Amatul's Xanga

WWOOFing and traveling

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:47:22 GMT

Ama and Nate are currently On The Road, going across the land in our wonderful old Subaru, and working at farms, ranches, and private lands. We've been camping, hiking, stayed in cabins, cob buildings with solar power, tenting, etc. All mode and all manner of alternative ways of living in this world exist.... already!
Yes, we can do it. We can change the way we live, our own house can be in order.

PEACE and LOVE to all

its great to be alive - musing on History -

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:23:09 GMT

Current mood: contemplative

Do you know,
ts so deep to be ALIVE in this moment.

My friends know that Im a biracial American woman born on April 3rd 1968.
Rev. MLK Jr. was killed the day after I was born.
My white mother and black father were thrown into a time of turmoil.
Many of us online are too young to know, and the books dont tell:
there were RACE RIOTS when I was a baby.
When MalcolmX was killed and when Rev. King was killed we faced the
end of America for a few moments.

Seriously guys, look it up, ask your (grand)parents about this.

The current emergency is more subtle, and most dire. (REALLY TRUELY its BAD today)
I can personally compare these past three-four administrations to what I remember of President Carter.
Carter personally (with Rosilyn) BUILDS HOMES FOR POOR PEOPLE.

How different we have become!
Why dont ALL former presidents do public service to the homeless and poor?
It would be incredible.

Anyway, I remember Nixon being impeached and taken away (in a great helecopter) and my family passionately sitting together all discussing the impeachment of that president for being a crook, a filthymouthed person, a cruel and mean man. Gangster pure and simple.
Well, we have NO IDEA what is said in the White House today.

Weve lost America.
but! We can rebuild her. (like the show said, "we have the technology")
and we have HOPE , BRAVERY, and JUSTICE.

If you know not the day nor the hour - lets take this hour and this day to be fully HUMAN and ALIVE

like they say, Si Si puede....Yes, we CAN.

Election Year thoughts: its coming, are we ready?

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:54:28 GMT

A new year is coming
an election year
but
will the Election be Legal and fair?
Do we have real elections anymore? Did we EVER have real elections..? the past two are really makking me wonder.

How could we not be talking about this issue and working on it? So curios. Let me tell you - as hard as so many of us are working for Obama, Hucklebee, Cinton, etc etc... what if its basically a sham election?

We realy need to rise as a nation and ask questions about electoral proceedures, count, paper vs electronic, the Black and Latino Vote, regoinal differences. Last year when I voted for Govenor of Ma, in Dochester the voting was done in an open room, on paper ballots, with police officers looking over our shoulders at our votes as we hand fed them into a crank machine. Primitive paper polling. I was so very surprised, and wondered where the ballot box was going to go, and how the election could really possibly be ensured legal
(at all, or ever...its sooo dependant on if you trust the system and the people entrusted with administering the system locally, regionally, statewide country wide, globally... it boggles the mind. too much. So lets focus locally: what can we do but ASK THESE QUESTIONS of our local legfislators and get involved, work at Polling places, meditate and pray. one never knows.

Seeds Of Peace in New Mexico - reflections -

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:29:45 GMT

Amatul greeting Arun Ghandi after his cool keynote

Nate and I just got a report on the NM World Peace conference we took Amtrack across America to attend - its a pretty good summary of the keynote speakers and some activities.

The best aspect for us was the personal connections we made with native american medicine women and other indiginious elders at the conference, who not only drove us around Santa Fe but gave us free tickets to the Richie Havens/ Indigo Girls concert out at the Santa Fe Opera House - a great night! Thank you Pacal!

Boy, Richie STILL rocks it out hard and deep! Go go go Mr Havens! and then in the cold and rain he sat out at a table for two hours signing autographs and taking pictures with eager fans age 16 to 70 years old - He is incredible!

"...FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!"

-----the report by Louise Diamond, world peace conference designer-----

"Building a Culture of Peace"

Santa Fe Conference a Huge Success

Nearly 500 people gathered in Santa Fe, New Mexico in mid-May to explore the question, ‘What would it take to transform the current culture of violence in our society to a culture of peace?’

To inspire and challenge us, we had four keynote speakers, spread over the two days. Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Nobel Peace Laureate, 1992) opened the conference by speaking of harmony between the material and the spiritual. She told of the Mayan Calendar’s No Time Zone, coming in 2014, when the natural clock will move in one direction and the material in the other, after which there will be a new era of collaboration, coalition, and balance of the masculine and the feminine. To prepare for this, we need to be a light for others, not letting pessimism, bitterness, or too much comfort overtake us. She invited us to be the best example of peace that we can be, and to work from that place for the well-being and dignity of all.

