 All right, so yeah, welcome everyone. Thank you all for being here on your Valentine's Day evening to talk about care and love and local peace economy and what a fitting fitting topic for the evening care. And as we have done for the last few calls, if you've been here, we'll start with a grounding. And tonight, we're going to move through a somatic exercise led by Reverend Angel Piotta Williams, because we can't feel care or offer authentic care if we are not in our bodies. So our grounding tonight is going to help us connect with our embodied experience. The war economy relies on each of us being cut off from our bodies because as Reverend Angel Piotta Williams says, if we were in our bodies, we would not be able to tolerate what is happening. This practice that we're about to move through is one that helps us ground and center in our bodies. So you're welcome to sit or stand or lay down during the practice, whatever you need, just a few minutes long. And remember that there are no shoulds or supposed tos or getting it right when it comes to feeling into the body. It's just noticing what arises in your experience and being in relationship with it. And that this is something that I come back to often that perfectionism is a tool and a symptom of a war economy. So with that, I will share my screen and we tested this, hopefully it comes through. Okay, we'll see. And regardless, it will be shared out in the follow up email. And just to hopefully make it run a little bit more smoothly, I won't make it full screen, that might help. Oh, and actually, let me stop recording because I think that might help too. Thanks everyone. Yeah, so just coming back to center, centering and that length, that width, that depth and coming back to your core, learning and what matters for you. Just a little taste of a practice that can touch into caring for ourselves and extending into caring to caring for others. Thank you, Emily. Wow, that's beautiful. So as such a great reminder for what we're going to talk about today. But I first wanted to share with everyone that I saw Valentine's Day coming and my heart is broken into 1000 pieces and with the images coming out of Rafa, I was just like what my favorite day of the year is Valentine's, what could I possibly do? So last night I got on a plane and I came to DC and I made posters and Valentine's to delivered all the members of Congress that 5000 Code Pinkers signed. And we were so big and a group of Palestinian students came and joined us. So there was probably 50 of us. We broke into three four groups and we went around. And it was beautiful and horrible. So many of the people from Palestine could not believe how stupid, Islamophobic, racist and cruel members of Congress were. That was very hard. I was holding many of them in my arms as they walked out of the rooms in disbelief and horror. And so then we found out there was a hearing about the Houthis with the members of Congress on the Foreign Affairs Committee. So we went there and we all had blood on our hands and we were two rows. So it's a hearing room of only three rows. And we were two of the entire rows with blood on our hands. And I don't think they expected it. But here we have lots of people that had never been here before. One guy named Kevin, he was with me in the streets on the weekend and lived in LA. And I said, well, come to DC, you know. And so there were just tons of people that hadn't been there before. I have sat through many hearings of Congress and you literally think, you know, you have to prepare yourself to go in because they are so crazy, including the very first day of Code Pink. But sitting there, because if you say anything, you can get arrested. And we don't really have free speech. As we know in Congress, you can't have a sign, you can't have messaging. And if you say anything, they can arrest you. So Medea is very nervous. She's like, I like, Medea, I have to get up and say ceasefire. And she's like, oh, do you want to be arrested? And so Anne Wright couldn't take it anymore. She got up, waited till she got to the door, screamed back. The only answer to this is ceasefire. Because they're trying to say, you know, it's the Ron Bakuthis. And we give them a ceasefire. Oh, a ceasefire is not going to make them stop because they're all full of them. I mean, it was just like bullshit out on top of bullshit. So then Kevin, he gets up, Palestinian wants to go back to his family's home. He gets up and just starts singing free free the low key song free my Palestine free Palestine free Palestine. He's singing low key song. But walking out. So there was nothing the cops could do because he's just singing and leaving. So the whole, you know, 25 people found a way to get up and say something. Um, and it was disruptive for probably a half an hour of, you know, disrupting and disrupting and disrupting. But I want to say in this grounding exercise, it was just like each person grounded in their own heart speaking from their own place and getting up when it was right for them. And it was so powerful that no one got arrested. Not a person. I'm a deal was shocked because you know, usually if anybody gets up and speaks, they're arrested, we had our banners out. And so this was deeply disrupted, including then all of the members of Congress had to come out. And we got all of them in the halls, like walking for five minutes, sometimes to a to the elevator, to talk to them about ceasefire and hear the insanity that