Jay is an academic hospitalist in internal medicine at Wellspan York hospital, who has published several research articles on the effect of Heartfulness Meditation on lowering stress and burnout, and improving sleep. He has received numerous awards and regularly conducts stress management workshops. He is a TEDx speaker.

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Jayaram Thimmapuram

<h4>DR. JAYARAM THIMMAPURAM speaks with GAYATHRI K about the science of sleep, its impact on our well-being, and practical habits to support better rest.</h4>G: Dr. Jay, could you please explain what sleep is and the various stages it involves? Please also highlight why each of these stages is crucial for our overall health and well-being.&nbsp;JT: Thank you so much for your questions. Sleep is a topic that is very dear to my heart and something I enjoy. If given the option to do anything at all, I would probably get a little more sleep.Looking at what sleep is, it’s a temporary, reversible pause. It is a state where wakeful awareness is temporarily suspended. We may have a different kind of awareness during sleep, but at least the wakeful awareness, especially of the surroundings, is paused.Sleep is also a state of recuperation and rejuvenation for the body, the mind, and all its cells. Whatever chores need to be taken care of, sleep is when the cells get to do them. So sleep is one of the most wonderful gifts of nature. If we utilize that gift properly, it contributes significantly to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.Coming to the stages of sleep, if you observe anyone falling asleep with their eyes closed, you will see that their eyeballs start to move slowly from side to side. This goes on for some time, and then they begin to move fast. This phenomenon occurs in repeating cycles and continues throughout sleep.If we have the opportunity to observe their brain waves, we can see distinct patterns that each individual goes through during the sleep cycle. In the initial phase, the brain is a little relaxed. It further relaxes into what we call stage one sleep, where you have theta brain waves. In stage two, we have theta waves with K-complexes. Stage three is one of the deepest stages of sleep, and we have delta waves. Progressively, the waves tend to slow down. Delta waves are the slowest of the waveforms.Once we cross these three stages of sleep, we enter another state where we start to have dreams. We call it the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. The first three stages are when our eyeballs move slowly or in non-rapid eye movement. Later, when we dream, the eye movement is rapid.Each stage has a role to play. Stage one is when the brain waves start to relax a little bit, but we are not fully asleep. It is easy to wake us up. In stage two, your muscles are relaxed, but you can still be woken up, though it may not be as easy as stage one. Stage three is characterized by extremely slow brain waves and a very relaxed body. It is probably the deepest stage of rest that we can get.In that deepest state of rest, our immune system gets stronger, and our growth happens. Anything related to the repair of the body is done during stage three sleep, the deepest stage of sleep. Moving on to the dream stage, many theories have been put forward about why we dream. However, we do know that this phase plays a vital role in emotional processing. Taken together, these stages of sleep play a crucial role in our <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-healing-power-of-trees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">health and well-being</a>.&nbsp;G:&nbsp;In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people reporting difficulties with insomnia. What do you believe are the key factors contributing to this rise?JT:&nbsp;To me, the majority of the cases of insomnia are acquired and are related to lifestyle. We need to understand that, as babies, we didn’t have any sleep issues. As kids, we didn’t have any sleep issues. As teenagers, we start to realize that we have some control over sleep, and we try to use it, spending time on activities that may or may not be necessary, compromising sleep.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/science_of_sleep2_cf101141c2.webp" alt="science-of-sleep2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;When we start compromising sleep consistently, when we try not to use nature’s gift, there comes a time when we cannot repay it. Sleep debt is not something we can easily pay back. For each night of sleep that you lose, it usually takes at least two nights to recover. So if we look at it that way—the compromise on sleep that we carry over many years and probably decades—the body can take care of only so much. Once it crosses a limit, it becomes very difficult for the body to cope. That’s when we start to see the manifestation of <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/sleep-good-mental-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sleep problems</a>. Other conditions may be genetic, and addressing those issues is very difficult.From a lifestyle point of view, if we can establish good sleep hygiene from a young age and understand the benefits of sleep from an early age, when our minds are still open to good things, we can largely address sleep problems.If we look at the prevalence of insomnia, it is definitely on the rise. At least one-third of people have some form of sleep issue. If we can improve one aspect of our lives that will have a positive effect on everything else, it is sleep. You improve your sleep, and it will have a positive ripple effect on every aspect of your life, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/science_of_sleep3_55b7c51b8c.webp" alt="science-of-sleep3.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">In that deepest state of rest, our immune system gets stronger, and our growth happens. Anything related to the repair of the body is done during stage three sleep, the deepest stage of sleep.&nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;G:&nbsp;Given your demanding profession as a doctor, do you find it challenging to get enough sleep?JT:&nbsp;Yes, especially when we have so many stresses and strains that we go through in our day-to-day lives. There are so many anxieties we all go through, and these worries affect sleep. It is almost as if the computer program keeps running in the background even when we are sleeping.It somehow prevents us from getting that deep, restful state. To me, unless we let go of the anxieties and worries before we go to sleep, they will continue to affect our sleep. Most healthcare professionals are prone to sleep issues. In a study we conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, around nine out of ten healthcare professionals had sleep issues.G:&nbsp;How do you manage anxieties and worries? Would you be willing to share any strategies or tips that could help other healthcare professionals who may be struggling with similar feelings of anxiety or grief?JT:&nbsp;All of us go through emotional issues, emotional turbulences during the daytime. These emotional issues—let us consider them as emotional files. Some of these emotional files we process, and some we do not. We push them under the carpet, and we go to bed.When we go to bed and sleep, it is almost as if there is an office assistant within each of us. This office assistant goes through all these files and says, “You have processed this file, you have processed this file. You have not processed this file—what do you want to do with it?” You wake up, you don’t know what woke you up, and you cannot fall back asleep.One practice that has helped quite a lot, not only for me but also for my colleagues, is Heartfulness. While meditative practices such as Heartfulness show significant benefits for participants, there are other factors one should be cognizant of.For example, sleep hygiene stands as a foundation. Going to bed and waking up at fixed times should form the framework. This includes the weekends. It should form the base on which everything else rests. If we do not have a good sleep cycle and good sleep hygiene, no matter what we do, it will be very difficult to improve our sleep quality.The second thing that can help one fall asleep and stay asleep is that the core body temperature has to drop by at least one or two degrees. So, keeping the room a little cooler is helpful.Staying away from electronics is a significant challenge, but necessary. Somehow, we have to do it because electronic equipment influences our brains. The sensory stimuli we get from electronics stimulate our brains, making it difficult to unwind. If we cannot unwind, it is very difficult to fall asleep.There was a study looking at the onset of sleep when using electronic equipment, especially phones, which delays the onset of stage three sleep by one hour. If it delays stage three sleep by one hour, imagine the quality of sleep that you would get. It is not going to be great.These are simple tips one can try to improve sleep. In addition to the above, the Heartfulness practices we have used with our participants have also led to significant improvements in their sleep patterns—especially the practice of cleaning, or letting go of the stresses and strains of the day.Before going to bed, scanning the day, identifying areas where we can improve, and acknowledging that these are the areas I need to work on can help us fall asleep and stay asleep. Because when we do that, we are sending a signal to the “office assistant.” This office assistant knows that we are aware of the areas we need to work on, and perhaps allows us to have a good night’s sleep. Please make sure you work on the areas you need to improve for the office assistant to trust you.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;If we can improve one aspect of our lives that will have a positive effect&nbsp; on everything else, it is sleep.&nbsp; You improve your sleep, and it will have&nbsp; a positive ripple effect on every aspect of your life,&nbsp; whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.</h4><hr>&nbsp;G:&nbsp;Those tips were incredibly insightful! How do you think sleep deprivation impacts our daily relationships and family dynamics?JT:&nbsp;Sleep deprivation profoundly affects our emotional state. It can affect how we interact with our friends and family members. Sleep deprivation can lead to irritability. It’s a matter of common observation.Imagine a night when you have slept well: you are a better person, and you interact well. Take a night when you have not slept well: people don’t want to come near you; they want to run away from you. If you want a good relationship, you need that rest. Rest for the mind is extremely important for maintaining a good relationship—not only with others but also with yourself.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/science_of_sleep4_5710bf6992.webp" alt="science-of-sleep4.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Sleep deprivation profoundly affects our emotional state.&nbsp; It can affect how we interact&nbsp; with our friends and family members.&nbsp; Sleep deprivation can lead to irritability.&nbsp; It’s a matter of common observation.</h4><hr>G:&nbsp;Please share your research findings on how Heartfulness meditation helps improve sleep.JT:&nbsp;In our hospital, we studied the effect of Heartfulness practices on patients who have insomnia. If you look at these patients or talk to them, you realize there is a lot of fatigue. You notice a lot of exhaustion in these patients. There are many side effects of sleep deprivation, including heart problems. Even our lifespan is shortened if we can’t sleep very well.So we took these patients with chronic insomnia, and we offered simple practices of Heartfulness for eight weeks. We measured their insomnia scores at the beginning and the end of the study. It’s called the Insomnia Severity Index score. When we offered these practices for eight weeks, we saw a significant reduction in their insomnia scores from a mean of 20.9 to 10.4—more than a ten-point drop.A lot of these patients reported something very interesting. They said, “Dr. Jay, we were only able to sleep for four hours before. Now we can sleep for seven hours, eight hours. Our dreams have come back.” As their sleep depth and quality improved, they began processing their dreams more effectively.G:&nbsp;That is wonderful. We know that getting better sleep and rest helps us work better and be more active during the day. So if you see it the other way, what we do during the day, will it influence our night? Do we need to make lifestyle changes to improve our sleep?JT:&nbsp;Yes. Absolutely, whatever we do during the day will affect us at night. Physical activity is very important. Starting your day with some physical activity and exposing yourself to the sun early in the morning can help reset your circadian rhythm.Dietary habits play a role. The timing of our food has a role. The nature of the food that we eat has a role. Our emotional state has a role. Our mental activity during the day has a role. Whatever happens during the daytime influences the nature and quality of sleep we get at night.It is important to plan our day in a structured way. Bring some structure to your day around which the rest of your activities happen. Set a fixed wake-up time. Have a fixed bedtime. Have time for breakfast. Have time for lunch and have time for dinner.Do not have your dinner too close to bedtime. Do not exercise too close to bedtime; it will affect your sleep. With exercise, our core body temperature increases, and it takes time for it to go down. Washing your hands, washing your feet, or taking a shower before bed can improve your sleep. As the water evaporates, it removes heat, and the core body temperature drops. That can also improve your sleep.In the end, the way we live our day is the way we prepare for our night, and the quality of that night colors everything that follows.

