I Have a Dream: Nonviolent Power in an Age of Volatility

In a week in which Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated, we reflect on whether the principles of nonviolence and strategic approach to protest that he advocated are still relevant for what is happening in our world today, especially focusing on demonstrations in Minneapolis and Iran. We explore what King taught, and consider how we may individually apply his teaching, as well as when we join with others in a collective. As always, we return to see where our intentions and prayers may be most needed, as vitally important demonstrations continue in various parts of the world. Intention and prayers start at 34 minutes 55 seconds. Suggested Intention Focus for this week This week, as we wrestle with the challenge of maintaining peace, compassion and non-divisiveness in protests, and remembering that protesting is often so needed in a violent and volatile world, we suggest holding as our main intention: We will to remain strong in remembering and putting into practice the principle of non-violence whenever we feel called to protest against injustices in our communities and world. Please join us in holding this. Mentioned in this episode: Ellen's Sacred Feminist blog, Climbing to the Mountaintop Parts 1, 2 and 3: http://sacredfeminist.com/happy-mlk-day/ http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-the-mountaintop-part-1/ http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-mountaintop-part-2/ http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-mountaintop-part-3/ Book: The Hope by Andrew Harvey Amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Guide-Sacred-Activism/dp/1401920039/ref=sr_1_1 Chapter markers: 00:00:00            Introduction 00:02:05            Protests and Change 00:05:31            The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. 00:07:17            Nonviolent Strategies for Activism 00:10:33            Compassion in Activism 00:12:20            Modern Movements and Their Challenges 00:15:46            Ellen’s Reflections on Feminist Action 00:19:07            The Montgomery Bus Boycott 00:20:47            Creative Protests and Media Influence 00:27:06            The Power of Collective Will 00:29:05            Individual Responsibility in Activism 00:33:34            Engaging with Nonviolent Protest 00:34:55            Intentions and Prayers Sources referenced in this episode: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/kings-message-of-nonviolence-has-been-distorted/557021/        https://www.westmont.edu/civil-disobedience-and-legacy-martin-luther-king-jr     https://commonslibrary.org/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/  https://the-conflictexpert.com/2025/04/29/non-violent-protest-heres-how-to-do-it/   https://frompoverty.oxfam.org.uk/what-tactics-are-most-effective-in-non-violent-protest/       https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how-to-sharpen-a-nonviolent-movement/   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00905917211021796   http://prt.civicus.org/strategies/   https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-violent-protests-change-politics      https://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/article/download/12126/pdf  https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijel/article/view/0/51143 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00947679.2000.12062526 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f00eed15dc258c516cd6f56a880090ecbf027cd1 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0483f2020086d3cdf6293095227f75bab62207e6 https://www.ojcmt.net/download/effects-of-mass-media-framing-of-protest-movements-a-meta-analysis-and-systematic-review-of-mass-11538.pdf http://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.13820.pdf https://ojs.unm.ac.id/iap/article/download/17929/9861 https://ojs.unm.ac.id/sosialisasi/article/download/13889/8131 https://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/psicologia/article/download/27887/25877 http://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/1093 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/download/5796/5796 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Peaceful-Resistance-and-Nonviolent-Actions-for-Social-Change-Edknowledge-Mandikwaza.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1kazuo6/cmv_the_liberal_focus_on_nonviolent_protests/ https://wagingnonviolence.org/2017/05/moral-nonviolence-healing-king/ https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/wri_handbook_2014_inner_AMENDED.compressed1.pdf http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi24/nonviolent-protest-strategy https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/us/renee-good-shooting-incident-report https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis-activist-sets-stage-national-protests-2026-01-10/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/15/trump-threatens-to-use-insurrection-act-to-end-minneapolis https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-renee-good-investigation-minneapolis-ice-activist https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/prosecutors-doj-resignation-ice-shooting.html https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/illinois-minnesota-suing-trump-lawsuit Join us in person for intention holding:  https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls   https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.   Our websites:   www.heartfulimpact.com/   Our show website.   https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.   https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.   https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.   https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding.   Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.   Our show content is hosted by Podbean and available from all major podcast platforms.   Our theme music is by Chris Collins. indiemusicbox.com.   Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).   Contact us via Facebook Messenger from the Impact! Facebook group, or using any of the contact methods mentioned on our websites.   Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com.