Segment 1: The Left Brain and Conflict.
Everything in the human experience begins in the brain, including war, conflict and peace. Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show, who will discuss this theory, is James Olson. James is a management-trained philosopher whose studies have included business, engineering, art, Eastern and Western religion, yoga, qigong, psychology, language, neuro-linguistics, philosophy and brain perspective. His book, The Whole Brain Path to Peace, argues that the hemispheric nature of our brains account for much of the conflict and peace in our world. His website is www.thewholebrainpath.com.
James’ personal journey started out as a farmer on the family farm. During the winters he had time to study a wide range of interests and he came up with a very holistic view of the world. When he realized he was left brain dominate he set out to determine what that meant and how it dictated his perception of reality. The two sides of the brain both feed us info. We take information from one side and information from the other side and integrate them to come up with our own personal perspective. James researched the left brain versus right brain and found that the left brain disassembles and deconstructs, while the right brain builds and assembles. The left brain, if left untempered by the wisdom of the right brain, can get us into trouble and cause conflict.
Segment 2: Mixing Oil and Water.
Upbringing has a great deal to do with attitude and world perception. We are heavily affected not only by the dominant side of our brain but also by our environment. If someone has a dominate right brain but is never taught how to think critically, they will not have a balanced view of the world and will not use “whole brain” thinking. We have a dualistic set-up within the brain. Trying to mix the left brain’s polar ideas with the right brain’s non-polar ideas is like mixing oil and water. The left brain tends to be skeptical and cautious and controlling. It can be resistant to working with right brain.
Segment 3: Smart Phones Versus Brains.
The secret is to begin using our non-dominant brain more --- the side/perspective that has been neglected. To retrain our own brains and to reactive the non-dominant side, just understand different perspectives and different options. If you don’t know what your brain is capable of doing, you can’t access it. We know more about accessing our smart phones than we do about our own brains. The better we understand it, the better we use it. Meditation helps as well. Meditation shuts off the left brain and brings us into our right brain. This helps us see more holistically and make better decisions.
Segment 4: Understanding the Dualistic System and Finding Peace.
James has found most males are left brain dominant and most women are right brain dominant. There is a biological basis for sexual orientation. If we understand what’s going on in our brain we can find peace with a situation. If we don’t understand the dualistic system of our brain it can cause conflict and war-like behavior.
To listen to the complete interview:
San Francisco, Ca (PRWEB) June 10, 2012
Douglas Noll award winning peacemaker and award winning author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts, kicks off a campaign to teach the distinctions between peacemaking and nonviolence. “I am not starting this grassroots campaign to be a stickler for how we use words, the bigger picture is to educate the public so that an opening for changes around conflict can be created, with strategies of negotiating peace becoming strategic policy in homes, communities, schools, businesses and government,” Noll announces.
“There is a very large gap between what people believe peacemaking to be and what it actually is. It is important to start educating communities, families, and governments about what peacemaking is and what it is not. A peacemaker fundamentally intervenes in and de-escalates conflicts, and provides strategies above and beyond nonviolence,” Noll explains.
Popular public sentiments revolve around memorializing historic figures like Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King as peacemakers. “With conflict on the rise worldwide, it is essential that education begins with basic definitions. Change makers are not necessarily peacemakers. The great figures of our past that were lauded as peacemakers were really nonviolent change agents. When people in power understand this, professional mediators will be brought to the table during times of change so that order can be restored and differing sides can create peaceful solutions that are win-win,” Noll teaches. “We can historically see that when mediators are not brought into unstable areas, loss of life, disease, famine, humanitarian crime and long term suffering prevails,” Noll adds.