they believe in, which is really, really toxic. But that was my Valentine's Day. And that was my form of like, how did I want to care for myself? And then how did I want to care for the people in Palestine and in Gaza? And so that's kind of how it manifested. And it was a pretty magical day. And if you want to look at could paint social media, you can see some of the videos and photos and they'll continually come out for the next week. And then we plan tomorrow. I'm picking Susan Sarandon up from the to random up from the train station at noon, where we're going to disrupt King Jeffrey's office, who's trying to get the Senate bill that just passed for the Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel funding to go through Congress. So we will disrupt with Susan in his office. And then we'll go down and Rashida to leave. We'll get to say hi to Susan. And we've got 17 media outlets following us. So it's she's it's great that she's here, because she's going to get some media to come to these meetings. And in the afternoon, we'll cover another five offices in the Longworth Building and get her back to the train station at five. So that's the couple of days here in Washington, DC. So I just wanted to give you that fear heart to help heal I know the broken hearts that we're all suffering right now. So I just wanted to open with have any of you been working on the pivots or diving into any of the information in the book? And did you want to share anything that you're learning questions you have? Before we move into talking more about care? No questions, concerns, interesting things happen in a pivot? All right, I guess there's none. So let's talk about care and why this is so important to the local piece economy. First of all, you know, just with the grounding exercise to do any of this work, it has to be rooted in our own. As they say, you know, put your oxygen mask on first in our own space of finding that place of care of grounding of rooting, because what we're trying to do is be useful for others attuning fork into the divest from the war economy for others, which is a practice for all of us constantly. But being grounded, being rooted and understanding about care, because really the war economy is the antithesis of care. If you look at all the pivots, they are not human, they are not about caring about life. So it's breaking all those habits. Also can be well, first of all, so many times you can turn to grief for the things you've lost for the things you've done for the self you've given away, so that you come to grief. And when we come to grief, that takes care. But care is a cycle. It's a connective form. So the care of others becomes the care of self. And the care of self becomes the care of others. And in such a way that you get into it, and you're not even sure where you are, because it's not about self and other is about care. And it's like where you know, where you are in the cycle of care, sometimes you never know, because sometimes you caring for another is a more care for yourself than it is for the care of the other person. So it's really like how do we be in this place of care, which is really when we look at the peace economy, it's the service to life. And care is the service to life. And it's a it's some something that we're we all need to practice back into. And that's, you know, coming to Washington DC and being in the halls, and not even knowing all the people that I would be caring for all day. And yet, I probably got the most care because my broken heart feels so rich, as I in the day, and so nourished. Even with the stupidity, it was just like the vibrancy, the authenticity, the hearts that were shared. So it's entering that is the same as all that we're doing is it's entering the unknown, and watching the magical things that happen, as we are care, accept care, and give care, and not even knowing where we are in that cycle. So I'm one of the stories I want to, you know, just share is that April, who started on this journey with us has written a lot of the articles. And maybe Emily, you could give them a link to the wiki. She's written most of the articles in the wiki about all the local peace economy projects that have arisen and what they're doing and how they're doing it. And she started dealing with care. And this is five years into the journey. And she teaches me about care. And I think every month she learns another thing, which reminds us that it's an ever ending relationship of learning. One of the things she did to care was she started teaching yoga in her community as a local peace economy project, and realized that by teaching yoga in the in a new way, in a way about care, where she was relating to the them as this is a care for your body, instead of some of the ways yoga can be taught, that it became her way of caring for herself. And it gave her what she says is the courage to find all the ways the care was missing in her life. And I have to say that she's one of the people that I have walked glow. I mean, when she started life was very hard for her. And now I literally see her in the flow of her life. And so I want to see the care does take us into the flow of our life. It takes us into the flow of our lives with ourselves. And that way, the flow of life with others becomes much easier. And it's a practice as this all is. There's we never arrived somewhere. But being on the pass, trying out these things, being committed, being in the curious, being and listening, it's