The Science of Sleep

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Jean-Paul Sartre

Nothingness

JEMINA WATSTEIN has taught art all over the world, including Thailand, Germany, and the United States. She encourages all of her students—and now us—to lean into our innate creativity, sharing three simple activities that help us connect with our inner artist and feel more connected to ourselves.

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Jemina Watstein

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">JEMINA WATSTEIN has taught art all over the world, including Thailand, Germany, and the United States. She encourages all her students, and now us, to lean into our innate creativity, sharing three simple activities that will help us connect with our inner artist and feel more connected to ourselves.</h4>&nbsp;All too often I hear people say, “I can’t even draw a stick figure,” and my heart hurts a little because yes you can! And when you do, you probably smile and laugh a little at what you drew. That is the power of art-making: you feel good even if you aren’t an artist, although I would argue we are all artists in some capacity. If you give yourself the grace of taking a break from the daily grind, even for five minutes, to dabble with some art-making, you will feel good inside.I know what you are thinking: “This author is crazy. I’m not an artist.” Sorry, my friend, you are sadly mistaken. You are an artist and it is time to embrace your growth mindset and give it a try. Be curious!Here are three simple creative activities you can try at home:<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Start the journey</h4>Pick up a pen and paper. Keep it simple. Start with a spiral. Around and around you go. Take a mindful breath while you do it. Not so bad, right?Now make another spiral. Try overlapping them or use a different colored pen. You don’t like it? Throw it away and try drawing circles tomorrow. Be persistent. Set a timer. Five minutes every day and you will feel the positive benefits.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind2_829dd1006c.webp" alt="3activities-calm-mind2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_3activities_calm_mind2_829dd1006c.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_3activities_calm_mind2_829dd1006c.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind2_829dd1006c.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Embrace those mistakes</h4>Get yourself a sketchbook and a favorite pen. Perhaps you will have to buy a few pens to find out which is your favorite. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them. After a few days of spirals and shapes, you will be ready to kick it up a notch. It’s time to bust out of your comfort zone.Draw what you see. Where’s a great place to start? The cup you are sipping from as you read this article. Is it terrible? Turn the page and try again tomorrow. You will improve with practice and having all your sketches in one place will prove this to you over time.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind3_fcd14f1d66.webp" alt="3activities-calm-mind3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_3activities_calm_mind3_fcd14f1d66.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_3activities_calm_mind3_fcd14f1d66.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind3_fcd14f1d66.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure><h4 style="text-align:justify;">10 for 10</h4>Along with drawing from observation, there are many prompts to kick up the creativity and have fun. One is 10 for 10—10 drawings for 10 seconds—each using the same object or random shapes. How does each drawing change? Which one do you like the best?&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind4_8436ffed2d.webp" alt="3activities-calm-mind4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_3activities_calm_mind4_8436ffed2d.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_3activities_calm_mind4_8436ffed2d.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3activities_calm_mind4_8436ffed2d.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;There are numerous drawing prompts on the internet. Channel your feelings, experiences, and dreams for inspiration. Ready to tackle your self-awareness? Draw something that makes you smile whenever you think about it. Self-management? Draw a worry dragon that holds your concerns. Want to be silly? Draw yourself with your superpower.Drawing is meditative and great for the brain; you will also feel good inside. So many other media will too. My current favorite is weaving. I recently taught a fiber arts class and all the students commented how much they enjoyed the relaxing qualities of weaving. It is fun, and the fibers feel so soft in your hands. Weaving fosters mindfulness; through the repetition-over under, over under—you will feel calm and focused. It is easy to fix mistakes, or perhaps you will embrace them and consider them happy accidents.Making art is good for the soul. It gives us the opportunity to understand ourselves, our thoughts, and our actions.&nbsp;

3 activities to calm the mind

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">JEMINA WATSTEIN shares how art can be both therapeutic and transformative for Third Culture Kids, individuals who live in multiple places over their formative years.</h4>Where are you from?&nbsp;In my early twenties, this question was easy to answer. Now, in my mid-forties, after living in Germany, Thailand, and the United States, it’s not so simple.For my children, who have now lived in eight different “homes,” this question can stir up anxiety and usually a pause as they look the asker up and down and decide just how deep they want to go.In 1963, the term “Third Culture&nbsp;Kid”&nbsp;(TCK) was coined to describe an adolescent who spends a significant part of their developmental years in a country other than the one listed on their parents’ passports. Over time, the definition has expanded, and new labels, such as&nbsp;chameleon, global nomad, and military&nbsp;brat, have emerged. Regardless of the label used, for someone who has grown up between cultures, the question “Where are you from?” rarely has a simple answer.Today, over 220 million people live in countries that are not their own, and this great “floating tribe” of TCKs represents the 5th largest nation on this earth. Growing up as a TCK comes with unique gifts such as bilingualism, <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/mindful-listening-reflective-responses-communication-skills" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cultural awareness</a>, and the ability to adapt easily to new environments. However, it also presents challenges, such as developing a clear sense of identity, struggling with feelings of belonging, forming lifelong friendships, and, of course, answering that one simple question. Where are you from?In a recent study titled The Power of the Visual Arts to Explore Who We Are and Where We Come From: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, I explored how TCKs feel about their identity after completing a two-year high school <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/cultural-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visual arts</a> course. My research focused on three significant areas: Who Are TCKs?, Themes of TCKs, and Supporting TCKs Through Visual Art Education.Long story short: TCKs move frequently, attend several international schools growing up, and may switch languages between school and home. Although this lifestyle can sound adventurous, it can be emotionally complex. A typical TCK story might include being told they will be moving at the end of the school year, packing up, saying goodbyes, and bracing for the unknown, only to arrive somewhere new. Experiencing new smells, new tastes, new customs as the new becomes the normal. They start at a new school, often as the intriguing “new kid,” make new friends, settle in, only to learn six months later that it is time to start the cycle again. Rinse and repeat. &nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Growing up as a TCK comes with unique gifts&nbsp; such as bilingualism, cultural awareness, and the ability to adapt&nbsp; easily to new environments.</h4><hr>Over time, the repeated moves take their toll. “Where are you from?” becomes harder to answer. TCKs carry experiences that can be difficult to explain to those who have never lived this way. Here, art can become a bridge. The beauty of the visual arts is that words are not required to express deep feelings, memories, or identities. In my study, I found that students who engaged in an inquiry-based art course and exhibited their work at the end of the program created pieces they felt proud of, often highlighting their multicultural upbringing. One young artist described her piece as a “multicultural bouquet,“ saying flowers capture the beauty of being intercultural and international. Another painted a “tribute to all of the places I’ve lived.”So, where are you from? What does that look like to you? There’s no single answer, and maybe that’s the point. For many of us, “home“ is not one place on a map, but a collection of moments, friendships, and cultures stitched together by memory and heart. When someone asks me where I’m from, I sometimes smile and wonder how much they want to know. If it’s small talk, right now, I say Kalamazoo. If they genuinely want to listen, then we might be here for a while, and I ask if they are ready to settle in.If you’re a TCK, or you love someone who is, remember this: you are not alone. You belong to a vast, floating tribe, millions strong and growing. And with every story shared, every piece of art made, we build a sense of home together, one that travels with us, wherever we go. &nbsp;

Third Culture Kids

After a successful career as an actor and filmmaker, Jeremy founded the non-profit organization Peace One Day. Because of his efforts, in 2001 a UN General Assembly resolution was unanimously adopted establishing September 21 as an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence. Today, billions of people have been exposed to the peace message, resulting in millions behaving more peacefully. Jeremy is also an author and has received significant recognition for his inspiring promotion of peace around the world, including the Africa Peace Award, the Lennon-Ono Grant for Peace, the Carnegie-Wateler Peace 'and': Prize, and the Geneva Cinema Vérité, and many other awards.


