Wednesday, September 21, 2005 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Winston Square Park
(Marshall between 4th and 2nd)
Downtown Winston-Salem
September 21st marked an historic event for Winston-Salem's community as nearly 150 people joined eleven different spiritual leaders who shared their unique way of praying for the betterment of the world, and the beings within it.
Surely peace beings within each of us. The attendees at Radiate Peace Festival 2005 created community based on this knowing, and seemed to delight in the myriad of ways and spiritual paths through which we pray: spoken prayer, silent meditation; chakra expression; song; dance; drumming; guided ritual; and joint prayer for species and nations across our planet. Together, we created oneness out of the inumerable ways one chooses to pray for peace, and a new vision for this planet.
It is with deep gratitude that I thank those who sponsored the festival and all of those who participated and helped to create a revitalized vision for our planet: a oneness of family across the globe, of man and beast, fish and fowl, insects and reptiles, earth, water, fire, air and sky, moon and sun. Together we created a greater awareness for this day, and hope to gather continued awareness in the years to come.
(Thank you Erin for helping write this synopsis)
In light of the crescendo of current world situations, many of us are being called to gather and empower ourselves, to accept responsible participation in our interconnectedness with all things - humans, animals, plants, the earth and sky, the wind and water. This is the motivation for Radiate Peace Festival 2005.
As Masami Saionji, Chairperson of the Goi Peace Foundation and the World Peace Prayer Society, has said, "We are all citizens of the earth -- equally responsible for the care of our planet. If each and every one of us can awaken to universal love, it is then that we will see true peace and harmony on earth... Step by step, as each individual returns to the spirit of harmony, we shall bring harmony to the world."
The purpose of Radiate Peace Festival 2005 is to create a joyful experience of unity that serves to awaken to our higher, global consciousness, and fill our hearts with love, harmony and gratitude, so that as we walk our own way, we do so as radiant expressions of Peace and Love, so that we may all be inspired to respect life, live in harmony and honor the Earth.
The main message of Radiate Peace 2005 is that peace will be established when we live in a rich harmony woven with the threads of diversity on the loom of spiritual vision where we embrace each other on a spiritual level, stripped of all material designations of species, race, religion, gender and age, allowing us to celebrate, respect and honor the diversity which is naturally created as a result of our material differences and tastes.
Radiate Peace 2005 will be a gathering of elders from different spiritual paths who will share with the participants their paths prayer for peace. Some will sing, some will dance, some will chant, some will recite - all will offer prayers of peace. There will be a participatory dance of universal peace, as well as a world peace prayer ceremony, and a candle vigil for 191 countries.
Radiate Peace will be held on September 21, a day designated by the United Nations as International Day of Peace, from 6:30 - 9:30 PM at Winston Square Park, a beautiful green space surrounded by trees, waterfalls and fountains. We will be joining thousands world-wide to create a grid of loving peace and light, simultaneously anchoring peaceful energy in Winston-Salem as well as sending it back out again.
The strongest transforming energies are peace, love and joy. Join us in the conscious transformation of our selves and our world. Bring peace into your heart and radiate peace back into the world. The festival cannot be the same without you so please take this opportunity to be the change you wish to see in the world.