Euphrates Institute

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Transform It started with a river.

In early 2004, Janessa Gans Wilder, founder of Euphrates, was on a military base outside Fallujah, Iraq, during a major battle between US marines and Iraqi insurgents. Sitting on the bank of the Euphrates river weeks later, she was struck by the calm, uninterrupted flow of the water. With images of the conflict fresh in her mind, she couldnโ€™t imagine how any two scenes could be more different. Yet, even through downtown Fallujah, the river surged on, untouched and unstopped by the chaos, death, and destruction happening around it, still bringing life, sustenance, and hope to the desert. Since that day, she has tried to fully appreciate that powerful lesson, often wondering how we can be more like the Euphrates river.

10/16/2026

๐ŸŽง ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค๐ž๐ง๐ ๐‹๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ง: ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ก๐š๐ง ๐€๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ

What if, before reacting in anger or fear, we simply paused to breathe?

In this weekโ€™s Peace Is Power episode, Stephanie Nash joins Janessa Gans Wilder to explore a different way of understanding peace. Not as passivity or staying silent, but as a source of strength, presence, and purposeful action.

Stephanie shares a simple practice: take five mindful breaths before making a decision. Give yourself a moment to settle, so your response comes from a place of presence rather than anger or fear.

Itโ€™s a small practice with the potential to change how we navigate disagreements, respond to difficult emotions, and relate to the people around us.

And as Stephanie reminds us, peace can be playful, too.

This weekend, make some time for a conversation that invites us to look inward and consider how our inner lives shape the world we create together.

๐ŸŒฟ Listen to โ€œCan Inner Peace Lead to World Peace? โ€“ with Stephanie Nash (Part 1)โ€ on ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3781

๐Ÿ’ญ Before your next difficult conversation, what might change if you paused to breathe before responding?

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐‹๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐…๐จ๐ซ? - Reflections from PPA 2026How often are we truly listening to another person, and how often...
10/16/2026

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐‹๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐…๐จ๐ซ? - Reflections from PPA 2026

How often are we truly listening to another person, and how often are we listening through what we already believe about them?

In September, the Peace Practice Alliance explored Interpersonal Peace, with a particular focus on listening. Participants practiced listening without fixing or advising, noticing the judgments and assumptions that arise in conversation, and becoming curious about what they might not be hearing.

One question stayed at the center of our practice: What am I not hearing because of what I already think?

Interpersonal Peace does not require agreement. Sometimes it begins with creating enough space to hear another person more fully. This month, we invite you to join us and bring that question into one conversation of your own.

Read more: https://www.euphrates.org/blog/2026/7/29/2026-peace-practice-alliance-welcomes-46-peacebuilders-from-32-countries

10/14/2026

๐•๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐š๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก

What if the thing we spend so much energy protecting ourselves from is also where our strength begins?

In this Peace Is Power episode, Stephanie Nash offers a powerful reminder: โ€œYour vulnerability is your beauty. Peace is power. Your vulnerability is your strength.โ€

We often try to protect ourselves from difficult emotions, uncertainty, and discomfort. Yet, as Stephanie shares, allowing ourselves to be present with those feelings can open the door to deeper connection, authenticity, and personal power.

Janessa Gans Wilder connects this insight to peacebuilding. Building peace requires the courage to step into spaces that are not always safe, calm, or comfortable. We cannot wait for the world around us to become peaceful before we begin the work of creating peace.

Sometimes, peace begins when we stop trying to control everything around us and learn to find steadiness within ourselves.

๐ŸŽง Havenโ€™t listened yet? Join Janessa and Stephanie Nash for Can Inner Peace Lead to World Peace? โ€“ Part 1, a conversation about mindfulness, emotional resilience, and the connection between inner transformation and the peace we seek in the world.

๐Ÿ’ญ Where might embracing vulnerability help you show up more courageously for peace?

Weโ€™re excited to partner with the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education to co-facilitate its Positive Leadership worksho...
10/13/2026

Weโ€™re excited to partner with the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education to co-facilitate its Positive Leadership workshop, bringing Euphratesโ€™ Peace Leadership practices into an experience focused on leading from the inside out.

Together, weโ€™ll explore self-awareness, how we relate to and lead others, and how our leadership can contribute to healthier organizations, communities, and systems. Those who want to go deeper can arrive a day early for an optional Peace Leadership immersion. The two-day Positive Leadership workshop is a complete experience on its own.

The workshop takes place just ahead of the Gross Global Happiness event at UPEACE. Weโ€™d love for our community to join us for the workshop, the event, or both in March 2027!

Learn more here: https://centre.upeace.org/workshops/positive-leadership/

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐๐„๐– ๐„๐๐ˆ๐’๐Ž๐ƒ๐„ ๐Ž๐… ๐๐„๐€๐‚๐„ ๐ˆ๐’ ๐๐Ž๐–๐„๐‘! Can Inner Peace Lead to World Peace?What if the way we cultivate peace within ourselve...
10/12/2026

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐๐„๐– ๐„๐๐ˆ๐’๐Ž๐ƒ๐„ ๐Ž๐… ๐๐„๐€๐‚๐„ ๐ˆ๐’ ๐๐Ž๐–๐„๐‘!

