unbroken wholeness: six pathways to the beloved community

＂A holistic vision breathtaking in scope.＂--Frances Moore Lappé

Distilling a lifetime’s insights on the triangle of healing emotional pain, social justice work, and spiritual growth, veteran activist and educator John Bell shares personal stories and reflective practices to help us on our path of personal and collective transformation

Unbroken Wholeness brings an integrated lens of social justice, trauma healing, and spiritual practice to the work we do in the world and the pressing concerns of our times.

Collectively, these writings help us access a view of the world as unbroken, even in the face of obvious suffering and disharmony. With searching questions and easy-to-follow practices, Unbroken Wholeness offers a way for activists to apply mindfulness and insight to bring about healing for seemingly intractable social divisions. ＂Skillfully handling our emotional pain about the world while cultivating a joyful and kind heart helps us navigate the troubled waters of our life,＂ says John Bell. Continuing the peace work of his teacher, the Vietnamese social activist and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, John Bell brings forward the importance of cultivating a practical yet visionary, ennobling view of humankind when engaging in the ＂mud＂ of daily difficulties that gives rise to the lotus of an enlightened, compassionate heart.

John Bell is a Buddhist Dharma teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Tradition, and a direct student of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh since 1982. He offers retreats, and meditation courses, and has served on the boards of the climate justice initiative the Earth Holders Community, the racial justice initiative ARISE, and the North American Dharma Teachers Sangha.

In his wider life, he has 40 years of experience in the youth field as teacher, counselor, community organizer, leadership trainer, director, and father. He is founding staff member of three youth leadership organizations: Youth Action Program (in 1978) in East Harlem; Children of War (in 1984), an international youth leadership organization; and of YouthBuild USA (in 1988). Until his retirement, John was the Vice President for Leadership Development at YouthBuild USA (www.youthbuild.org), an international nonprofit with 350 programs in 15 countries that works with young people who have dropped out of school and provides them with further education, vocational training building tangible community assets, and leadership skills. He is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant in the areas of youth leadership development, peer counseling and healing, and diversity. He lives near Boston.