“Health is not simply the absence of illness. Real health is the will to overcome every form of adversity and use even the worst of circumstances as a springboard for new growth and development.” – Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist philosopher, educator and poet
FEATURED VIDEOS
“Health is not simply the absence of illness. Real health is the will to overcome every form of adversity and use even the worst of circumstances as a springboard for new growth and development.” – Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist philosopher, educator and poet
FEATURED VIDEOS
HEALTH – DOWNLOADS
BREATHING ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN & ADULTS (Chicago Peace School)
MEDITATION EXERCISES
TOOLS FOR MINDFULNESS (Peaceful City Sangha, Philadelphia)
On the personal level, significant conflicts can affect our health — mentally, emotionally and physically. Health issues can also affect our level of calm and how we perceive the world, as well as how effectively we are able to manage stress and interact with others.
On a local and global scale, lack of health has a direct impact on communities and levels of peace, whether the issue is hunger, infant and child mortality, access to clean water or living in the intensely stressful context of war, violence or poverty. Women and girls in particular experience threats to peace in terms of physical and/or sexual abuse – one in three women on the planet have been raped or beaten in their lifetime. Gun violence compromises the safety of communities in cities around the world, especially in the United States.
WHAT CAN YOU DO – HEALTH
– Learn or engage in meditation, yoga or mindfulness practice
– Say the Prayer for Those Whose Hearts Carry the Weight of Nuclear Weapons
– Learn more about global health issues that significantly impact health and quality of life. Around the world, NGOs, sometimes in partnership with UN initiatives, have successfully leveraged September 21 as a 24 hour ceasefire, even in some areas of intense conflict – providing a window of opportunity to deliver life saving and enhancing humanitarian aid.
– Volunteer for a local wellness initiative, perhaps for children or older adults
– Consider unplugging from electronics for the day (or at least after work hours) and sit with nature, a book or a friend instead
– Learn about mental health supports available – for you or someone you know
– Consider making a commitment to cut back on meat/become a vegetarian (see Dr. Jane Goodall’s thoughts below)
– Make your voice heard around public health issues such as gun violence, poor nutrition/lack of access to healthy food in low-income neighborhoods, and the need for peace education to positively impact children and youth
GLOBAL
Hunger
Mary’s Meals Program in Africa and India – CLICK HERE for website and to access the 31 minute film “Child 31” about the work of Mary’s Meals
The Campaign to End Hunger Must Focus On Domestic Violence Against Women
Vaccinations
Shot@Life educates, connects and empowers Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
For a brief Shot@Life video, CLICK HERE
Violence Against Women and Girls
One Billion Rising – Global Initiative annually on February 14th to “Strike – Dance – Rise” against violence toward women and girls. Watch the One Billion Rising Video: CLICK HERE
Join the global “Reducing Domestic Violence” Coalition of Peace One Day
Join the “Victory Over Violence” Initiative
MEDITATION/MINDFULNESS
Learning 2 Breathe – A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents
Meditation Health Benefits: What The Practice Does To Your Body
Meditation with Inner City Youth
“Room To Breathe” documentary about mindfulness program for health and behavioral results at a middle school: CLICK HERE
Thich Nhat Hanh Interview
On the power of meditation and mindfulness to produce a more peaceful world and self.
ARTICLES
Global Mala – Yoga for Peace
Jane Goodall – Why not eating meat is good for the planet
Violence Awareness & Prevention Guide – Learn Psychology
Intersection of Public Health and Peace
Paul Walker, PhD, winner of the 2012 Sidel-Levy Award for Peace, talks about the connection between peace and public health.
Transcendental Meditation: A cure for the stresses of youth violence?
PERSONAL PEACE
A message from Meditation Museum on the virtue of Peace, in honor of the International Day of Peace (Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum in DC – www.meditationmuseum.org)
“If there is no peace in the mind of the individual, how can their be peace in the world. If I have a mind filled with anger and animosity, how can I give peace in the world. First have peace within yourself.”
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
