Voluntary Simplicity
Wednesdays October 12 - November 16
11am-12:30pm PT / 12-1:30pm MT / 1-2:30pm CT / 2-3:30pm ET
$80, scholarships available
From Gandhi to Thoreau to Thich Nhat Hanh to Wally and Juanita Nelson, voluntary simplicity runs through the heart of nonviolence. In this 6-week course, we will examine how—and why—simplifying our lives supports nonviolence as a way of life. Each week, we will look at a different aspect of simplicity, distinguishing it from involuntary poverty, and reconnecting it to respectful relationships with people and planet. We will explore our stuff and consumerism, transportation and fossil fuels, technology and mindfulness, busy-ness and overcommitment. We will also address how voluntary simplicity is an act of resistance to the many violences inherent in our economy, society and culture, and the war industry. To integrate voluntary simplicity into our lives, we will look at sharing practices, the role of community and connection, ways to unpack fears and attachments, and mindfulness and awareness skills. Along the journey, we will draw from examples of nonviolence practitioners from around the world and find inspiration from many spiritual traditions.
Week One: Voluntary Simplicity, An Expression of Nonviolence
Week Two: How Much Is Enough? Taking Stock With Honesty
Week Three: A Cup Of Sugar - Community Not Consumerism
Week Four: One Robe, One Bowl - Spiritual Traditions
Week Five: Simplicity As An Act of Resistance
Week Six: The Gifts & The Joys
Need a scholarship? Just email info(at)paceebene.org
Facilitators
Author/Activist Rivera Sun is the Editor of Nonviolence News, a nationwide trainer in strategy for nonviolent movements, and the author of many books and novels, including The Dandelion Insurrection and The Way Between. She serves on the Advisory Board of World Beyond War and Backbone Campaign. www.riverasun.com
Rosie Davila is a senior at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Psychology. She has illustrated several books on nonviolence and lives on a farm in Kentucky with her family.
