The Path to Nonviolence and the New Story
Online Book Club hosted by Ann Cole, Martin Jones, and Kara Steffensen from Beyond War Northwest
Wednesdays, October 18 - November 15, 2023
4-5:30pm PT // 5-6:30pm MT // 6-7:30pm CT // 7-8:30pm ET
Fee: $80, scholarships available
You need to purchase the book separately. See below on how to find it.
The societal structures and culture that surround us create a story in which we live, and that story can be a strong determinant of our priorities, our values, and our actions. In this five-week book club, three special guest facilitators from Beyond War Northwest will lead an exploration of the stories we’ve been told and the uplifting alternative that awaits in The Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature.
We are currently living in a world fraught with violence and war; a frantic, materialistic, consumer society, with an emphasis on accumulating stuff, with profit over people’s welfare, competition, separateness, distrust of others, exploitation of the natural world, and scarcity. In this Old Story, there is a socially indoctrinated sense of powerlessness.
But there is a New Story in the making based on science and the great wisdom traditions. It’s a world where nonviolence is growing, offering new humane alternatives to violence, hatred, and war; a world that is people-oriented, not profit-driven; where anger and fear are transformed into love and compassion; where competitiveness and separation are transformed into collaboration and inclusion; and where respect for all of creation replaces exploitation of nature.
We will study the history of nonviolence as developed and practiced by Gandhi, MLK, and others. Michael Nagler’s The Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature shows how both physical and behavioral sciences support nonviolence as the natural human state. The book offers a roadmap for how to live nonviolently in thought, word and deed; and how to harness the power of nonviolent action to help bring about the New Story we hunger for.
In this course, each 90-minute session involves engaging readings, insightful discussions, and personal reflections on nonviolence. Learn from the wisdom of great leaders like Gandhi and MLK and explore how nonviolence can reshape our world. Special guest Michael Nagler joins the fifth session for an author Q&A. Join us for this journey towards a more compassionate and collaborative future.
About the Book
The problems that beset us—war, poverty, isolation, and the climate crisis—are rooted in an old story about the universe: purposelessness, scarcity, competition, and inevitable violence. Citing the convergence of modern science and the great wisdom traditions of the world, Michael Nagler argues that the universe is conscious and purposeful, we are spiritual beings, and cooperation and collaboration are our natural relationship. For this new story to unfold, to save ourselves from the present political and planetary disaster, nonviolence is essential.
Where to purchase The Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature:
From Metta Center for Nonviolence: https://www.mettacenter.org/bookstore/p/the-third-harmony-book
From the publisher: https://bkconnection.com/books/title/The-Third-Harmony
Also available on Amazon.
Presenters
Ann Cole has been a Beyond War NW board member and participant since 2003. She has been trained in nonprofit management and has served on several boards. She is a licensed counselor and Dance/ Movement Therapist. After taking Michael Nagler's 6-month course on Nonviolence with Martin and Kara, the three have offered study groups on Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature and an Ecochallenge course: Seeing Systems—Peace, Justice, and Sustainability.
Martin Jones is a retired physician living in Eugene, Oregon. He has been active in Beyond War since its “reboot” in 2002 and in Beyond War Northwest since its formation in 2011. The focus has been on education about the futility and horror of war, the interconnectedness of us all, and the many nonviolent options available to us to create a less violent and more peaceful world. He has been involved in peace and other public health issues such as gun control and anti-smoking campaigns. Martin is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a former Oregon Physician Citizen of the Year. He has developed and taught Beyond War courses on creating a less violent world, and he has been a co-facilitator in The Third Harmony book studies as well as in “Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice and Sustainability”, a 6-week course developed by Ecochallenge.
Kara Steffensen grew up in a large family in rural Oregon and has been involved in peacemaking and environmental protection since childhood. She has an academic background in Latin American Studies, Spanish and Philosophy. She has worked for the National Parks Foundation in Costa Rica, as a Spanish Medical interpreter in Eugene, and an assistant mural painter with youth and children. She has also been a community organizer for peace, democracy. and the environment in Eugene for over 30 years. She has worked with many local groups such as neighborhood associations, Our Children’s Trust, 350 Eugene, Ecomurals, and Beyond War Northwest. She is interested in building more bridges and inventing new, hybrid forms of activism and community building to strengthen the work of climate activists, democracy activists, and peacemakers. She is currently studying the work of Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and Teilhard de Chardin, which helps her to bring an Earth-centered approach to peacemaking and spiritual practices. She is married with two sons, and the family has a big garden. During the harvest season, she is busy, but you can often get good pie on her front porch this time of year, so if you visit Eugene, get in touch and stop on by.
Course Fee: $80. Scholarships are available for anyone who cannot afford to attend. Email Erin at info@paceebene.org to request a scholarship. If you can pay the full fee, consider adding a higher amount for the scholarship fund to increase accessibility for others to participate.
Want more Third Harmony? Sign up for the film screening and discussion here.