Can Inner Peace Lead to World Peace?

What if the way we cultivate peace within ourselves changes how we show up in the world?

In this episode of Peace Is Power, host Janessa Gans Wilder sits down with Hollywood actress, meditation teacher, and mindfulness coach Stephanie Nash for a thoughtful conversation about the power of inner peace.

Drawing on her personal journey with mindfulness, Stephanie explores how embracing vulnerability, making space for difficult emotions, and finding stillness amid lifeโ€™s uncertainties can transform the way we respond to ourselves and others.

From simple breathing practices and the unexpected power of laughter to womenโ€™s leadership and the role of inner transformation in peacebuilding, this conversation reminds us that peace is not passivity. It is a way of being that can shape how we navigate conflict, nurture relationships, and contribute to a more peaceful world.

Because the work of building peace in the world can also begin with the work we do within ourselves.

๐ŸŽง Tune in to Peace Is Power and join Janessa and Stephanie for this inspiring exploration of mindfulness, emotional resilience, and the connection between inner and outer peace.

Listen here: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3781

๐Ÿ’ญ What helps you find your inner peace when life feels overwhelming?

10/09/2026

๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž๐›๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‘๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ? ๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ

Is peacebuilding only for peace activists, religious leaders, or people living in conflict zones? Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum invites us to think again.

In this Peace Is Power episode, Emmanuel makes a compelling case that peacebuilding is everyoneโ€™s responsibility. Whether inspired by faith, our shared humanity, or the desire to protect our common world, we all have a role to play.

As he reminds us, violence in one place does not remain isolated. Its effects can cross borders, displace communities, and touch lives far beyond the immediate conflict. No one is entirely removed from the need for peace.

โ€œThere's no way we can live in peace without being peaceful.โ€

Peace begins with how we treat one another, how we respond to disagreement, and whether we choose understanding over hostility. It calls us not only to hope for a peaceful world, but to help build one in our homes, communities, and everyday lives.

๐ŸŽง Havenโ€™t listened to the latest episode of Peace Is Power? Join Janessa Gans Wilder in conversation with Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum as they explore choosing peace amid violence and creating a better future for our children.

Listen here: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3775

๐Ÿ’ญ Where can you take greater responsibility for peace in your own life and community?

Peace begins with us. Peace begins with small moments. This month, weโ€™re joining our 2026 PPA cohort in focusing on list...
10/08/2026

Peace begins with us. Peace begins with small moments. This month, weโ€™re joining our 2026 PPA cohort in focusing on listening.

10/06/2026

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐œ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐›๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ญ?

In this episode of Peace Is Power, Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum speaks candidly about a reality that is often overlooked: peacebuilders can become targets simply because they choose to work across dividing lines.

When you refuse to take sides in a violent conflict and instead create spaces for dialogue, healing, and reconciliation, suspicion can come from both sides.

Emmanuel shares that he has been held captive and questioned about who is sponsoring his work. His life, he says, has been placed at serious risk simply because of his commitment to peace.

Who protects the people who dedicate their lives to building peace?

๐ŸŽง Watch the reel, then listen to the full conversation with Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum and Janessa Gans Wilder on Peace Is Power.

Listen to the full episode: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3775

๐ˆ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ The first Monday of each month is an invitation to pause, reflect, and intentionally practice pe...
10/05/2026

๐ˆ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ

The first Monday of each month is an invitation to pause, reflect, and intentionally practice peace in our daily lives.

As we begin a new month, take a moment to slow down and check in with yourself. What are you carrying with you? What might you need to release? And what would help you move through October with greater calm, clarity, and compassion?

At Euphrates, we believe peace is not only something we hope for in the world around us. It is something we cultivate within ourselves and practice every day.

10/02/2026

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐จ๐จ๐?

Today, on the ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ง-๐•๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž, weโ€™re reminded that choosing peace requires more than asking people to reject violence. It also means creating the conditions that make peace possible.

In the latest episode of Peace Is Power, Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum reflects on his work with young people in Cameroon and a difficult reality he encountered: when young people lack meaningful opportunities to earn a living, violence can become an alternative source of income, identity, and belonging.

As Emmanuel puts it, some young people made peace pledges and returned to their communities determined to become ambassadors for peace, only to become entangled in violence again because they had no other options.

So he changed his approach.

Peacebuilding now includes livelihoods.

Alongside peace and leadership skills, young people receive vocational and self-employment training so they can return to their communities with practical skills, greater self-reliance, and alternatives to violence.

On this International Day of Non-Violence, Emmanuelโ€™s work invites us to think beyond the rejection of violence and ask what it takes to build communities where young people can choose dignity, opportunity, and peace.

๐ŸŽง Watch the reel, then listen to the full conversation with Rev. Dr. Fuhbang Emmanuel Tanifum on Peace Is Power.

Listen to the full episode: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3775

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