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Jeremy Gilley

<h4>JEREMY GILLEY is a British director and actor, who founded the non-profit organization Peace One Day in 1999. Peace One Day successfully led the campaign that resulted in the unanimous adoption by the United Nations member states of the first-ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence, with a fixed calendar date – September 21 the UN International Day of Peace. Since then, Peace One Day has been working to raise awareness and instigate action, resulting in a large-scale decrease of violence annually on Peace Day.</h4><h4>Jeremy’s creativity was sparked early in life, and he has spent over twenty years serving humanity. He is passionately committed to peace, sustainability, equality, justice, diversity, inclusion, climate action and the mobilization of youth. He is the producer and director of four annual global digital experiences – Anti-Racism Live, Climate Action Live, Peace Day Live, and right now he is preparing for Peace One Day’s newest event, Space Transformers Live on December 21 an experience for young changemakers. With his signature enthusiasm and humor, he shares his vision for this event with JUDITH NELSON of the Heartfulness Institute.</h4><hr>Q: Hello Jeremy. How did Space Transformers come about?JG: Space Transformers came about because Peace One Day&nbsp;evolved from doing just one experience a year. That one experience is Peace Day, on September 21st unanimously adopted by every member state of the United Nations exactly 20 years ago, and led by Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of Gatehouse Advisory Partners, Former Chairman of the UNA UK, and Special Advisor to the NGO Forward Thinking. We have been raising awareness to institutionalize it, because when a lot of people know about a day of peace their behavior changes and they are more peaceful.The marketing and the awareness manifest action, and action decreases violence. It’s seriously profound the impact that a day of peace has, especially if you are one of those women or children who had been bullied or abused. The positive impact of that day in our homes, communities, schools, and places of work is phenomenal, incredible. And it’s why I work immensely hard every day, because if you tell 10 people, or you tell 10,000 people a day, then a percentage of those people are going to behave very differently on the day of peace. Wow, amazing!Then we realized that March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, another day unanimously adopted by every member state of the UN. So, we approached the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and we now have the good fortune and privilege (which I’m very humbled by) to be the producers of the content in association with them for this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is a day where raising awareness of diversity, inclusion, equality, and justice, which are so immensely important to humanity’s survival, will bring behavioral change.&nbsp;Now, September 21 and March 21 are on the equinoxes, six months apart, so that left two very important dates in the calendar – June 21 and December 21 the solstices, marking the change and the end and the beginning of new seasons. Four incredible dates, and on many different levels very interesting moments of transformation into a new energy. So, I thought that we should do things on those two days as well.Given that we were covering diversity, inclusion, equality, and justice on March 21, and peace and sustainability on September 21 it was obvious that we needed to cover the climate issue, so we created a show on June 21 called Climate Action Live. Basically, if we don’t protect resources, one sure thing is going to happen before we heat up or can’t eat – we’re going to fight over what’s left. So, no climate action, no peace. To think that we’re going to be evolved and do it differently is a lovely thought, which I’ll get up every day and believe in, but history tells us that the way human DNA functions is manifested in what we see today.I’d like to think that we will evolve, that there will be a shift in the level of consciousness around the fundamental issues that humanity faces, and I want it to happen, but I’m not going to hang on to the idea that it’s going to happen. So, as a person who wants to generate content that is constructive and transformative, we are doing Climate Action Live.That leaves only one area in terms of humanity’s survival as far as I’m concerned, and that is the mobilization of youth, to inspire and hear their voices. And that’s where Space Transformers comes in. So, on December 21 at the end of the year, all the themes that we have discussed during the year in the other three events – diversity, inclusion, equality, justice, climate action, peace, and sustainability – will be put into an arena for the new generation, the very people who are going to save us (should we be saved). They are the people who are transforming the space around them, for sure.The phrase itself was something that I read in a letter from Valerie Keller, who works with Paul Polman at <a href="https://imagine.one/">Imagine</a>: Business as a force for good. I saw this phrase “Space Transformers” in the letter and thought it was such a beautiful phrase. I was really into the idea of “Let’s have a show called Space Transformers just for young people.”&nbsp;Q: How old do you have to be to be part of the event?JG: You have to be under the age of 30, so I can’t be involved [laughs]. Actually, that is a lovely thing, because as I’ve gotten older, and as Peace One Day has been on the road for the last 22 years, I’m trying more and more to pull myself out of what’s going on. I’m much more interested in generating content now for other people to be space transformers. I really want this next chapter of my life to be about raising the profile of others whose message is so key to humanity’s survival that I want to create amazing content about them.&nbsp;Q: What can young people expect on the day?JG: I’m really excited that we’ll see young people from every continent of the world. We’ve identified a young man and a young woman who are transforming space within each continent, and we’re giving them a voice to tell their stories. I’m going to make those films in the most beautiful way I can. As we hear the stories of those twelve or more Space Transformers, we will also hear from young actors who recreate the words of young people throughout history, and singers who perform and share their beautiful art. There will also be a series of panel discussions, and we will give Space Transformers Awards to a young woman and a young man somewhere in the world.It’s the first time we’ve ever attempted anything like this. We’ve never done a show that focuses purely on young people, and I’m genuinely massively excited about it. If people have got it right, then perhaps we have 250 years left here. Some would say, “Hey, what a crazy thought,” and I don’t really know, as I’m not a scientist but an ordinary geezer with no qualifications who’s just had an idea and gone on that journey forever. Do you know what I mean? I don’t want to get off that train, as Cat Stevens-Yusuf Islam said, the peace train.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/space_transformers3_760b70e025.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T10:58:28.137Z" alt="space_transformers3"><hr>So, that’s the zone I’m in. If we have a limited time left, if we’re not extremely careful it will be because of some major decisions that will happen in the next decade. Why would we think that we are more evolved to make big decisions in these ten years than the leaders who were talking about the same crucial problems thirty years ago? I’ll hang on to the hope that they can do it, but if they can’t, we’ll hear Greta say, “All I’m hearing from leaders is blah, blah, blah.” What an amazing thing she did! That speech, that young person! It’s her perception of what is happening. I saw her say, “You talk about all these things, blah, blah, blah, but you’ve completely let us down.” She also said, “Are you going to change? It’s just words, blah, blah, blah.” There was something about the way she delivered that speech that made me go “wow!” And the truth is that we really are at an absolutely critical, crucial moment. If in the next few years, we don’t do something fundamentally different, the suffering that’s going to come our way will be terrible, irrespective of whether we survive it or not. And that’s the sad reality. It’s just what is. I’ve traveled for 22 years in 133 countries, and I’ve seen the results of human behavior. I wish I hadn’t seen it. It’s a very, very serious time, so I’m really into what Space Transformers can do.&nbsp;Q: Many young people feel like they aren’t being heard, so your initiatives are certainly providing them with an opportunity to be heard.&nbsp;JG: I think that’s why I’d like Space Transformers to be a success. I’d like there to be good numbers and I’d like the experience to work. If there is an annual experience at the end of every year, an experience that culminates from thinking through the seasons and reflecting on the year as we prepare for the next season, it is a very exciting thought. I’d like all those experiences to grow, because narrative is everything; storytelling is everything; informing, inspiring, and engaging is everything; it’s the best thing we can do.Q: What can the younger generations teach the older generations?JG: I think Greta Thunberg summed it up quite nicely with the words, “Blah, blah, blah,” didn’t she. What a legend, what a woman! My goodness. That’s what the young people are teaching the older generation. And let’s hope the older generation makes some very crucial decisions at this point. That’s very, very important.&nbsp;We do see some great changes. There are extremely constructive, positive things&nbsp;going on, and things are transforming. The question is whether they can transform fast enough. The academics tell us that the window of opportunity is now. That’s the conundrum, that’s the issue. Can they do it fast enough? Have they got the courage? Can they look beyond their own borders?&nbsp;Q: How can people sign up, and will there be any activities leading up to the event?JG: Four to six weeks before December 21 we’ll announce who’s going to be there. We hope that many young people will tune in to watch the show live at <a href="http://www.peaceoneday.org">www.peaceoneday.org</a> or @PeaceOneDay on Twitter. I hope that we will all watch it together.It’s a moment to hear and reflect, and be inspired to act, leading to engagement. I think the action is going to be people tuning in and listening to young people’s voices, so that everyone can support them, and be inspired by them, and then go on their own journey. It’s a really beautiful and creative thing to give them a voice and showcase these films for their social media. I really love the idea of being a broadcaster of great people’s thoughts and stories. How beautiful, what an honor.&nbsp;To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>If there is an annual experience at the end of every year,&nbsp; an experience that culminates from thinking&nbsp; through the seasons and reflecting on the year&nbsp; as we prepare for the next season,&nbsp; it is a very exciting thought.&nbsp; I’d like all those experiences to grow,&nbsp; because narrative is everything; storytelling is everything;&nbsp; informing, inspiring, and engaging is everything;&nbsp; it’s the best thing we can do.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/space_transformers4_700x393_0f4f490372.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-26T07:35:48.282Z" alt="space_transformers4"><hr>

