WALKING WITH PEACE

Introduction
Lynda's Vision - the Original Email
The Peace Mantras
Walking with Peace Meditation
Manahprasada Peace Meditation
Ways to Help
NLAPW Tapestry for Peace

INTRODUCTION

On Thursday, December 16th, 2004, I had a remarkable experience, a vision while out walking. This vision affected me deeply and brought a new clarity of intention to the VoP work and service. My first impulse was to share the experience with the Vessels of Peace email list, and the response of the women was immediate and enthusiastic. They began forwarding the email to others, not just in this country but abroad, and I realized that the vision was, in a sense, manifesting via the technology of the Internet!

This vision of humanity walking with peace continues to inspire VoP women – and people everywhere, who hear of it – to create and hold a space, through repeating these mantras,  where peace can manifest within them and within our world. Read on for further information about the mantras, the meditations and ways to live this vision from wherever you are.

Thank you for walking with peace,

Lynda Terry

Founder, Vessels of Peace

LYNDA'S VISION : the Original Email

December 16, 2004 ...

I'm writing to share with you, an incredible vision/experience I had this afternoon, while walking. I do so because it feels like the first step is to tell others -- both as a sign of willingness to accept what's been shown and to begin the process of manifestation.

I left for my walk a little after 3 PM PST, stepping into a perfect Northern California winter afternoon -- sunny, no breeze, temperatures in the low 60s. I decided to take the route away from the main road, down a long side street lined with homes on both sides and views of the mountains and state park to my left. My right knee was a little sore and stiff, so my usual brisk pace had to be slowed some to accommodate. Very few people were out and about and just an occasional car passed by. The quiet street and slower pace made it easy to move into a more inward-focused state as I walked. Within just a few minutes, I found myself silently repeating in my mind, the mantras from the Manahprasada Peace Meditation I've been teaching for more than a year now:

"Peace .... Om Shanti .... Salaam .... Shalom ...."

I noticed that the slower pace I was walking made it possible to synchronize the mantras with my steps and still repeat them meditatively:

"Peace (left, right), Om Shanti (left, right), Salaam (left, right), Shalom (left, right). Peace (left, right), Om Shanti (left, right), Salaam (left, right), Shalom (left, right) ..."

"Oh!" I thought, "This is great! It works well as a walking meditation too!" I made a mental note to email this option to the people I had taught the meditation to so far...

"Peace (left, right), Om Shanti (left, right), Salaam (left, right), Shalom (left, right) ..."

Thoughts dropped away for awhile. There was only the cadence of the mantras, my moving feet, the breath, the sun ... and then it began.

Out of nowhere, I began to see, as if on a video or movie screen, people falling into step with me as I walked, softly repeating the mantras out loud. First two or three ... Then a few more ... Then dozens ... Then more ... As we walked up the street, door after door opened, as people came out of their homes to join us ... We moved from the sidewalk to the middle of the street because there were so many ... "Peace ... Om Shanti ... Salaam ... Shalom ..." People kept coming ... The street became a highway that kept expanding ... I was "seeing" as if from floating above, that I was walking at the front of yards and yards, then miles and miles of people, all of us going in the same direction, in that steady, rhythmic pace, softly chanting. "Peace .... Om Shanti .... Salaam .... Shalom ..." Waves of goose-bumps energy and emotion washed over me from head to foot and poured through my wide-open heart. I "saw" the same scenario taking place in other places around the country .... then around the world .... Tears started streaming down my face, and I was grateful for my sunglasses, as I couldn't seem to stop ...

"Peace .... Om Shanti .... Salaam .... Shalom ...."

As the vision continued to unfold, I felt this vibration begin to arise within me and coalesce into a thought: "I am to do this." Like being struck by lightning, the words jolted my ego mind to attention. "What? Me actually do this? No, No, this is just a daydream, a meditation phenomena, a fantasy my mind is making up -- a beautiful one, but a fantasy nonetheless."

If I would have been close to my house by then, maybe I could have let it go at that -- an inspiring fantasy symbolizing the eventual world shift we all long for so much. But I had 10 more minutes before I would be back to the street where I live. I kept walking, and on their own, the mantras kept repeating in me. "Peace .... Om Shanti .... Salaam .... Shalom ...." The vision came back, as strong as before. And the vibration bubbling up into words again -- this time, "YOU are to do this."

"No!" I said (by now I might actually have been talking out loud to myself), "It's too big! How can I do something like this - I'm just one woman - a woman of peace, yes, but the next Peace Pilgrim? I don't think so!"

I continued in this mode when suddenly, in the midst of all my resistance rhetoric, a little gap of silence opened up. I felt the first little seed of giving in to the possibility -- which scared me back into a resistance train of thought. As I was thinking how could I possibly do this -- there's my knee injury and other constraints, what about this, what about that -- I heard, softly, but quite distinctly:

"We'll walk with you."

And then, as I walked along -- tears still running down my face, my knee aching, my mind wanting to reject, my heart starting to embrace -- "they" began to walk with me. I could not see them, but I could sense them, feel them, hear them. One by one, then two at a time, then more, then still more ... Unseen Beings, falling in on either side of me, walking with me, repeating the mantras with me. "Peace .... Om Shanti ..... Salaam .... Shalom ...."

