I would like to introduce myself. I am Joe Van Deuren and I practice peace in Annapolis, MD. I also practice the martial arts, but in a way that creates peace for everyone around me, to the best of my ability. I started this site for all individuals who are or have been bullied by someone.
I have been bullied on many different levels from grade school to adulthood. I should also admit that I am sure that I have been the bully too. I can say though that my practice of the martial arts and everything I have learned here about myself and relationships has limited the amount of bullying that I have been a victim of and that I have put out there. I would like to share with you some of the things I have learned. I would like to help both those that are victims and those who find themselves using their control and power over others, to learn to practice compassion and empathy. This practice is a practice first for yourself and then it will be easier to practice towards others.
We will talk about using kindness as the ultimate form of self defense, and what we can do as parents and children when we are being bullied. I am particularly interested in helping teachers set the tone in their classroom to help students have an appreciation for each other and not feel the competition that many times leads to the hurtful acts we call bullying.
There are many tools we can use and we will discuss them. I hope that you will join in on this conversation with comments on the subject and let me know how you are dealing with those tough relationships.
Be Peace
