Dear John,

Join us Wednesday, October 23rd at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET for our next Local Peace Economy Community Call!

Since we last met, Israel bombed the last operating bakery in northern Gaza. As we sit with this reality, we're reminded of the ways the war economy seeks to destroy the ways we care for each other, the way we nourish each other. That's why creating cultures of care in the peace economy is part of our resistance. 

This week, we'll be reflecting together on what gets in the way of creating a peace economy. As it is Emily's last week as CODEPINK's Local Peace Economy Coordinator, she'll be sharing her learnings from her time in this role.We'll also be introducing Marie Goodwin, our new Local Peace Economy Coordinator. Join us as we reflect together, wish Emily farewell, and welcome Marie!

If you weren't able to be with us during our last meeting, you can catch up on our last call here.

What Gets In the Way of Peace?

In all of our organizing and our protesting, we're doing the important work of exposing the ways war is woven into the fabric of our culture, the ways our comforts are dependent on violence. And yet, as we've held people in their local peace economy journeys, we've often seen people get stuck in this place—a place of fighting against. What does it take to unhook ourselves from this fighting and move toward the creation of something new, something that you want to see be born into the world?

When we only see ourselves as against the war economy, we're missing a key pivot at the heart of this work: the pivot to self-responsibility. Many people mistake being against something as being responsible. Of course, exposing violence as it's happening is part of our responsibility. And, as you do so, how is your life creating the conditions for the world you want to live in? How are you using your life force, your energy, your gifts, your breath?  These questions are doorways into reclaiming our lives, our agency, from the war economy and moving from a place of self-responsibility.

What does self-responsibility mean to you? Who in your life embodies self-responsibility? What can you learn from them?

We'll explore these questions and more during our call together on Wednesday, October 23rd. We hope you'll join us!

Embodying Peace: What Somatics Can Teach Us

As we know, war does not begin with a bomb or a gunshot. In order to create the conditions for the world we want to live in, we must first create those conditions within ourselves and our relationships. This is what the pivots to peace are all about. Somatics has a lot to offer us about how we shift our internal conditions so that we can move in alignment with the world we want to see. When we are not tending to our own internal conditions, we can show up in ways that perpetuate systems of domination, despite our best intentions.

That gap—the gap between our deepest convictions about the world we want to live in and the world we are actively creating with our actions—that is where the work lies. That is a space of grief, and it is also a space of growth and possibility.

Somatics is an important part of the pathway toward self-responsibility because it supports us in bringing more attention to how we are actually using our energy, not how we think we're using our energy, and moving towards alignment with our intentions and commitments. It is a pathway back to our agency—something the war economy wants us to forget that we have.

Resources from The Cycle of (Re)connection: Embodiment and Somatics

What are you embodying? What do you long to embody? We have several resources in our The Cycle of (Re)connection library that can support you in deepening your embodiment practice and aligning your actions with your intentions—wherever you're at in this journey. Some of our favorite teachers and resources on this topic are:

• Staci Haines and The Politics of Trauma: How have we been shaped by social conditions? How is that shaping getting in the way of us reclaiming our agency? What practices support us in aligning our actions with our intentions?
  
• Dr. Resmaa Menakem and "How To Notice When You're Bypassing or Overriding Your Body's Genius": How can we temper and condition our bodies to be able to tolerate sensation, including the discomfort that will arise when we're acting in alignment with creation rather than systems of domination?
  
• Rev. angel Kyodo williams and Exercise for Connecting: How can we return to what matters by dropping into our body? How can we "take our seat," in our power, and how does that serve the collective?
  
• Prentis Hemphill and Finding Our Way: What skills do we need to create and embody the world we want?

Want to explore these teachers and topics more deeply? We have more resources for you in The Cycle of (Re)connection library!

Inspiration from the Ecosystem: Yoga As a Practice for Challenging Times

There are all types of embodiment practices out there, and yoga is a popular one. In this story, we explore why yoga teachers say the practice is essential for challenging times such as these. As you read this story, reflect: what practices help you return to your body in the midst of stress or challenge?

Additional Resources

You can always find more resources for your local peace economy journey on the peace economy website. Here are some helpful links:

• Lean into supported reflection by downloading or purchasing The Local Peace Economy Workbook
• Tend to yourself with The Cycle of (Re)connection
• Find a community of practice with The Local Peace Economy Ecosystem
• Get inspired by The Local Peace Economy Wiki
• Listen to CODEPINK Radio's episodes all about local peace economies - Ep. 242 and Ep. 256
• Read why the local peace economy is an antidote to the weaponized confusion of war
• Stay up to date on all of CODEPINK’s events here.

Don't forget to follow us on social media!

Please email us at [email protected] with any questions. We look forward to being with you soon!

With care, 

Jodie and Emily

PS: Spread the word about local peace economies in your community—buy CODEPINK's new Local Peace Economy t-shirts and totes!