Dottie, Janice, Linda & George preparing lunch for the participants in PEACE, LOVE & YOGA Day

PEACE, LOVE & YOGA Day was a big success!!

The peace and love energy was palpable at the Peace, Love and Yoga Day sponsored by the Yoga Association of Greater Detroit (YAGD) and the Citizens for Peace on Saturday, August 25^th at the Livonia Senior Center. Lynda Herman, president of the YAGD, Sharon Brand, yoga instructor at the Senior Center and other locations, and Colleen Mills, president of the Citizens for Peace planned and hosted the all day celebration.

Lynda Herman put out requests for yoga and meditation teachers to volunteer their talents for the special day. Karen Farkas, Lynda and Sharon’s yoga teacher, was asked to be the keynote speaker. Karen shared her story of how discovering the practice of yoga saved her life. After a very difficult time in her life, she responded to a notice about a yoga class. It was the inspiration she needed to turn her life around. As a yoga teacher for 40 years, Karen has influenced countless others to live mindfully through the practice of yoga and meditation. She encouraged the attendees to take the practice off their mats and into their daily lives by looking at all they see as if for the first time; really hearing as if it’s the first sound; noticing the taste of food before swallowing; appreciating the smells of the earth; being aware of the whole body in space; walking, sitting, moving with awareness; and paying attention to the wonder and beauty of the world.

The day, (8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.), included classes for all levels of yoga practice, from beginners to advanced practitioners. There was Mindful Yoga with Mimi Holland-Moritz; Sun Salutations with June McCarthy; Chair Yoga with Christine Walbridge; The Five Tibetans with Diane Siegel-Divita; and Flow with Peace, Love and Yoga with Sharon Brand.

Kathy Bindu Henning led a session on Present Moment Meditation. A devotee of meditation for 35 years, Kathy teaches classes at various places around the metro area, including the Livonia Senior Center and Schoolcraft College.

Lunch was prepared by George Mills and volunteers from the Citizens for Peace. After lunch, Colleen Mills shared some thoughts on her practice of yoga and meditation.

“Besides the obvious effect of keeping our bodies fit, flexible and balanced, yoga and meditation helps us to focus; reduce stress; block out the world; enrich one’s spirit; turn off the chatter in our brain; go to an experiential peace zone; and open the heart chakra – the seat of peace, harmony, laughter and love.” Colleen congratulated everyone on choosing love. She discussed the four needs of the heart: attention; affection; appreciation and acceptance. “Developing a yoga and meditation practice fulfills these four needs” she said.

After lunch, yoga teacher Jan Chekirda provided mandalas and markers to the participants. The result was a variety of colorful expressions, each as unique as snowflakes. It was a relaxing, artistic meditation. Also, The Happiness Prescription video was shown and viewers received the wisdom of Deepak Chopra on the keys to happiness. He shared the research that the happiest people are those who make others happy. Colleen Mills thanked everyone and encouraged participants to take the love and peace energy generated from Peace, Love and Yoga Day back to their families and communities and share some loving kindness with everyone they meet, starting with the easiest form of peace work: a smile!

For more information on yoga or meditation classes or the activities of the Citizens for Peace visit the websites www.yagd.org, www.livinginthepresentmoment.com

and www.citizensforpeace11.blogspot.com.

TED Mark Bittman "What's Wrong With What We Eat"

Colleen Mills, Citizens For Peace president showed the TED video by Mark Bittman "What's Wrong With What We Eat". Several attendees wanted to see it again so this post is for everyone who would like to see the video again or for the first time. While the presentation was made in 2007 it is still relevant today.

Optimist Creed in Memory of Gerry Trout

Tonight we honored Gerry Trout one of our members who passed away last week by all in attendance at the vegetarian annual meeting reciting The Optimist Creed.

Citizens for Peace Annual Vegetarian Potluck

Our Annual Vegetarian Potluck is Tuesday, August 14th at 6:30 p.m.
Every year we celebrate our summer bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables with
our vegetarian potluck. We consider the impact our food choices have on our
world. After our dinner, we will view a presentation by Mark Bittman on the
American Diet. Bring a dish to share. See you on Tuesday!

