Forum Post: Why not try prayer and meditation at protest as a peacefull, beneficial way to change things?
Posted 12 years ago on Feb. 8, 2012, 8:57 a.m. EST by TomTommorow
(78)
from Hardyston, NJ
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Why not try meditation and prayer for Peace, freedom, liberty, harmony, love and understanding while gathered together at a mass protest. I have seen a study where a large crowd gathered together and meditated for peace and harmony in a paticular city. It's claimed the crime rate for serious violent crime actually went down during or shortly after the meditations for awhile. In around 1989 the mass protest in Romania had large numbers of people praying for postive change and freedom from political oppresion, afterwards the Romanian protest are what led to the collapse of totalitarian rule all over Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
People can chose to pray or meditate according to the religion of their choice of course. Either in small groups if they want or individually. Or mediatate or not particpate at all if they don't believe in anything of that nature, that's entirely up to them.
But why not try something new, unexplored avenues for postive change. As Shakspere said, 'There are more things in Heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamed of in your philosphies.
The anarchist or left leaning groups don't go in much for prayer. While meditation may have benefits, it brings up the outdated hippy image that Occupy has been stuck with from the beginning and has tried to shake.
The problem, in my view, isn't what tactic to employ, it comes in two parts. First, it isn't so much the tactics it's the basic assumption that there is a vast well of public support out there. They shout about the 99% so often that I think many in occupy start to believe they really do have some kind of real support from the public. Most people are willing to complain but they are too content with their life to make major changes.
Secondly I feel OWS made a major strategic error when it failed to make any attempt to actually use the system. They should have done what other groups have done, work to get sympathetic politicians from either party elected and get some real change. NAACP, NOW, AARP, Sierra Club, they all get support for legislation and success brings in more members and the donations to accomplish more.
Well guess what, the Occupy movments do have quite a bit of support from large portions of the public, wether you think so or not. Otherwise why would 10's of thousands of people have showed up for them?
I don't think meditation if going to give them a "hippie image" as you say. This is 2012 not 1965 and people are a lot more open minded these days about that sort of thing. Maybe in 1965 or even 1966 being seen as a "hippie" was something really looked down on but not as much in the 21st century. In this day and age "mystic" or alternative ideas like meditation or a lot more accepted.
And as for as prayer not being held in high esteem by the left and such...the movement has in many ways transcended the traditional Left/ Right way of thinking and labels...all kinds of people have been out there protesting and they defy labels and sterotypes to a large extent.
If you draw in ten thousand demonstrators in a city of eight million you do not have massive support. It's a good following, something to start with, potentially build a political base, and accomplish more. The hippie thing is a media contrivance, made in the early days, not my assessment and OWS has had it hung on them in spite of the date.
OWS seems to be waiting for some kind of popular rebellion to take place on it's own instead of offering real leadership. Your suggestion can be tried, but all the demonstrations, prayers, and meditation in the world isn't going to change the political realities if Occupy is unwilling to get directly involved with the system. The movements that have had success have gotten directly involved with the system. In light of that, OWS would seem to need prayer, success doesn't come just from raising awareness of problems.
The number of participants and supporters of OWS has dropped dramatically. OWS was once bringing in 20,000 per day for donations. On Dec 17 the daily total take was 98.00. The group continues to lose support from all different political affiliations from the violence and because the group has zero leadership. OWS is dying a slow death
Prayer and meditation would be good, but there needs to be vocal people with signs about getting the government to observe the constitution, standing for the rights the protesters are using. This way the police will know that the rights in use are supporting the oath they have taken.
those peoples i saw on video, their mouths are too filthy, puffing on cigarettes, and cussing every other breath, fk this and fk that, i dont think god would listen to such vulgar people.
The only links here are to a book on Amazon and to two news articles without any videos. Let alone any with cussing in them. You must be imagining things.
Your comment almost sounds like the automated reply of a bot some people on here have refered to. It's totally out of context and sounds like you didn't even read the thread or what it was about. Very strange indeed.
What video are you even refering to? I didn't even post a link to a video on this thread. Or you sure you posted to the right thread or are you refering to another one and posted here by mistake? You must have the wrong thread. No video posted or mentioned here.
no im talking about the random occupy videos the live streams and such. whenever they stand next to the police some people start cussing, and it lowers our appearance of our intelligent level, i think.
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http://www.alltm.org/pages/crime-arrested.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/01/nyregion/meditating-to-try-to-lower-crime-rate.html
The majority of OWS does are atheist like Obama is
That just shows you haven't got a clue what you are talking about. I for one and many others are not atheist or even Obama supporters.
Besides that people have a right to believe or not to be believe as their choice. Even some totally non "religious" people like meditation.