The Culture of Heart

What is the "Culture of Heart"? The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines culture as "The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought." This column is dedicated to the belief that the ethical underpinning of a peaceful "culture of heart" can and should be the concept that "unselfish love for others" has the highest value. I believe that human beings are driven by their strongest desires. If one desires to care for and love others more than any other desire, and considers that way of life to be the best way to live, then -- even though we're all flawed -- our thoughts, emotions and actions will change and progress toward the better. A society and culture that adheres to that commonly shared value system will become, one hopes, a "culture of heart". To that aim, I offer these columns.

Nations at Peace

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, February 25, 2007

The World of True Peace is a world of family relationships under God. Nations will live in peace when the overriding desire of each nation is to serve the citizens of all nations as true brothers and sisters, bound together by a common heart of love. more

The Beautiful Gifts of the Spirit World

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, February 5, 2007

One of my favorite topics of reflection and discussion is the question of what happens to us after our physical bodies let out their last gasps and become fodder for worms and other crawly things. more

Where the Bees Don't Sting

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, February 4, 2007

It was in between waking and sleeping that the images came to me. My wife, Kimmy Sophia, and I were standing in a beautiful English garden, overgrown a bit, but rich in color and fragrance. The images came as a response to my yearning that night to know what life would be like in the spirit world at some point in our future. more

Music, Bonfires and a Return to Village Life

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 24, 2006

Every year, on December 21st, our family attends a Winter Solstice celebration at a country house owned by Doug and Lesley Austin, our dear family friends. Doug is a wonderful mandolin player and is a member of the Runaway String Band. more

Eternal Triune Marriage as the New Definition of Marriage

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 10, 2006

I believe that one reason marriages collapse before death intervenes is because the pledge of love until death contains an inherent limitation. If one assumes that marriage is only for one’s physical lifetime, then it almost makes sense to move on to a better marriage if the first one isn’t working out. more

How Personal Flying Vehicles Will Change Society

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 3, 2006

Imagine a city where there are no roads. Imagine a city where paradise has not been paved, and turned into a parking lot. Imagine a city where asphalt and concrete are nowhere to be seen. Instead, the areas between buildings and houses are filled with grassy lawns, gardens and parks. That image alone should make the prospect of a world without ground-based vehicles immensely attractive. more

The Medical Profession Should Treat Patients Like Honored Customers

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, November 11, 2006

Many doctors seem to think that they are doing their patients a favor by treating them, rather than serving customers who are doing the doctors a favor by paying their fees. more

The Tyranny of Fashion

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, October 22, 2006

On the 14th of October, in the Year of Our Lord 2006, my family and I attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Annapolis. We feasted, we drank lemonade, we attended a merry joust where the brave warriors deigned not to fall off their horses because of insurance clauses. We had a grand old time for nigh on three and a half hours browsing rows of hideously expensive shops, and watching revelers eat gigantic turkey legs. And I was jealous. more

Declaration of Peace

A Declaration of Peace, containing Universal Principles of Peace, that articulates a particular viewpoint and stance that individuals, families and organizations may wish to adopt in order to promote world peace. Local, state and national governments may wish to adopt the declaration as a "Resolution" in their legislative body.

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 5, 2004

We Stand Together Now, at the Springtime of the World. We are crossing into a new era, leaving behind centuries of violent change. The frontier ahead of us today is the long neglected arena of the human heart. more

To Carry Our Heart Through the World Like a Life-Giving Sun

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, January 3, 2004

Seven hundred or so years ago, the Sufi poet Hafiz wrote the poem "Like a Life-Giving Sun". I stumbled across it in a volume of poems by the great Islamic poet, edited and translated by Daniel Ladinsky. The book, called The Gift, contains some of the most beautiful poems about God that I've ever read. Truly, Hafiz was in love with God. more

Book Excerpt: from "Building a Marriage of True Love" :: Section 1 - The Eternal Castle of True Love

~ "Building a Marriage of True Love" is a work in progress. I am publishing it here in serial form, as it is completed. Note that this section "The Eternal Castle of True Love" is NOT the same as the column of the same name. ~

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, January 1, 2004

When I was a small child in Maine, I loved reading folk tales about a Prince and Princess falling in love, getting married and living happily ever after. I imagined them standing on the parapet of a castle amidst the clouds, gazing out over a valley lush with foliage and singing birds. I wanted to be the Prince, with my true love at my side. more

Teaching Our Children a World Level Vision

This is the text of an extemporaneous speech delivered at the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace Conference on Ambassadors of Peace at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC on October 13, 2001, one month after the 9/11 attack. The speech has been slightly edited for print distribution.

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, September 3, 2003

We have to teach them that the most important thing that they can do - the best thing that they can do -- when they grow up, is to bring joy to others by loving them and by caring for them. more

I Came, I Saw, I Took It

~ conflicting desires and our quest to be happy ~

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, May 5, 2003

What after all, is a criminal? Isn't a criminal simply a child who still adheres to the false grandeur of the Caesarian credo, "I came, I saw, I conquered"? Or, in the little boy version, "I came, I saw, I took it." Trying to conquer others by violent force is an easy choice for a man with a bratty heart who just plain "wants it now". more

Joyful Love

~ confessions of a nursery school student in God's school of love ~

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, February 17, 2002

One of my longest-running and most heartfelt prayers over the years has been to understand how to adequately express love to others. I was a loner in my youth, and had no idea how to extend my heart toward others. Being easily hurt, I avoided the risk of pain that came with human interaction. more

The Ancient Rage of Women

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, January 22, 2002

My wife is of Irish descent, and thus, in her heart, is completely Irish. I, on the other hand, from the point of view of many of the Irish, have the dubious distinction of being half English. Regrettably, England’s transgressions against the Irish haven’t been entirely erased from Ireland’s national memory. more

A Call to Eliminate Horror Films

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 29, 2001

Another way of looking at this issue is to ask, "Do we really want horror films to exist in a world of peace and unselfish love?" An even more pertinent question is, "Can we establish a culture of peace if horror films are polluting the minds and hearts of our young people?" more

The Heart Within a Gift

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December 1, 2001

Gift giving is an opportunity to give more than a gift to someone. If we feel a strong sense of love or affection for the recipient, then the gift can take on a special meaning. Our heart is conveyed with the gift -- and our hope, in those instances, is that the recipient will recognize our heart contained within the gift. more

The Value of the Family School of Love

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, May 11, 2001

Our dilemma is that broken and damaged children grow up, get married, and have children without personally experiencing what has often been called "the family school of love." more

Communication: The Conduit for True Love in Marriage

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, November 10, 2000

We can communicate our thoughts and feelings through actions or facial expressions -- but ultimately, as rational people who think about many abstract concepts such as eternal love and invisible hopes and dreams, we need to express our hearts through words. We need to talk. more

Creating a Culture of Heart

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, October 6, 2000

Centering our culture on the value or ethic of "unselfish heart" will have powerful consequences. Legal and legislative decisions, for example, that are now often made without heart, would never ignore the human suffering that they could potentially cause. Business affairs can and should be conducted with heart, rather than the current standard of "abandon all heart, ye who enter here." more