Noll is a professional mediator with an impressive list of business and family clients. “What I find is that people exhaust every other avenue to resolve conflicts before choosing mediation, which causes financial hardships and fractured relationships. If I can, through my campaign educate the general public about peacemaking strategies before they find themselves in conflict that there are ways to work through problems during the process of negotiating resolution to differences, I can save people money, restore conflicted relationships, and prevent hardship,” Noll explains. For a free fifteen minute consultation visit: http://my.vcita.com/757e13f4/set_meeting?o=c2lkZWJhcl93aWRnZXQ%3D&s=http%3A%2F%2Fnollassociates.com%2F
About Douglas Noll
Douglas Noll is the winner of the International Peace and Justice Book Award for Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (http://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Peace-Diplomatic-Strategies-Conflicts/dp/1616144173/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339101596&sr=1-1). Doug is the 2012 winner of the CLAY award for co-founding the pro bono project Prison of Peace. Doug is a keynote speaker and sought after leader in the field of international, domestic and business conflicts. Doug is a sought after interview guest on TV and radio, and a keynote speaker and workshop presenter. Doug is a full time peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts, an adjunct professor of law and has a Master’s Degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Mr. Noll is AV-rated and was a business and commercial trial lawyer for 22 years before turning to peacemaking. Doug is a founding board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, and the 2012 President of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
Noll is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, a Diplomat of the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Noll was one of the first U.S. mediators certified under the international mediator standards established by the International Mediation Institute. Doug is the author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), the winner of the international peace and justice book award. Doug Noll is a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, a preeminent mediation Training Institute founded by Lee Jay Berman. http://americaninstituteofmediation.com
Join Facebook at http://www.facebook/DouglasNoll.com. For interview and further information contact Inspired Media dianeden@centurytel.net
Joe, Martha, George and Anna had been fighting over their parents’ home and five acres for ten years. They had endured four lawsuits amongst each other, some resulting in judgments that had been enforced. Four years ago, the home burned to the ground with no insurance to rebuild, leaving a vacant lot to fight over. Each side had gone through two or more lawyers. The family had been torn apart through bitterness, anger, and strong feelings of injustice.
I was called in by the current lawyers to see if I could help matters. Other than confirmation of my engagement, I received no letters or mediation briefs outlining the problem to me. This was a case where I literally walked in cold.
The lawyers seemed anxious to get this matter resolved and out of their respective offices. They, fortunately, were cooperating with each other in trying to find solutions to this intractable family conflict.
After introductions, I began the process. First, I explained that each person had four options for deciding how to deal with the conflict. I used a flip chart to draw out the four options: coercion, outside authority, peacemaking, and negotiation. I observed that coercion had not worked, outside authority had led to four unsatisfactory lawsuits, and that the high level of conflict escalation and mistrust made one-on-one negotiation unlikely to be productive. I then said that everyone in the room had chosen today to try third option: peacemaking.
“You have the power to decide if this matter will resolve and how it will resolve,” I said. “I am the least powerful person in this room. My job is to manage the process, provide a safe environment for difficult conversations, and support your work in any way necessary.” I asked if this option was the choice of each person in the room. Everyone agreed that it was. This was probably the first thing the family had unanimously agreed upon in years.
I described the peacemaking process, and how I wanted them to share their stories and perspectives. I explained the difference between positions and interests. To their surprise, I was not interested in their positions and wanted to focus on identifying their interests. I explained the problem solving process they would utilize and answered questions and concerns. Again, they each agreed that the process seemed to make sense.
Before letting them begin their work, I established ground rules. “One person speaks at a time without interruption. You each agree to summarize back what you have heard. You agree to speak the truth from your heart and your mind. You will be respectful of each other, the process and me through your words, tone of voice and body language. Finally, the process has to be fair at all times.” I asked if each agreed to these ground rules and as we went around the table, every person affirmed his or her commitment.
For the next two hours, we listened to stories. Summarizing back was difficult, as it usually is in bitter and intractable disputes. With support and practice, each of the brothers and sisters became more comfortable with summarizing. More importantly, they learned to listen to each other carefully and empathically.
After the stories were told and heard, we turned to interests. I elaborated on the differences between positions and interests then asked everyone to take some private time and identify what interests needed to be satisfied for the conflict to be resolved.
When we re-convened, the interests went up on the chart one at a time. Everyone was amazed to find out that they shared almost all of the same interests. I smiled to myself because discovery of common ground happens in every peacemaking assignment and is one of the powerful parts of the process. When all of the interests had been identified, I asked two questions.
“Are any of these interests mutually exclusive? That is, will satisfying one interest mean that under all circumstances some other interest cannot be satisfied?” Everyone reflected on the question and looked at the interests. They agreed that the interests could all be satisfied.
