The Messenger - IMAGINE...11 Day of Building Peace

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Thursday, 21 August 2008

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IMAGINE...11 Day of Building Peace

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Written by by Rev Jan Chase

each ONE benefits
from an inner calm
& a more balanced life

When ONE…
person prays and meditates…
family embraces the idea…
group adopts the practice…
community focuses on
peaceful living…
percent of the population
prayerfully meditates…
Our World becomes a better place…

And each ONE benefits from an
inner calm & a more balanced life
1 % of us committing to a daily
meditation practice can make
a significant difference.
–-From www.whenonepercent.org/
developed by Rev. Neusom Holmes

I am excited. No, I am inspired, for I am pulled by a vision of peace that together, we can be a big part of creating.

The Unity Movement is forming alliances with other organizations such as the Association for Global New Thought and We the World to create an annual event every September called “A Season of Interfaith Celebration: 11 Days of Global Unity” dedicated to promoting PEACE. This year our theme is “CELEBRATING ONENESS, HEALING THE WORLD.” It begins on Thursday, September 11, which is Unity’s World Day of Prayer, and ends on Sunday, September 21, which is the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

Our thoughts are things. Our thoughts act as a magnet drawing “like” to us and creating our experiences. The more we use our thoughts to focus on “Peace,” the more “Peace” we attract. IMAGINE: 11 DAYS OF EVERYONE FOCUSING ON PEACE.

Even if only 1% of the population focused on peace, our collective consciousness would change. If 1% of us prayed or meditated on peace, research with TM groups shows the crime rate of our communities would decrease considerably during the meditation periods.

We invite every individual, every family, every organization to find a role to play in this 11 Day event. We are creating resources to assist you. Check out our growing website: www.11DaysOfUnity.org, and the websites of the Association for Global New Thought’s (AGNT) Season for Interfaith Celebration at www.agnt.org/ for an expanding list of ideas and resources. Together we cannot help but bring greater peace into our lives, our communities and our world.

In Unity we sing, “Let there be Peace on earth and let it begin with me.” What each of us can contribute may seem small, however, collectively it is huge and may involve many avenues of peace building.

• Inner Peace: Think about activities that bring us into a heightened sense of inner peace: meditation, prayer, relaxation, time in nature, gardening, journaling, feeling heard, feeling supported, feeling a sense of purpose, having a sense of joy, having a sense of belonging, etc.

Imagine creating tools people can receive or download that support inner peace.
Imagine creating activities people can attend that support inner peace.
Imagine whole communities gathering and praying for peace together.

• Peace in Families:
Imagine providing tools such as classes in Anger Management; Compassionate Communication (how to let another feel heard even if you don’t agree, and how to ask for your needs to be met without creating upsets), and Parenting Skills.
Imagine providing materials and activities that promote family creativity, kindness exercises and family projects in community outreach like penpals with kids without parents here and abroad.

• Peace for Youth: Imagine groups of youth from many cultures and religions coming together to share stories about their challenges and dreams, discovering their common denominator is being human.
Imagine youth dreaming a world of peace and coming up with plans to create it.
Imagine youth sharing with each other sacred ceremonies from their cultures and religions.
Imagine our youth creating ~An art project together depicting peace.
~Skits together about world peace.
~Sharing peace songs––building a peace choir.

• Peace in Neighborhoods: Imagine building relationships, finding common concerns, working together to solve problems and help each other, celebrating successes together, being a positive force in the larger community.
Imagine neighbors watching the neighbor children walk home safely from school, calling each other with information or concerns and having peace block parties.

• Peace in Workplaces: Imagine 11 Days of relaxing breaks and self-care tools, mixed in with work.
Imagine workplaces creating Loving-Kindness activities for each other and Projects to help the greater community.
Imagine workplaces building alliances to promote peace and find creative ways to foster peace in the world.

