With the world situation being what it is, chances to gather with our community are few right now. What is the role of a spiritual community in the time of crisis? How do your spiritual practices and community connections help during tough times? How does contribute to Peacemaking in our community? Here are a few suggestions.
• Pick up your phone and call someone. Ask after each other’s well being, share memories of past camps, make plans for the future, laugh, pray and be together across time and space.
• Many meditation practices are being sent out right now, some for you to do on your own, some with groups via Zoom, some on YouTube or Facebook.
• For a number of years, Dennis Roshay has created videos from Dances and other events at our camps. Singing along to them, watching the joy and the faces of Beloveds is a great boost and connection at this time. You can find the videos here (or search for “Dennis Roshay” in Youtube):
Thank you Dennis!
In addition, I am going to be adding audio files to my website, where you can go to listen to Dance chants and songs and sing along. More info coming soon.
• Some Dance leaders are offering virtual meetings via Zoom or FreeConference. You can find out about many of these by contacting your local leader, by subscribing to the DUP Yahoo Group, DancingPeace, where many of these events are being posted: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DancingPeace/info
or by checking this calendar, maintained by krsna das:http://i.tgu.ca/dup_global_cal
Several that I know of are the Prescott (AZ) Dance and Sufi Circle, the Longmont (CO) DUP and the Raleigh (NC) Dance and Sufi circle.
• If you are looking for reading material during this downtime, check out Barbe Chambliss’ book, Women Peacemakers: What We Can Learn from Them. The book will be published this spring, with chapters on fifteen women peacemakers from around the world, as well as chapters on lessons learned from these women, and things we can be doing in our own lives to be active, conscious peacemakers.
The book is the outgrowth of Barbe’s dissertation research, and is the culmination of twenty years of travel, interviews and research.
You can find more information about the book, and sign up for Barbe’s mailing list here: http://www.barbechamblissauthor.com
