“I am not truly free if I am taking  away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I cannot be free when my freedom is taken from me.  The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. Nelson Mandela Long Walk to […]

It’s amazing what a single donation and three months in Pakistan can accomplish! Pat Omidian has made many trips to Pakistan on behalf of Focusing Initiatives International (FII).   Her last one, for three months in early 2017, was made possible by a grant from a […]

You know how important it is to take care of yourself while taking care of others.  You have heard the flight attendant say: “put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.” Those of us committed to making the world a more connected, peaceful place […]

Pat Omidian spent about 20 minutes with one woman, showing her the Guesthouse poem (translated into Urdu) and having her say As-salamu’alaikum (saying hello–literally offering the wish for peace) to her inner guests. The woman came away amazed and told everyone in the household about […]

I am troubled by the news each day. And at the same time I cannot wait to read the next horrible thing. It’s like I have a toothache and my tongue just has to rub it to make sure it still hurts. It’s not a […]

Writing is a powerful process. One of my favorite classes at the Confidence Clinic I facilitated involved using a writing exercise I learned from Lawson Inada, a Japanese American poet who grew up in Pasadena, California, spending several years during World War II in one […]