just this, you don't know where it's going to take you. It is surprising. But I promise it's more nourishing than, you know, what we've been indoctrinated into into the war economy. So many beautiful surprises happen every day. And that's one of my favorite things about April is just like literally have watched a flower bloom from where she started to where she is. And even right now, she's dealing with her father dying and some other difficult things in her life. She knew to just say, Hello, everyone, I'm going to move into care and I won't be available for a few weeks in a very clear, no, no apology, no, not nothing covering it, just the clarity of I am moving into care. And the leadership that that is to say into a room for everyone. It was quite beautiful. So we thought Emily, did you want to take it from here? Sure, yeah, and I'll just share a piece of my own story just to kind of, yeah, speak to the truth of that in my own journey with care. And then I'll share one more video. Yeah, Jordy and I were talking to this before the call, but in terms of how the war economy has impacted my own relationship with care, I remember so specifically, and I've had many iterations of this experience since of, I remember like coming down the stairs, and there was a very close friend of mine at the bottom and I don't remember exactly what he was saying, but it was something loving or there was like a loving energy coming towards me. And I remembered just feeling like this block of not being able to take it in. Like in my cells and my tissues and my soma, which kind of relates back to what I was speaking to at the beginning of we need to be in our bodies to give and receive care authentically. So such a huge piece of this journey back into care is coming back home to our bodies. So I just wanted to share that and and it's, it's not a linear process. It's not a linear, it hasn't been a linear process for me, I can share another story that happened a month ago where I was being held so lovingly and care with so much care. And I was in my head and in a shame spiral and I just couldn't take it in. And then, you know, that's okay, I offer that part of my self care too. And I come back. So yeah, just wanted to share that piece of my story. And we're going to watch one more video from Reverend Angel Kiotta Williams, who I should have said in the beginning, she is a Zen priest teacher, social activist, spiritual teacher, who has so much great stuff out there, highly encouraged. If you're resonating with what she's sharing tonight to look more in to her work, I can put some links in the chat. But for now, I'm going to pause the recording and I'll share this video. The invitation is to listen with your body as much as possible, take these breaths, and then we'll go into some breakout rooms. So on that note, after red has spoken to care and it's rolling the shift away. It's rolling our shift away from the war economy, we're going to share with each other a little bit. And I'll put this in the chat. But the prompt for this evening is, when have you felt cared for or experienced care? And what did that make possible for you? Again, that's when have you felt cared for or experienced care? And what did that make possible for you? And the invitation is when you get in your groups, you take 30 seconds to a minute of silence together before diving in. To ask the question to yourself and feel into your body for the response, your head might have an answer right away. If you're anything like me, it always has things that hasn't answered. But just kind of like letting that be for a moment and listening in with your body when you've maybe felt cared for. And rather than this being kind of a back and forth conversation, at least the beginning, allow each person to share uninterrupted and listen as you're listening, not as you're not the one sharing, listening with your full heart and your full body. And then if there's time after each person has shared, then, you know, there's room for conversation and but trying to avoid the crosstalk just so each person can be witnessed and share fully. So Jodi, are you ready to do that breakout? I'm ready. So we'll be there for 10 minutes. And then we'll bring you back. Oh, in the chat. And you'll put in the chat the yeah, the reflecting on. All right, you back in 10. So did anyone find anything in the in their breakouts that they wanted to share with everyone? Did something hit you in a way that was brush that you might want to share? One of the things that that we talked about is was a little bit of history. Like, my brother was, you know, went to Vietnam, and a couple of the other folks there had experiences in different situations. And yeah, I found the breakout room really helpful to both, you know, have a conversation and to listen and to find some common ground there. That's very helpful. Thank you. Macy, did you hurt your eye? Yeah. I got a I hit it on the cabinet got a little bit of a cut. The cut got infected. But I have these. I went to the doctor for antibiotics for it. I have these hand warmers leftover from Washington, DC. Okay. I'm sorry. You're taking care of yourself. I'm so glad. Here in action. Did anyone else? Well, while we're on it Macy, I just heard from Moji that you're you're pulling together something about path this and in Olympia or what the Olympic Peninsula is that what you call it where you are? Yeah, we are. You want to share and because we want to hear like, where