Space Transformers Live, December 21

<h4>JEREMY GILLEY is a British director and actor who founded the non-profit organization Peace One Day in 1999. Jeremy’s creativity was sparked early in life, and he has spent over twenty years passionately committed to peace, sustainability, equality, justice, diversity, inclusion, climate action, and the mobilization of youth. He is the producer and director of four annual global digital experiences – Anti-Racism Live, Climate Action Live, Peace Day Live, and Space Transformers Live, an experience for young changemakers. With his signature enthusiasm and humor, in part 2 of this interview, shares his vision for enabling young people with JUDITH NELSON of the Heartfulness Institute.</h4><hr>Q: Jeremy, you’ve mentioned that you’re keen to help and empower young people in light of the problems we currently face. Do you think that young people today face more challenges than previous generations and perhaps need more support? If so, what kind of support?JG: Yes, young people today definitely face more challenges than we faced. I have a ten-year-old daughter and she just spent two years in a house. That’s different. Now we’re queuing for fuel and people are panicking. If I were a young person seeing the way we’re running out of resources, we’re heating up, the icecaps are melting, and there’s disease, I’d be looking around going, “What a very strange place I live in.”I want to make it not so frightening. We can inform, inspire, and engage. Content and storytelling throughout history is crucial to change. Everything that’s on the periphery, on the edges, eventually becomes mainstream; and it becomes mainstream because people on the edges shout about it. I want to be a part of that edge, to help it move into the center.When I went on my journey around the world, the first people I spoke to were young. I went into schools talking about this stuff. I’ve been on the road speaking to hundreds of thousands of young people, so I probably hold one of the largest archives of young people’s thoughts in the world. I’ve been immensely committed to this and I like the idea that we provide educational materials for them to be the driving force behind the vision of a united and sustainable world. Peace One Day has provided those materials for twenty-two years; and I think we’ve really got to equip young people with the necessary information and tools to take on the great challenges around diversity, inclusion, equality, justice, climate action, and peace. We’ve had hundreds of thousands of young people using those tools – I think there are 33,000 teachers currently using them, they are in schools all over the place. I’d really like to provide tools, inspire, and inform. That’s it.&nbsp;Q: What kind of qualities do you think young people need in today’s world?JG: I think they need a lot of courage. There was a good interview with Steve Jobs where he was asked, “Why did you make it when others didn’t?” He said, “One word – passion.” Just look at those who excel. It’s because they fell in love with something, and the passion drove them through. Steve Jobs is right. It’s all about finding your passion.&nbsp;I think the quality of “looking at failure as success” is also pretty important. The idea of celebrating falling down, of knowing that you learn most about yourself when you fall down, is something that we can appreciate more. When it gets dark it gets interesting. When it gets dark, if you can find the light it’s a really great thing, because it makes you who you are. In every moment of now, I’m only here because of the darkness, not the light. Success is okay, and everybody saying “yes” is okay, but when it’s really dark and you’re getting “no,” that’s when it’s most interesting.&nbsp;I think you need a lot of courage, determination, tenacity, and passion. You’ve got to be respectful, you’ve got to be loving, you’ve got to be peaceful, you’ve got to be willing to reconcile your differences, to forgive. I’m not sure intelligence really comes into it [laughs]. No, intelligence does come into it, but qualifications don’t. If you’ve got the love, the passion, and the drive, then come and sail with me. I don’t need to know that you went on some course to know how to sail. Let’s get on a boat and let’s get it moving.&nbsp;Q: What about awareness? Do you think awareness comes into this as well?JG: Yes, I think you’ve got to be aware of where the holes are. You’ve got to know where the cliff edge is, otherwise you’re going to walk over it because you don’t know. That’s a waste. Know where the edge is.&nbsp;<hr><hr><h4>I think the quality of “looking at failure as success”&nbsp; is also pretty important. The idea of celebrating falling down,&nbsp; of knowing that you learn most about yourself&nbsp; when you fall down, is something that we can appreciate more.&nbsp; When it gets dark it gets interesting. When it gets dark,&nbsp; if you can find the light it’s a really great thing,&nbsp; because it makes you who you are. In every moment of now,&nbsp; I’m only here because of the darkness,&nbsp; not the light. Success is okay,&nbsp; and everybody saying “yes” is okay,&nbsp; but when it’s really dark and you’re getting “no,”&nbsp; that’s when it’s most interesting.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/empowering_young_people2_409586afdb.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-09T04:19:31.622Z" alt="empowering-young-people2"><hr>Q: Do you have any sense of how we can help young people deal with the fear many of them are feeling?&nbsp;JG: I think we can give constructive programming and narrative to the world. Currently we have the concept of “If it bleeds, it leads” when you turn on the news. The number one story is really horrible. They love it. But look at what we’ve manifested – look at the weapons, look at the starving people, look at the poverty, look at the way we’ve treated this place with a total lack of care and love of Nature. It’s disgusting.&nbsp;Let’s try to inform, inspire, and engage young people. Let’s put very constructive well-thought-through information that really empowers them rather than disempowers and frightens them. Because that’s what the media on the whole do.You can test it easily. When you say to a big media company, “It’s the day for the elimination of racial discrimination, it’s voted by every country as a day of diversity, inclusion, equality, and justice, will you cover this story?” they say, “No.” “It’s a day of peace voted by every country of the world, it’s a day of ceasefire and non-violence, and if more people who find out about it they will actually end up changing their behavior, will you cover it?” they say, “No.”&nbsp;So, there lies the essence of what’s going on. But will you choose to be disempowered by the fact that the media don’t want to cover constructive days that can have an impact on their own children? You have to think, “That’s the way the world is, selling arms, looting fossil fuels, treating animals badly – things that our very nature and our very existence depend on.” To think that certain sectors would behave any differently is a bit silly, really. This is how we are; this is what we are. And we must deal with it. It’s tough.Actually, I don’t think humans really want to accept it. We want to think we’re something different; otherwise, how do we function? How do you talk to a young person about why nuclear weapons exist? How do you explain why they dropped a bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? How do you explain it? It’s disgusting. Tough stuff this.&nbsp;Q: You really put your heart into this work, and when you put your heart into something, it’s incredible what can be achieved.JG: Yes, it is quite amazing when you see beautiful things happening, when people are very determined, climbing the mountain. Especially if you love the mountain so much that you’re just never going to stop climbing, irrespective of whether you get to the top or not. That’s amazing, being in the grip rather than the view; every grip is exciting. And the falls are amazing, like “I now know that I can’t operate in that way. I have to find another way. Okay, let’s go a bit higher tomorrow.”&nbsp;Then your wisdom comes. You can see a mountain and can almost see the right route,&nbsp;because you’ve climbed so many and fallen so many times that you get better at spotting the route, even from the ground.I quite like the journey, and life, and how it teaches you certain things that make it a little more interesting. And what makes the difference between somebody who gives up and somebody who doesn’t? As Steve Jobs said, it’s passion.&nbsp;Look at what Ury and Fisher said in the book Getting to Yes: Don’t worry about the yes, look at the no, and when you get a no, turn it into a yes. And love the no. That’s very cool.&nbsp;They spoke about BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement). Go into every meeting thinking that you’re going to get a no, so what’s the alternative? As soon as a no comes, what are you going to ask for? Have it ready. These are not my thoughts; they are Ury and Fisher’s thoughts. They are legends.<hr><hr><h4>It is quite amazing when you see beautiful things happening,&nbsp; when people are very determined, climbing the mountain.&nbsp; Especially if you love the mountain so much that&nbsp; you’re just never going to stop climbing,&nbsp; irrespective of whether you get to the top or not.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/empowering_young_people3_fce1495ac7.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-09T04:20:18.738Z" alt="empowering-young-people3"><hr>In the early days, I’d almost tempt a no, because&nbsp;having said no once, they would feel a bit difficult about saying no twice, so I would aim to get a yes for the second request! [laughs] Everything’s a negotiation, isn’t it? And it’s fun! That sounds manipulative, but I don’t think Ury and Fisher were suggesting manipulation. They were simply saying: If you’re going to do something good, get it done! Don’t worry about whatever comes your way. That’s just how it is. And what makes the difference between somebody who gives up and somebody who doesn’t? Again, passion.&nbsp;Q: Is there any message you would like to give young people?JG: I hope that what I’ve said during our conversation will be positive to young people. The future is clearly in their hands. They are charged with an incredible job and obviously we wish them well on that journey. And if we can be there to assist in any way, inform them, inspire them, and engage them, then that’s what we’re going to do. We will do that every single day.People can find more information at <a href="https://peaceoneday.org/Main/">peaceoneday.org</a>. They can meditate and do all sorts of things to equip themselves for the challenges they’re going to face. It has been lovely to connect with Heartfulness for <a href="https://heartfulness.org/en/international-day-of-peace/">Peace Day</a> and Space Transformers Live, and I’m really grateful.<hr>

