The need to take a stand for peace is greater than ever! Even thou current circumstances (See* below) in Calgary make our gathering at the Peace Bridge a ‘no-go’ this Saturday, we invite you to take this opportunity to rise up and take a stand for peace in an alternate fashion.
Although we will not be physically gathering on March 26th, let us gather together ‘in spirit’.
Please take time at 2pm, wherever you are, to become still and calm and feel the peace within your heart… then allow that peace to emanate into the world.
Feel the Oneness of all humanity. Feel the love in your heart emanate into the world. Allow a smile to spread across your face as you remember that others around the city will be doing the same thing at the same time. Feel our connection and set the intention that our peaceful intentions send a ripple of love and peace into the world.
You may even:
- Gather a few friends and family and take a peace walk in your own neighborhood.
- Carry your own little peace signs. (a sheet of cardboard written with messages of peace and love is all you need)
- Share the upraised two-finger Peace Sign with everyone you see along your walk with the intent to send a message of peace, love and compassion.
- Learn and sing and the “Channel for Peace” song below
- Leave decorated rocks with messages of peace and love in your neighborhood
- Carry sidewalk chalk and write messages of peace and love on the sidewalks.
- Take pictures of your peaceful adventures and post them on the Peace Walk – Calgary Facebook page
- Watch the live YouTube of the Global Peace Experience broadcast from the Peace Bridge in March of 2020 https://youtu.be/7_37_oDpvLc
Meditation to begin your Peace Experience:
Begin by breathing in slowly through your nose, then exhaling slowly for the same length of time – or even longer – than your breath in. Breath deep into your belly and sigh a gentle “ah’ on your exhale.
Feel your feet on the Earth and know that Mother Earth supports you every minute of every day and feel gratitude for that support. Allow that gratitude to fill your heart and flow down your body through your feet into the Earth.
Become aware of your body settling down and your mind quietening as you slip into calm peacefulness.
Recall a beautiful, happy moment and feel the feelings of joy that brings to your heart. Allow that joy to expand and grow into a feeling of love. Now allow that love to grow until it emanates from your heart into the world around you.
We thank you for participating in this way on Saturday and stay tuned for a gathering together in one place at some future date.
* A city injunction banning marches and sound amplification devices in city parks means we can’t walk our usual peace walk route from the Peace Bridge through downtown. We thought about potentially simply gathering to meditate and sing together near the bridge, however, without any sound amplification, it would be hard to hear over the traffic on Memorial Drive. In addition, there are four protests planned for this Saturday downtown, and getting to the Peace Bridge could be extremely challenging. Odds are stacked against us!
INFO BELOW DEFERED TO A FUTURE DATE
Join us for the Peace Walk on Saturday March 26th 2022 at 2:00pm Mtn Daylight time.
- If you join us live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada meet us at the Peace Bridge downtown (details below).
- If you live elsewhere in the world, gather at the same time with a few friends to join us on your own walk.
WHY?
To counter-balance the chaos, anxiety and fear that is pervading our planet at this difficult time.
To encourage peace and compassion by gathering together to send a positive ripple of peace into the world.
Mark your calendar with a recurring event – the Peace Walk takes place on the LAST SUNDAY of EVERY MARCH.
10th Peace Walk – Calgary
WHAT WE DO:
- Begin with a Meditation to connect with our own inner peace
- Walk across the Peace Bridge
- Pause and Sing “Channel for Peace” (click link to watch video to learn the tune and lyrics)
- Take a short Walk (accompanied by conscious music from Anthony Burbidge, Daniel Nahmod, John Lennon, etc), stopping at a few points to Share Peace Quotes.
- Hand out Peace Rocks to people along the route and/or leave them in places for people to find
(Click here to watch CTV News coverage of the 2017 Peace Walk)
WHERE:
We meet at the north end of the Peace Bridge shortly before 2:00pm (red pedestrian bridge on Memorial Drive and 8th street west) and take a short stroll through the downtown core.
WHAT TO BRING:
- Small rocks with Peace messages written on them to hand out to people and/or leave on the walkroute. (No worries, if this is a challenge, as we will also have a large supply of rocks to hand out.)
- A water bottle to stay hydrated
- Optional: A small sign to carry with a peace sign, or your peace message eg. “Peace begins with YOU!” or “Peace starts within”
Peace Song
This will be the fourth year we sing the song that was ‘channeled’ to one of the organizers as an Anthem for our peace walk. We invite you to watch the video to learn this song and sing it with us at the Peace Walk… or any time you’d like to bring more peace into your world!
Why Participate?
The Peace Walk is a gathering of diverse souls with a common intention to awaken the heart of humanity to embrace peaceful living. This is YOUR opportunity to take a stand for peace and make a difference.
Peace begins within and is amplified by joining together in community. More people gathering and walking together will flow even more peaceful energy out into the world, giving us the opportunity to Be the Cause for change.
Please join this group of conscious-minded, open-hearted people who want to make a Peace-full difference in the world… and Be the Cause for Peace in YOUR world!
Please invite your friends and family to join us. Share news of the Peace Walk on your social media platforms and use #peacewalk in your posts.
Visit us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PeaceWalkCalgary
Peace Rocks!
On the walk, we’ll share songs about Peace and place Peace Rocks – small rocks with the word Peace written on them – in places along the route where you feel a reminder of peace would be appropriate. We know this has a positive impact. After our 2015 walk, we received this photo of four year old Tristan, who found a peace rock while walking downtown with his father. His find ignited a beautiful conversation about what Peace mean.You are also invited to share Peace Rocks with people we encounter along the walk route. You are invited to bring your own rocks, or share the rocks we will have on hand that were decorated at the Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre by Calgarians experiencing homelessness, marginalization and extreme poverty.
Click the images below to see video footage at the 2017 walk:
History of the Calgary Peace Walk
The first two years the walk was hosted by the Joy of Life Centre for Spiritual Living. The following year, the Joy of Life Centre invited Spiritual Leaders from various communities to join forces and create the informal Calgary New Thought Alliance with the intent to raise consciousness and promote peace. They chose to collaboratively host two successful events in Calgary, The Peace Concert and The Walk for Peace, in celebration of The Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence (SNV). The annual 64 day SNV season (co-founded in 1998 by Dr. Arun Gandhi and The Association for Global New Thought) is an educational, media and grassroots awareness campaign that has seen participation in 67 countries around the world since its inception. Spanning the period of January 30th to April 4th (the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) the campaign focuses educational and media attention on the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action. 2018 marks the 20th Annual SNV.
In the fall of 2015, the walk became an event of its own, no longer affiliated with any particular group, expanding its scope beyond Spiritual leaders to include conscious Calgarians from all walks of life. The Calgary Peace Walk has evolved into a free, family-friendly event that gives people the opportunity to feel they are making a positive difference in the world.
Peace Walk Organizer and Volunteers
Tina Thrussell, Shin Dao Institute www.shindao.com
Lance Roth, Calgary Centre for Spiritual Living www.calgarycsl.org
with special guests, youth members of the Sant Nirankari Mission Calgary http://www.nirankari.com/calgary/index.shtml