Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet

Films and resources on inner peace and “interbeing” with
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

When we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth… Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” 

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” 

~ Interbeing ~
“To be” is always to “inter-be.” Our body is a community, and the trillions of non-human cells in our body are even more numerous than the human cells.. There are no solitary beings. The whole planet is one giant, living, breathing cell, with all its working parts linked in symbiosis.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Brilliant lights guide our paths and shine like the stars forever
_______

The recent loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Thich Nhat Hanh who were both brilliant lights and moral compasses in a world that seems to have lost its way, brings with it a moment to pause and reflect on their timeless wisdom, gentle humility and profound joy. These luminaries encourage us to embark on the path of inner peace that is increasingly necessary to thrive in turbulent times. For those who share their deep commitment for compassion, justice and peace building around the world, we’ve selected a few films on the art of “interbeing” and science of inner peace you might enjoy below.

For those who wish to cultivate deeper peace and renewal throughout 2022 and beyond, here is a “how to” article by Dr. Julie Krull, entitled, Embodying Calm in a World of Chaos: Five Psycho-Spiritual Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Inner Peace with resources from HeartMath InstituteGlobal Coherence Pulse, and Global Coherence Initiative and more. With tornado-like chaos spinning around us, practicing the art and science of inner peace is vitally important for our personal and collective well-being. Studies show that calming one’s mind and eliminating stress are essential for lifelong health.

MISSION: JOY – FINDING HAPPINESS IN TROUBLED TIMES

In memory of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu (7 October 1931 – 26 December 2021), one of the greatest leaders of our time – his beloved humor, courage, moral and spiritual leadership and teachings on forgiveness have been a guiding light to millions.

In 2021, Academy Award®-winning director Louie Psihoyos teamed up with co-director Peggy Callahan to give us a glimpse into the friendship of His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Archbishop Tutu. In their final joint mission, they give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. They offer neuroscience-backed wisdom to help each of us live with more joy, despite circumstances.

Inspired by New York Times bestseller, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film showcases the exchange between these two Nobel Peace Prize winners that led to the book. Consisting largely of never-before-seen footage shot over 5 days at the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamsala, the film invites viewers to join these luminaries behind the scenes as they recount stories from their lives, each having lived through periods of incredible difficulty and strife.

With genuine affection, mutual respect and a healthy dose of teasing, these unlikely friends impart lessons gleaned from lived experience, ancient traditions, and the latest cutting-edge science regarding how to live with joy in the face of all of life’s challenges from the extraordinary to the mundane. MISSION: JOY is an antidote for the times.

THE WAY OUT

An urgent film about Climate Crisis, Activism and Mindfulness. What can we do, now that time is running out?

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh has a revolutionary proposal for facing the Climate Crisis. “The way out is in,” he states. “The way out of climate change is inside each of us.”  His invitation is to stop: to stop running and to take a good look at what is really going on. To see what views drive our behavior, how our thought patterns and our emotions work. In silence, we will better understand ourselves and the Earth.

The film follows two young people, a Brazilian banker and a British activist, during a stressful period in their lives. Will they be able to save the earth — beginning with(in) themselves?

Recorded in London and Yorkshire, UK, and in Plum Village, France.
This film is a co-production with Dutch broadcasting organisation KRO-NCRV.

FIERCE LIGHT: WHEN SPIRIT MEETS ACTION

FIERCE LIGHT captures the exciting movement of Spiritual Activism and illuminates the connection between spirituality and social change. Acclaimed filmmaker, Velcrow Ripper takes us on a global journey tracing spiritual activism’s historical roots and capturing the powerful personalities that are igniting a new wave of spiritual action around the globe.

Martin Luther King called it “love in action”. Gandhi called it “soul force”. In these times of crisis, there is an electric charge in the air, a burgeoning renewal among both people who have focused their lives on the spiritual, and those whose lives are centered around the struggle for change. Featuring Velcrow Ripper’s stunning cinematography, a compelling soundtrack, and dramatic stories of resistance and transformation, FIERCE LIGHT captures the excitement of Spiritual Activism that is tranforming the planet. Fueled by the belief that ‘another world’ is possible, Ripper seeks out stories to reveal what is possible when individuals, friends and strangers, faced with a world in crisis, rise to their absolute best… a human sunrise.

Featuring luminaries such as Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, Alice Walker, John Lewis, Daryl Hannah, Noah Levine

Charles Eisenstein on Interbeing

What can we do as individuals to move from the story of separation to the story of interbeing?

Interbeing is the Order coined by Thich Nhat Hanh that reveals the inter-connected-ness of all things, connected through our actions, feelings, thoughts, and basically everything else. That we are nature. 

Top 20 Desmond Tutu Quotes

Thich Nhat Hanh – Mystic Poet

Click through for a poetic meditation on “interbeing”

“A flower is made only of non-flower elements, such as chlorophyll, sunlight, and water. If we were to remove all the non-flower elements from the flower, there would be no flower left. A flower cannot be by herself alone. A flower can only inter-be with all of us… Humans are like this too. We can’t exist by ourselves alone. We can only inter-be. I am made only of non-me elements, such as the Earth, the sun, parents, and ancestors. In a relationship, if you can see the nature of interbeing between you and the other person, you can see that his suffering is your own suffering, and your happiness is his own happiness. With this way of seeing, you speak and act differently. This in itself can relieve so much suffering.”

“Take the hand of your child and invite her to go out and sit with you on the grass. The two of you may want to contemplate the green grass, the little flowers that grow among the grasses, and the sky. Breathing and smiling together — that is peace education. If we know how to appreciate these beautiful things, we will not have to search for anything else. Peace is available in every moment, in every breath, in every step.”

“I asked the leaf whether it was frightened because it was autumn and the other leaves were falling. The leaf told me, “No. During the whole spring and summer I was completely alive. I worked hard to help nourish the tree, and now much of me is in the tree. I am not limited by this form. I am also the whole tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue nourish the tree. So I don’t worry at all. As I leave this branch and float to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell her, ‘I will see you again very soon.”

That day there was a wind blowing and, after a while, I saw the leaf leave the branch and float down to the soil, dancing joyfully, because as it floated it saw itself already there in the tree. It was so happy. I bowed my head, knowing that I have a lot to learn from the leaf.”

 

“This body is not me,
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
Manifestations from my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.
So laugh with me,
hold my hand,
let us say good-bye,
say good-bye, to meet again soon.
We meet today,
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.”

” … So please continue to look back and you will see that you have always been here. Let us look together and penetrate into the life of a leaf, so we may be one with the leaf. Let us penetrate and be one with the cloud or with the wave, to realize our own nature as water and be free from our fear. If we look very deeply, we will transcend birth and death.

Tomorrow, I will continue to be. But you will have to be very attentive to see me. I will be a flower, or a leaf. I will be in these forms and I will say hello to you. If you are attentive enough, you will recognize me, and you may greet me. I will be very happy.”

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