Empowering young people

<h4>JEREMY GILLEY is the founder of Peace One Day. Because of his efforts, September 21 is an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence. 22 years on, Jeremy is even more passionate about bringing peace to the world, despite the current uncertainty and unrest. Here he speaks to ELIZABETH DENLEY about taking Peace One Day to the next level.</h4><hr>Q: Hi Jeremy, it’s good to connect again. Peace One Day has built so much awareness over the past two decades about peace and the need for ceasefires. So what next? Where are we heading with all this?JG: Well, there are two things. First, where are we heading as a global community, and second, what kind of impact are the Peace One Day campaigns having?<h4>Our Global Situation</h4>JG: Where we’re heading as a global community is obviously of serious concern. It’s extremely worrying, frightening, and tragic. There are really no words to describe the way we are operating at this particular point.We admitted a while ago, as people like Paul Polman and Mary Robinson said, that this decade is incredibly crucial. We needed to make the right decisions in relation to humanity’s survival, and now everything we’re doing is the opposite of what we should be doing. We’re seeing an increase in violence between countries and in our communities. The way in which we’re treating resources… I’m upset and angry about the whole thing.When you look at the evolution of humans, should I be that surprised? We can have an intellectual conversation about how everything’s got to change, but the truth is, can we actually change the DNA of a human being to be capable of protecting anything beyond itself? I think history probably proves the answer to that question.If we look at some of our great achievements, there’s some beautiful architecture (dependent on the resources that we used to build it), amazing music, beautiful art, and amazing poetry, etc. There are also some very complex weapons. There are examples of heinous destruction. That is what we are. Look at the evolution of the human species in relation to destroying each other, and destroying what gives us life. That is the result.So, we can have a nice conversation about beautiful things and spirituality, but it’s really niche when I look at what we’ve done, who we truly are, the manifestation of our actions. Do we have the ability to do something different? Have we only just realized that we have to behave differently? Of course not. We’ve known for ages that we needed to behave differently. And have we been capable of behaving differently? The answer is no.That’s the reality. Will there be a shift in consciousness? Unlikely. What will life be like beyond 250 years, if indeed it exists? Unpleasant, to say the least. Many would say we’re in the final chapter. We were told by the great contemporary thinkers of our time that this is the decade for fundamental change and we have failed!<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inform_inspire_engage2_700x467_3ca632ab78.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:21:36.830Z" alt="inform-inspire-engage2"><hr>And we haven’t even talked about the 4 billion people who are really hungry, and about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. “Sorry, I want to feed my kids. You want to talk about 17 goals with me?” That’s where we are, that’s who we are, and who we are is what we’ve manifested.So what’s the point of getting up? Well, there is a point. I’ve got a little girl, and I need to take care of her, and I need to do everything I can to protect her future as best I can, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. And then my daughter will have children, and my daughter’s children are really going to be in the heart of the fire.Therefore, I’m going to get up and dig deep every day. And I’m going to work my absolute socks off, to do three things that are crucial to humanity’s survival. It’s not just me, there are thousands of people doing it. We need to create narratives that are constructive, with just three words: inform, inspire, engage. Not inform and freak someone out! There’s no point in pretending this whole thing is okay, but that doesn’t make any difference to the way I’m going to operate on a daily basis. In fact, it fuels my desire to work even harder.I think we’ve got to look back at history, whether it’s the slave trade, women having the vote, or the incredible LGBT+ community, and the amazing breakthroughs that we see in all sorts of diverse, inclusive, just, and equal ways. They were people on the periphery who were shouting and screaming, being creative and constructive, and informing, inspiring and engaging, and who eventually made the status quo. Well, guess what? Individuals on the outskirts who are marginalized, who aren’t the mainstream, will be the status quo! And that’s a beautiful, exciting, inspiring point; that’s how history unfolds.And technology and science are going to be fundamental to our human fight for survival. We can make a difference – all of us trying to make a contribution, individually, collectively, doing extraordinary things – and science and technology will kick in as well. It’s a fascinating situation!<h4>The Impact of Peace One Day</h4>JG: And the impact of Peace One Day? Well, it’s 22 years, 138 countries. The International Day of Peace is September 21, a day of ceasefire, of nonviolence, unanimously adopted by every government in the world. It has also been passed through the US Congress as the Day of Peace. That was a lot of hard work by Kofi Annan and the incredible men and women of the United Nations, and others, including corporations, actors and singers, and civil society. The day is manifested; that’s my starting point.We saw what happened in Afghanistan with a ceasefire – children were vaccinated and there was a 70% reduction in violence, so we saw improvement in the most complex place in the world. A cynic would say that one day of peace is only symbolic and meaning less, but they’re wrong; this mountain is climbable. You can only say it’s not climbable if you have a fear of climbing it yourself. Two billion people are aware and more people are thinking about peace than on any other day of the year – that is a great thing. As a consequence of that collective thought there is a behavioral change. September 21 is the most peaceful day of the year, so we know the impact is there.We’re moving into the next chapter, becoming like a “Netflix for Good.” We do 4 shows a year–for the elimination of racial discrimination, for climate action, the world’s Day of Peace, and Space Transformers. That’s a lot of inspiring and engaging narrative. Next year, we will do 12 shows, the 4 big ones and one every other month – 90 minutes specials around issues like poverty, terrorism, education, marking key dates in every month. As a consequence, you’ll see content creation quadrupling, amplifying, and that means more engagement and more narrative created by us to inform, inspire, and engage globally.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inform_inspire_engage3_700x467_4b7c911b44.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:23:38.030Z" alt="inform-inspire-engage3"><hr>Over the next five years or so, I would like to see POD become a destination, where you go to see programming around peace, sustainability, climate justice, equality, diversity, collaboration, cooperation, innovation, spirituality, etc. I’m very excited about the future. We’re fired up.We’re surviving, and it’s the yin and the yang, isn’t it, the dark and the light. I know darkness. Having known darkness is what allows me to see the light, find the light. So, it’s the first part of the answer to your question about really examining what we’ve actually manifested, what our evolution is manifesting. Darkness is actually what creates and ignites a passion and a desire to do something constructive.Q: And whenever evolution happens, it comes in quantum leaps. So, there’s always the possibility, that something’s going to leap out of the stratosphere and go somewhere else. And we never know when that’s going to happen. If we don’t do anything, it’s not going to happen. If we do something, it may or may not happen, but there’s a chance it will.So, what’s happening on September 21?JG: We are creating an experience on September 21.People can get information by watching any of the social media channels, including Peace One Day, Jeremy Gilley, and International Day of Peace. We’re going live from London and New York this year on World Peace Day. We will have contributions from unbelievable individuals from the world of music and performance art, thought leaders, panel discussions, interviews, and we’ll broadcast live to various locations around the world.We’ll be telling the stories of remarkable women and men who are working daily to save humanity. And I hope that informs and inspires and engages others to do the same. If you don’t know about Peace Day, and you come across that work, it will hopefully inform, inspire, and engage you to action. If you know it’s going to be Peace Day, I hope you reconcile your differences, pull your family together in a moment of unity, and with that unity comes hope and strength. By working together, we can have peace one day, in our families, in our communities, in our places of work, in our places of worship, and in our schools and universities.<hr><hr><h4>If you know it’s going to be Peace Day,&nbsp; I hope you reconcile your differences,&nbsp; pull your family together&nbsp; in a moment of unity,&nbsp; and with that unity comes hope&nbsp; and strength.</h4><hr><hr>If we want to live in a peaceful world, and we know the day of peace is September 21,but we don’t do anything ourselves, then don’t question government leaders. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? If we want to live in a more peaceful and sustainable world that protects our children’s children, we are all going to have to play along.So, to those who know about September 21, I hope you have a beautiful day. You don’t need to organize the biggest event that’s ever happened, you just need to reach out to your family, your friends, your loved ones, and your work colleagues, or just strengthen those relationships and the sense of commitment that, “Let’s do some real good here. ”Follow us on social media and tell us what you’re doing. For those who don’t know, I hope you watch the show and find out more.Q: Thank you. That’s inspiring. Are you still as visionary and inspired as you were 22 years ago?JG: I think I’m probably scarred. I’ve got a lot of wounds, but those wounds are interesting. And some of the darkness that I’ve experienced is like a climber who falls down halfway, after taking three years to get to that point, and now they’ve got to go another couple of years. You can look at it two ways: I’ve fallen down and I’m never going to make it; or I’ve fallen down and hurt myself, but I’ve got to get up and work another couple of years to get to the top of that mountain.To those who helped manifest darkness in the world, instead of wanting revenge, be grateful to them and thank them for the experience they’ve given you. It’s making you who you are, and there’s a lot in that. If you can look at life that way, it’s liberating. It actually does fuel passion. Turn around what’s dark, what brings you down, and say, life is a series of chapters, life is things that you just have to learn and tools to equip yourself with. It’s that mental approach where you see the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.<hr><hr><h4>To those who helped manifest darkness in the world,&nbsp; instead of wanting revenge,&nbsp; be grateful to them and thank them&nbsp; for the experience they’ve given you.&nbsp; It’s making you who you are,&nbsp; and there’s a lot in that.&nbsp; If you can look at life that way,&nbsp; it’s liberating.</h4><hr><hr>How am I feeling? Pretty scarred but passionate, probably more passionate. I’ve got more energy now, after 22 years on the road, than I had at the beginning. I have equipped myself with skills that I never had before. That gives me the ability to think really big, paint any picture, dream of anything, just go for it. That’s really exciting!Also, people take you more seriously the older you get. Years ago, I remember looking at big producers like Kevin Wall, and now I think to myself, “Wow, you’ve done a lot of producing, Jeremy. ”I’m not suggesting I’m anywhere near Kevin, but life is quite beautiful in that way. It enriches you and rewards you, and the rewards come as a consequence of your ability to know and see things as achievable. I feel great, I feel ready, I feel energized, I’m up for another five years of really interesting work.Q: Peace be with you, it’s fantastic talking to you.JG: I love speaking with you and am always really grateful for all the amazing work that you are all doing, it’s incredible. We’ve just got to keep going.Q: At Heartfulness, we’re doing a lot of environmental work now, with forest planting of rare and endangered species – across India, millions of trees. And water projects with governments to re-irrigate. I agree with you, the SDGs aren’t going to happen unless we make them happen.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inform_inspire_engage4_700x467_f9905900cd.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:24:15.262Z" alt="inform-inspire-engage4"><hr>JG: The SDGs are wonderful signposts, wonderful pieces of art. They have a very important role to remind us of the mountains we need to continuously climb. The key with having a finite period of time is that we can perceive it as a failure when we don’t achieve them within the15-year window. But the truth is, they’ve already been a success in relation to those who have seen them, which of course, is limited. I’ve drawn a lot from them personally. I love thinking about them. Those who have the privilege to be able to look at them and talk about them, which is very few, have a crucial role. If you can look at them, you can probably eat. So, good on the teams that have been working tirelessly, like the SDG Action Campaign. Brilliant, brilliant work.Q: Well, thank you so much, and all the best for September 21.JG: Have a wonderful Peace Day. It’s lovely to see you.Q: You too. All the best.

Inform, inspire, engage

Jignesh is the founder of Sarvangi Life Solutions, creating &amp; imparting training on holistic health. He has been practicing Heartfulness Meditation for 30 years.