has this taken you and what are you doing? So we'd love to hear what that is for you. Well, what we have out here is a code pink inspired group of mostly women. Oh, yes. And and a lot of the workbooks and and and a lot of conversations like what we just had in breakout rooms and the pivots I've been handing those out like crazy. And and so to give it a little bit of a more like it's a thing feel we're trying to have actual stuff go on, right? And so we Moji has stuff going on. I think we all know. So his check his path. And he's going to be able to explain that better than I am. But I'm getting people from my community together. Um, to to watch his presentation on on path is Iranian non violence and truth and reconciliation and intersectional circles or chambers of compassion, which I like how he puts so he's is spreading the word widely. And of course, I'm trying to get my group. I've realized that there's a couple organizational difficulties here that I'm not used to. And one is that there's not a lot of like town center where you actually run into people, like it's built along a straight line because this this used to just be a highway going somewhere else. And and it occurred to me that even that like it changes the way people interact. There's also not a lot of parents with kids and typically they have communities already pre built. Um, and and so I've been doing a lot of studying my area. And and kind of trying to there's a desperate need for connection. Um, and and and people are ready to be on board. It's a little bit confusing explaining what we because you're here with me are pink pink inspired and and here's some materials. And there's this guy. I don't know. I heard a speaker on an anti imperialism forum last month. And she's like, saying, well, there was a huge problem. And and she didn't know what to do about it. And so she just said, Well, I better do something. And then what? Well, I don't know, but I'm gonna do it. And how are you gonna do it? I don't know, but I'm just gonna do it. And so that's kind of the way I'm approaching this. Like that. So what we're just doing is having a code pink and inspired Olympic Peninsula. Um, zoom watch from partly my house with Moji's path presentation. Well, you do sense. Okay. Wait, you just nailed it. You just say you're not articulate. You're very, because you're grounded in your truth and you just nailed it. Because that's the thing. We're walking into the unknown. And you know, it's it's that to be willing to walk into the unknown into the I don't know, but I do know where I don't want to be. I do know what I don't want. So like, I'm gonna walk in a new direction and see who wants to join me. And so you are an amazing model for what this is. And then the other piece we haven't even gotten to yet. And I know it's in the book, but it's mapping. And so one of the things we don't do, which you just were describing, is the mapping of where we live. We don't even know where we live. We live somewhere. We have no idea where we live. It's made you more aware of where you live, right? You became more aware of like, whoa, there is no commons, you know, so, you know, what we're taking us back to is a commons that we share that, you know, the commons used to support the community. And it had all the things we needed in it. And those have been privatized and destroyed. And, you know, the Walmart's and everything that takes us away from the commons, which was a small business, which isn't capitalism, which is just the market economy of care, you know, who had all the different spaces that were care, they weren't about being rich. They were about the care that which Moji knows, which I find in Iran, that's why I say it's not a capitalist country. It's very rooted in what is local, what is connected. How do we serve each other? You go to a store, you go shopping in Iran, the person's selling you the thing they make, you know, it's not a shopkeeper hired by the shop owner, you know, it's that that separation on separation. So, and you know, I think it's those kind of things that we we get back to, it's like, what is the relationship? What is the commons? And I want to say that to you, Warren and Andrea, because as you're, you know, finding your way, it's the invitation, it's the creating the possibility. And there are things like Facebook locally or next door, where you can say what you're doing and invite people and you'd be surprised at how many people are like, well, that sounds interesting. So, some of the places that are already available to just have a conversation about it and see who writes back. And then, you know, the mapping of your community, and I say this to both of you, because you're, you're looking at these communities that you're finding kind of a barren as far as local peace economy goes. So, you know, part of it is the mapping, which we'll get to in a couple of weeks. But that is that discovery of where do I live and what created this way and how did how it's created also be part of the war economy in the in the way it separates and divides. And we see this in so many of, you know, spaces that were created as freeway places with malls and, you know, not not connective spaces, and, and what can be created to connect people. And, you know, making sharing all kinds of fun things of a finding a person that's, you know, renting a space, but they can't find anybody. Well, what did they want to give it to the community and have community things aren't