In the beginning of his book, John Paul asks this core question: "How do we transcend the cycles of violence that bewitch our human community while still living in them?" The answer, his years of reflection, teaching and experience have led him to believe, lies in the moral imagination, which he defines this way: "the capacity to imagine something rooted in the challenges of the real world yet capable of giving birth to that which does not yet exist." John Paul identifies four dimensions of exploration/engagement that help develop the capacity for and practice of the moral imagination: Stated simply, the moral imagination requires the capacity to imagine ourselves in a web of relationships that includes our enemies; the ability to sustain a paradoxical curiosity that embraces complexity without reliance on dualistic polarity; the fundamental belief in and pursuit of the creative act; and the acceptance of the inherent risk of stepping into the mystery of the unknown that lies beyond the far too familiar landscape of violence (page 3).

So, how do we awaken and deepen our capacity to engage the moral imagination? First of all by creating the space to inspire and attend to our own deep inner wisdom, especially as that wisdom may connect with the Source of all wisdom. To help create this space, we began each morning with a walk through the woods.

Though we walked in a group, individuals were free to talk or be in silence, as they wished. Everyone was invited to be alert to the beauty and deep wisdom of the natural world. When we returned from our morning walk, we spent half an hour alone together writing morning pages, a practice of free writing that is akin to rambling through the woods, not worrying about where you are at any particular moment, or even if you’re headed in the right direction, but paying attention in each moment and trusting that direction and insight will emerge. As most people experience a special power meditating in a group, so the extraordinary ordinary individuals in this workshop experienced a special power in writing in a group, and came to trust the insights that emerged from allowing our hearts and minds to wander.

Walks and morning pages were only part of connecting us with our Source and our deep inner wisdom, only part of creating the space to engage the moral imagination. We also prayed together. We placed more value on deepening relationships – with each other, with our Source, and with our own inner wisdom – than on accomplishing specific tasks. So, we allowed enough time at meals for mindful eating and spacious, reflective conversations. We sang together, often, learning a song from each of the five groups.

We recognized the value of story – the unfolding stories each of us represents, and the core, guiding stories that John Paul offers at the heart of The Moral Imagination:

• the story of how a young man’s unexpected and courageous humility created an opening to resolve a festering conflict between the Dagombas and Konkombas in Ghana;
  
  

• the story of how a handful of women in Wajir, Kenya, acting courageously, creatively, humbly, stopped a war in their part of the world;
  
  
• the story of how a professor in Tajikistan helped end a civil war when he assured an enemy leader, I will go with you, side by side. And if you die, I will die;
  
  
• and the story of how a Columbian peasant empowered an entire community, caught between guerillas and the army, to stand firm in their unwillingness to take up arms in the face of demands from an army commander that they either fight against the guerillas or die.
  

We mined these stories, and the stories of each group’s efforts at peacebuilding, for a deeper understanding of how the moral imagination worked. We took time to reflect and listen deeply and to seek shared understanding. We explored the importance of recognizing our fundamental interdependence, and working to nurture the relationships that sustain us. We explored the dynamics of crafting and sustaining a web of relationships that includes the grassroots and high-level leaders whose decisions and action can affect the lives of many, many people.