Extinction Rebellion activists temporarily block the A23 at Lewisham Station on June, 14 2019 in London, England. (Photo: Ollie Millington/Getty Images)
Rebelling From a Nonviolent Heart
Extinction Rebellion is ushering in a comprehensive language of nonviolence
As a movement Extinction Rebellion has consciously used the power of nonviolent civil disobedience as an embodied practice of love asking for the needs of the Earth and all its living splendor to be safeguarded.
The work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and Marshall Rosenberg's nonviolent communication or peaceful communication, are nourishing reference points for Extinction Rebellion.
Political discourse
This way of being in the world has created a fortress around our hearts to enable us to cope with the consequent feelings of disconnection, dis-ease, separation and powerlessness. Essentially, we are in constant inner and outer conflict, suffering under micro-violences day after day.
We have hardly noticed how the language of war dominates our 'peaceful' campaigns. Let me confess to the struggle and vulnerability within our fledgling movement. We have at times described our collaboration work as building 'allies', but then through exploring our truth we have discovered our need for the re-weaving of the whole human family so that actually we are building relatives and embracing our relations.
The roots of the language of our conditioned separation run as deep as the chemicals poisoning our soil and water.
As we shift the Overton window, as per XR strategy, we also seek to shift our current dysfunctional paradigm (encased in a violent language) because in reality there is no fragmentation between the natural, the spiritual, and the social. They are one integrated whole.
We cannot shift our value systems for the natural world without moving normal political discourse, and we cannot shift political discourse without shifting the spiritual and moral discourse. We can then no longer act as arbiters of right and wrong and instead we become peacemakers between all that divides us.
Heart line
What feels as beautifully clear as a dawn chorus, within and around XR today, is that in nurturing our capacity for nonviolent language or compassionate communication as an internal and external process we have been able to cultivate relationships that have opened doors to people's hearts, including the hearts of policemen and policewomen during our 11 days of mass rebellion.
Not only this, but we also have liberated individual and collective curiosity, imagination, and creativity and thus our desire to co-create a language fitting for our transition to what Joanna Macy describes as 'The Great Turning'.
Whether as witness or arrestee, we are changed by the experience of XR's nonviolent civil disobedience in both word and deed. The edge of transformation and the nonviolent language this requires are now in sight.
A good example of this is our description of the 'heart lines'. The rows of people at the edge of disobedience on our sites in London were not the front lines. They were hearts in unison - our heart lines.
When we attached ourselves to Jeremy Corbyn's fence with our chocolate Easter egg and flowers, we were love-showering, not 'occupying' or love-'bombing', and as we induct people into the movement and we train our rebels in direct action we learn about the values, principles, and practice of nonviolent communication in all we do and say.
Tipping point
Together, we are exploring and ushering in a more comprehensive language of nonviolence. The further construction of this language for disobedience will require a presence of heart intelligence from where we can source our courage to choose to speak this language.
The tipping point, paradigm shift, or full turning will involve a profound adoption of nonviolent language.
In this moment as we grieve for being at the edge of the collapse of this civilization we can also celebrate our joy at reaching the edge of transformation. We are at the edge of the abyss between paradigms and we have started to build the bridge.
Today XR, along with our relatives, has the permission to act as a bridge maker. With nonviolent language as an essential tool, we can accelerate the realization of our interconnectedness and our remembering of our instinct to protect and nurture what we love and that which loves and sustains us.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
As a movement Extinction Rebellion has consciously used the power of nonviolent civil disobedience as an embodied practice of love asking for the needs of the Earth and all its living splendor to be safeguarded.
The work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and Marshall Rosenberg's nonviolent communication or peaceful communication, are nourishing reference points for Extinction Rebellion.
Political discourse
This way of being in the world has created a fortress around our hearts to enable us to cope with the consequent feelings of disconnection, dis-ease, separation and powerlessness. Essentially, we are in constant inner and outer conflict, suffering under micro-violences day after day.
We have hardly noticed how the language of war dominates our 'peaceful' campaigns. Let me confess to the struggle and vulnerability within our fledgling movement. We have at times described our collaboration work as building 'allies', but then through exploring our truth we have discovered our need for the re-weaving of the whole human family so that actually we are building relatives and embracing our relations.
The roots of the language of our conditioned separation run as deep as the chemicals poisoning our soil and water.
As we shift the Overton window, as per XR strategy, we also seek to shift our current dysfunctional paradigm (encased in a violent language) because in reality there is no fragmentation between the natural, the spiritual, and the social. They are one integrated whole.
We cannot shift our value systems for the natural world without moving normal political discourse, and we cannot shift political discourse without shifting the spiritual and moral discourse. We can then no longer act as arbiters of right and wrong and instead we become peacemakers between all that divides us.