Jody Williams (Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997) shared her own journey to ban landmines as a model for how one person can make a difference. Seeing herself as just an ordinary person, she was exposed to the issue of landmines and the incredible harm they did. As she became motivated to do something about this, she rallied others to the cause, eventually finding and building collaborative networks all over the planet. Fueled by anger and determined to succeed, she did indeed help build a worldwide movement and support that resulted in an international treaty to ban all landmines. Not willing to stop there, Jody said she was turning her attention now to cluster bombs, and after that, to nuclear weapons.

Arun Gandhi (Founder, the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence), took us on an incredible journey of learning about peace from Mahatma Gandhi, through the eyes of himself as a rebellious teenage grandson. In one story after another, we saw and heard Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence, love, and respect for all beings played out in simple family relationships and everyday events. In one story, young Gandhi cavalierly threw away an old pencil stub, assuming his grandfather would get him a new pencil. Instead he received a teaching about how discarding that pencil was showing disrespect to the earth (all the elements that made up the pencil) and to the people who were involved in making it. He also received a flashlight, to go and retrieve the stub he had tossed aside, as he was not, in fact, going to get a new pencil.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Nobel Peace Laureate 1989), by video, ended the conference by speaking of the need for a culture of peace, especially given the way the media focuses so much on violence. He reminded us that the heart of peace is to recognize we are all one family on this earth, and that we need to care for each other. He acknowledged that transforming the culture of violence to a culture of peace could take a long time, but with perseverance, determination, and hope, it could be accomplished. He invited us each to go out and offer our unique gifts to realize this vision.

In between these talks, six Peace Councils met and discussed a variety of topics. Small groups examined, for instance, the need to build bridges to the military, and to illegal immigrants rather than seeing them as ‘the enemy;’ the difference between indigenous cultures for whom spirituality is integrated into daily life and industrialized cultures where religion tends to be a separate part of life, and the implications of these different perspectives for peace; the importance of bringing spirit into our businesses and economic life and developing new models for corporations that share ownership with employees and build community.

Other groups spoke of creating a statewide peace curriculum; of building on the rich aggregation of scientific and healing skills present in New Mexico to create a new economic base for the state so it doesn’t have to rely so much on the nuclear/military industry, and of funding the nuclear labs to focus instead on alternative energy; of how important art, music, poetry, and even T-shirts are to youth for expressing their views on peace; of how important it is to re-connect with nature in order to remember our unity with all creation; of how to use the new internet modalities to help transform the need for security through power and control to a paradigm of security through mutual collaboration, understanding, empathy, and communication.

And so much more! A fuller report on the conference and its outcomes will be available later this summer. Next steps are still under discussion. We know that further small- and large-group dialogues and working groups are in the picture, and that new projects are emerging. More on this as it becomes solidified.

At the end of the conference, as each of the Peace Councils gave a brief report to the whole assembly on the highlights of their work, we realized that most of all, this two-day gathering of peace leaders (from ages 10 to 84+ and from five continents) was a moment of planting seeds, seeds that will grow, through our continued care and tending, to eventually become that great Tree of Peace that shelters us all.

SAT is PEACEDAY in CAMBRIDGE MA - join us!

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:08:50 GMT

Peace Day is Sat June 2, 2007, from 1 pm - 5 pm
Cambridge City Hall, 795 Mass. Ave and
Cambridge Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.
FREE and welcoming for people of all ages!
Rain or Shine!

Performances - music, poetry, dance, spoken word, theater with
Danielle Scott, Delisile, Amatul & NateBox, Jeff Robinson, AfroDZAk, Jimmy Tingle, CRLS Jazz Ensemble, Senior Center Chorus, CRLS Haitian Club, Underground Railroad Theater, TAiNA Vargas, and many more...

Participation - making peace cranes and peace flags, learning the healing arts, joining in dialogue, singing along, acting with True Story Theater, Peace Games, Dances of Universal Peace, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, The Raging Grannies…

Exhibits - local & global peace & justice information tables

1 pm - Program opens on City Hall steps
4:30 pm - Make a human peace symbol in front of City Hall.
(If it’s raining, bring an umbrella)

For the day’s schedule, contact the Peace Commission at 617-349-4694 or email peace@cambridgema.gov
FREE --- FREE refreshments, resources, renewal! FREE --- FREE

25TH Anniversary – Cambridge Peace Commission
To recognize the 25th anniversary of the Peace Commission the Cambridge City Council has declared Cambridge as a “City of Peace” in the year 2007. This resolution is an invitation to all of Cambridge - community groups, civic institutions, businesses, families, faith communities - to make connections to and promote peacebuilding all year long.

