SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism (GCSA), sponsored by the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), announces the launch of WiseUSA ’08, a non-partisan, free global meditation and prayer program to run from October 1st to November 6th 2008, designed to draw forth wise leadership from both politicians and citizens during and beyond the U.S. presidential election. By using leading-edge Internet technologies to link millions of people from around the world in meditation and prayer during the U.S. electoral process, WiseUSA ’08 calls upon Americans to use their deepest wisdom as they consider and cast their votes for President this November.
Since the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election will affect the rest of the world, this program also invites the global community to support the American people in this process.
“The WiseUSA ’08 event is evidence of a new kind of spiritually-grounded, grass-roots, international and tech-savvy civic engagement,” says Sean Kelly, Ph.D., chairman of the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at CIIS and co-founder of GCSA. “It asks people to actively participate in the American political process from the deepest place of wisdom, beyond geographical boundaries and even the partisan divide.”
It is estimated that more than a million people from around the world will participate either in public gatherings or from their own homes in teleconferences/audio webcasts, interactive web discussions or as part of their personal practice. During the teleconferences and web-discussions participants will learn about and apply “subtle activism,” discuss what it means to live from a place of wisdom, and explore other ideas about what can be done to support the emergence of wisdom in American politics and daily life.
“Many people believe that there is a rising global consciousness — an understanding that we are all connected and therefore responsible for each other. WiseUSA ’08 is designed to call on that interconnectedness for the highest purpose and deepest wisdom of the American people,” said David Nicol, Director of GCSA. “The desire for harmony, abundance, safety and freedom crosses political lines, so together as a group of Americans we will meditate and pray for a wise outcome,” Nicol continued.
Event Detail: The program starts on Wednesday, October 1st with a series of teleconferences and audio webcasts featuring spiritual teachers from around the world. It will culminate in a 13 day intensive program that runs from October 25th to November 6th. This interactive program will peak on November 2, 2008 in a Global Ceremony featuring meditation, prayer and music which will simultaneously bring together public gatherings in Washington D.C., San Jose, and other major cities. These locations will be linked by videoconference and the event will be broadcast live online to hundreds of groups and tens of thousands of individuals worldwide.
Featured speakers include: Marianne Williamson, Gabriel Cousens M.D., Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, Dattatreya Siva Baba, David Spangler, Lynne Twist, Corinne McLaughlin, Rev. Ellen Grace O’Brian, Max Simon, and more.
Partnering Organizations: WiseUSA ’08 is co-produced by many leading non-profit organizations including: CommonPassion.org, World Peace Prayer Society, Culture of Peace Initiative, Vessels of Peace, Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, wisdomoftheworld.com and Zambuling Institute for Human Transformation and is artistically directed by Emmy Award winning composer, Gary Malkin.
About Gaiafield and Subtle Activism: The Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism was launched in June of 2008 as an action research center to advance the study and practice of subtle activism. Subtle activism is defined as a spiritual or consciousness practice, such as prayer, meditation, ritual or ecstatic dance – intended to exert a subtle healing influence on the world at large. The concept of subtle activism is based on the idea that all things in the universe are, at the most fundamental level, related and interconnected, a perspective that is emerging in a wide variety of intellectual disciplines — from quantum physics, to ecology, to economics. Subtle activism also builds on the new picture of consciousness emerging from various fields of studies, where consciousness is understood as a non-local field in which humans are embedded, rather than a mere epiphenomenon of biological processes located in individual human brains.
In this view, humans are not fundamentally separate from the field around them and are continually being influenced by it and, through our focused thoughts, intentions, and states of mind, can have an influence on this field. GCSA aims to connect people around the world through love, compassion, and awakened consciousness to support collective healing and positive social change.
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The Intention: Participants will be asked to focus on the following intention in their daily practice of meditation and prayer: We, the people, the ancestors of our great, great grandchildren call forth the deepest wisdom and highest compassion from the heart and soul of America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community and the next seven generations. May wisdom prevail in the USA. May peace prevail on Earth.
Additional information: For more details about or for specific information about the events visit: www.gaiafield.net .
[tags]WiseUSA 08, Global Meditation Program, Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism, California Institute of Integral Studies[/tags]
