Shadow Hills Church
of
Religious Science ...
"A New Light
Shining on the Desert"
64 Days - 64 Ways
A Season for Nonviolence, January 30 - April 4, is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.
A Season for Nonviolence
64 Ways in 64 Days Daily Commitments to Live By
January 30 - April 3
January 30
Today, I will reflect on what peace means to me.
January 31Today, I will look at opportunities to be a peacemaker.
February 1Today, I will practice nonviolence and respect for Mother Earth
by making good use of her resources.
February 2Today, I will take time to admire and appreciate nature.
February 3Today, I will plant seeds--plants or constructive ideas.
February 4Today, I will hold a vision of plenty for all the world's hungry and be open to guidance as to how I can help alleviate some of that hunger.
February 5Today, I will acknowledge every human being's fundamental right to justice, equity, and equality.
February 6Today, I will appreciate the earth's bounty and all of those who work to make my food available (i.e., grower, trucker, grocery clerk, cook, waitress, etc.)
February 7Today, I will work to understand and respect another culture.
February 8Today, I will oppose injustice, not people.
February 9Today, I will look beyond stereotypes and prejudices.
February 10Today, I will choose to be aware of what I talk about and I will refuse to gossip.
February 11Today, I will live in the present moment and release the past.
February 12Today, I will silently acknowledge all the leaders throughout the world.
February 13Today, I will speak with kindness, respect, and patience to every person that I talk with on the telephone.
February 14Today, I will affirm my value and worth with positive "self talk" and refuse to put myself down.
February 15Today, I will tell the truth and speak honestly from the heart.
February 16Today, I will cause a ripple effect of good by an act of kindness toward another.
February 17Today, I will choose to use my talents to serve others by volunteering a portion of my time.
February 18Today, I will say a blessing for greater understanding whenever I see evidence of crime, vandalism, or graffiti.
February 19Today, I will say "No" to ideas or actions that violate me or others.
February 20Today, I will turn off anything that portrays or supports violence whether on television, in the movies, or on the Internet.
February 21Today, I will greet this day--everyone and everything--with openness and acceptance as if I were encountering them for the first time.
February 22Today, I will drive with tolerance and patience.
February 23Today, I will constructively channel my anger, frustration, or jealousy into healthy physical activities (i.e., doing sit-ups, picking up trash, taking a walk, etc).
February 24Today, I will take time to appreciate the people who provide me with challenges in my life, especially those who make me angry or frustrated.
February 25Today, I will talk less and listen more.
February 26Today, I will notice the peacefulness in the world around me.
February 27Today, I will recognize that my actions directly affect others.
February 28Today, I will take time to tell a family member or friend how much they mean to me.
March 1Today, I will acknowledge and thank someone for acting kindly.
March 2Today, I will send a kind, anonymous message to someone.
March 3Today, I will identify something special in everyone I meet.
March 4Today, I will discuss ideas about nonviolence with a friend to gain new perspectives.
March 5Today, I will practice praise rather than criticism.
March 6Today, I will strive to learn from my mistakes.
March 7Today, I will tell at least one person they are special and important.
March 8Today, I will hold children tenderly in thought and/or action.
March 9Today, I will listen without defending and speak without judgment.
March 10Today, I will help someone in trouble.
March 11Today, I will listen with an open heart to at least one person.
March 12Today, I will treat the elderly I encounter with respect and dignity.
March 13Today, I will treat the children I encounter with respect and care, knowing that I serve as a model to them.
March 14Today, I will see my so-workers in a new light--with understanding and
compassion.
March 15Today, I will be open to other ways of thinking and acting that are different from my own.
March 16Today, I will think of at least three alternate ways I can handle a situation when confronted with conflict.
March 17Today, I will work to help others resolve differences.
March 18Today, I will express my feeling honestly and nonviolently with respect for myself and others.
March 19Today, I will sit down with my family for one meal.
March 20Today, I will set an example of a peacemaker by promoting nonviolent responses.
March 21Today, I will use no violent language.
March 22Today, I will pause for reflection.
March 23Today, I will hold no one hostage to the past, seeing each-as I see myself-as a work in process.
March 24Today, I will make a conscious effort to smile at someone whom I have held a grudge against in the past.
March 25Today, I will practice compassion and forgiveness by apologizing to someone whom I have hurt in the past.
March 26Today, I will reflect on whom I need to forgive and take at least one step in that direction.
March 27Today, I will forgive myself.
March 28Today, I will embrace the spiritual belief of my heart in my own personal and reflective way.
March 29Today, I will enlarge my capacity to embrace differences and appreciate the value of every human being.
March 30Today, I will be compassionate in my thoughts, words, and actions.
March 31Today, I will cultivate my moral strength and courage through education and creative nonviolent action.
April 1Today, I will practice compassion and forgiveness for myself and others.
April 2Today, I will use my talents to serve others as well as myself.
April 3Today, I will serve humanity by dedicating myself to a vision greater than myself.
Inspired by the 50th & 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
These principles for nonviolence were adapted by the Denver Area Task
Force for: A Season for Nonviolence - January 30- April 4, 1998And adopted by Shadow Hills Church of Religious Science
for January 30 - April 3, 2006
Martin Luther King's Principles of Nonviolence
"The aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness,
while the aftermath of nonviolence
is the beloved community."
M.L. King Jr.
1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.
4. Nonviolence holds that suffering for a cause can educate
and transform.
5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
6. Nonviolence holds that the universe is on the side of justice
and that right will eventually prevail.
Gandhian Principles of Nonviolence
"The only devils in the world are those running around in
our own hearts that is where the battle should be fought. "
"Truth is my religion and non-violence (love) its only realization."
-M. K. Gandhi
1. Respect
I vow to respect others and the interconnectedness of all life.
2. Understanding
I vow to understand the "whys" (meaning behind behavior), for .myself and others.
3. Acceptance
Out of respect and understanding, I vow to accept the ..differences of others.
4. Appreciating Differences
I seek to move beyond acceptance into appreciation and .celebration of difference.
5. Truth and Truthfulness
I commit to be truthful and authentic and to confront untruth .wherever I find it.
6. Absorbing Suffering
I take on without complaint any suffering that results from my .confrontation with untruth. I also accept that all forms of .violence cannot be totally eliminated.
7. Ahimsa (nonviolence) with my Adversary
I vow to help my adversary avoid all suffering, especially from .our confrontation.
8. Trusteeship and Constructive Action
Beyond personal necessities, I see myself as God's trustee .over my possessions and talents. I promise to use them to .empower others and make things fair for all.
Sunday Services held at the
Joslyn Center
73-750 Catalina Way
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(Between San Pablo and Portola)
For more information, please call (760) 341-2244
