listen | A Peace of My Mind

I wish…

February 6, 2017 by johnnoltner

At the end of our dinner presentation at the Center for Transforming Communities, we closed with one final exercise. After hearing many of the inspiring stories from A Peace of My Mind, people are ready to dream big. We ask everyone in the room to take a piece of paper and finish this phrase: I wish…. They can finish the phrase any way that they like…we encourage them to aim high, and they often do. Everyone in the room feels […]

Categories: Blog, Uncategorized • Tags: art, commitment, community, listen, memphis, peace, transformation, wish

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Listening

November 6, 2016 by johnnoltner

More than anything, I find that A Peace of My Mind is a project about listening. It’s a skill that’s in short supply these days. We listen with the goal of responding, correcting, debating, convincing or coercing, but what if we simply listened for the sake of understanding? And another thing… 😉 We are quick to point out things that are wrong…ways we have been disrespected, disappointed, offended, or made mad. Just look at your social media stream today and […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: American Stories, Augustana, black and white, community, Illinois, listen, photography, reconciliation, share, story, students

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Young Voices

November 1, 2016 by johnnoltner

For the past four years I have worked with 5th graders at FAIR School in Crystal as artist in residence for their Perspectives Program. Each fall we install the exhibit, do a presentation for all 85 students and then over several days, I visit each classroom and work with students to explore their own thoughts about peace. They write their ideas in peace journals which we eventually pass on to a crew of artists from Stages Theater who craft the […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: crystal, fair, listen, Minnesota, peace, stories, theater, voices, writing, youth

15 years

September 12, 2016 by johnnoltner

Like all of us, I have a clear memory of that day 15 years ago. I remember the replayed television footage, the quiet skies. I was scheduled to leave for Africa on September 17. So little made sense and even less felt certain. Since that day I have been to Ground Zero three times. The first time, it was still a construction zone. Most recently, we toured the moving museum at the site. We found the name of Thomas Burnett, who […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: 9-11, a peace of my mind, American Stories, APoMM, Ground Zero, healing, listen, Muslim, New York, NYC, peace, stories

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Our book update

July 6, 2016 by johnnoltner

I owe you a story from our upcoming book, but the deadlines are looming, and I hope you’ll settle for an update for now. We have 10 days left of our Indiegogo campaign. We have raised more than $10,000 of our $25,000 goal. I just came back from a production meeting with the printer and designer, and as we head into the home stretch, I want to share with you a few things that I believe. I believe we are […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, American Stories, APoMM, art, books, diversity, healing, hope, listen, listening, peace, photography, portrait, social justice, stories

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From the Summit

June 27, 2016 by johnnoltner

A continuing series from the Sojourners Summit for Change last week. To learn more about this series, click here.

Categories: Blog • Tags: American Stories, APoMM, black and white, dialog, diversity, healing, listen, listening, mypeace, peace, photography, portrait, race, reconcilliation, sojourners, stories

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Stories from the Summit

June 25, 2016 by johnnoltner

It’s a lighter, faster version of A Peace of My Mind. Over the past three days, Karen and I gathered stories and photographed 50 participants at the Sojourners Summit for Change in Washington DC. The pace was quick, but the stories were rich. Not only did we photograph and gather stories, we immediately processed and produced the shots to be projected before the large group gatherings, twice each day. We seeded the process a bit, with some attendees agreeing before hand […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: APoMM, B&W, dialog, listen, peace, photography, race, reconciliation, social justice, sojourners, sories

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Just Listen

June 23, 2016 by johnnoltner

I am spending the week at the Sojourners Summit for Change in Washington DC. Jim Wallis is president and founder of Sojourners and also a New York Times bestselling author. His most recent book is America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and a Bridge to a New America. It’s my second year at the Summit, a gathering of leaders who use faith as a means to work for justice. This year’s focus is the intersections and implications of race in our work. […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: APoMM, Bryan Stevenson, healing, Jim Wallis, justice, listen, peace, photography, race, sojourners, stories, truth and reconciliation, unity

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A Peace of My Mind

Exploring the meaning of peace, one story at a time.

Tag: listen

I wish…

Young Voices

15 years

From the Summit

Just Listen