London prepares to resist the Arms Fair 2011

"Arming repressive regimes.
Boosting arms companies' profits.
All the latest killing technology.
It's an event you don't want to miss.

The arms fair DSEi (Defence & Security Equipment International) brings arms buyers and sellers from across the world to London. From 13-16 September, acres of weaponry, from fighter jets and battleships to drones and tear gas, will be on display to thousands of visitors in an immense arms dealing extravaganza.
The arms fair takes place on our doorstep, and with our money, so we need to be there to stop it. Join us on 13th September for a day of mass action against the arms fair." See the CAAT website

ANVT 9 - Valid Action

Is it the same to do one thing or another? Are all actions the same? Or if we ask in another way: Do all the actions we do have the same value? If this is not true, how can we know what action has more value, what is better and what is worse or what is “good” and what is “bad”?

In our experience, not everything is equal. There are neutral actions that make us neither better nor worse – they are more or less habitual or pleasant. There are others that harm us, which are contradictory. And finally, there are other actions which are very positive and which we call “valid actions”.

In New Humanist thinking, the foundation of valid action is neither given by ideology, nor by religious commandments, beliefs or social legislation, even when these things may be very important. The basis of valid action is not given by any of these things.  It is given by the internal register of the action.

And what is the register of a valid action? The register is one that we experience as unitive.  We feel good and in agreement with ourselves because we are thinking, feeling and acting in the same direction and we are treating others, as we would like to be treated.

The register also gives us the sensation of internal growth: the sensation that something has improved in us when we acted that way.

And it is also something that we want to repeat, something that we would do a thousand times over if we could. It extends into the future and gives us a project for the future in the sense that if we could repeat this action something would continue to grow and improve inside of us.

To summarise, valid action is characterised by:

·         Thinking, feeling and acting in the same direction.

·         Treating others, as we would like to be treated.

·         A desire to repeat the action.

·         A feeling of personal growth.

ANVT 8: The Experience of Peace

"Carry peace in yourself and carry it to others" were the closing words of the first public address by Mario Rodriguez Cobos, aka Silo on May 4th 1969. But how can we find peace in a world that is so full of violence? As Eirene writes this posting the blame game rages after the London riots, the world economy titters on the verge of another Banks and speculation induced recession, Nato has succeeded in producing regime change in Libya and London is preparing for one of the largest Arms Fairs in the world. Enough to disquiet anybody; but if we really want to bring about non-violent change we need to plan our actions without internal violence. This is what ANVT (Active Nonviolence Training) is all about. Here is an exercise to help us on this road, and to start to get in touch with the little spark that dwells deep inside every human being’s consciousness. When we recognise it in ourselves, we recognise it in others and humanity becomes one, a wonderfully diverse and multicoloured one.

ANVT 7 - Relaxation

These are techniques we can practice in order to be capable of giving different responses to situations of violence as well as developing better control and a more intentional relationship with our environment.

Of course the techniques here described can be used to help us sleep, or "relax", getting away from it all, but they have been specifically designed to be able to relax in the middle of daily life, in the middle of tense situations when we want to give a response that is intentional, that opens the future for ourselves and for others and that can build around us a culture of nonviolence.