Begin Within: Inner Healing, Social Transformation
Martin Luther King, Jr said “All meaningful and lasting change begins on the inside.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher of mine, said, “Our purpose in life is to wake up from the illusion of separateness.”
These two quotes are the inspiration for the offerings on this site. The site focuses on the interplay of inner personal development and outer social transformation.
When we survey the state of the world today, there is ample evidence that we are simultaneously teetering on the edge of collapse and poised for a great positive breakthrough. To carry us safely through these challenging times, it seems increasingly clear to me that there is a need to integrate social justice, emotional healing, and spiritual practice. One without the other two is not sufficient. This point of view is woven throughout this site. If you are interested, you may like to read “A Personal Journey…” in the “Articles” section for an elaboration of how I came to this perspective.
The thinking, reflections, and resources are culled from the learnings of my life as a social activist, director of national youth leadership programs, teacher of elementary through college, practicing counselor and therapist, ordained Buddhist teacher, published author, diversity trainer, international consultant, parent of two children, grandparent, and spouse for almost five decades.
In the “Articles” section are pieces I have written over the years on social change, leadership, diversity, emotional healing, Buddhism, personal reflections and experiences. Included are articles on working with young people that come primarily from my three decades of work with a program called YouthBuild (www.youthbuild.org). These may be useful for youth workers, teachers, and parents. Note: These are not scholarly articles. There are no footnotes. Although the ideas are informed by innumerable sources and experiences, they are only my personal views.
The “Quotes,” collected over the years, that have provided me with guidance, inspiration, and humor. Perhaps you will find value in some of them.
The “YouthBuild’s North Star” page contains downloadable chapters from my book about YouthBuild, and various other resources useful for YouthBuild directors, staff and graduates, and others in the youth development field.
If you would like to receive announcements of new blogs as I share them, please send me an email at jbellminder@gmail.com.
May this site serve our common good.
peace, John Bell
About John Bell
I am an educator, activist, writer, and a Buddhist Dharma Teacher based in the Boston area. I came to social justice work through the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s. I have 40 years of experience in the youth field as a teacher, counselor, community organizer, leadership trainer, director, and father. I am a 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 working with youth from 15 different war zones; and of YouthBuild USA (in 1988), where I served as Vice President for Leadership Development and Training until I retired in 2015. I helped grow YouthBuild into 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 like affordable housing, and leadership skills. My expertise is in the areas of youth leadership development, peer counseling and healing, and diversity. I have done training and consulting work for the Peace Corps in Africa and South America.
I am also an ordained Buddhist Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, whom I first met in 1982. In this role, I have taught meditation, offered retreats, served on the boards of the North American Dharma Teachers Association; ARISE, the racial justice initiative; Earth Holder Community, the earth justice initiative; and most recently, the Beloved Community Circles, a mindfulness-based action network. In 2014, I turned much of my attention to climate justice work–teaching, writing, organizing, including getting arrested twice with other faith leaders for protesting the installation of a fracked gas pipeline near Boston.
In addition to published articles and handbooks, I wrote a book about YouthBuild (YouthBuild’s North Star) and have a blog site called “Begin Within.” My most recent book, Unbroken Wholeness: Six Pathways to the Beloved Community, is my attempt to combine social justice, emotional healing, and spiritual practice into a vision and a set of practical approaches for addressing the troubles of our beloved world in hopes of helping ushering in a more just, peaceful, and sustainable Earth.
Begin Within 