Having read this post from Grasscat, I decided to go down to Mirror Lake this morning to get some pictures of the Meditate for Peace rally thingy at Mirror Lake in Eden Park.  I was expecting a dozen or two dozen people to show up, but while I'm no good at estimating crowds, I know it was more than 30 and fewer than 3,000 - but still, a surprising number of folks, I thought.

 

The first surprise was that folks were parking all the way up Fulton:

 

The bumper stickers on the cars, though?  Not too surprising:

 

The main group of meditators:

 

Stragglers were still arriving, while the main dude repeated, "Peace in Cincinnati...Peace in America...Peace in the World..." and someone led them in arm stuff and bowing and stretching and whatnot:

 

 

Then I ran into someone I knew - Dishaun (not sure on the spelling) is the guy dancing with the rattle thing here...he's such a sweet, kind person, very into spirituality and such, vegan, and so welcoming and nice.  You might see him playing on Ludlow sometimes, or in a coffee shop - he played at UC for the earth day stuff, mostly drumming.  We chatted for a bit, then he played with the band, who did a sort of reggae-feel audience participation groove type thing:

 

 

Then the guitarist (John, I believe) Raised His Arms for Peace...

 

And the folks who weren't in a small-group meditation also Raised Their Arms for Peace:

 

I didn't see Rick Smith, but I did see his sign (Politicking for Peace, I'm guessing):

 

There were a bunch of Small Groups like this around:

 

 

...and occasionally a Very Small Group:

 

It was really very pleasant, fun - beautiful morning, beautiful setting, and lots of happy folks, hanging around simply being happy:

 

More tunes, and others began a super-slow walk around the lake.  Like, take a step, Meditate for Peace, pause, take another step, Meditate for Peace, pause...I'm guessing it was supposed to be an hour's exercise or so.

 

A belly dancer, Chatting for Peace with someone:

 

And Painting for Peace:

 

I still hadn't had any coffee, so here's where I took off, to Eat a Giminetti Breakfast Sandwich for Peace...

 

All in all, very fun.  I hope they make this a regular thing and it gets really big - it really was a nice time.

 

 

Bunch of hippies! :-D  Looks like something that would occur around here.

 

Thanks for the pictures!  The "I'm for light rail" bumper sticker on that car should be well-received here.

No Teepees or Peyote involved in this spiritual ceremony? LAAMMEEE lol.

 

Cool bumper stickers.

What does the heart sticker refer to?

 

Is the object of meditation similar to prayer? I always thought about meditation as for inner-peace, but I don't know a thing about it. My first reaction is how great it would be if these people were out working for peace.

more power to 'em      I bet 5 of those beatniks were NSA agents.  ;)

Stragglers were still arriving, while the main dude repeated, "Peace in Cincinnati...Peace in America...Peace in the World..."

 

So, will there be peace in Cincinnati? I don't know about comin' there for a meet, if there's gonna' be a war there! :-o

What does the heart sticker refer to?

 

The text is, "better a bleeding heart than none at all."  Liberals are sometimes called "bleeding heart liberals" - meaning one whose heart bleeds in sympathy for folks, only here it's implied that they just go around getting worked up about everything.  Here's a definition.  The implication of the sticker is that it's better to be a bleeding heart liberal than to be a conservative, who presumable has no heart.

 

Is the object of meditation similar to prayer? I always thought about meditation as for inner-peace, but I don't know a thing about it. My first reaction is how great it would be if these people were out working for peace.

 

I imagine it's something like prayer, only without the concept of intercession.  It's sending positive energy into an area or towards people, and the thought that this collective positive energy can influence others positively.

 

I probably wouldn't make the assumption that these folks aren't actually working for peace as well - a lot of these folks are probably active in their neighborhoods and communities, making a positive impact in ways large and small.  I agree that actually doing things (like we commend Michael Redmond and others for) is probably more impactful than dancing and stretching, but if these guys want to dance and stretch in the park on a Saturday morning, I say more power to 'em...

^Yep, there are a lot that arn't even doing that much.

Riverviewer is a very wise man.

I agree that actually doing things (like we commend Michael Redmond and others for) is probably more impactful than dancing and stretching, but if these guys want to dance and stretch in the park on a Saturday morning, I say more power to 'em...

Personally I prefer bitching and moaning to dancing and stretching.

Too much niceness.

That there car with all them stickers prob'ly b'long to some dang liberal hippie commie pinko tree-hugger from Yeller Springs! :whip:

 

 

That's a bigger turnout than I expected.  Did you notice any media there?  I haven't heard it mentioned since the story I posted.

Whenever I see pix like this or observe events like this (or similar) or cars with bumper stickers like those I always ask myself "Who are these people and where do they come from?", because I know no one in real life who would attend such a thing or hold such views.

 

For me these things are sort of window on another world or way of thinking, or glimpse at an alternative parallel reality of sorts.

Whenever I see pix like this or observe events like this (or similar) or cars with bumper stickers like those I always ask myself "Who are these people and where do they come from?", because I know no one in real life who would attend such a thing or hold such views.

 

I suppose it depends on where you live.  When I lived in Dayton, I've met many who held those views (unusual amount from Santa Clara area...).

nice event. hey it can't hurt.

 

i love all the bumper stickers on that car. ok, ok we get it.

That's a bigger turnout than I expected.  Did you notice any media there?  I haven't heard it mentioned since the story I posted.

 

I saw one guy with a pretty professional looking camera around his neck, choosing some interesting pictures - a shot of my friend's bongo drum sitting by the lake, that sort of stuff.  I assumed he was media of some sort, but maybe he was just a voyeur like me.  If I were the social type, I'd have said hello, but I wasn't born inviting and gregarious!

 

Other than that, a couple other folks with smaller cameras, but that's it.  I emailed the link to my photo gallery to the folks who ran the gig, so if I hear back from them I'll ask if it got any other press...

 

Whenever I see pix like this or observe events like this (or similar) or cars with bumper stickers like those I always ask myself "Who are these people and where do they come from?", because I know no one in real life who would attend such a thing or hold such views.

 

I'm more likely to ask myself, "Whose mind are you trying to change?"  Like the woman at work with a bumper sticker that said, "Too smart to vote Republican."  Uh, miss?  Did you think you were making it more likely or less likely that you might convince people of the wisdom of your political viewpoint with that bumper sticker?  Think that's gonna change some votes?

I'm organizing a Meditation to End Sprawl, it will be held at mirror lake some time in May, PM me if you're interested. There will be food and drinks for all.

I'm organizing a Meditation to End Sprawl, it will be held at mirror lake some time in May, PM me if you're interested. There will be food and drinks for all.

 

I'm organizing a Meditation to bring High Speed Rail to Ohio, it will be held at the Amtrak station in Columbus.  First 50 people get a free Lhota bobble head.

I'm organizing a Meditation to End Sprawl, it will be held at mirror lake some time in May, PM me if you're interested. There will be food and drinks for all.

Great idea! I'm there.

 

I am a treehugger but the only bumper sticker I have is the I'm for light rail sticker.  :-D