Awakening Peace: Brian & Lisa Berman on Art, Healing, and Global Compassion

This week on Ojai Talk of the Town, I sit down with Brian and Lisa Berman, two longtime Ojai residents whose life together has been devoted to peace, reconciliation, and healing.Their journey began in Germany at a Holocaust memorial event: Brian, a sculptor who lost family to the Holocaust, and Lisa, a German citizen searching for ways to understand and repair her nation’s history, met in that powerful moment of remembrance. From there, their partnership became a shared mission.As co-founders of Awakening Peace, the Bermans have spent decades fostering dialogue, compassion, and creative solutions to conflict. In recent years, their work took them to Poland, where they lived during the height of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supporting refugees and promoting peace initiatives in a country on the edge of war. They’ve also carried their message to global conferences and workshops — from Hiroshima to international peace councils — building bridges where division has sown pain.In this episode, Brian shares how his sculpture embodies resilience and remembrance, while Lisa talks about her work as a naturopathic healer and counselor, helping individuals and communities find inner resources for peace. Together, their story is a reminder that healing history and shaping a more compassionate future are possible when art, spirit, and activism unite.We did not talk about the Wannsee Conference, Rommel and Montgomery in Northern Africa, or the Great Swift-Kelce Convergence. Check out https://awakeningpeace.org to keep up-to-date with the Bermans.It's a deep and inspiring conversation - a perfect antidote for the low simmer of nihilism and pessimism so prevalent today.