Making Waves and Riding the Currents: Activism and the Practice of Wisdom

One of America's most distinguished social innovators and the founder of its first public interest law firm, Charles Halpern has been a catalyst for launching an array of enduring institutions dedicated toward enriching human lives and our world. In Making Waves and Riding the Currents: Activism and the Practice of Wisdom, Halpern reflects on his distinguished career—a journey that led him from career-mindedness to a life devoted to social justice and activism. But this captivating memoir is about more than even that. It's about the inner work thatmakes the outer work possible. Over the course of his remarkable career, Halpern founded the Center for Law and Social Policy, where he litigated landmark environmental protection and constitutional rights cases; was the founding dean of the City University of New York School of Law, where he initiated a program for training public interest attorneys; was president of the NathanCummings Foundation, where he launched an innovative grant program,supporting new programs that drew together social justice advocacy withmeditation and spiritual inquiry; and was a founding board member of theprogressive-think tank Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action. Throughout these endeavors, he sought ways to develop inner resources that complemented his cognitive and advocacy skills. These explorations led him to the conviction that what he calls "the practice of wisdom" is essential both to his own success and to our collective capacity to effectively address the challenges of the twenty-first century. Lecture given at Brown University on February 11, 2008. Sponsored by the Contemplative Studies Initiatives

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Google Video | February 20, 2008

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