Jignesh Shelat.jpg

Jignesh Shelat

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">JIGNESH SHELAT shares his experience of how to remove negative thinking patterns and create an abundant future.</h4>Everything in our universe is energy.&nbsp; I have heard my Guide hinting many a time that human beings are just energy arranged in a certain pattern, and so I felt it was very important to listen with the ears of my heart, absorbing the essence of the science of the flow of energy.Here are a few simple examples:When I say, or you say, “I don’t want war,” we are giving our attention to war; where we give our attention our energy will flow there.Our thoughts attract and match our energy with that where we give attention, and that will bring it into our three dimensional reality.So instead of saying, “I don’t want war,” I can say, “I want peace.” Then my attention is on peace. Now I am giving my energy to peace and the universe will match my energy with peace. My life will be peaceful.My Guide has hinted many times that this universe works on vibrations.So it is very necessary to change our statements. The key element I discovered from all his hints is that it has to be from the core within.This is the key element for utilizing the potent energy of the universe in my favor: it should not come from the logical thought process of the brain, but from the core within.Instead of saying, “I don’t want to fail,” say, “May I succeed.” Instead of saying, “I don’t want to be fat,” say, “May I be slim.” Instead of saying, “I don’t want to struggle in my job,” say, “May I have a happy and exciting job.” Instead of saying, “I don’t want to fight with my better half,” say, “May I have a happy relationship with my spouse.”]<hr>By connecting to the core source within,&nbsp; we will create patterns that will help us&nbsp; channel our core energy and our life will change accordingly.<hr>These are some general examples. Now I will share something that has always worked for me. When anyone asks me, “How are you?” I use it as an opportunity to place an affirmative request to the universe, while consciously tuning with the inner universe. For example, I might say, “I am in a joyous state.” Believe me, the universe has always granted any such wish.I have understood that thoughts are very powerful. They are filled with potent energy, which is always transmitted, whether I am conscious of it or not.So, if I connect my thoughts to the core and speak about exactly what I need, I will be successful in attracting that.If I allow the flow of thought and word to be directed towards what I actually don’t want, I will attract what I never want to have. So, after understanding this simple principle of our universe, I have learnt to stop talking and thinking about what I don’t want, and change my vocabulary.Words flow from thoughts, thoughts have an online connection to feelings, feelings are connected to the vibrations flowing from the universe, vibrations have an eternal connection with the core within.So, always sync your thoughts from within and talk about what you need or want, and what you don’t want will gradually vanish from your life. I have removed a few words from my dictionary: depression, hatred, failure, illness, disease, war, fights, anxiety, struggle, debt, enemies, terrible, accidents. When we are able to change our thought patterns, our words will change. By connecting to the core source within, we will create patterns that will help us channel our core energy and our life will&nbsp;change accordingly. Believe me, it will create a future with an abundance of happiness, joy, peace and prosperity.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Energy flows where attention goes

Jimmy Carter

Love of Nature

Jodi Picoult

Crisis

Joel, aka A Soul Called Joel, is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who grew up singing gospel songs with his seven siblings. In 2022 he released his new album, Love and Liberation. In addition to his musical career, Joel is a certified meditation teacher, a life coach, poet and author of the R.I.S.E. journal.

Joel-Cross.jpg

Joel Cross

<h4>JOEL CROSS, aka A Soul Called Joel, is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. He grew up singing gospel songs with his seven siblings. In 2022, he released his new album called Love and Liberation. The well of his creativity and passion is deeply spiritual. In addition to his musical career, Joel is a certified meditation teacher, a life coach, poet and author of the R.I.S.E. journal. He is interviewed by JANMARIE CONNOR.</h4><hr><h4>How’s your heart feeling today?</h4>Q. It’s wonderful to finally speak with you. Someone sent me a link to your Instagram feed with the instruction, “Check this guy out!” I did and immediately knew what inspired her to share. Shall I tell you my 30-second experience on Instagram as I recorded it in my journal?JC: Yes, please do.Q: A lovely man with a wide-brimmed hat, bright smile, peaceful presence, surrounded by mountains, trees, azure sky, and birdsong greets me, and thousands of his followers.“Hello, beautiful souls. How’s – your – heart?”My soul, surprised at being directly addressed, cooperates. I move my attention inward to assess. He does the same. With eyes closed, he takes a deep breath, places hand on heart, and he waits, waits, waits. I feel an inner impulse, a wave of energy, lightness. A slow, contagious smile spreads across his face, and mine. At that moment, I’m reminded of something my mentor and Guide often said, “The heart speaks!” And on cue, I hear a rich, baritone voice:“May you be open so that you may heal. And may the fruits of love, compassion, and peace grace your lips – always.Much love and light.”Can you describe what’s happening when you pause and tune into your heart? You seemed to be having a nice chat with it.JC: I get that question a lot, but I haven’t really answered it publicly yet. What I’ve discovered in my own meta-meditation, connecting with my heart center, is that the heart is always speaking. But we are rarely listening.As I ask the question, “How’s your heart feeling today?” I connect to a space within that I’ve grown quite familiar within my practice. When I close my eyes, I can literally see my heart in bloom. Often, I see it as a flower – I see it open. I can feel its energy, its love exuding from its center. And then I hear very clearly whatever the blessing is for that moment. I also get asked, “Do you prepare these blessings in advance?” No, never. It’s as you describe it. I can feel it, which is a beautiful thing.<h4>My story</h4>Q. Most people don’t arrive at the kind of depth you’re expressing here without a story. Can you share a little of your story with us?JC: I definitely have a story. I’ve come to recognize that the greatest wisdom is always experience.I was raised in a big family with seven siblings. My parents were very religious, from the Christian tradition, and my dad is a Baptist preacher. The common question in our household was, “What is spirit saying?” So, there was always this query to connect and tap in.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/flow2_b1c59a175e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-13T10:56:42.772Z" alt=""><hr>As I got older, there were some things in that tradition that were challenging and troubling for me, that didn’t resonate with who I felt like I authentically was. There was a disconnect from my family for a while, as I was reconnecting to my truth. They didn’t understand my departure from their tradition. One of my greatest fears was not to be accepted by my parents. I was considered the perfect son, the baby boy, right? I felt like an outcast for a long time, as we were all trying to figure each other out. There was a lot of turmoil.Until one day. I remember standing in the kitchen, and I surrendered my need for suffering. I surrendered my need to be a victim. I surrendered my need to be superior to anybody else. And I surrendered my need to see any other being as anything less than divine. In that moment, even though I experienced some heavy hurt, I felt so light. I started experiencing joy.<hr><hr><h4>I surrendered my need to see any other being&nbsp; as anything less than divine. In that moment,&nbsp; even though I experienced some heavy hurt,&nbsp; I felt so light. I started experiencing joy.</h4><hr><hr>I followed my intuition and went for a walk. Did you ever read Neale Donald Walsh’s book, Conversations with God? During that walk I felt like I had my own version of that, except for me it was a conversation with B.O.B., a playful acronym for the Big Ole Beautiful, which is nature for me. I felt like I was communing with nature. I had a bird’s eye view of our existence. And from that vantage point, I recognized that we’re all just trying to find grounding from our hurt, from our misunderstandings in this world, so that we can find clarity. And from that comes healing, transformation, transcending patterns, and evolving into a more heart-felt experience.<h4>The R.I.S.E. Journal</h4>Q. I understand that journaling has played a big part in your personal transformation. So much so that you’ve developed and published the R.I.S.E. Journal. Can you tell us about that?JC: Growing up, I was a decent student. I didn’t have to study much. Then I got to college and I was a horrible student. A friend of mine, whose nickname was Chief, said, “Joel, all you must do is write it down. Copy it from the book until you can recite it from memory.” So, I would just write and write. A few years later, I was in a moment of deep heartbreak with a girl I was seeing. It ended abruptly and I was hurt. Sleepless nights for months. And finally, intuitively, in the middle of the night, I got up, grabbed my college notebook and began to write everything that I was feeling. About an hour and twenty pages later, I had a perfect night’s sleep for the first time. I was like, “I don’t know what this journaling thing is about, but I’ve got to investigate this.”My R.I.S.E. Journal process has four parts. It starts with R, which stands for Release. I just let everything out, all that energy I was feeling or thinking, to clear my canvas. Next comes I, which is connected to all the heart questions. The foundational question I ask is, “How’s your heart?” But there are so many other heart questions: What am I longing for? What am I afraid to hear myself say?&nbsp; My heart would speak and so I would write it down. Which leads to the S for Self-awareness, through the real wisdom right at our core, that scared space. I didn’t want to end this journaling process with any heaviness. That’s where the E comes, which stands for Empowerment. I learned about intentions and affirmations through Louise Hay and that remains a strong part of my practice. It’s been 15 years now and the R.I.S.E. journaling process has changed my life.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/flow3_0e9cafd596.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-13T10:58:03.102Z" alt=""><hr><h4>Love and liberation</h4>Q. I’m part of the Heartfulness Institute. Each night at 9 p.m. local time, we align our hearts with people all over the world with a beautiful intention for peace. The intention establishes lightness and peace within ourselves, and then radiates this lightness and peace outward into the world. When I listened to your new album, Love and Liberation, it had an enchanting quality and effect, like that9 p.m. intention. It’s clearly coming from deep within your soul. Where has this inspiration come from?JC: My heart and my higher self. That is where my inspiration comes from. Around 2020, I felt there was a shift happening in my life. Much of my process has been about surrender. So, I left New York City and went to Texas, stayed with family and worked through some of the disconnect I mentioned, to do some deep healing. In the process, I knew I was supposed to travel the country and record in nature. I told my friends, I think I’m going to get a field recorder and find remote locations with great energy. When I feel the call, I’m going to hit record and play.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/flow4_2d75108e78.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-13T10:59:18.132Z" alt=""><hr>I got a camper, and ended up in Maine. One early morning, I felt called to follow a remote trail. I ended up on a beach where the energy was palpable. I set up my camera and my guitar, and all I heard was “play.” This was the shift which gave birth to a new direction and the song, Flow.<hr><hr><h4>I recognized that we’re all just trying to find&nbsp; grounding from our hurt, from our misunderstandings&nbsp; in this world, so that we can find clarity.&nbsp; And from that comes healing, transformation, transcending patterns,&nbsp; and evolving into a more heart-felt experience.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/flow5_96444d651c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-13T11:01:03.668Z" alt=""><hr><hr><h4>I surrendered my need to see any other being&nbsp; as anything less than divine. In that moment,&nbsp; even though I experienced some heavy hurt,&nbsp; I felt so light. I started experiencing joy.</h4><hr><hr>Q. You introduce the album by speaking of the power of self-love and surrender, and ask us to “connect with something deep within ourselves and as we listen, to open our hearts, quiet our minds, go inward and rise upward.” I don’t know of any other artist that helps the listener in such a beautiful way to receive what you’re pouring out from your heart. How did this come to you?JC: About 7 years ago, I’d had a beautiful guided meditation, and I was in that flow state. I had a very clear download: “What if there was a meditation that didn’t have a linear guide. What if the listening of the music immediately brought you to that space where you could listen and connect to your own inner guidance?”I held that intention, which inspired the phrase, “poetic resonance meditation,” which paints a picture for you to climb into, and you can connect to your own flow, your own self-love experience. Also, not long after, I had that moment with B.O.B.I had a divine inner knowing that the next step of my healing was to help support the healing of others in a very intentional way.It’s been affirmed by so many people entering that heart space with me, whether it’s on Instagram or through the <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/tansen-the-famous-musician" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">music</a>, we all feel that presence. It’s at the core of our humanity. As an empath, once I learned to ground myself, I learned that I could also emanate. That’s something that’s very important to me with the music.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/flow6_e8b4ad0dcd.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-13T11:19:31.905Z" alt=""><hr><h4>Global harmony</h4>Q: Since we’re meeting together on this important International Day of Peace, in a world with so much chaos and strife,&nbsp;how do you make the connection between the illumination of self-love and its essential relationship with global harmony? &nbsp;JC: Self-love gets a bad rap sometimes, because it’s assumed that it’s a synonym for selfishness. Self-love isn’t about me over you. It’s recognizing that I see the world as I see myself. So if I’m dealing with a lack of self-worth, unworthiness, or even self-hatred, I’m going to receive the world that way.The energy that you hold is the energy that will unfold, which is why there is so much discord in the world. I’ve discovered as I love myself more, and I’m able to recognize, “Okay, I’m triggered right now by this person in my life. Let me tend to me first, and figure out why this situation brought up feelings of anger, frustration, discord, turmoil,” that usually it’s an old story, which isn’t serving me well.It’s ready to be let go of. Peace really must start here [points to heart].I say it like this in my poem,<h4>I’m the Love of my Life</h4>For my purpose is not to outshine another. My purpose has always been to do my share, in the shining of us all. For as one shines so does another. And as I am able to see myself more clearly, it becomes far easier, to see you too. &nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr>You can watch and listen to Flow at <a href="https://www.heartfulnessinstitute.org/peaceintention">https://www.heartfulnessinstitute.org/peaceintention</a>.You can find Joel and listen to his music on his website, <a href="https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/">https://www.asoulcalledjoel.com/</a>.<hr><h4>Illustrations by JASMEE MUDGAL</h4><hr>

