A Family Gathering of Peacemakers -- Institute for Individual and World Peace (IIWP) Seminar

Click here to view the photo slideshow from IIWP’s Gathering of Peacemakers at the Conference of the Rest of Your Life

Dear Lovely Everyone,

We had our Peacemakers meeting tonight, and it was beautiful.

John-Roger and John Morton were with us…
Leigh Taylor-Young served as our MC…
Beth Hinman gave us an amazing update about all of the programs IIWP offers…
Paul Kaye led us through a powerful Adopt-A-Horse exercise…
We had music (and a Spiritual Warrior movie surprise from Jsu Garcia)…
And topping it all off, John Morton shared with us.

We started gathering with Cat Stevens singing “Peace Train” in the background. Leigh began the meeting by inviting us to come into the quiet and peace of the evening. Peace came present…

We called in the Light, and Leigh gave us an update about the current fires that are burning very close to Windermere Ranch, our place of peace. Leigh shared that the firefighters have been so impressed with the fire care measures on the ranch that they have been using Windermere as their base and campground. Please send your loving and Light to Windermere, the firefighters, and everyone in the area.

Our beloved IIWP program coordinator, Beth Hinman, gave us an update about each of the IIWP programs. The Worldwide Peace Prayer e-mail program began its 19th round today, in both English and Spanish, and there are ongoing rounds of the introductory workshop “Finding Peace in Today’s World,” the introductory e-mail class, and informal IIWP Peacemaker Meetings taking place in the world, especially in the US and South America. If you haven’t touched into the ongoing programs and activities that IIWP offer, please go to the web site www.iiwp.org. Just visiting the pages, sending Light, and drinking in the teachings that are there is a gift of peace in itself.

Beth also shared about Windermere, and how 22 years ago J-R consecrated the ranch as a place of peace. J-R asked us to go to Windermere and walk on the land with an intention of peace, and after a time shared that a critical point had been reached and the ranch is now radiating as a place of peace on an ongoing basis. Visiting Windermere, walking on the land, planting Light columns, carrying a consciousness of peace—this is a beautiful way to support the Ranch and participate with the Traveler’s invitation to us all.

Beth completed her update with a heartfelt sharing about how the Institute exists to share the teachings J-R and John have shared with us, and to share the blessings of peace. To paraphrase some of what Beth expressed, the process of peace calls us to an individual determination to go inside, connect, and share of the God within our hearts. “The God within our hearts.” What a blessing.

MSIA’s President, Paul Kaye, led us through an exercise of connecting with one of the many qualities represented by the Windermere horses—a quality that could best serve us in preparation for the coming year. J-R has shared how each horse brings a quality, and he has charged those qualities as people participate in the Adopt-A-Horse (AAH) program. The way this works is to choose a quality, make a decision to participate with the program, and sign up. Participation involves a monthly donation to IIWP, and you can find out more information by visiting the web site (or you can send an e-mail to AAH@iiwp.org). As the web site states, “These horses truly are ambassadors of peace.”

If choosing peace brings joy, that came in spades with a visit from Spiritual Warrior Peacemaker Jsu Garcia, who bounded to the stage with a team of Peacemakers clad in Spiritual Warrior t-shirts to celebrate the world premiere of the Spiritual Warriors movie DVD. Jsu thanked J-R, and gave us the opportunity to purchase a pre-release copy of the movie (it officially goes on sale tomorrow during the Conference workshop; don’t worry! — you can buy it here).

Some Peacemakers also shared beautiful music with us. Eric Lumiere sang of peace and honoring ourselves and each other, joined by his dad Taras Lumiere on violin. Denise Lumiere, Merle Collins, Maria Jose Maranon and a cadre of companions sang a goosebump-giving musical rendition of the Peace Prayer J-R and John have shared with us, and also spoke the prayer in a number of different languages. Our musical interludes completed with Nat Sharratt giving of his heart and song, increasing the peace and repose of the evening.

Sweet Traveler John Morton then joined us, and shared the Traveler’s blessings and ministry. Some of what I heard John share included seeing the fires as a process of clearing for greater good and peace, regardless of what happens at the ranch, and we can give of our peace to that process. He also reminded us that if we are working with an initiatory tone, we can chant that tone into situations like the fires for the highest good. We shared the Peace Prayer together, and John invited us to open ourselves to the Traveler’s blessing of bringing whatever adjustment we need to our attitudes, so that each of us can be a great friend to all.

Let’s share the peace prayer together, now and now and now. J-R gave us the first three blessings of the prayer, and John has given us the fourth…

God Bless You
I Love You
Peace Be Still
I Give You My Peace

Read more articles from MSIA’s Conference of the Rest of Your Life, 2008