Practices and Reflections for the Anniversary of 9/11

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat


On September 11, 2001, as New Yorkers and Americans, we experienced a full range of strong emotions. As we dealt with them, we were grateful to have a spiritual practice to turn to, and by the afternoon, we found ourselves working on an "I Am" prayer as an exercise in empathy and unity. Our prayer/poem, "Rest in Peace," was inspired by the work of the Buddhist peacemaker Thich Nhat Hanh.

Years later, we still believe that empathy is a critically important practice for the people of our troubled world. Since that tragic day, much more death and destruction has been unleashed on our world, and our hearts go out to all those who have felt the brunt of war and its attendant agonies. Whereas in 2001 we felt quite alone as we struggled to phrase our response to terror, today we are connected to a group of sensitive, wise, and articulate Living Spiritual Teachers, some of whom have graciously contributed reflections and practices for this anniversary observance.

These teachers encourage us to work with primal emotions that surface on this day and in the present precarious global situation — fear, anger, thoughts about revenge, worry about security, shame, despair — and to develop the spiritual impulses of compassion, forgiveness, hospitality, hope, peace, and unity. We are grateful to them for helping us make the annual anniversary of 9/11 a time of spiritual practice and reflection.

Art Meditation
• After 9/11, Pieta for Darfur and Iraq, Solstice by Frederick Franck

Spiritual Practices
• Breathe Shalom by Rami Shapiro
• Heart's Ease by Megan McKenna
• Reading Naomi Shihab Nye's "Kindness" by Roger Housden
• Building Safety by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Creating Peace through Gratefulness by Brother David Steindl-Rast
• Interfaith Dialogue by Wendy M. Wright
• Working with Anger by Ezra Bayda
• Disarming Your Tongue/Heart/Soul by Megan McKenna
• Nonretaliation or Forgiveness by Robert Thurman
• Examen of Consciousness and Conscience by Sam Keen
• Purifying and Strengthening the Heart by Andrew Harvey

Reflections
• Remembering 9/11 by Speaking Out Against War by John Dear
• The Fundamentalist as "Other" by Parker Palmer
• The Hope of Humanity by Jacob Needleman