Dear Friends and Colleagues of Dr. Samuel Mahaffy: It is with great sadness that we report Samuel surrendered to grace in Renton, Washington on July 7, 2016, after a fourteen-year journey with advanced cancer. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 2:00 pm on July 23 at the First United Methodist Church, 621 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, Washington. Additional information, including his obituary, is available at the following...
Beloved Eritrea – A Poem for Silver Jubilee Celebration
Beloved Eritrea By Dr. Samuel Mahaffy. Dedicated to the People of Eritrea on the Auspicious Occasion of the Silver Jubilee Celebration of National Independence. Beloved Eritrea Bent over your mogogo injera in the making: “Sing to me celebration of sons and daughters past and present, here and gone– tillers and freedom fighters”; Indeed, never kneeling down. Blessed from lingering at your feet– rising steam...
War is not the Answer–to ISIS or Cancer
Our fear response to a threat is to use force. The predominant cultural paradigm is to ‘bring out the big guns’ to destroy the enemy, whether that enemy is ISIS or cancer. To quote a simple and profound truth of the Quakers and others in the peace traditions: “War is not the answer.” War is not the answer to ISIS and violent extremism. War is not the answer to the scourge of cancer. In competing to win over voters frightened by the threat of...
Deep Listening—From Outer Space and Inner Space
Have you heard the sound of two black holes colliding a billion light years away? Have we heard the silenced or marginalized voices in our own community or organization decision making processes? The recent breakthrough findings in physics and astronomy that affirm the insights of Albert Einstein are a clarion call for us to practice the art of deep listening. We are witnessing deep listening in outer space. Listen to the chirping sound of two...
The Co-Construction of ‘The Enemy': ISIS, Hegemony and Self-Identity
The Co-Construction of ‘The Enemy': ISIS, Hegemony and Self-Identity This post was first published on the Peace and Collaborative Development Network. “What joins men together…is not the sharing of bread but the sharing of enemies” —Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian “When We Eat from a Common Dish, We Have No Enemies” African Proverb It might well give us pause for reflection when world leaders and the major media coalesce...
Till We Have Faces: Beyond the Egology of Trump and ISIS
What do Donald Trump and ISIS have in common? We are witness to images of terrorists who publically ‘hood’ those they execute. Donald Trump advocates building walls to exclude the face of Moslems from our view. Both are acts of radical depersonalization. Both Trump and ISIS must de-face The Other excluded from group self-identity. To face The Other calls into question our self-sufficiency, our constructed self-identity. To truly...
Dr. Samuel Mahaffy
As a facilitator and management consultant, Samuel has assisted more than five hundred organizations, including community groups, churches, schools, and nonprofits around the world. He is a member of the Academy of Management. How might he help your organization? A Proud Member of
