“Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.” – Mahatma Gandhi
TruthForce.Works’ mission is to co-cultivate the power of engaged love through a personal and community practice of gratitude, compassion, patience, authenticity, and joy.
The basic principles include:
I am an embedded aspect of a interconnected and interdependent of the Universe.
Love others as yourself. (This implies not only to love others, but to love yourself.)
Respecting others’ viewpoints and decisions, and detaching from outcome.
Refraining from moralistic judgments and criticisms of others.
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Express my truths authentically.
TruthForce.Works largely draws upon Nonviolence principles attributed to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and upon Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication (“NVC”). NVC is both a set of communication strategies and a consciousness that seeks to connect with others and oneself in a compassionate way that facilitates joyful giving and receiving.
The name TruthForce.Works starts with a phrase used by Gandhi, truth force. Gandhi used the words truth-force, love-force, and soul-force interchangeably with satyagraha, the word that he coined, which is translated most commonly as nonviolence:
“[Satyagraha’s] root meaning is holding on to truth, hence truth-force. I have also called it love-force or soul-force. In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and sympathy. For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on one’s self.”
Gandhi, M.K. Statement to Disorders Inquiry Committee January 5, 1920 (The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 19, p. 206).
“Works” is added to TruthForce, yielding TruthForce.Works, to honor the efficacy of nonviolence and acknowledge that nonviolence is an ongoing practice of love.
We are all part of the Universe. Every breath reminds me that there is no precise boundary between “me” and Universe. Every being has the right to its own viewpoint and decisions, including the the right to say “no” to that which we believe harms life. As an integral part of nature, we are embedded in an intricate living web of flows of energy and resources. Each human belongs here to the same extent as the sun, mountains, whales, redwood trees, rivers, flowers and the moon. That said, our desire for change also belongs here.
By caring for oneself, we care for others, and by caring for others we care for ourselves. We cannot properly care for ourself unless we sometimes say “no” to what others request or demand of us. Saying no may be what another needs for their growth. With tongue in check, I ask, “What if we were messing up the Universe by failing to say ‘no’?”
Joe Houska – The Instigator of TruthForce.Works
My surprise at being estranged from loved ones indicated that, contrary to what I had believed, I was not giving others enough of what they needed. The pain of estrangement fueled my desire to learn how to better understand and connect with others. On the more difficult side, which is still a wild and mysterious adventure, I’m very aware that I’m still completely blind of what I can tell are parts of myself that greating impact my life. So, I’m attempting to track down with the assistance of others what C.Jung might call my shadow, and intend to be as transparent as I can about this, as well.
I learned Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication (“NVC”) from Mr. Rosenberg and many other amazing teachers. In 2020, I was charged while watching the documentary that explains nonviolence The Third Harmony. My greatest desire is to rewild inwardly and outwardly, practice and integrate what I’ve learned, and co-cultivate nonviolence, hoping to self-empower myself and others.
I have been a practicing attorney, duly licensed in California, for 30+ years. I have a JD from Loyola Law School, where I was an editor on Law Review and a member of the Thomas Moore Honor’s Society, and an MBA from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, during which I was a Washington Campus Scholar studying the U.S. Federal government and an exchange student at the London Business School. I earned a B.A. from UCLA graduating with honors and completing two disparate majors: Economics and Ecosystems.
I am deeply grateful for my marriage that lasted two decades and our two beautiful children. My parents lost the child that led to their marriage just before birth. I grew up with one brother and three sisters, one of whom unexpectedly died at age 49 while walking with a teen child. I love all my family, yearn to heal and reconnect where there is still pain and disconnection.
I’m also estranged from much of the world. Having been a workaholic attorney, I understand the saying that “The law is a jealous mistress.” For the first half of my legal career, I did estate planning and business transactions. During the second half, I litigated, mostly regarding wealth. With my earliest memory from age 2 of camping in Yosemite and a delight in camping and outdoor adventures, including ocean swimming and sailing the Channel Islands, I have increasingly retreated from what many call the “Real World.” Having studied, enthusiatically participated and bought into the myth that capitalism and the legal system’s private ownership of chunks of the earth, I find myself barely able to function. I see how deeply embedded my life remains in an “unlimitd growth” system that is unsustainable.
I offer mediation services intended to find resolution to conflict that improves relationships while being true to the needs of all involved. I also offer legal services as an attorney. For more information, go to Services.