“I Walk With Beauty” is the Peace Song of the Day for Wednesday, October 11th. This song comes from a Navajo prayer. The Duchess learned this song from a man in Virginia, as part of a Sufi dancing class.
This song is wonderful for meditation. It is very centering. If you dance with it, you have a chance to circle the ground underneath your feet, and the sky above your head.
Words to “I Walk With Beauty” Continue reading Peace Song for 10/11/2011: I walk with beauty…
Ok tweeps, between the planet-wide protests of the 10th anniversary of the Afghanistan War, and the flowering of the planet-wide Occupy movement, there is much to discuss. Scarry Thoughts in his post #AfghanistanTuesday World Report – October 11, 2011 gives a suggested schedule for this twitter discussion.
The schedule is geared to the peak hours we have been experiencing to date for #AfghanistanTuesday conversation, approx 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern U.S. time. Continue reading #AfghanistanTuesday Protests. Discuss.
The fourth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace brings us to Henry David Thoreau‘s seminal 1849 essay on Civil Disobedience. This is the essay that turned words into action. It turned the future into right now. This essay educated two of the most powerful leaders of the 20th century, Gandhi and King. It provided the foundations for their nonviolent movements.
Like many of his fellow transcendentalists, Thoreau was an abolitionist. He reacted strongly to President Polk’s incitement of the Mexican War in 1846. The war was intended to annex territory for slavery. Congressman Abraham Lincoln’s outspoken opposition to the war essentially ended his political career for 8 years.
Thoreau took it a step further. He saw that living in a the the free state of Massachusetts and speaking out against slavery did not absolve him of involvement in the war, and in furthering slavery. Thoreau saw that his support of the government — his payment of taxes — made him complicit. Despite having coined the phrase in the beginning of this essay that teeters between libertarian and anarchist: Continue reading Power of Nonviolence Thoreau CD: Peace Book Chapter 4 10/10/11
“These Are The Days” by 10,000 Maniacs is the Peace Song of the Day for Monday, October 10th.
The Duke and Duchess of Peace are dedicating today’s Royal Peace Song of the Day to the beautiful weather (two warm, sunny days in a row in the NY Metro area in October!) and to the beautiful hope for democracy represented by the folks at Occupy Wall Street.
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Excerpt from lyrics: Continue reading Beautiful energy and beautiful weather: Peace Song for 10/20/2011
Occupy Wall Street is going into its fourth week. Kimberly and Ian Wilder of Peace Couple went to support the occupation today. They brought donations and their handheld camera. Hope you enjoy seeing some of the energy and spirit of this people’s movement to create more peace and justice in the world.
There is a link to our Peace Couple Occupy Wall Street photo album: here.
Some individual photos below, including another “peace couple”, who are occupying Wall Street:
“The Earth, The Air, The Fire, The Water” is the Peace Song of the day for Sunday, October 9th. This song is a Native American chant that was recorded by Libana.
Words: Continue reading Song for nature and the elements: Peace Song for 10/9/2011
“This Town Is Wrong” by the group The Nields is the peace song of the day for Saturday, October 8th. I would like to dedicate this song to the folks at the NYC General Assembly, who are working hard in Liberty Park/Zucotti Square to create a consensus system of group decision-making. For more information about this particular group, or how you can create a similar assembly, visit them here: www.nycga.cc
The part of this song which inspired me to name it for today is the part that goes, “Why don’t you make the rules?”
-Susanna, Duchess of Peace
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Excerpt:
They gave you all these big dreams, big plans, beneficial programs
A studio with mirrors for walls
Your doctors tell you work it through, smooth it out, feel your pain, let it out
They never let you learn how to crawl
They never let you make the rules
Why don’t you make the rules?…
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© 1999 Nerissa Nields, Peter Quince Productions (ASCAP)
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The Royal Song of the Day is a project of Duke Augustus and Duchess Susanna, The Duke and Duchess of Peace. The Duke and Duchess recognize that one of the paths to peace is to find soulful and nonviolent entertainment, and to express oneself with art and song.
