Mysticism, New Physics, and Peacebuilding

Yago Abeledo: I have been impressed with your last two books The Moral Imagination and When Blood and Bones Cry out, as well as your talk given at the Kroc Institute called “Compassionate Presence.” Your writings and talks convey not only your wisdom but also the deep stage of reflection on which you are now focusing your life as a practitioner. I sense that you are entering into a mystical realm within the field of peacebuilding. Does that fit with your experience?

John Paul Lederach: Yes, it does. I have had a lifelong interest in the mystics. When I lived in Spain in my undergraduate years, a key mentor was Mennonite Theologian John Driver who had done studies on the mystics, particularly in the Catholic tradition; so the interest dates back a long way. More recently, with work that has taken me to Asia and Central Asia, I have developed a keen interest in Sufism and the Japanese Buddhism, particularly the Haiku tradition that has had a big influence on me. You are right to say that as the years have gone on, I have given myself permission to let that be reflected in my academic work. My first books were written with more of a mainstream academic focus…