...from Santa Fe NM to Cambridge MA - with PEACE!

Thu, 24 May 2007 23:50:17 GMT

We just got back from Santa Fe New Mexico.. .. ahhhh... so much rain the desert was ALIVE

We took the old train lines across the entire country - it was 53 hours, three trains out, and 57 hours on three trains back.. lightning struck the train rail switching mechanism in kansas, so a railwayman had to come out and hand switch it (i guess its all computer automatic nowadays usually)

We slept in the seats, it was ok by me, but Nate is so tall it was harder for him

Coming through the pass to santa fe it was so tight - on a single rail line i think - so tight if you hung your head out the window you might cut your bangs!

We stayed for free with a friend who owns a most excellent condo in town with cats cactus and a garden at the edge of the desert walking trails YAAY! bone tired, got up each day at 630 and went to the Hilton to work at the World Peace Conference gofering and running the media center.

I loved meeting Arun Ghandi, THE Ghandi's grandson...

ok, so now its time to party!

*PEACE DAY* Sat June 2nd 2007, from 1-5pm
Please join us in celebrating 25 years of the Cambridge Peace Commission - events & performers
on Cambridge City Hall lawn, Cambridge City Hall Chambers, & in the Cambridge Senior Center

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ALL AGES! Central Square, Mass Ave, MA COME JOIN THE FESTIVAL!

FREE! Food Fun Festivities Art Music Workshops Discussion Dance OpenMic FREE!
with AfroDZaK, Jeff Robinson's Poetry Jam (Hot Poets & Cool Sax), Dances of Peace, True Story Theater, Melissa Li, Amatul & NateBox, Underground Railroad Theater, CRLS Haitian Club (Dance & Poetry), CRLS Acapella Group, Cambridge Seniors Choir, CRLS Jazz Ensemble ...and MUCH MUCH MORE!!

For More Info call the Cambridge Peace Commission: 1 617 349-4694

S.W.A.K.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:05:59 GMT

Calling in the SISTAH CIRCLE
Women's Skill Share: taking time to craft and share cultural survival skills like
Sewing, Cooking Food, Quilting, Gardening, Heritage, Talking Sistah Stuff!
We'll meet Weds or Sundays, early evenings, Moms and Babies are welcome So far Women & Children 18 months to 60+years-young have a ton o Fun!

More Quilting and Cross-stitch have been requested, and more Knitting.
A sistah who can Crochet is desired, as we want to learn this skill too!
Sewing Machines & needles here if you need help finishing a sewing project
We also have Gardening Seeds to share - so bring yours to share too!

TIME: Drop In 5pm till 10pm, kids & elders are welcome
FOOD: Share our Potluck Snacks, I'll have a main Dish for y'all
DATES in APRIL 2007:
Sunday the 15th, OR Wed 18th OR
Sunday the 22nd OR Wed 25th

Help us pick the best nights for most of us:
Please RSVP w dates that Work Best for You to Amatul 

Crafting Site: our home (Fields Corner on the Red Line T, MA)
RSVP or give the call out & we'll help you get here

Why We Do: Unity builds Peace, one at a time. Crafting together as Women is fun, 
and inclreasingly rare in this world.  We reclaim our skills, share what our mothers taught us, 
or learn what we always wish we had learned.

How We Do: These are substance-free & kid-friendly gatherings
Peaceful Women of all heritage, lineage, ability and age are in this Circle.
PEACE : People Everywhere are Answering the Call to Excellence

Spring/Winter/...spring...?

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:32:06 GMT

SPRING! A lovely spring day, I know its coming!

Walk for a New Spring is almost to Boston - this is the 6th annual Walk for a New Spring and we're having a Peace Potluck in Dorchester to celebrate the Walkers and pray for peace in our community.
* * * * * * *
More info on the Walk is up online:
http://www.dharmawalk.org/spring2.htm
http://www.traprockpeace.org/walk_new_spring_2004.pdf
* * * * * * *
Nukes and Death and Destruction, NO
Life and Love and Beauty, Yes

PEACE

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:52:18 GMT

Macrobiotic Dinner & Visionary Film Series - Wednesday evenings 6:30 to 9pm
EVERYDAY HEALTH in Newton, MA will host, serving a light and delicious Vegetarian Macrobiotic dinner
("we love this food!" - Amatul & NateBox)
with a Soup, a Grain, Vegetable and vegetable quality Protein dish, and a Dessert
for a contribution of $20 - $35 (sliding scale via cash or check, PayPal also available via www.davidsnieckus.com)

At 7:30 p.m they screen a leading Film on subjects of higher consciousness, inspiration, awareness, health and well-being. (your film suggestions are welcome) Call David at 617-964-2951 for more info or to make a reservation 24 hours in advance.