“If we can find a way to satisfy all of these interests, do we have a basis for ending the conflict and finding peace?” Everyone hesitated as they realized I was asking for a commitment to peace. A few questions were raised and answered. Silence followed for at least two minutes. Finally, one at a time they agreed that if the interests could be satisfied, the conflict could be resolved.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon developing options that would satisfy the interests. I framed the conflict as a joint problem to be solved rather than a competition to be won or lost. The brothers and sisters engaged in a friendly and spirited conversation about how all of the interests could be fulfilled. Within an hour, an agreement was reached.
This story illustrates how the peacemaking process can bring parties separated by intractable, bitter conflict together to restore trust, foster cooperation, collaborative problem solving, and most poignantly, permit reconciliation. I had the good fortune to work with attorneys who let their clients do the hard work and who saw their role as counselors, not advocates.
And what was the solution? Everyone agreed that the property should be donated to the family church, that all claims and judgments should be exonerated and released, and that they should get back to the business of being a family again.
Segment 1: The Irrationality of Nuclear Arms
Is there any rational reason to maintain nuclear weapons? On this edition of The Doug Noll Show we speak with Dr. David Krieger, Founder and President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, to discuss that question. A respected authority on foreign policy, international relations, peace and disarmament, Dr. Krieger has been at the forefront of the peace movement for 30 years. In 1982 he started his own dream organization: the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He was inspired to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons after visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki and seeing the peace memorial museums --- powerful reminders of what happened in WWII. During his tenure as an International Relations professor he came to believe that the most important issue that confronts society today is the need to abolish nuclear weapons. It affects not only the people living today but future generations far into the future.
Dr. Krieger says when we realize nuclear weapons are maintained and strategies are developed totally on the basis of “rationality,” we come to understand that we’re betting the future of the world on the fact that we will continue to have leaders who are rational at all times, under all conditions and all circumstances. It’s a very unlikely proposition.
Segment 2: The Deterrence Argument
Is there any rational reason for maintaining nuclear weapons? Deterrence is not rational. Dr. Krieger argues unilaterally that we would be safer if we got rid of our Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles. They are something to target in a time of high conflict or high stress. There are ICBMs in three states in the United States and the Senators of those three states, encouraged by industry and people who profit from those weapon sites, fight to maintain those ICMBs. Between $50 - $70 billion dollars a year are spent on the nuclear weapons industry.
Segment 3: Capable of Eliminating a Species
With that $70 billion dollars we could fund housing programs, provide education and Head Start programs for children, fund food programs, etc. Instead we are spending the money on preserving dinosaur-like weapons that can only be used in a manner that kills indiscriminately, violates national law, is immoral at the highest level and terribly costly.
If you consider the greatest threat today – terrorism – nuclear weapons have no value of deterrence. There is no “place” or “territory” to retaliate against. We need to convince countries throughout the world that we must eliminate the only weapon system in the world that is capable of eliminating us as a species.
Segment 4: The Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Non-Proliferation Treaty, which entered into force in 1970 and extended indefinitely in 1995, leveled the playing field to some extent. The countries who signed the treaty agreed to not acquire new nuclear weapons and to pursue disarmament, but there are still over 19,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Four countries did not sign the treaty: Isreal, India, Pakistan and North Korea. They don’t consider themselves bound by its provisions.
To listen to the entire interview:
Douglas Noll, award winning peacemaker, President of the California Dispute Resolution Council, award winning author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts(Prometheus, 2011) and this year’s winner of the CLAY award, discovers a cultural attitude shift towards the war in Afghanistan identified in his book Elusive Peace. “Most people accepted the war effort as long as Osama bin Laden was alive. The desire for vengeance and the accompanying hormone high has ended,” Noll states, adding that “a dopamine high accompanies a desire for vengeance.”
Noll writes in his award winning book Elusive Peace about brain function as it relates to conflict and peace. Science shows that the brain expresses pleasure hormones (Dopamine) when the need or desire for revenge occurs as featured in an article in Scientific American: (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=revenge-evolution). “Once the motivation for revenge wanes the dopamine wears off and people lose motivation and interest in vengeance. The motivator, in this case, Osama bin Laden, is gone,” Noll explains.