Heart line
What feels as beautifully clear as a dawn chorus, within and around XR today, is that in nurturing our capacity for nonviolent language or compassionate communication as an internal and external process we have been able to cultivate relationships that have opened doors to people's hearts, including the hearts of policemen and policewomen during our 11 days of mass rebellion.
Not only this, but we also have liberated individual and collective curiosity, imagination, and creativity and thus our desire to co-create a language fitting for our transition to what Joanna Macy describes as 'The Great Turning'.
Whether as witness or arrestee, we are changed by the experience of XR's nonviolent civil disobedience in both word and deed. The edge of transformation and the nonviolent language this requires are now in sight.
A good example of this is our description of the 'heart lines'. The rows of people at the edge of disobedience on our sites in London were not the front lines. They were hearts in unison - our heart lines.
When we attached ourselves to Jeremy Corbyn's fence with our chocolate Easter egg and flowers, we were love-showering, not 'occupying' or love-'bombing', and as we induct people into the movement and we train our rebels in direct action we learn about the values, principles, and practice of nonviolent communication in all we do and say.
Tipping point
Together, we are exploring and ushering in a more comprehensive language of nonviolence. The further construction of this language for disobedience will require a presence of heart intelligence from where we can source our courage to choose to speak this language.
The tipping point, paradigm shift, or full turning will involve a profound adoption of nonviolent language.
In this moment as we grieve for being at the edge of the collapse of this civilization we can also celebrate our joy at reaching the edge of transformation. We are at the edge of the abyss between paradigms and we have started to build the bridge.
Today XR, along with our relatives, has the permission to act as a bridge maker. With nonviolent language as an essential tool, we can accelerate the realization of our interconnectedness and our remembering of our instinct to protect and nurture what we love and that which loves and sustains us.
As a movement Extinction Rebellion has consciously used the power of nonviolent civil disobedience as an embodied practice of love asking for the needs of the Earth and all its living splendor to be safeguarded.
The work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and Marshall Rosenberg's nonviolent communication or peaceful communication, are nourishing reference points for Extinction Rebellion.
Political discourse
This way of being in the world has created a fortress around our hearts to enable us to cope with the consequent feelings of disconnection, dis-ease, separation and powerlessness. Essentially, we are in constant inner and outer conflict, suffering under micro-violences day after day.
We have hardly noticed how the language of war dominates our 'peaceful' campaigns. Let me confess to the struggle and vulnerability within our fledgling movement. We have at times described our collaboration work as building 'allies', but then through exploring our truth we have discovered our need for the re-weaving of the whole human family so that actually we are building relatives and embracing our relations.
The roots of the language of our conditioned separation run as deep as the chemicals poisoning our soil and water.
As we shift the Overton window, as per XR strategy, we also seek to shift our current dysfunctional paradigm (encased in a violent language) because in reality there is no fragmentation between the natural, the spiritual, and the social. They are one integrated whole.
We cannot shift our value systems for the natural world without moving normal political discourse, and we cannot shift political discourse without shifting the spiritual and moral discourse. We can then no longer act as arbiters of right and wrong and instead we become peacemakers between all that divides us.
Heart line
What feels as beautifully clear as a dawn chorus, within and around XR today, is that in nurturing our capacity for nonviolent language or compassionate communication as an internal and external process we have been able to cultivate relationships that have opened doors to people's hearts, including the hearts of policemen and policewomen during our 11 days of mass rebellion.
Not only this, but we also have liberated individual and collective curiosity, imagination, and creativity and thus our desire to co-create a language fitting for our transition to what Joanna Macy describes as 'The Great Turning'.
Whether as witness or arrestee, we are changed by the experience of XR's nonviolent civil disobedience in both word and deed. The edge of transformation and the nonviolent language this requires are now in sight.
A good example of this is our description of the 'heart lines'. The rows of people at the edge of disobedience on our sites in London were not the front lines. They were hearts in unison - our heart lines.
When we attached ourselves to Jeremy Corbyn's fence with our chocolate Easter egg and flowers, we were love-showering, not 'occupying' or love-'bombing', and as we induct people into the movement and we train our rebels in direct action we learn about the values, principles, and practice of nonviolent communication in all we do and say.
Tipping point
Together, we are exploring and ushering in a more comprehensive language of nonviolence. The further construction of this language for disobedience will require a presence of heart intelligence from where we can source our courage to choose to speak this language.
The tipping point, paradigm shift, or full turning will involve a profound adoption of nonviolent language.
In this moment as we grieve for being at the edge of the collapse of this civilization we can also celebrate our joy at reaching the edge of transformation. We are at the edge of the abyss between paradigms and we have started to build the bridge.
Today XR, along with our relatives, has the permission to act as a bridge maker. With nonviolent language as an essential tool, we can accelerate the realization of our interconnectedness and our remembering of our instinct to protect and nurture what we love and that which loves and sustains us.