Spiritual Formation

In stillness there is richness—a richness of attention, timelessness, connection, possibility, peace. Carving out moments to quiet the noise of modern llfe or the tensions of this political moment can feel illusive. Yet, it is in just a moment we can disappear into the miracle of the sun peeking through a bank of clouds, or the breath that animates us. Pablo Neruda invites us to “count to twelve and…all keep still.” Regardless of language or difference, he calls us to inhabit “a delicious moment” allowing for the possibility of compassion and connection.

We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.
―Gwendolyn Brooks from “Paul Robeson”

Unity and interconnection may seem obvious, simple to some, but barriers stemming from our fears, images we see in the media, or our experiences, can keep us insulated, afraid to step in to, build, or nurture community—unity. Anger, misunderstanding, and prejudice can further imprison and limit us.

This facilitator and participant guide is designed to help you explore the power of compassion in your own and others' lives by providing tools for facilitating conversations about compassion in your community, organization, business, or school.

This resource is one of many developed in support of community-wide conversations and activities focused on love, forgiveness, and compassion--all a part of the Institute's Campaign for Love & Forgiveness.

So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
—John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

We're experiencing a time when divisions between and among people are deep and raw. During contentious times as these, we often hold even tighter to our views; we lose patience and our ability to listen.

We have a lot of things to answer for…. We need to make peace with the indigenous peoples that were here before we came. We need to make peace with the black community, slavery. We need to make peace with the earth…with all our creatures, with all the plant life. —Marianne Marstrand, executive director of the Global Peace Initiative of Women

It’s easy to react to each day’s news and events (personal and public) with raw emotion, adding to waves of anger, grief, and even calls for retribution well before the facts are in. Social media can make this even more intense.

If we mean to cultivate nonviolence and peace, we need to practice another way, says author Parker Palmer. Instead of responding with corrosive cynicism or irrelevant idealism, Palmer says we need to stand in the “tragic gap” between these two poles.

In honor of our friend, Brother David Steindl-Rast, we offer his wisdom on the expansive nature of spirituality for this practice.

Contemporary culture puts a premium on revenge. Retaliation is portrayed as a mark of strength, a sign of equality, and a way to exact our due. Yet the truth is just the opposite. Only the brave can forgive from the heart. —Dolores Wood

With this practice, we celebrate the gift of poetry, the way it both brings into focus and helps us transcend the world around us, the way it opens and puzzles us, delights and moves us.

Everyone alive has suffered. It is the wisdom gained from our wounds and from our own experiences of suffering that makes us able to heal. Becoming expert has turned out to be less important than remembering and trusting the wholeness in myself and everyone else. Expertise cures, but wounded people can best be healed by other wounded people. Only other wounded people can understand what is needed, for the healing of suffering is compassion, not expertise. —Rachel Naomi Remen