Peace,
Colleen Mills

Thank you to the committee for organizing a series of events around the annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day! The connection between our expenditures on maintaining and upgrading our nuclear arsenal and our current economic downturn was eloquently made by Rev. Bullock, Dr. Fred Pearson and Kae Halonan.

Here is the link to the Hiroshima press conference article in the Michigan Citizen.

http://michigancitizen.com/from-hiroshima-to-human-rights-p11513-74.htm

PEACE, LOVE & YOGA DAY AUGUST 25th!

Celebrate the Day!

The Yoga Association of Greater Detroit & The Citizens for Peace are presenting a special day of Movement, Mandala coloring, The Happiness Prescription Movie, Meditation, Guest Speakers Karen Farkas & Colleen Mills, Shopping & Lunch!

The day begins at 8:30 am with light refreshments & browsing the tables.
Karen Farkas will give a presentation at 9:00 am.
Session A, from 9:30 - 10:30 is a choice of Sun Salutation Variations or Mindful Yoga.
Session B, from 10:45 - 11:45 is a choice of Chair Yoga or Present Moment Meditation.

Lunch is included with the $35.00 fee. It is from 12:00 - 12:30 pm.
Colleen Mills will give a short talk at 12:30 pm.

Session C, from 12:45 - 1:45 is a choice of Mandela Coloring or Deepak Chopra's film
The Happiness Prescription.
Session D, from 2:00 - 3:00 is a choice of The Five Tibetans or Flow with Peace, Love & Yoga, followed by a 15 minute final relaxation.

To download a registration flyer click HERE.
After this special day, participants will be ready to share Love & Peace!!
For questions, call 734-425-0079.

Dr. Harsha Jayatilake, Mary Albertson, Dr. Ari, Colleen Mills, Rosemary Doyle, Dottie Ochala &
Tada Gunter are all smiles at the Birmingham Unitarian Church after Dr. Ari's great talk!

Wisdom from Gandhi Peace Prize winner Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne.

Citizens for Peace members had a table at Dr. Ari's talks during his visit to Michigan. We first met Dr. Ari five years ago when his former student, Dr. Harsha, brought him to Michigan for the first ONE PEACE celebration for the U.N. International Day of Peace.

It is not often we get to experience a leader for nonviolence who has dedicated his life to putting loving kindness into action for over 50 years!

Dr. Ari encouraged our work with these statements:
"Evil is so well organized in the world, we should organize goodness;" and
"Serve the world in the same way as a mother loves her only child."

What a joy it was to experience Dr. Ari's wisdom and beautiful energy!

Thank you Kevin 'Mr. Peace' Szawala for recording Mary Hanna's terrific talk on the Power of Nonviolence!

Here is the link to Mary's talk from last month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjp2SFd_c6M

This presentation engaged our brains and our hearts. I think we feel even more committed to our work to promote the practices and principles of nonviolence in our world after hearing Mary Hanna, the Operations Manager of our wonderful Michigan Peace Team!

Nonviolence takes courage but is so much more effective that the use of force!

PEACE!

Link to a great article in the Observer!

Reporter Sharon Dargay highlighted the Citizens for Peace in her article in Sunday's Community Life section. She intends to join us for our fundraiser "Peace, Love & Yoga Day" on Saturday, August 25th! Thanks Sharon!

Heres the link:
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120708/LIFE/207080414/Give-peace-chance?odyssey=modnewswelltextLivoniap

PEACE!!

Nuclear Waste in Michigan Topic of July 10th Meeting

Keith Gunter and his "Fermi - 3 Wheel of Misfortune" Highlight of our Meeting!

The problem of what to do with the nuclear waste generated by current and

decommissioned nuclear plants in Michigan will be explored at the July 10^th

Citizens for Peace meeting.

Featured speaker will be Keith Gunter, member of Alliance to Halt Fermi – 3,

and founding partner of the nationally recognized group, Beyond Nuclear.

He is currently serving as co-chair of Peace Action of Michigan.  Keith’s informative

and entertaining presentation includes an instructional “Fermi – 3 Wheel of Misfortune”.

