GandhiGuy Goes to India–Join the Peace Train!

As many of you know, I’ve been portraying Mahatma Gandhi in what I call ‘Soul Theater’, as my contribution to peace in the world.

I always open these portrayals up for questions from the audience, staying in character in my answers. This is always a time of great exploration of the questioners thoughts and feelings about peace in their life, as they ask "Mr. Gandhi" what his thoughts are on their often very personal question.

I’ve met hundreds of people at my portrayals, and so many have expressed their deep appreciation for the gift they’ve received during this participative theater experience.

Now, you can be in on a tremendously exciting journey I’m about to take: I’ve been invited to portray Mahatma Gandhi at the International Youth Peace Conference in Chandigarh, India, September 25th through October 1st!

I don’t know if you can imagine what a thrilling, and in some ways terrifying opportunity this is for me! I’m scheduled to begin the Festival with my portrayal, re-enacting an evening prayer meeting at Gandhi’s ashram on the subject of peace. Then, over the next three days of the Festival, I’ll be leading workshops each day on "Becoming Worthy of Peace".

Finally, on the last day of the Festival, I’ve been asked to lead the 500+ young students from all over the world on a march in Chandigarh for nuclear disarmement in India!

I’d like you to be there with me! My wonderful daughter, Lexy, is coming with me on this incredible journey, and we’d like to invite you to come along as well!

Here’s our plan: Each day we’ll be posting to this website from India, keeping you up to date on our journey, introducing you to the young peace activists from all over the world that we’ll be meeting, and letting you in on each step of our walk for peace over the entire length of our trip.

Here’s all you have to do: Come back to GandhiGuy.com and post your thoughts in response to our blogging. You can become a member now, and as we journey for peace in September and October, you’ll be right there with us, each step of the way!

Between now and the Festival, I’ll be keeping you up to speed on our preparations for this powerful, life-changing trip, and sharing with you my thoughts, feelings, trepidations and excitements!

Come join us as ‘Gandhi’ returns to India, and be part of a historic journey for peace in our lifetime!

In Deepest Appreciation and Peace,

Don and Lexy

Be the Change You Wish to See in the World!

Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world."

Let’s talk about that for a moment, shall we?

What the heck did he mean by that? Here’s what I think he meant:

I think Gandhi meant that it’s not enough to want injustice to end, we must strive for justice in our own hearts and lives. For instance, any time we judge others, we are placing our own set of values and life circumstances on top of their’s and saying our’s are the correct version of life. That’s unjust of us.

If we want racism to end, living a life free of racism ourselves is the change we wish to see in the world. Can we have the courage to root out our own prejudices, unconscious biases, fears of those who seem different from us, and be open to learning just who that person is instead? That would be living this change we wish to see.

If we believe war and violence are only one, very poor option to any situation, and we want war to stop, then can we look at our own patterns and see where violence and hatred, fear and retaliation come into our personal practices? Can we have the courage to stay open to awaremess of possibilities, rather than locked into dogmatic reactions to others, to other religious groups, to those who look or seem different than us? Can we live a life of non-violence, and from that stand begin to see others as the same as me?

That’s the change we wish to see in the world. Or rather, that’s the change I  wish to see in the world. It takes us BECOMING peace for peace to exist. It takes us BECOMING love for love to exist. The embodiment of these qualities, these movements and themes is what Gandhi was talking about. It takes us Loving Our Enemies in order for love to prevail over hatred and fear. If we don’t become this kind of change, then we are just substituting another villain for those who we say need to change their ways. We’re just becoming what we say we want changed by doing so.

It’s not enough to want change, especially not enough for us to ask others to change, paint them as inherently evil, to make others our version of the villain. That’s just the same pattern repeating itself.

We must love like all of life depends on us doing so. Because it does.

That’s the change I wish to see in the world. That’s who I want to show up as: Love. Absolute Love. That’s what I wish to evoke toward my opponents in life, toward those officials I don’t agree with, toward those who would stand in the way of peace. I wish to show up as Love, and as loving as I can possibly be.

That’s the change I wish to see in the world, and what and who I wish to be.

Be the change you wish to see, starting right now. It’s easy–but not simple. It takes work and practice to be that kind of change.

But we can all do it, and all do it together. If you get stuck, email me at donmcavinchey@comcast.net, and I’ll give you a hand.

Out of love.

Namaste’.

The End of Nuclear Arms Begins Today!

Dateline: August 1st, 2009

Posted from Los Alamos, New Mexico, birthplace of the atom bomb, and source of thousands of deaths from bombings and from radioactive poisonings.

Headline: Nuclear Disarmament Began Today in Los Alamos

With courage comes more courage. With visioning comes even greater visions. With great love comes even bigger love, even Big Giant Love!

Today, with a group of committed citizens from around America, and led by three visionary leaders of peace, the end of nuclear arms began.

"Nuclear bombs are immoral, their maintenance is immoral when millions are hungry, their development and testing is immoral when our brightest minds are being put to use to kill other human beings by the thousands", said Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maread McGuire.

"We are standing at the brink of possibility. There is a window that is now open for nuclear disarmament to actually happen. Take a stand. Stand up for peace, for what is right, for the end of this insanity that we’ve all lived with now for 65 years. We can end this, it’s up to us." With these words, Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Winner from 1997, catapulted the nuclear disarmament movement forward in the birthplace of the death cult of the nuclear age.

Can we really end this craziness now? Is there actually an opening in the global consciousness for the end of nuclear bombs, missiles, testing, mining for uranium, the poisoning of the earth and skies, the blood of children and mothers and fathers endlessly suffering due to the holocaust of our nuclear policies?

Yes. Now is the time to truly build security, by saying to ourselves across the world, "We will stop this insanity that has ruled our politics and planning, our hearts and minds, for too long. We will end this death cycle, and end it in peace. No more. Enough is enough."

Be inspired. Let your Self be inspired.

Be empowered. Let your empowerment spread to your family, your friends, your colleagues, everyone you know and touch and love and care about.

Let your spirit ring out for freedom from this insanity of nuclear bombs. Let your vision begin to see a world beyond nukes, beyond intimidation, beyond ultra-crazed macho-ism. "Mutually Assured Destruction" (M.A.D.)(Yes, it IS MAD!), the policy of containment because we’d destroy each other if we let loose with our arsenals of evil, now gives way for the new paradigm:

"Spiritually Assured Communities Evolve", or S.P.A.C.E.

You are important. You count. Your voice matters. Remember what happened with the Obama election? Remember, just a few short months ago, how we progressives, those of us who’ve worked toward our own personal evolution, got into the streets, on the phones, into our cars and our neighborhoods and created a groundswell of support that put the first black man into the White House, a man of compassion, of fatherhood, of peace and justice? Remember?

That effort is what it will take to rid the world of these evil machines of mass destruction.

And we can do it.

Be inspired. Pass it on. And then be inspired again, and again.

We can do it. We truly can.

And now’s the time.

Namaste’.