Inviting the World to Transform:
Nourishing Social Justice Work with Contemplative Practice

 

Key Findings

For the great majority of interviewees, contemplative awareness is the root of social justice work.

A strong relationship exists between contemplative practice and social justice work, but it is not a linear, causal one; the presence of other factors can optimize the transformative potential of contemplative practices.

The inherent challenges of social justice work can undermine its effectiveness and sustainability; contemplative awareness has the potential to serve as a countermeasure to these challenges and contributes greatly to the effectiveness and sustainability of this work.

The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.

The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys her own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.

- Thomas Merton

Contemplative practices, as used by the social activists we spoke with, contributed to their ability to:

• Support deep, significant social change
• Sustain social activism and activists
• Process emotions in a constructive way
• Bring the shadow to light
• Shift power dynamics and structures

Online Publications on this Subject

You can download the complete report, Inviting the World to Transform: Nourishing Social Justice Work with Contemplative Practice, as a .pdf file. Please note that this file is quite large - 934 KB - and will take a while to download if you have a slower internet connection.

You can also download a report on the Social Justice Gathering at Essex Conference Center.