April 6, 2000
Subject: Last Update to the list of people interested in the Peace Meditation Focus Group
Dear friends
As explained in my response to Bobbie Sandoz below, this is the last update that will include as Cc all the people who have responded so far to the Peace Meditation Focus Group proposal.
I received some more résumés - so far I have the bios of Kalama Hochreiter, Maggie Erotokritou, Boudewijn Wegerif (Thanks a lot!) and Melody-Rose Parker wrote to that she will send her bio tomorrow. I'm still waiting for Leigh (I hope you are still decided to be part of this initial group Leigh?) and Karyn Martin-Kuri's résumés (which I have requested again). That would make 7 people with me on the initial Focus group. I've still not heard back from Ricardo Ocampo and Deborah Tompkins who, if they confirm their desire to be part of the focus group, could be available as replacements for anyone unable to continue as part of the Focus group (Boudewijn, for instance, is not entirely sure yet to have access to a computer after June).
Tomorrow, I'll send to the Focus group a proposal for a first short list of criterias with which to begin working from and for a first focus annoucement suggestion for this next Friday night -- about the risk of famine in Ethiopia and the surrounding countries, including Somalia, and the war between Ethiopia and Erithrea preventing proper action to avert this mounting humanitarian crisis - if you have seen the harrowing pictures of dying children on BBC and heard the reports on this, you know how urgent this situation is.
Back in touch tomorrow when hopefully I'll have all the résumés here to send them to all the Focus group members at once.
Jean
To: Bobbie Sandoz <SandozB@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2000
Subject: Re; Peace Meditations
You wrote:
I have been tempted to throw my hat in the ring as part of your Peace
Meditation Focus Group, and some comments from Boudewijn increased my
temptation. If I was part of it, I would bring an awareness of our human
social consciousness to the group. I know you have many others offering, so
you may not need more candidates or want to include this additional dimension
at this juncture, which I understand.
CLIP
Dear Bobbie
Thank you very much for offering to become part of the focus group. As you correctly assessed, there are a number of people who have already offered to be part of the initial focus group and so since we think that a total of 7 people seems to everyone to be an appropriate number, and since we already have that many people committed, I would prefer to keep your candidacy on hold for now as we will certainly need "back up" people as a replacement for those who, far various reasons, won't be able to continue being part of this group in the months and years ahead. But nevertheless, if you are interested, I would like to keep you on the short list of the people who will be part of the discussion ring for the work that lies ahead, both to have your occasional input (as time permits) on the issues discussed and to allow you to monitor the evolution of this weekly alert system so as to better understand how this focus group works -- as we will all discover ourselves in the process of doing it.
I'm including this correspondance in tonight's update to the short list of people who responded to this initiative so that all others (not just the focus group members) will know about my recommendation regarding your offer of participation and your waiting "in the wings" as a replacement (if that's OK with you Bobbie...). This way, if anyone has any further comments or suggestions on this, they'll be able to come forward to propose them and those who are not part of the initial Focus group, but who have offered their assistance as need be, will also know that their participation could be needed at a later date as a replacement for departing members.
And as for you, should those other people decide to confirm their interest to be waiting "in the wings" like you Bobbie, then I would ask them to please let me know about this so that, like you, I'll keep them part of the discussion ring to monitor "from the inside" the evolution of this Focus group. To be very clear, this means that this update will be the last one to be sent to all those who have shown an interest so far and the last to be posted on the ERN website for public review of the formation process of this group. The next update will be emailed only to the 7 Focus group members and to those who will notify me in the next few days of their desire to be available as future Focus group members, whenever the need will arise. And to those people who will possible notify me of this interest, I'll also request from you - and that includes you Bobbie - to send me at your earliest convenience a personal résumé to introduce yourself to the other group members and a brief statement explaining what in your view could be your specific contribution to this group.
Warm regards
Jean
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2000
From: surya@spidernet.com.cy
Subject: Re: Comments
Dear Jean,
I liked very much what Ani Dolma said about setting intention at the
beginning of the meditation time, and then moving into a state of pure, conscious
awareness (ie not 'doing' anything). This is what I tend to do too.
I also agree with you that the meditations will extend to cover any
areas of need as well as peace.
Love
Maggie
NOTE FROM JEAN: Thanks a lot Ani for your résumé which I include right away below. I'll make to you the same answer as I did to Bobbie Sandoz above. I've listed you for now as willing to join the Focus Group whenever someone from the initial group has to leave it and will keep you posted onto the ongoing discussion ring - if that is OK with you...
From: "Ani Dolma" <anidolma@millennium.totalserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Yet more feedbacks to the Peace Meditation Focus Group proposal
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2000 1
Thank you very much, Jean for appreciating my comments - and for feeling so
akin to them.
If you think I might be useful for the focus group:
I'm a tibetan buddhist nun, presently living in ireland, just outside
Belfast (where I was born). My main focus in the last two years has been to
initiate worldwide synchronised meditation and inspire others to focus on
clarifying and creating a vision of reality that they would each wish to
bring into being in the new millennium. And at the Millennium itself,
initiating the 24 hour 'Follow the Dawn' meditation from the first sunrise
to the last, and to gather in groups at dawn on 1.1.2000 in sacred places.
Now I'm at last getting my own (craniosacral) practice going here - healing
and wholeness being my focus for the last twenty years. The millennium
peace project continues, in encouraging the continuance of the Sunday
synchronised global link-up at 5-5.30UK, 12-12.30pmEST etc, and also the
first steps are being taken, with pam perry of CHN, for a World Peace
Concert in Belfast, and hopefully in October when His Holiness the Dalai
Lama is visiting here for an international peace conference.
I've been a buddhist practitioner for the last twelve years, a nun for
four. As a celt, it feels incredible to be back in Ireland after nearly
forty years. If 'celtic spirituality' has existed when I was studying
spirituality and mysticism at university in Nova Scotia (a place very dear
to my heart, for the land affected me powerfully and it's where I awakened
spiritually) I probably would not have been drawn to other world religions
to try to find a 'home' for my experiences and truths.
I'm not at all sure you need that last paragraph. I do get overwhelmed
with too much information, but I'd also be very happy to have input in
creating a focus for at-one-ment.
Lots of love
Ani