(Any Way You Spin, You Lose).  Members of the audience might be invited to try their

 luck spinning the wheel.

Active in educating the public on the danger of nuclear energy for more than 30 years,

Keith was a Metro Times contributing writer on nuclear power and weapons issues,

and a guest commentator on WDET public radio. “The storage and isolation of high

level nuclear waste is but one aspect of a technology that presents us with fundamentally

irresolvable problems” says Keith.

The program begins at 7 p.m. at Unity of Livonia, located at 28660 Five Mile Road.

All are welcome. 

Citizens for Peace have a booth at the Inner Peace Festival in Ann Arbor

What a warm, windy, wonderful day we spent at the Citizens for Peace booth at the 2nd Annual Inner Peace Festival on Sunday, June 24th from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor!
We had giant peace frisbees, peace snap bracelets, butterfly & lady bug masks for children. We had fliers for all of our upcoming events: Dr. Ari's talk & workshop on July 6 & 7; Keith Gunter's presentation on nuclear waste in MI at our July 10th meeting; our Peace, Love & Yoga fundraiser on August 25th; and the 5th annual ONE PEACE celebration of the UN International Day of Peace on Saturday, Sept. 22nd at the Livonia Civic Center Library Auditorium with a Gemini Concert! What a great line up of events!

Thanks to Linda, Gloria, Nancy Dottie, Colleen & George for working the booth, talking to people about peace & selling our books, puzzles, DVD's, yoga mats, peace art, peace pillows, heart necklaces, and other items. We were happy that the thunderstorms never materialized! We were especially happy to meet people appreciative of the work we do!

Carole Kersten, Rosemary Doyle, Colleen & George Mills at the Midwest Peacemaking Conference.

What a great time we had at the First Annual Midwest Peacemaking Conference hosted by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee!  A blend of Native Peacemaking, Restorative Practices and Mediation teachings presented in a beautiful setting. Click here for the article I wrote about the conference.  Oh The Stories They Told!

Peace,
Colleen

The Argument for Nonviolence: Speaking to the Heart AND the Head"

 Join us for our June 12, 2012 Citizens for Peace Meeting 7 o'clock at Unity of Livonia

Mary Hanna, Operations Manager for the Michigan Peace Team,  will present the case for nonviolence by offering the strategic and statistical contributions of nonviolent social action, as well as recounting individual, personal stories of successful nonviolent peacemakers. An engaging speaker, Mary is able to connect with people from all walks of life.  Her emphasis is on encouraging others to consider nonviolence as a way of life by appealing to both the heart and the head. Hearing the stories of  Sophie Scholl, Captain Mbaye Diagne, Badshah Khan, Julia Buttefly Hill and Chiune and Yukkiko Sugihara will touch our hearts.

Robert Weir's Talk on India's Religious Diversity

Here's the link to the great talk Robert Weir gave at our May meeting.

A big "thank you" goes out to Kevin 'Mr. Peace' Szawala for recording this !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdolEGsQeVU

Arlington Michigan at Larry Nehasil Park on Memorial Day

Arlington Michigan at Larry Nehasil Park on Memorial Day

How will you observe Memorial Day 2012?

Ninety nine percent of American families spend Memorial Day getting together and having a barbeque or picnic.  Thinking of the warm summer days ahead with anticipation of vacations, walks on the beach, bonfires and concerts under the stars, makes Memorial Day the kickoff of good times ahead.

One percent of American families understand the meaning of Memorial Day.  They are the families with members who have volunteered to serve our country in the most unselfish way in our military.  Let’s support them this Memorial Day.

Michigan citizens have the opportunity to join with military families and visit the Arlington Michigan display to observe Memorial Day in a special way.  The Citizens for Peace is sponsoring the Veterans for Peace display comprised of symbolic markers, with the name, rank, age and photo of each fallen Michigan military man or woman who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our country.

Created by the Michigan “Veterans for Peace” several years ago, Arlington Michigan was in Livonia for the first time last year on Memorial Day.  People came by all day and reflected on the cost of war.  One of the visitors was a Lathrup Village police officer and his wife. They stopped by to find the cross of Sergeant First Class, Matthew Lee Hilton, a Livonia resident.  He was killed in action at age 37, in Afghanistan June 26, 2008.  He was an Army National Guard Soldier from Selfridge; and was a Lathrup Village Police Officer.

