A new year is upon us. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, we have just entered the year of the Snake. As I write this, Losar - Tibetan New Year - begins. Tibetans are not celebrating the holiday like their Chinese counterparts. Leaders, including the elected...

Wow, 2012 is coming to a close. What an incredible year it's been. Thanks for your interest in my work! For my last blog of this year, I share 3 reminders through 3 fabulous short video clips. # 1.  Practice non-judgment (note: it's ok to laugh, indeed a bonus...

Canada led the way in annually celebrating Restorative Justice Week; this year's theme was “Diverse Needs; Unique Responses”. I agree with Dr. Theo Gavrielides that we need to now make this International Restorative Justice Week! So let’s proclaim it as such; his...

What question could you ask that would contribute to a new reality? I’ve come to appreciate the power of questions. This was brought home yet again when I watched Velcrow Ripper’s newest film Occupy Love. Documenting global movements - including Arab Spring, Occupy,...

I’ve come to appreciate how important it is to connect with other colleagues and to also do self-care. We tend to be so busy and there seems to be no time. It’s part of the problem of this do-do-do reality. It’s time to BE first and foremost, to make ourselves a...

I was surprised to hear of Stephen Covey’s passing on July 16. He was 79 and died peacefully in Idaho, USA, from residual effects of a bicycle accident. Dr Stephen R. Covey won many awards and sold millions of his books in multiple languages. He was recognized as one...

As a facilitator, I consciously create space and discuss how we are going to talk. As an educator, I spent years learning about how we learn. This led me to multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, problem based learning and community based service learning....

I’ve had the honour of being invited as one of twenty people to present at the first international symposium on restorative justice and human rights in Greece. How could I possibly say no?! We’ll be meeting June 2-7, on Skopelos Island (yes where the movie Mama Mia...

Murder is a terrible, heinous crime. No doubt about that. We need to question though how we best respond. Especially our knee jerk reaction of lock 'em up and throw away the key. Are all murders and all murderers the same, equally deserving of the harshest punishment?...

I’m teaching a course on Justice. I always invite students to engage, both with the real world and with each other. Yesterday students facilitated a discussion on their own topic of interest: torture. I'm disturbed that some students think torture is justified. I’m...

How do you feel about Ryan Dickinson’s sentence? That was the opening question I was just asked in an interview with CBC TV news. Ryan, 20 years old, is the first person sentenced in Vancouver’s Stanley Cup riot. He pled guilty and was just given 17 months prison and...

We all know we're inundated with stories of violence, hatred and revenge in the news and on TV. The news doesn’t adequately cover what is really going on. I was fortunate to experience firsthand the goodness in people, and stories that never make it into popular...

"We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Happy Martin Luther King Day! I’m glad we...

December is a month of many celebrations, such as Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas and Kwanzaa. I’m reflecting on our fabulous diversity, our challenges to get along with one another across divides, and the invitation for Peace on Earth. This month Buddhists...

I’m interested in stories of transformation and utilizing their potential for educating, healing and inspiring. We need to be reminded of what is truly possible. So I am dedicating this blog to The Forgiveness Project and the possibility of forgiveness. The...

Costa Rica doesn’t have an army. Imagine a country in Central America with no investment in war. What would it take for all countries to put down their arms and to end war on our planet? I was just in Costa Rica for a workshop. Reflecting on possible futures and...

My life’s work is about transformation; about getting from where we are to where we would like to be. The process or the means by which we bring about change is of utmost importance. I see two main paradigms in the world, and a movement with an opportunity. One...

I’m inspired when people have the courage to stand for what’s best for all humanity, especially when it means acknowledging societal outcasts or going against your group’s popular ideology. The Supreme Court of Canada and former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen did just...