Flow

Johan de Smidt

<hr><h4>JOHAN DE SMIDT is a journalist and photographer from Cape Town, South Africa, who visited the Heartfulness Headquarters at Kanha Shanti Vanam before COVID-19 struck, and documented some of the activities. Here he showcases the kitchen, which since March has been supplying meals to up to 50,000 disadvantaged people per day in the wake of COVID-19.</h4>&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;To find the secret ingredient in the kitchens of the Kanha Shanti Vanam ashram, you have to start your hunt before dawn. That is when the cooks are adding spice to their day with a Yoga wake-up routine. “They are a bit dull when they arrive, so we are boosting them, waking them up,” says the kitchen manager, Mr. Moganty Adinarayan.On the morning that we visit the kitchen, a Russian volunteer Yoga instructor is guiding the cooks through their asanas at 5 a.m. This dose of waking up will certainly come in handy, because the kitchen has suddenly been informed that they have to cater for many more than the 2,500 people they expected for Sunday meditation. But this is par for the course for Adinarayan and his team of workers – every day brings its own surprises and they are used to changing plans at short notice. To be effective, they have to remain flexible, and the meal planning has to be spot-on. It is also of utmost importance to have close communication with the main gate officials who constantly update them with the latest attendance figures.It is no mean feat to cook three meals a day for over 78,000 people, as the kitchen staff did for the inauguration of the Kanha Shanti Vanam meditation hall in February 2020, and still be able to hit the ground running when work starts at 4 a.m. every morning. In one stretch, the kitchen can provide food for 30,000 people. On this Sunday, after most of the people have left, they are still cooking for more than 2,500 people. “We always cook for 100 more than expected,” Adinarayan says. On the breakfast menu today there is idli, sambar, rice and banana chips, and if the scale of the cooking is awe inspiring, the quantities of ingredients used is even more mind boggling. Just for today, a total of 100 kgs of raw rice will be required to satisfy the visitors’ appetites. Apart from planning for the large quantities of ingredients, there is the added challenge of getting the menu right to please the diverse palates of people from all over India, as well as from abroad. This is enough to give any kitchen boss a case of indigestion. “We have the difference between north and south of India. People from the north prefer wheat, they will have roti for breakfast, lunch and dinner if they can help it, while those from the south eat more rice,” Adinarayan says.<hr><h3><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love2_2377253183.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:42:58.797Z"></h3><hr><h4>Divine Food for Thought</h4>As far as approach is concerned, the biggest difference between this ashram kitchen and others catering to big numbers is that food here is made in constant divine thought, and handled by devoted practitioners. “It is mandatory for kitchen staff to attend the 7 a.m. group meditation and have weekly individual sessions too,” says Adinarayan. “Only Heartfulness practitioners work here. They come to work praying and leave praying. There is a lot of love and devotion, and willingness too. They put their hearts into their service, so the results are good. That is the main reason we are eating in divine thought. While cooking, they have the thought, ‘This is divine food.’”Adinarayan takes pride in their work, and such is his confidence in the quality of the food, that some of it is sent daily to the house of Kamlesh Patel, the Heartfulness Guide, who is fondly known as Daaji. “We expect it to be good enough for our Guide,” he says. Offering Yoga classes is not the only way in which other volunteers can contribute to the kitchen work. Daaji has invited all visiting international practitioners who attend training programs to cook in the kitchen, too. He has suggested that they be taught one dish of Indian cuisine and, in turn, they teach one dish of their cuisine to the kitchen staff.After digesting all these magic ingredients that go into making the ashram food, we part with a 5 a.m. invitation from Adinarayan to be at the kitchen the next day to witness the almost alchemical making of 12,000 idlis, the steamed, soft pillows made from rice and dal, and eaten with coconut chutney. The batter for this is ground the day before and left to ferment overnight before being scooped onto huge stainless steel moulded pans and cooked in a massive steam oven. But of course, the magic ingredient is Yoga. And for that you have to rise before dawn.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love4_aa39343451.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:45:28.144Z"><hr>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Cool as a Cucumber</h4>The kitchen floor area is an impressive 46 m x 24 m. To keep the kitchen staff comfortable, happy and cool in an otherwise hot situation, much thought has been given to the layout and ventilation of the huge space, which is 8° to 10° C cooler than the outside environment. This is accomplished through cross-ventilation provided by the side windows, elevated work stations, double-walled pots and an 8 metre high ceiling with a 2 metre wide canopy extension right at the top. Each row of six pots is positioned on a concrete slab that is about 1 metre above the floor, which ensures that steam from the pots rises from above head-height straight up to the roof, where it evaporates through the canopy. “That way the cooks don’t sweat,” Adinarayan says, and that is evident as they coolly go about their business.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Steaming Hot</h4>To speed up cooking time, a diesel-powered plant outside the kitchen generates and delivers steam at 80° to 90° C to the double-walled stainless steel pots, in which the temperature is increased to 130° to 150° C. The preheating of the steam maintains a constant temperature in the cooking pots and reduces the cooking time of rice from half an hour to just 10 minutes; lentil dal is cooked in 30 minutes and vegetables in 15 minutes. The closed nature of the system ensures reduced heat loss, and therefore, efficient energy consumption. The double-walled structure ensures very little heat is lost from the sides of the pots; indeed, we stand right next to it and feel very little heat radiating.When frying is required, to make a curry or sambar, it is done at floor level in moveable 800-liter pots, which can be easily wheeled onto gas cookers, and to the base of the doublewalled pots, from which the liquids are tipped into the frying pots. Vegetables boiled in the pots are mixed together to make curry, and lentils are added to the curry to make sambar. With the ongoing current threat of the coronavirus in the air, the focus is on boosting people’s immune systems. “We add jeera (cumin), white pepper and turmeric to boost the immune system and keep people healthy,” Adinarayan says. “Food is medicine.”<hr><h3><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love3_1bcf47cab2.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:48:41.652Z"></h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Leftovers</h4>At Kanha, special efforts are made to ensure minimal food wastage by reusing leftover food, feeding the rotis to the ashram cows, or making compost with it as a last resort. On the day we visited, leftover idli from the previous day was chopped up and fried with spices to make idli upma for breakfast. Leftover rice is added to milk to make curd rice, while leftover curry is immediately put in the fridge at night for making other dishes in the morning. While they make every effort to reuse leftovers, food that was made for breakfast or lunch is easy to manage, however, leftover food after dinner is problematic, according to Adinarayan. That is when the leftovers end up being fed to the cows, or put in the state-of-theart compost maker.<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article and photographs by JOHAN DE SMIDT</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

