization. Among them was Simon Moyle - who you may have read about previously in one of our blogs>> You can also read Moyle’s personal blog by clicking here>>

From what I can tell, our Aussie partners have been busy! Offering trainings and taking part in nonviolent actions all over the country and the world. We talked a lot about what it would look like to ‘mainstream nonviolence.’ I was particularly intrigued by a discussion we had on the ways we can challenge the ‘subtle violence’ that is present in our every day lives.

This is a brief blog today, but stayed tuned as I cover the Parliament the next seven days. 

Many thanks to Pace e Bene Australia! May nonviolence continue to blossom!