3 insights and design opportunities for designing peace. I recently spoke at Q Tea, a pretty unique interfaith dialogue kind of event organised by Q Commons Singapore. How does peace look like in different traditions? Drawing on my experience in Plum Village, a Zen monastery and mindfulness practice centre in France where I once spent 3 months of winter in retreat with monks, nuns and lay practitioners, I shared my perspective of peace as part of the human experience of sacredness across religious, cultural and social divides, and pondered the possibility of a set of spiritual commons - guidelines, tools or group process - that might be useful for nurturing interfaith experiences.

2. “Peace is every step.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

3. about

4. Jason is a social impact designer-entrepreneur
by day and had been practicing mindfulness
and meditation for about 8 years now. Drawing
on his three-month experience in Plum Village,
a Zen monastery and mindfulness practice
centre in France, Jason will be sharing his
perspective of peace as part of the human
experience of sacredness across religious,
cultural and social divides, and ponders the
possibility of a set of spiritual commons –
values, guidelines, tools or group processes -
that might be useful for nurturing interfaith
experiences. This presentation is part of a Q
Commons Singapore event on Sat 2 May 2015
at The Hub.
www.jasonleow.sg

5. intro

6. Sit mindfully

7. Walk beautifully

8. Work restfully

9. Eat joyfully

10. Listen deeply

11. Just be yourself

12. https://vimeo.com/jasonleow/summerinplumvillage

13. 3
insights

14. one

15. peace in play

16. From this…

19. …to this.

21. Peace as silence and
stillness vs peace as
liveliness and
exuberance.
Peace is often seen as a mountaintop and
solitary pursuit. But it can be also joy,
laughter, play and exuberance with others.
Peace in play feels different - wholesome,
energizing, nourishing - compared to the
depleting busyness of our city.

22. How does peace in
play look like? How
might we tell – and
live - the difference?

23. two

24. peace at work

25. A story

26. “The spirit of Happy Farm is that we aren’t
only growing vegetables and organic food,
but also living and working in a way that
cultivates happiness… So we are a happy
farm, we are trying to grow happiness.”
- Stuart

27. From this…

28. …to this.

29. Peace as destination
vs peace as journey,
at work.
Peace wasn’t just about the ends, but also
the means. How we treat one another along
the way is as important, if not more, than
the end outcomes in peace work.

30. How might we bring
practices of peace to
practices at work?

31. three

32. peace in pain

33. Diverse backgrounds

34. Safe space

35. 1. Expressing gratitude
2. Sharing regrets
3. Expressing a hurt
4. Asking for support
Beginning anew

36. Peace in the absence
of hardship, vs peace
from it, with it.
Peace requires lots of work and an ongoing
commitment to practice peace together. A
loving way to conflict resolution.

37. How might we have a
spiritual commons
that’s useful for
nurturing interfaith
experiences?

38. closing

39. How might we have a spiritual
commons that’s useful for
nurturing interfaith
experiences?
How might we bring the
practices of peace to practices
at work?
How does peace in play look
like? How might we tell – and
live – the difference?

40. Just like plants grow towards
sunlight, we grow towards the
direction of our questions.
Our questions are our light.