My Most Beautiful Thing: Taking a Stand for What You Believe

The author under arrest, March 2003 (photo by Charlie Jenks) If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. —Mother Teresa ________________________ This post is offered as part of a wave of articles coming out today inspired by the theme “My Most Beautiful Thing.” Fiona Robyn of Writing Your Way Home is the catalyst for this event, and... Read More

A Declaration of Liberation from Our Own Oppression [guest post]

Photo by Kara Allyson (Flickr Creative Commons) A few years ago I came across this piece by social psychologist Dr. Michele Toomey on her website Liberation Psychology. I recently got in touch with Michele and she gave me permission to share it with all of you. Though it is written particularly for women seeking to reclaim their power and agency, I believe it offers much for... Read More

It’s All About You

Today’s post goes right to the heart of the matter. This video requires an investment of about five minutes of your time. In return, you’ll get the equation for true happiness. Not a bad trade, eh? I’d love to hear what you think after you see this video… leave a comment below if you feel so moved. (If you’re reading this on email and can’t see... Read More

The World is Falling Apart and 5 Reasons Why That’s a Good Thing

Photo by McKay Savage/Flickr Creative Commons (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/) Consider what would happen if security were not the point of our existence. That we find freedom, aliveness, and power not from what contains, locates, or protects us, but from what dissolves, reveals and expands us. ~Eve Ensler __________________ Sometimes I feel like I live in an alternate... Read More

7 Ways to Practice Micro-Peacework

Photo by McKay Savage: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/ The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence…. The frenzy of the activist... Read More

Report from the Field: Occupy the Present Moment!

I spent this morning at Occupy Santa Fe. Among the hundreds of people who were there to march to the Round House (our capital building) and then peacefully assembled on the lawn there, about 15 of us offered a meditative presence. This was the first “official” Liberated Life Project event, cooked up with a number of people from my spiritual home, Upaya Zen Center, as well... Read More

Finding Freedom in Prison [guest post]

A while ago, I came across the blog One Dress Protest and recognized a kindred spirit. Kristy Powell, the creator of ODP, is wearing one dress for one year to call attention to the ideas and motivations behind how and why we wear clothes. In this guest article (originally posted on her blog), she shares a story of a transformative and liberating moment from her life… August... Read More

Three Lessons on Freedom from Inside San Quentin Prison

Jarvis Jay Masters Freedom – it’s an inside job. You’ve probably noticed that’s the tagline for The Liberated Life Project. Few people exemplify the spirit of this more than Jarvis Jay Masters. If you’re feeling trapped by the conditions of your life, I’d gently encourage you to find out more about this remarkable man and see how his story might change your perspective. Jarvis... Read More