The kitchen of love

Johanna Vilhjalmsdottir

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">JOHANNA VILHJALMSDOTTIR and SYLVIE BERTI ROSSI offer us a glimpse of this year’s Spirit of Humanity Forum’s retreat in Iceland. They also share insights from some of the participants on the final day.</h4>The 2023 Spirit of Humanity Forum was held from 31 May to 3 June in Reykjavik and Hveragerði, Iceland. One hundred and twenty leaders from 27 countries and diverse fields came together to explore the theme “Healing a World in Crisis – Leading with Authenticity and Love.”&nbsp;After ten years of existence, this sixth edition of the forum moved away from the usual panel discussions to embrace a retreat format, offering us all a unique and transformative experience that had a lasting impact on our lives. The commitment, confidence, and courage of the group to embark on a profound journey surpassed the expectations of the organizers and made their dream a reality.&nbsp;The opening reception was hosted by the City of Reykjavik at City Hall, and an atmosphere of authentic sharing was established, fostering unity among participants from all corners of the world. Over the next three days, the retreat provided an opportunity to set aside roles and titles and engage at a purely human level.&nbsp;We delved deep into the exploration of authenticity, love, and healing. We cultivated trust, exploring authentic dialogue, the art of listening, and moments of silence, creating an atmosphere conducive to personal growth and collective transformation.One of the highlights was an online interview with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who spoke on spirituality, self-reflection, and the importance of care in governance, and her words resonated with the participants, highlighting the significance of personal experiences in leadership.The emphasis on love and compassion as essential elements for a better world was prominent throughout. Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, the President of Iceland, stressed the importance of genuine care for one another in restoring peace globally. His message catalyzed many to share their experiences and perspectives, reinforcing the notion of a shared humanity and the hope for a brighter future.The forum concluded with “The Language of Peace,” a public event organized in the Fríkirkjan church in Reykjavík, where some of the participants shared their reflections.&nbsp;As we approach the International Day of Peace on September 21, we invite you to listen to some of these touching voices from different continents, cultures, languages, and professional backgrounds. Each voice speaks of peace in their own way, through a poem, an experience, an encounter, an action, a life situation, or a reflection. But they all carry the same hope in their hearts: that a more peaceful world will come.<h4 style="text-align:center;">LYNDA LEOGAH FORKWA</h4>A typical crisis situation reveals a disconnect at all levels. What do I mean by this? Political disconnect (we can see that all over the world), economic disconnect, social disconnect, cultural disconnect, and sadly, spiritual disconnect.&nbsp;The big question is, how do we encourage the language of peace in our current situation? How do we co-create a regenerative future for all? How do we enable a peaceful coexistence on Earth for all Earth’s citizens? How do we create a global atmosphere where all cultures are respected in their diversity?&nbsp;In my own little way, I encourage the language of peace by tapping from within; tapping into my inner values, tapping into my inner home. What about you? What are the differing levels of contributions to this Earth? How do you intend to make a gesture for others to follow? If you’re unsure about how to go about it, I invite you to join me on the <a href="https://www.homeforhumanity.earth/onehomejourney">One Home Journey</a>, a course that intends to connect cultures, to build a regenerative future for all. We need a new framework for the future, to save the future, save citizens, and shape the future of our children, our children’s children. The time to act is now.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace2_196e7364d4.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;">NOOR BALFAQEEH</h4>This is the first time I am speaking in a church. Coming from an Islamic background, it’s really an honor, and I can’t describe in words how proud I feel of being here with you today in this Forum.&nbsp;I would like to share a quote from a book I read at the beginning of the year, The Secrets of Divine Love. It is written by a Muslim lady, A. Helwa, who tried to redefine Islamic teachings in a very unique way. I’ll share a quote about love, as love is what we’ve been talking about for the last few days.“We polish our heart to unveil the interconnectedness of creation, to embrace the places within us where love lives and compassion flourishes. And to see that beneath all outward defenses we all originate from a single seed of divine vibration. When we fully face Allah [and Allah, by the way, is how we call God in Arabic], we become like a holy mirror that contains the entire world within our love. After all, our journey here is not to just connect with the Divine in worship. But once we do this, to return to that creation as a sign of Allah’s unending love on Earth. You are not just a pottery fashioned from dust and water. You were sent to be Allah’s eyes on Earth. You were sent as a reflection of love and compassion for all those with hurting hearts. You were sent to reflect Allah’s mercy upon the entire universe.&nbsp;“As the 9th century Persian mystic, Iman Junayd said, ‘A Muslim is like Earth. Even if impurities are thrown on it, it will blossom into a green pasture.’ We are called to be like a date tree so rooted in the love of Allah that when people throw stones at you, you reply with food that tastes sweet.”&nbsp;Thank you.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace3_b95359e1d2.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;">MARTIN FRICK</h4>When I was invited to speak about the language of peace, the first thing I thought about was food because when there is no peace one of the starkest consequences of war is hunger. Today we have 350 million people who are acutely hungry. Despite Covid, despite climate change, the biggest driver of hunger is still war. And hunger is what you get when everything goes belly up with international cooperation. In the end, it’s always the same people going hungry.&nbsp;I also want to speak about food because it’s the most essential, human, and connecting thing I can think of. We are in a Christian church, and breaking bread is the most Christian gesture there is. In every single religious tradition food has a special meaning, because food is not a given, it’s a gift we share. If we are conscious about it, it’s actually a way out of many crises.&nbsp;For example, food connects to climate change in a very direct way. Every year we are losing three times the size of Switzerland to land degradation. If we work together to restore the barren land for agricultural use, we will improve food security, we will bring communities together, we will bring herders and farmers together, we will bring Christians and Muslims together. It is around food that we can do that.&nbsp;The most beautiful thing is actually what makes plants grow. The biggest miracle for me is carbon dioxide. Plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and use a process called photosynthesis that has been working for 3.5 billion years to bind CO2 and at the same time produce food.So I want to conclude with hope. I’ve been involved with the climate crisis since 2007 when I framed the notion of climate justice. Equitable and fair food production can lead to climate justice. If we get it right, the climate crisis is our common enemy and nothing unites us more than a common enemy. It’s not one human tribe against another human tribe. It’s the human race against an existential threat, and that is my hope.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace4_5922e467dc.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;">LUNGELWA MAKGOBA</h4>I greet you all in the language of peace and love. I am immensely blessed to be here in this community where I have felt welcomed and experienced love. I would like to share a prayer from my faith tradition in my mother tongue, Xhosa, a language spoken by the majority in the southern part of Southern Africa, the tip of our continent. The language of peace is love, and that’s the language we speak here.&nbsp;As I say these words, and offer you this prayer, it’s a reminder to myself that we stand on holy ground. It is all holy ground, you are holy ground; you are made of the Earth yourselves. We will all go out into the world to feed the hungry spirits and be the love that our world needs. The language of peace is love. If we get the love right, we’ll get the peacemaking right.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace5_4c36c0a725.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;">LISA REEFKE</h4>Hello everyone. I have been asked many times over the past three days, “Who are you?” I’m Lisa, an international civil servant. I’ve been on a journey of inspiration and humility. I so wish I could take you all on this journey and see the incredible moments I’ve lived while traveling and serving in different conflicts across continents, talking to presidents, ministers, political opposition leaders, community elders, women, and young people. I feel deeply privileged for this opportunity. I’ve chosen two examples – one at the very onset of my career, twenty years ago, and a more recent example.&nbsp;Shortly after the independence of Timor-Leste, I traveled there to see what it would be like to build a country, to work with the people. I was invited to a meeting with the President of this newly born country. You imagine presidents living in big palaces, but he did not; he was working from a palace of ashes, a burnt down building. He worked from there for years. He would sleep with the people in the park. He was the President. He was a former fighter for the country’s independence. He wanted to be close to his people. What a humbling experience.Now I’m working in Afghanistan, and I’ve been there for a number of years. I talk to the Taliban and it’s hard. I think the place has really taken me to my limits. I feel at times frustrated, and sometimes angry, but who am I to be angry? I have spoken with some amazing women, and one of these brave young women told me, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Over the years, these and many other experiences, day-to-day, have humbled me, have made me believe in our common humanity.&nbsp;As I have continued my journey, I have often asked myself, “Who am I to judge?” I keep in mind what a beloved poet, very well known in Afghanistan, said centuries ago, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I will meet you there.” Thank you.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace6_e6c691cd08.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;">ILA&nbsp;MALHOTRA GREGORY&nbsp;</h4>An Invitation to Mirror/Mirrorswe are both portals and mirrors windows to where we could go and reflections of where we aresmooth, honest, jagged, shattered the truth of this mirror dependent on our heartsto mirror asks us to live in our heart in the nia that abides in each one residing in the makeen, expansive and graciousrecognizing all as empty and full the paradox of this complex lifecan we hold this?can we come as we are and reflect from a place of pure love?can we dance with the shards?united in deep devotion for creation let us be both one and many loosening our grip on the distinctions they may dissolve we may flourishour beings rest in bhakti our mirroring is devotion in service of the world we long to see of the beings we long to be

The language of peace

JFK was the 35th President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was President at the height of the Cold War, and was an inspiration to many due to his courageous oratory, humor, charm, and youth. He was a Pulitzer Prize winner, and was instrumental in establishing the Peace Corp, the Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the Apollo Program.

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