• Peace in Government Agencies: Imagine 11 Days of Focusing on Peace for Government Workers, serving the public with peace and compassion, giving those served tools to create more Peace in their lives, to indeed “BE PEACE.”
Imagine training agencies in “Heart Math,” a way of being in a compassionate “heart space” while dealing with difficult people or situations.
Imagine training government workers in Compassionate Communication, so they have tools to not take things personally, but listen from a place of understanding and compassion and yet be heard without escalating conflict.

• Peace between Religions: Imagine people from many religions gathering to share prayers, songs, peace readings, scriptures in an atmosphere of awe and respect.
Imagine religions gathering to create a play, a choir, an art project or a service project to the community.
Imagine people from many religions coming together to pray at a different mosque, temple, church, saying prayers for peace from a variety of religions. Finding the sacred in each place, allowing each to deepen and broaden their view of religions.
Imagine a city pilgrimage between various houses of worship, with a warm reception and a service, allowing people to grow in respect and understanding of “other.”
Imagine people from many religions gathering to study the differences in their beliefs and celebrating their similarities, while building relationships with others.
Imagine people from many religions coming together to create a Museum of Religions where all can come to learn to honor their uniqueness and oneness.
Imagine Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Native Peoples, people of all religions coming together to participate in a joint community service project.
• Peace in Communities and Cities: Imagine our cities working together with other organizations to create peace between gangs, to lower crime rates, to raise the hopes and the consciousness of their population.
Imagine Hope and Love given to the homeless community and to those whose homes are being repossessed.
Imagine Communities working together to feed the hungry and care for the sick.
Imagine communities coming together to dance for peace in styles of a multitude of cultures while eating ethnic foods.
Imagine Grandmothers gathering in parks standing or sitting for peace they expect.
Imagine Schools honoring & publishing local original “Peace Stories and Poems.”
Imagine Schools kids & Communities creating “Peace Games” & playing them.
Imagine Peace Concerts & Peace Choirs.

Imagine Cities and States declaring themselves “Golden Rule” cities or states, affirming the shared consciousness among all religions and their people around “Treating others the way you would like to be treated,” and honoring Golden Rule Citizens.

Imagine Communities distributing “Peace Business Cards” with a Peace affirmation, asking everyone to pray for peace or focus on peace daily for a year.

Imagine 11 Days when 1 % of the population gather to pray, meditate, or affirm peace.

• Peace in the World: There are a number of Organizations that promote Peace in the World through prayer, actions, and communication by large and small gestures. Imagine having links to organizations that would love to connect with your group(s) to partner in building world peace.

Imagine learning about what is happening in the world by watching films and hearing balanced discussions about the issues and then brainstorming what you and your community can do to make a difference in this arena. Hearing what others, who think outside of the box, have done to make a difference in people’s lives on the other side of the world, jumpstarts our own creative imaginations to act, help, and make a difference.

Imagine people from many arenas coming together to travel to another country to build a school, or teach some skill or do something to improve the lives of the community. Not only would we help others and expand our idea of the world, but we would build bridges of Interfaith understanding and cooperation within our own group of volunteers.

The United Nations’ website recommends communities participate in a “World Peace Prayer Ceremony” on September 21, the International Day of Peace.

“(It) is a global celebration of the oneness of humanity. The ceremony invites people from every race, religion and background to pray jointly for the peace of the lands and people of the world. During the Ceremony, a prayer is recited for peace and happiness to prevail in every nation of the world. As all assembled voice their prayers, the national flag of each country is presented, acting as a spiritual symbol through which the loving wishes for all life are expressed toward every region of the world.”

If you want peace in your life, listen to your inner call to contribute to peace in this world. Think about ways to get involved and/or get organizations you are connected to involved: work places, cities, counties, religious organizations, service organizations, youth organizations...

Chinese philospher Lao Tse wrote about peace in the 6th century bce.
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

Let’s think out of the box and bring Peace home to our hearts, our families, our neighbors, our cities, and our world one by one. How are you called to contribute to Peace 11 Days in September?

REV JAN CHASE, minister of Unity Church of Pomona, 524 E. Pasadena, 909-629-3035.

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