"We are no longer afraid": the world at the threshold of a new dawn

An interview with Federico Mayor Zaragoza

by Carmen Font

In an interview, renowned Spanish peace and democracy activist, Professor Federico Major Zaragoza, discusses the shifts in power now underway that are empowering the people of the developing world. (March 2012)

Professor Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1934) is a respected figure in Spain and abroad for his tireless work for peace and development. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Professor Mayor, a biochemist by profession, held several senior ministerial posts in the Spanish transition governments and later as Member of the European Parliament. He gained widespread international recognition during his mandate as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999, a period in which he gave new momentum to the organisation's mission and worked towards creating the Culture of Peace Program. In 1999, he decided not to run for a third term with UNESCO and, on returning to Spain, created Fundación Cultura de Paz, (The Foundation for the Culture of Peace) of which he is chairman. Federico Mayor shares his thoughts and actions about the latest important developments in the past year. Carmen Font interviewed him for Share International. (more…)

The Loneliness, Stress, Isolation, And Lack Of Human Compassion And Support Of Brothers And Sisters Existing In Urban Life

The Need For Community And Coming Back To Nature

Part 3 in A Series On Community Building And Survival In Times Of Economic Crises by Gabriel of Urantia 

We should ask ourselves how many people should comfortably live in close proximity to one another, also in relationship to working and using the same recreation facilities. For instance, New York City has an approximate 10-mile radius (which includes the boroughs) with roughly 20 million inhabitants within that radius. In our extra-large cities of more than 10 million people, how big should that radius be?  (more…)

Impact of a Tragedy: Trayvon Martin

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

The whole world is a marketplace for Love,
For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love.
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars
The center of their orbit find in Love.
By love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.

-Attar

*          *

Today a reader asked me to comment upon the death of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old young man and the circumstances surrounding his death. From my point of view, I offer the following thoughts, but first let us discuss what appears to have happened. (more…)

Substitutes For Community Living

Modern Society And The Breakdown Of Having All Things In Common, Including Interpersonal Relationships

by Gabriel of Urantia

With the onslaught (particularly in Western civilization) of modernization, industrialization, and technology, people have become more isolated from each other and from the local community where they may live. At one time in our human history people used to know the names of everyone in the tribe or neighborhood. They ate, played, washed clothes, watched each other’s children, fixed each other’s broken-down whatever, worshipped God together in kivas and outdoor arenas, helped raise the animals, and often shared the same modes of transportation (horses, chariots, wagons, etc). The following specifics are some of the reasons why community has been lost in present-day civilization. (more…)

When Will The Champions Arise?

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

People in this civilization are starving in the middle of plenty. This is a civilization that is going down, not because it hasn’t got the knowledge that would save it, but because nobody will use the knowledge. Idries Shah, 1975

When Will The Champions Arise?

It is most interesting to note, that this prophecy or insight about the hungry: physically, emotionally and spiritually was offered in 1975. I believe I had been out of college and working just four years; also, it came after the unrest of the 1960's.  During this period, I had no idea that personal excellence could be attained through higher knowledge; and this personal reaching higher, makes the world a better place one person at a time. (more…)

Community Living - The Answer As To How To Defeat The 1%

The Establishment of Subcultures

by Gabriel of Urantia

This article is a response to a member of the arts and labor group of Occupy Wall Street, Nicole Demby’s excellent article titled, “The Fight Against Capitalism” printed in AdBusters, February 15, 2012.

Throughout recorded history, and even before that, people lived in communities/tribes and had as many things in common as they could, because tribal living simply made life easier for everyone involved. It was a protection against more hostile enemy tribes as well as the 1% of their day (and there has always been a 1%, since the establishment of using some sort of capital as a means of acquiring goods and services). (more…)

The Judicial System: Why It Doesn't Work And How It Can

Occupy The Courts

by Gabriel of Urantia 

I was a volunteer chaplain at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. I worked at the county jail from 1977 to 1982. I also worked with the pre-trial release program of the Department of Economic Security and accepted prisoners to my halfway house, if I thought I could work with them. Many of these prisoners I got personally involved with. I went to their trials. I learned a lot about the “injustice system” because none of these prisoners had the money to really hire an attorney, so most of them had court-appointed attorneys to defend them. And a lot of those attorneys were wet behind the ears. (more…)

The Higher-Consciousness-Handicapped Presidential Nominees,

Our Current Compromising-Consciousness President, And The Need For Both To Lean On Somebody Or Fall

by Gabriel of Urantia

The Republican nominees can also be called “the parade of new souls.” There is a lot to learn about the difference between a new soul and an older soul or starseed, which has taken me writing two published books (called The Cosmic Family, Volumes I and II) so far to even begin to teach. But for the clarity of this article, I will just state a few pertinent facts on both soul types.  The majority of the billions of people on this planet are new souls, but there are approximately 500 million starseed over the age of 18 who are older souls. (more…)

There is no glory in war

In an interview, Michael Ferner, interim director of Veterans for Peace, discusses the growing calls for non-violent means of resolving issues.

Veterans for Peace, a US-based non-governmental organization founded in 1985, seeks to eradicate war as a national policy. The group comprises veterans from many eras and conflicts, including World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to their website, "Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary." Michael Ferner is the group's Interim Director. Jason Francis interviewed him for Share International.

Share International: What was behind the formation of Veterans for Peace?

Michael Ferner: The group Vietnam Veterans Against the War was created in 1967. A number of military veterans, most of them from the Vietnam War, got together in the mid-1980s and decided they wanted to form an organization that would provide a platform for veterans in an ongoing way, not just following a particular conflict. What brought people together at that time was a sense of urgency regarding US policies in Central America - using death squads in El Salvador and Guatemala, and later, funding the Contras in Nicaragua. (more…)

Occupiers Must Learn How To Use The Creator To Win Over The Power-Elite And Their Soldiers Of Gas-Destruction

by Gabriel of Urantia

History doesn’t talk much about it (with the exception of the Old Testament and other holy writings of various religions), but most of the prophets and holy men of old have been revolutionaries, including Jesus Christ. Even over the last few centuries, revolutionaries like George Washington, Joseph Smith (of the Mormons), and Gandhi were men who prayed to the Creator for guidance. When they did pray, many of their historical accounts said that miracles happened. (more…)