Feb-March 2006 FILM SCHEDULE:
====================
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
THE FUTURE OF FOOD
An in-depth look into the controversy over genetically modified foods.

"This stylish film is not just for food faddists and nutritionists. It is a look at something we might not want to see: Monsanto, Roundup and Roundup-resistant seeds, collectively wreaking havoc on American farmers and our agricultural neighbors around the world. In the end, this documentary is an eloquent call to action."
- The Telluride Daily Planet

Wednesday, February 14, 2007
THE AWAKENING UNIVERSE, a film by Neal Rogin
Based on the book, "The Universe Story", by cultural historian Thomas Berry and Cosmologist Brian Swimme, this beautiful and inspiring film takes you on the ultimate journey, from the very birth of the Universe, through the arising of Galaxies, the formation of the Earth, the emergence of life, and finally to the development of human consciousness.

In a mere fifteen minutes, using awe-inspiring images and a sweeping original musical score, this amazing film shows how science, spirit and ancient indigenous wisdom are now all converging to reveal that we stand in the very heart of that which created us. An entirely new context for human life is arising in our lifetime, with the potential to transform forever our sense of separation, isolation, and alienation into one of connection, commonality and communion.

This film was developed under the auspices of The Pachamama Alliance as a part of their Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Program, an initiative whose mission is to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN - A Gathering of Shamans
A film by David Cherniack "The great mystery brings us here today to remember our divine connections to all life."

For five days, shamans and elders from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia meet at a Buddhist monastery in the French Alps. Beneath the snow peaked mountains, under a huge tent, they gather in a great circle as though in council. The central hearthstone ceremoniously laid by the Dalai Lama, the space is consecrated by each in their time honored ways. The sacred fire lit, they share their rituals, prophecies, their stories of oppression, and hopes and fears for the future.

Running time: 106 minutes

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
The feature film documentary on Earth's climate crisis, featuring Al Gore and directed by Davis Guggenheim.

"Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. If that sounds like a recipe for serious gloom and doom -- think again. From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show," Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late."

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW
"This bold, funny, unique work goes to the heart of the human dilemma. It challenges and lays waste the old paradigms of thought and places responsibility squarely where it belongs - on individual human consciousness."

***

Activist Chef David Sneakus empowers individuals to experience optimum health, well-being and happiness through the understanding and practical application of Macrobiotics, particularly as it applies to the proper selection, cooking and eating of healthy foods. His vision is of one Peaceful and Healthy world. David is a graduate of the world renowned Kushi Institute, and has been practicing Macrobiotics since 1977.

Martin Luther King Day Party 2007 in Camb MA!

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:29:20 GMT

MLK Day 2007 Monday January 15th 1-3:30pm
"It's time to honor the spirit of Martin in the mode of peace and justice."
-The Cambridge Peace Commission
---------------------------------------
ToolBox and AQuarii Arts in conjunction with the
Cambridge Peace Commission, Cambridge Y.W.C.A. , CITY PEACE, and the youth of CPJ
Proudly Present

The 2007 Cambridge MLK Day Celebration
Monday January 15th 2007 in Central Square, Camb.
1-1:30 outside City Hall, 1:45 -3 inside Camb YWCA

- 1pm: Join the Peace Commission and Stand Out for Martin in the Spirit of Peace at Camb City Hall!
- 1:45-3pm Join us in Community Gathering, with youth voices and the show at the Camb YWCA!

PERFORMERS
-----------------
Youth from CRLS Peace and Justice Corps, CITY PEACE Cambridge,
Joseph Corbie and Cambridge Community Arts Center youth!
Boston MC DL is back to share new work from the heart
MC LYRICAL joins us to pay tribute to Rev King
Our multi-talented brother AfroDZak (Pete Shungu) is back with his Trumpet!
SOFIA SNOW the acclaimed young Poet/MC has plenty to say!
TAiNA Vargas joins us this year to dance the spirits up with drummer Jamal!

many other surprises.. and all the LOVE we have for you!
PEACE,
Amatul and NateBox

-------------------------------
Big props to our brother
DL - Daniel Laurent - The Supression (out now!)