“The recent protest in Chicago at the NATO summit was widely received and reported in media. This is new. Before, protests against the war in Iraq were met with resistance and a general attitude of dismay at outspoken anti-war protesters, much like the public criticism Cindy Sheehan received. Today, however anti-war sentiments are more widely accepted and approved. By the reports, people are tired of war and the media is reflecting that in stories,” Noll says predicting that “these anti-war sentiments coupled with a cultural anxiety about a protracted military spending campaign will be reflected at the voting booths in the upcoming election.”
Douglas Noll is the winner of the International Peace and Justice Book Award for Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts. Doug is the 2012 winner of the CLAY award for co-founding the pro bono project Prison of Peace. Doug is a keynote speaker and sought after leader in the field of international, domestic and business conflicts. Doug is a sought after interview guest on TV and radio, and a keynote speaker and workshop presenter.
Doug is a full time peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts, an adjunct professor of law and has a Master’s Degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Mr. Noll is AV-rated and was a business and commercial trial lawyer for 22 years before turning to peacemaking. Doug is a founding board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, and the 2012 President of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
Noll is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, a Diplomat of the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Noll was one of the first U.S. mediators certified under the international mediator standards established by the International Mediation Institute. Doug is the author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), the winner of the international peace and justice book award. Doug Noll is a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, a preeminent mediation Training Institute founded by Lee Jay Berman.
http://americaninstituteofmediation.com
Join Facebook at http://www.facebook/DouglasNoll. Visit http://www.elusivepeace.com. For interview and further information contact Inspired Media dianeden(at)centurytel(dot)net
Segment 1: Youth for Human Rights International. http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/
Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Tim Bowles, Director of International Development for Youth for Human Rights International. Tim practiced constitutional and civil rights law for over 30 years and helped establish valuable protections for free religious practice in American that continue to benefit individuals from all faiths and walks of life. After three decades of litigation work in the American courts, Tim traveled to Ghana, West Africa as a volunteer for Youth for Human Rights International (YFHRI), a U.S. based nonprofit dedicated to human rights education worldwide. In Africa Tim helped teach young people their human rights as embodied in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. He also met people who shared his vision of bringing increased awareness to the subject of human rights.
Segment 2: Human Rights Education in West Africa.
The YFHRI organization is centered around human rights education and raising the awareness and responsibility levels of youth throughout the world. They conduct international summits around the globe. Tim believes we need to not only teach the existence of human rights, but also make it a reality. His passion is leadership training: planting the seeds that will enable the younger generation. Our young people need to know it is their responsibility to be more confident, more courageous, more creative and more effective than their parents’ generation.
So how do kids in West Africa respond when tasked with spreading human rights principals? Tim has found that kids are wide open to ideas. They’ve seen enough killing --- they have personal experience with murder, rape and other tragedies. The youth that Tim worked with generally had three complaints: a lack of power structure; the NGOs did not go into the side streets and look for opportunities; and they wanted to teach their peers about human rights but did not have the training or support to do so.
Segment 3: Youth Coalition Teams.
After some initial trial and error, YFHRI decided to engage wide groups of young people and mix up the youth in the schools. They organized them into “coalition teams” and everyone had a leadership role and a sub-product or result to work toward. Each team’s task was to create a human rights campaign on a selected issue that created support for human rights education within the student population, civil society, urban leadership, educators and the broader society around them. The teams chose their own issues and were given training and support by YFHRI. They came together at the end of the cycle and shared their phenomenal campaign ideas and results.
Segment 4: The Foundation for All Learning.
Unfortunately, we are not exposed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in primary, middle school or high school. Tim believes it’s fundamental and that we need to bring this subject to the attention of policy makers. This should be a subject in of itself. It’s the foundation for all learning. It gives learning a context and a purpose, and many professions stem from human right education.
To listen to the complete interview:
Segment 1: Human Rights Education.
Here in the U.S. we generally take many of our basic rights for granted. In many countries, however, tyranny, power, greed and corruption act to deny basic human rights. Even in countries where human rights are respected, the average citizen has little knowledge of what those rights are. Schools do not teach human rights concepts and students who are ignorant of their basic rights do not step up to assert them. Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, founder and president of Youth for Human Rights International. Dr. Suttleworth will discuss her amazing organization as well as her passion for human rights education around the globe.
