Community Meditations
for World Peace

February 1, 2006

Growing from the seeds planted at the November 2005 meditation preceeding Music by the River, the first Community Meditation for World Peace was held on February 1, 2006, at the Friends Meeting House in Lusby. The hour-long gathering included casual introductions and connections, 5 minutes of “food for thought”, and 20 minutes of silent meditation. Reflections were shared prior to closing the circle.

Fourteen people attended. One participant, an elementary school teacher in Prince George’s county, received brainstorm ideas of activities for a school-wide “Peace Week”. Another participant who enjoyed the “food for thought” segment, requested (and was given a copy of) the leader’s notes (see text below) to share with her family prayer group. Others in attendance included 2 nurses, a music therapist and social worker, a Baptist minister, and an engineering manager from the defense sector. All seemed to enjoy the strength of energy emanating from the group.

The evening’s “Food for Thought” was from the writings of Abby Eagle in Australia and from a book by Ken Keyes Jr.

"If you would like to see an end to hate, violence and war in the world then you need to start by bringing about an end to the hate, violence and war within yourself.

You see, the violence that we see in the world is just an expression of the violence that is found within man. Nations arm themselves in the name of peace and then attack other nations in the name of peace but the resultant behavior is always violence.

As an individual, the world is too big for one person to change but if you heal the war within yourself then a number of amazing things begin to happen. The first is that you will create a sense of peace within yourself. And when you feel peaceful then you will naturally project this perception of peace onto the world. But something even more wonderful occurs. When you feel at peace then you create an energy field that can be sensed by others causing them to feel more at peace. This effect has been scientifically studied as is known as The Hundredth Monkey Effect, or morphogenic field theory.

In brief, in 1952, on the island of Koshima in Japan, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but did not like the sand. Then one of the young monkeys learned to wash off the sand in a stream. She taught her mother how to do the same and slowly a few of the other adults learned the same behavior. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys had learned how to wash their potatoes but most of the adults were still eating dirty potatoes. Then when the number of monkeys washing their potatoes reached a certain figure, one day almost overnight all the monkeys washed the dirt from their potatoes. Even more surprising is that monkeys on other islands who had never been in contact with the monkeys on Koshima began to spontaneously wash their potatoes at the same time.

Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of individuals knows a 'new way', it remains the conscious property of those individuals. However, when one more individual manifests this new awareness, the field is strengthened, a critical mass is reached, and the awareness becomes the conscious property of all. This new awareness is communicated mind to mind.

Unlike prayer in which the practitioner asks for a specific outcome, in meditation the 'aim' is to quiet the mind and bring about a state of inner silence. So if you genuinely want to help bring about peace in the world then the best thing that you can do is to learn how to meditate.”

“Tonight you might like to focus your mind by using a mantra like the word “peace’. Inhale, and breathe in peace. Exhale, and breathe out peace. Inhale peace to every cell in your body. Feel that peace, and then exhale and send it to every creature on the planet.”

Notes from The Meditation for Peace held on March1, 2006

The following reads began the meditation:

From the book "PEACE IS EVERY STEP" by Thich Nhat Hanh,  these are words from the Foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama of Tibet:
        "Although attempting to bring about world peace through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way.  Wherever I go, I express this, and I am encouraged that people from many different walks of life receive it well.  Peace must first be developed within an individual .  And I believe that love, compassion, and altruism are the fundamental bases for peace.  Once these qualities are developed within an individual, he or she is then able to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony. This atmosphere can be expanded and extended from the individual to his(/her) family, from the family to the community and eventually to the whole world."

The Editor's Introduction by Arnold Kotler was also read:
" In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. ......(As Thich Nhat Hahn is able to, we also need) to make use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us.  .....A ringing telephone(/cell phone, etc.) is a signal to call us back to our true selves.   Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams (he says) are (perhaps surprisingly) spiritual friends on the path of mindfulness. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now."       

Meditations are held on the first Wednesday of each month at Patuxent Friends Meeting House in Lusby, Maryland.Gather at 7:00, meditation begins at 7:15.

Directions: F rom the North on MD Route 4: Turn left on Rousby Hall Road to Lusby Town Center. Turn right at the first light on Route 765/H. G. Truman Road. Go 0.7 miles South. You will pass Southern Calvert Baptist Church on the left. Continue a short distance past the Baptist church and a road to the left and then turn into the next driveway on the left to the meetinghouse. Look for the sign and the bright yellow mailbox.

From the South on MD Route 4: Turn right on Dowell Road and take an immediate left on Route 765/H. G. Truman Road. Go one mile North and take a right into the meetinghouse driveway, just before the road and the large Baptist Church on the right. Look for the sign and the bright yellow mailbox.

Special thanks to Mark Guiffreda for playing Native American flute music as we enter the meditations and as we come out of them.