Last year the Civic Center Park was renamed to honor Livonia police officer Larry Nehasil, who was killed on duty, on January 17, 2011. This year there will be chairs for visitors to sit and reflect on love, service, courage, war and peace.  Everyone is invited to stop by and consider the cost of violence, whether in war, or on the streets in our country.

Volunteers from Veterans for Peace and Citizens for Peace will be at the Larry Nehasil Park from 9 am. to 6 pm. Memorial Day, Monday, May 28^th.  The park is located at 33223 Five Mile Rd. on the South side of Five Mile Rd., East of Farmington Rd.

For further information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079 or Steve Saelzer at 734-674-0688.

(The photo shows the Citizens for Peace and Veterans for Peace members holding the banner at the 2011 Arlington Michigan.)

Link to Rudy Simons' Talk on Iran

Here's the link to the great talk that Rudy Simons gave to the Citizens for Peace on "War on Iran - Views from Israel, Iran & the U.S."  A big "thank you" to Kevin 'Mr. Peace' Szawala for recording the talk and putting it on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYub5k-rhDQ

Link to Mike Whitty "Dr. Detroit" Talk

Mike Whitty gave a terrific talk to the Citizens for Peace about Making Peace With Detroit. Thanks to Jerome Sawyer for recording it, we can view a part of his uplifting talk at this link. http://vimeo.com/39989063

“India’s Religious Diversity: Stories of Respect, Peace and Harmony”

The religious diversity of India will be examined during a free public presentation by Michigan author, photographer, traveler, and speaker, Robert M. Weir at Unity Church of Livonia at 7 PM Tuesday, May 8.

Hosted by the Citizens for Peace as part of their efforts to increase public awareness of peaceful means, Weir is among a long list of notable, highly regarded speakers invited to speak during the group’s monthly meetings.

One doesn’t have to be religious to appreciate the religious diversity of the world’s second largest nation of over one billion people. Religious freedom is in the constitution of India. There are over 25 million Christians living in India. The Muslim population in India is the third largest in the world. Hinduism is the predominant religion in India and has had a big influence on the west with the influx of yoga and meditation. The other major faiths in India include Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.

During 2011 -2012, Weir traveled the Himalayas, lived in a Calcutta Muslim slum, visited families’ homes, participated in festivals and interacted with people of all faiths. A Michigan native, freelance writer, editor, public speaker, authors’ coach, and communications consultant, Weir writes about people, peace, social justice, environment, and outdoor adventures. He has written several books and more than 130 published articles as well as editing the work of other writers. He strives to simplify and create. His motto is “Have Laptop, Will Travel.”

For further information contact Colleen Mills at 734-425-0079 or go to the website www.citizensforpeace11.blogspot.com.

Thanks Colleen

Our president Colleen Mills does an outstanding job in leading Citizens for Peace.

What a Wonderful Westland Library Peace Celebration!

The Gemini brothers gave a moving concert at the Westland Library kickoff of our Peace Collection on Sunday afternoon! "If I Had a Hammer: Songs and Poems for Peace and Justice" was the title of this beautiful concert. Playing several instruments, the Gemini twins led the audience on a sing along of many popular songs such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "This Land is My Land", "Kumbaya" and "We Shall Overcome". Included in their diverse concert were beautiful poems and songs of many languages.

Our International Peace Pals display of the art from children representing 68 different countries was a perfect visual to highlight the new peace books donated to the library since many of the new books are books for children.

Our thanks to Marilyn Kwik for organizing such a special day! She also has a Citizens for Peace display with our information as people enter the Westland Library.
Thanks to Bob Frank for making the initial contact with his library. Thanks to Rosemary Doyle for all of her work with the Collection of Nonviolent Materials. Our Season for Nonviolence Book Discussion at the Livonia Civic Center Library was a great success! Thanks to everyone who came to the concert and the Book Discussion series!

The photo from left to right shows the smiles of Colleen, Laz, Bob and San.