Dr. Shuttleworth was born and raised in apartheid South Africa, and even as a young child was intensely aware of the devastating effects of discrimination. As an adult she found that discrimination is not only a South African issue, but a global issue that needs to be addressed at an international level. The mission of Youth for Human Rights International (YFHRI) is to teach youth about human rights and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. The education is based around the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed into being in 1948 after the abuses of WWII.
Segment 2: Human Rights, Tolerance and Peace.
There is a direct relationship between human rights, tolerance and peace. When we teach human rights, we are also teaching responsibility. We need to ask ourselves, “What is MY responsibility?” We all want basic human rights for ourselves, but the trick is to want them for others. Discrimination is not born in the heart of a child. It stems from learned lessons - not always overt - from culture, genetics, and environment.
Segment 3: Radical Reevaluation Needed.
Youth for Human Rights International works with youth of all ages. They can teach the concept of human rights to kids at a very young age (i.e. sharing, working together, etc.). It is essential that we teach human rights in our schools. We have “zero tolerance policies” in schools but we need a radical reevaluation of the use of power and coercion to control our own fears and anxieties about our environment. Parents need to spend more time with their kids to development good communication skills and deep empathic connections.
Segment 4: A Global Concept.
YFHRI does not have a problem keeping their teachings culturally appropriate as they travel from culture to culture. Basic human rights is a global concept. The declaration is a universal document and the material they use to teach human rights applies to all cultures. It’s imperative that the youth understand the concept that these human rights belong to EVERYONE. In order to make this happen, it takes money, support and volunteers. To get involved or find out more about the Dr. Shuttleworth’s organization, go to www.youthforhumanrights.org.
To listen to the compete interview:
Douglas Noll, author of the award winning book Elusive Peace draws the correlation between the high number of couples who regret their divorces and a lack of peacemaking skills. The most common reason cited for divorce is irreconcilable differences-which Noll describes as a failure to understand conflict resolution skills. "Couples get to the point where they have differences they cannot reconcile. The lack of skill to solve problems is a major contributor in unresolved conflicts," Noll says.
Comedian and actor Russell Brand recently admitted that he regrets filing for divorce from his ex-wife pop artist Katie Perry, and wishes that he had tried harder to save his marriage. (www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/05/report_russell_brand_regrets_d.html)
Brand's sentiments all too often mirror a good majority of divorced couples. Noll points to statistic that show: "40% of divorced people regretted their divorce and thought it was preventable." (Australian and New Jersey studies. (William J. Doherty, PhD, Family Social Science Dept., University of Minnesota, Bdoherty(at)che2(dot)che(dot)umm(dot)edu).
"Couples in high conflict relationships who divorce are most often at a point in their relationship where they cannot negotiate successful resolutions to conflict. Locked in win/lose belief systems, relationships often suffer irreparable damage," Noll points out.
Flooded with emotion, high conflict couples reach that pinnacle of distress where separating seems the safest option," Noll explains. "Most people are unskilled in resolving conflict successfully. To negotiate peace in a high conflict situation where both parties are satisfied with the outcome is an area the average person is not schooled in. Unfortunately most couples learn how to argue and solve problems from their parents, and generational patterns show up in today's relationships," Noll explains, adding that "this failure to solve problems amicably and with skill regrettably sets up a poor example to children. Bullying and fighting becomes the norm."
"As a peacemaker and professional mediator the dispute resolution skills we teach not only benefit diplomats, corporations and communities. Couples who learn to embrace peacemaking skills learn emotional intimacy and pass this valuable tool to their children," Noll explains. Noll believes that peacemaking starts at home so that collaboration is the norm for solving problems and kids at home learn critical relationship building tools. "If we teach children at a young age healthy boundaries, good listening skills, and empathetic responses in communication, we will be raising a generation of adults who will make better decisions in issues involving our global community," Noll says.
"However, when any relationship reaches a critical point, a skilled mediator is key for getting both parties to work together again," Noll points out.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/15/prweb9501430.DTL#ixzz1v2nP8iHp