International day of peace 2020

On the 21st of September, our global human community celebrated the International day of peace, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1982. The General Assembly proclaimed this day to be completely free of violence and fire, suggesting to all countries cessation of any military operations and other acts of war. This year the GA selected the theme “Shaping Peace together” for the global celebration.

If we make a small conclusion out of general rhetoric, it appears that peace is all about stopping war and non-violence. To some extent it is true. But does peace automatically means something that is opposite to violence? Why do we always perceive it in the “violence-non-violence” dimension? I suggest we look at it from another angle. It is all about our inner condition. It is not just an emotion, but a deep and profound sense of stillness and serenity. We often forget that we are able to transmit our inner condition to other people around us. Let’s say you are angry. All the people in touch with you at this moment will feel your anger as well. All of us have these people with extremely contagious laughter. You may even smile a bit while remembering them. Such is our social reality - we are all connected on some subtle level. So how can we reach peace in the world? It is only by becoming peace ourselves. There are no big solutions to global issues. As individuals, we should always act locally, by using means at our disposal. In this case, it is our own mind and inner condition. If you are at peace, it will project onto others who surround you. As Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

This is a great change in my perspective that I was lucky to experience during an online event “International Day of Peace 2020. Connect for Peace” organized and hosted by Heartfulness Institute. The latter one is a global nonprofit organization that educates and coordinates thousands of trainers of heart-based meditation, which aim to encourage self-development, stress management, and an evolution of consciousness through a heart-centered lifestyle.

The “International Day of Peace 2020” event was supported by many organizations from the USA, Europe, and India. Among the European ones, it was Education 4 Peace, Spirit of Humanity Forum, Football for Peace, Global Ecovillage Network, Smart Republic, and several others. The main objective of this action was to bring together 40 million people from all over the world to meditate collectively at 9 pm local time. In fact, there were 30 million, which I believe was also a great result. At 8 pm they broadcasted a movie with internationally known peace-makers, thought leaders, and entertainers of different ages and origins. Here are some of the names: Dr. Bob Boisture (President & CEO of the Fetzer Institute), Michela Moioli (Italian Snowboarder, Olympic medalist), Amandine Roche (French writer, Peace Keeper), Mark Milton (Founder and Director of Education 4  Peace Foundation), Daaji (Founder & Guide of Heartfulness Institute) and many others.

You can check the movie by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEKSFltSsvs&ab_channel=Heartfulness

“It is our collective intention and attention toward peace that will create peace. No individual can make it happen, otherwise, it would have happened a long time ago.” – Daaji, global Guide of Heartfulness movement.

As a closure, I’d like to add that there is no need to wait until the next International Day of peace. We can start creating peace now, day by day deepening our sense of profound serenity and projecting it onto the world around us.

Here you can learn some simple yet effective meditation techniques: https://heartfulness.org/en/masterclass/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Peace

https://heartfulness.org/en/international-day-of-peace/

https://www.heartfulnessinstitute.org/