They walked all the way home with me .... And as I type this, tears falling on my keyboard, it feels like there is this gentle loving "crowd" supporting me in a way I can't describe in words.

It's been about six hours since my walk. I've spent some time in prayer and meditation, surrendering to what is being asked of me. I've shared what I experienced with my husband. There have been lots of tears, much humility, a moving in and out of overwhelm ...

I don't know what is to happen next, how or when it will happen, or what it will look like. I don't know if the vision is to manifest as shown, or in some way that represents it symbolically. What I do know is that I must get as many people as possible repeating these mantras and doing the peace meditations. And I know that sharing what happened today with you is important.

I am sensing that the collective energy of many people around the world practicing this walking meditation and repeating these peace mantras from many faiths can weave an immense vibrational field of peace on the planet -- a field of peace that will help heal the wounds of religious intolerance and help more people to experience peace in their hearts as a continuing presence. I also see this practice working synergistically with other heart-centered efforts for manifesting lasting peace in the world, linking us all as one in that field of peace.

If this vision has touched your heart, I ask you to simply hold the space of this with me, in whatever way feels right for you. As two or more hold a sacred vision together, Divine Presence is there, manifest and manifesting. Just hold the possibility of the vision with me, so that the energy of the vision has a place within which to build.

And please, pass this email on to others if so guided -- forward it, post about it on message boards and websites where it feels appropriate, print it out and give it away ... perhaps THIS is how the vision will manifest, through the instant community that Internet technology can create.

Thank you for taking the time to share this experience with me. May the peace of this season imbue every breath you take, every connection with others you make, and every step you walk on this beautiful earth.

Love,

Lynda

THE PEACE MANTRAS

The mantras come from four languages - English, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Hebrew – and offer a multi-faith way of invoking peace, since they are commonly used by the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

Pronunciation is as follows (you also can hear the pronunciation in the audio clip that plays on the website) :

Peace (pea-sss)

Om Shanti (oh-mmm shawn-tee)

Salaam (saw-lah-mmm)

Shalom (shaw-low-mmm)

There is a particular cadence or pace at which the mantras are repeated, and it's important to try to stay with that rhythm, for it creates a vibrational effect in your being and in the atmosphere around you. You are literally aligning with a "peace frequency" and building the strength of that frequency in yourself and on the planet. To create the cadence, pause for about two seconds after the repetition of each mantra and before beginning the next round of repeating them: Peace (pause) Om Shanti (pause) Salaam (pause) Shalom (pause)...

You also can repeat the peace mantras, aloud or silently, as the focus of a sitting meditation or as a contemplative practice while driving, cooking, etc., or when in stressful situations.

Download the Peace Mantras (Click Here)

WALKING WITH PEACE MEDITATION

Walk at a pace that is comfortable for you, then begin repeating the peace mantras, as instructed above. To get a feel for how to say them, listen to the audio clip on the website main page of Lynda repeating the mantras You will find the mantra cadence fitting with your walking pace in some way -- every other step, every third step, etc. Just let it evolve over the course of your walking. The main thing is to keep the mantra repetition slow no matter how fast or slow you are walking.

You can repeat the mantras silently or out loud. If walking with others, repeating them softly out loud together, and walking at the same pace, is one option, or letting each one walk and repeat silently as guided is fine too. Try to refrain from interrupting the meditation with other conversation -- the power of the meditation is in the continuous focus on the mantras, the rhythmic movement of your body and the intention you hold to presence peace within yourself and in the world.

MANAHPRASADA PEACE MEDITATION

The Walking with Peace Meditation actually is a variation of a sitting meditation called the Manahprasada Meditation, which Lynda developed in 2003. Manahprasada means "peace of mind" in Sanskrit. The practice of Manahprasada Meditation helps the mind access and sustain its natural state of peacefulness. In addition to the repetition of the peace mantras, other centering techniques are used at the beginning and conclusion of the process. Lynda offers monthly teleconference calls in which she teaches the Manahprasada Peace Meditation, and also offers free instruction programs locally (Northern California - Sonoma County area). Other Vessels of Peace women who have learned the meditation from Lynda also can teach it to others. For more information about dates of calls, programs, locations of other teachers, contact Lynda at lyndaterry@vesselsofpeace.com.

WAYS TO HELP

•  Do the Walking with Peace meditation on a regular basis -- on your own, or with partner, friends, family, co-workers, etc.

•  Organize a recurring public Walking with Peace opportunity in your community - perhaps a monthly "meet-up and walk" at a local park, beach or walking track.

•  Tell others about Walking with Peace. Refer them to the information on this website or forward the emails to them.

•  Take part in Vessels of Peace teleconference calls and email classes to connect with others Walking with Peace and to support a deepening awareness of the "field of peace" within and without. More details on the classes in early 2005.

•  Send shares about your experiences of Walking with Peace for the newsletter or post them to the website message board.

•  Let us know what you are doing and where you are so we can create an online overview of where Walking with Peace is occurring around the world - and offer a way for peace walkers in a particular area to connect with one another.

•  Support the work of Vessels of Peace through volunteering your time, talents, or abundance. In early 2005 we will have a donation option in place on the website for those who wish to give in that way.

•  Please share with us any suggestions you have for how to extend Walking with Peace around the world.