The peaceful warrior is an archetypal image of power and compassion. Men such as Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Harvey Milk, are images that embody the characteristics of a peaceful warrior.

Gay/bisexual men in our community that might currently be seen as peaceful warriors are Stephen Funk, Conscientious Objector, Greg Louganis, former Olympic diver; Jim Mitulski, pastor of MCC Glendale; David Nimmons, Manifest Love; Collin Brown, Director of Body Electric School; Christian de la Huerta, Executive Director of Q-Spirit; Mark Leno, Ca. Assemblyperson and you.

The peaceful warrior journey involves listening to your body for wisdom, guidance and direction. Queer men seem to have a unique propensity to listen to their bodies, through the ways we touch each other and the "extra senses" we have often developed through oppression.

Listening to our bodies is a characteristic of a long term survivor. People who have faced adversity of health, oppression, abuse etc. tend to be people who pay attention to feelings, sensations and body responses as supportive information.

In this workshop "Peaceful Warrior II: Praying With Our Bodies", listening to our bodies not only offers support to our own healing journey but is the vehicle to create peace. This workshop is about one's personal healing process (in community) and our political activism together. We will explore the activism of being PEACE. Taking the themes of Peaceful Warrior I further into the body around "peaceful resistance" and "empathic solidarity". This experience takes a willingness to channel one's erotic spiritual energy, a willingness to play with fear and anger and a desire to make peace.

Follow up to this workshop will be to go together to a demonstration and practice being peace. (While we may hold a personal political stance, praying for a bridge between the keepers of both sides of the issue will be our intention). After participation in a demonstration we will process the experience.