by Tao Oliveto, Raleigh, NC

Saturday, September 1, began an 11-day process in my area of “generating peace by being peace” through an all faiths group prayer and meditation. This event, happening both virtually and otherwise, is sponsored by One%, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to bring peace to our community and ultimately to the world”.

In June of 2005, Yoga International published an article by Dr. John Davies describing the positive impact of consistent, deep meditation by One % of a community. The Article That Started It All. Rev. Neusom Holmes urged his congregation at Unity Church of the Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina to participate and they have continued their commitment since then.

Locations are available up to 3 times/day for those who desire to share space as well as intention over the next 10 days, but shared personal efforts is all that is necessary to produce an opportunity for impact.

It’s hard not to accept the premise that any form of meditation can have far-reaching benefits for practitioners, including physical, mental and emotional health. The researched theory that our efforts can also reach out into the world is especially confirming and motivating.

Like many yoga practitioners, I consider my 75-minute daily practice a form of meditation. Walking can also be meditative - I notice similar effects from my mornings spent in the woods. I intend to challenge myself to include a longer period of seated meditation in accordance with this effort and join a part of the 24- hour meditation vigil being held in Downtown Raleigh next Saturday. Nothing to lose, much to gain.

Tags: community, culture, people, yoga

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.