Synopsis
I met Charles Halpern when, as president of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, he supported a rich and productive dialogue between prominent Tibetans here in Dharamsala and representatives of the world Jewish community. Such imaginative initiatives are typical of a life dedicated to positive social change. In this new book, Making Waves and Riding the Currents, he shows the importance of fostering basic human values like compassion in our relations with others and of working to generate inner peace. If we are able to do this, we will make our lives and our work meaningful, and ultimately contribute to the welfare of all living beings.
Review
"It was long believed that wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body. Charles Halpern has lived as if there is no distinction--that body, soul, wisdom, and health are one and the same in a life fully lived with great passion. This most creative of public citizens--lawyer, educator, philanthropist, catalyst of ideas and institutions--has put into practice what he writes in these pages. A nation wandering in the wilderness, as we are, could not ask for a better guide toward clarity and compassion."
--Bill Moyers, journalist
"Charles Halpern is uniquely qualified to give advice about how to work for a better world. His experience as a lawyer and social entrepreneur combined with the study and practice of mindfulness and Buddhist philosophy leads him to the conclusion that cultivation of wisdom and compassion makes for more effective activism. He challenges us to apply the lessons he has learned in our own lives and work. This book is highly readable, inspiring, and important."
--Andrew Weil, author of Healthy Aging and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health
"An honest, humorous, and profoundly illuminating account of one man's persistence in navigating the lessons of personal integrity, mindfulness, and balance while contributing successfully to greater wisdom and compassion in our social institutions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about leadership and social change, and bringing the inner and outer arcs of one's life and work together into a life-serving and meaningful whole."
--Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses and Arriving at Your Own Door
"At a moment when many activists may feel overwhelmed and enervated, Making Waves and Riding the Currents provides strength, insight, a path. In describing the course of his own remarkable career, Charles Halpern provides a model for social transformation that rests on persistence, bravery, and the need for conscious reflection as an integral component of civic regeneration. This is a revivifying sourcebook of good causes, great ideas, and transcendent lessons about the personal and collective benefits of working in the public interest."
--Patricia Williams, Professor, Columbia Law School, and columnist for The Nation
"Nothing is more needed in the world today--yet more elusive--than wisdom. In this fascinating memoir of his life and work for social justice and environmental sustainability, Charlie Halpern shares with us his path of learning to integrate mind and heart in pursuit of wisdom. Enlightening lessons for each of us!"
--William Ury, coauthor of Getting to Yes and author of The Power of a Positive No
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