From news.coin.missouri.edu!coinc0!deisenst Sat Mar 9 20:06:31 1996 Path: news.coin.missouri.edu!coinc0!deisenst From: deisenst@mail.coin.missouri.edu (David D. Eisenstein) Newsgroups: coin.sigs.religion Subject: Re: Peace 2 Date: 10 Mar 1996 02:04:48 GMT Organization: Columbia Online Information Network Lines: 60 Message-ID: <4htdc0$kle@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> References: <4hdr8c$o85@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> <4hnsf3$l5g@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> <4hogpa$n6a@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> <4hoota$5a2@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> <4hr8bj$6fa@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> <4ht890$h9t@coins0.coin.missouri.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: coinc0.coin.missouri.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Swain Wodening wrote the other day: : Lately, I have been thinking a lot about peace, and trying to get a : working definition. Many define peace as the absence of physical : violence. Others see peace as a state of tranquility or serenity. Yet : others expand the definition of peace to include the absence of : emotional, psychic, and spiritual violence. As I am trying to achieve : peace (within myself, with others and the world), I would like to hear : others' opinions. Hi Swain, Peace as a concept and as a practice has long attracted my interest, and I thank you for bringing this subject up. There is a marvellous article I found online on COIN through the magazine interface du jour. It is called "UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT 'PEACE': A Search for Common Ground" by (I think) a fellow named Milton Rinehart. This is an article in a magazine called _Peace & Change_, July, 1995 issue. One thing that the author says which is encouraging to me is, "It seems that we do not know what peace is or what it can be yet, although I believe we can know." He described how he was teaching a class at the University of Colorado called the Sociology of Peacemaking. He attempted to use his skills in mediation, facilitation, and arbitration to early on get the class to come up with some commonly-agreed-upon definition of peace. "I expected the discussion to take one class period, most of which would be students pre- senting their individual definitions and working toward agreement. "But I was wrong. After two classes of my best facilitation ... there was no agreement in sight. Indeed, it seemed clear that there were at least two very different and seemingly irreconcilable notions of peace among the class. Some ... [viewed] peace as the absense of war, violence, conflict (or at least conflict management) and peacemaking in terms of internation- al relations. Others were in an altogether different place, seeing peace in terms of harmony within the individual, or between individuals, and peacemaking as a mode of relating to others based upon some inarticula- ted internal emotion or cognitive state." This is when the author made the statement about our not knowing what peace is. Swain, you later wrote of experiencing peace sitting with a female friend watching TV, in the knowing and the feeling of your all's being there for one another, enjoying the nice feeling. But you mentioned how that kind peace (a loving-kindly feeling of being okay with the world and the world being okay with you?) seems distant from you with stress taking over and your not even finding peace, even in meditation. Kaye responded indicating how stress and loneliness has affected her. She said, "Stress and loneliness are two of the hardest things I have ever had to face and conquer." The rest of what Kaye said (and I'm not trying to marginalize it by not quoting it all) we've all read, and is in the thread, including that wonderful quote of Deseridata (sp?) about seeking tranquility. As another person prone to worry and feel stress about a lot of things outside of my direct control, I understand and relate to the feelings you have both mentioned about stress. I've gone so far as to try to relate some with a group calling itself PeaceWorks here in town as well as another group which calls itself the Columbia Interfaith Peace Alliance, trying to see if there I could find what seemed to be so sadly lacking in the self. (Five-minute bell, will be back!) For now, -David