happening there? You'd be surprised how many other people in the community would start organizing things. So, it really is just as you said, Macy, it something has to happen. So I'm just going to do it and see who comes and see what happens. And it just becomes, you know, you're in discovery and creativity. And then what flows is, is what this is. So Sister Jody, I, I just sent a link to the, to the Zoom where the flyer for the Zoom gathering that sister Macy is spending so much time and so much heart to organize so that so, so we invite everybody to come to this meeting, which is, which is three to five PM this Sunday. Okay, Emily can help by working with Grace to get an invitation to everyone in the area from, from the Code Pink List. So great. And it doesn't have to be in that area. It can be anywhere. All right. Oh, thank you. I was curious, Jody, at one point, I think there was a map of peace economies or something. I'm not sure regionally there is. I'd like to kind of be aware of who's around me, if that's possible. Why don't you stay on a little bit after with Emily and she can show you how to use her map that is on the website. Okay. You know, how to search and find what's in your community and what's around. She can help you with that. Right. So we're almost over. And we were thinking for the next time we come together, we're going to take the care a little further in, because this is a big piece of the local peace economy work and getting into that flow of care. And we'll get more into the connection piece the next time around. So we were thinking for like the homework, you know, keep working on your pivots and developing what you're doing, but really be present with care. You know, and just a reminder, the care is small and simple and intimate and, you know, flows. So watch where that happens. And, you know, just paying attention might yield to you how much care is available in your life. And also, as Emily spoke to, what happens when care is coming in your direction and are you a wholehearted acceptor? Because if we get in the way of the flow, we get in the way of the flow. And so it's the practice on both sides of the flow coming and the flow leaving and just witnessing maybe, you know, feel free to write notes that you could share with next time. So, you know, we shared our stories, but we learned from each other's stories of like, you know, wow, what does that feel like? And what magic happened and how did I find new ways that I'm cared for that I didn't even realize? And how did I find new ways to care and what came back from that? So that's kind of the homework that comes and you'll find as you're practicing, the pivots care is inside of all that practice. I think it's inside of all the pivots practice. So does anyone have any questions they need before we see them in two weeks? I just wanted to make a quick comment about what I'm involved in right now and have been for many years is as a peace activist for an earth activist, etc. I'm a playwright and a musician and a poet. So one of the things I've been trying to do is make those things more accessible to the community so that everybody can share in it. You know, you don't have to have a play that's to cost $500 a person to go to. But you know, there are plays or poetry, jams or music jams that can can happen and that can inspire a community and get conversations started because those sorts of artistic things really help people to connect with the depths of what we need. We agree with you. Cultures where change happens. So we totally agree. And once you can create space where it can happen in a flood. Yeah, that's something I'm working on right now. So find out how much amazing brilliance is in the community that doesn't have a chance to express itself, right? So which goes to me, you know, finding that space where it's a, you know, a story sharing, a poetry sharing. You know, it's like making up, you know, plays. It's, you know, just getting together and being creative, singing all of that. And even in even at our actions, you know, in incorporating some of that into our actions, I loved seeing the sort of dioramas or whatever that we're being done in front of the White House, you know, with the babies among the rubble, super and some other things, you know, prisoners being Palestinian prisoners being mistreated, you know, and it's, it's like that stuff is so grabbing. And people don't forget that easily. They will remember and they will make them think about that. Well, happy Valentine's Day. Everyone and so much. Wait, wait, wait. I have one great suggestion for Code Pink. I am so tired of seeing these hearts being so red. I need to get, have a campaign to try to get an emoji. My name is Moji. Emoji that has a pink heart. Oh, wait, there's a pink heart with sparkles on it. That pink heart. I can't find it. Oh, yeah. Pink heart with sparkles. No, I can easily find the ball part because when I send it to you, Moji, the reactions, no, in the reactions, it only gives a red heart. Oh, well, we'll talk to Zoom. We'll talk to Zoom. But I think that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. See y'all in two weeks. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Take good care. Oh, and Emily, you were staying on for. Yeah, yeah. I want to stay on to learn how to use the map on the website. At least do a little tutorial. Thank you, Moji, I see it. And then follow up, you know. But OK, actually, let me stop there. For a day. OK.