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Peace SitWake Up London

Let us share the vision and make it possible…

7 November 2011

Brothers and sisters,
the beautiful Earth is us.
Breathing together in the same rhythm
we restore our calm, our peace.
Let us accept ourselves
so we may accept one another.
Let us share the vision and make it possible
for Great Love to arise.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Dear friends,

We hope you’re all well and enjoying the warm hues of Autumn.

On Thursday 27th October, we held a meditation flash mob on the steps of St. Pauls Cathedral, nearby the Occupy London Stock Exchange camp. A couple hundred of people sat together in stillness, including those from the camp. It was clear that our collective presence was bring so much positive energy to the environment. Check out the pictures and video. Images of our meditation flash mob were also featured in the Guardian website and on the front cover of Saturday’s Independant, as well as being the backdrop of a news report on BBC News at Ten on Thursday evening!

It was so great, it was decided that another gathering will be held on Thursday 10th November from 18:30 to 19:00. Click here for the event invitation if you haven’t already RSVP’d. Please keep an eye on the Facebook event for any time changes. We hope you can come again!

MEDITATION @ THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

We are very happy to announce another meditation flash mob is going to be held at the Victoria and Albert museum on Saturday 19th November from 15:00 to 15:40, in the Raphael room. Check out the Facebook event details. This will be the first flash mob held indoors! It will be also lovely to explore the museum afterwards too.

Hope to see you all there!

Much love

by wakeuplondon
News & EventsPeace SitWake Up London

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace”

18 October 2011

What: Meditation Flash Mob during Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration
When: 27th October 2011 19:00pm to 19:30pm **PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF TIME**
Where: In front St. Pauls Cathedral, London EC4M 8AD (5 minutes walk from St. Pauls tube station)
Map: http://tiny.cc/3u8qe

RSVP on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256990061005528

Being the peace.

Our intention is to offer the energy of peace to this environment. We are not promoting any views or demanding anything except promoting inner peace and harmony through our actions. The world is thirsty for peace, and we can contribute it. Whether you choose to support the aims of the demonstration is your individual choice.

All are welcome to join us.

Generating peace and love in our hearts gives us the clarity and energy we need in order to act wisely and skilfully to improve the situation – in our relationships, our society and the world.

We are not sitting for peace, sitting is the peace.

What will happen

19:00 to 19:25 – Sitting meditation in front of St. Pauls Cathedral.

19:25 to 19:30 – Sound bath: You can use any mantra or sound, for example, Om, Ah, Ong, Nah or any other sound that calls you personally. If you choose to move closer to one another, donate your physical presence, your positive energy and your voice.

What to bring

Feel feel to bring a mat, stool or cushion to sit on.

Links

Pictures from a previous meditation flash mob:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.264823713537125.71174.264304326922397

A previous video of our meditation flash mob in Trafalgar Square: watch?v=mqZA5cToPgs

Check out the Guardian article written about the Trafalgar Square flash mob: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jun/14/trafalgar-square-meditation-flashmob?INTCMP=SRCH

Get in touch wkuplondon AT gmail.com to stay updated and to receive news about upcoming meditation flash mobs in the city.

Goals

1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation.

2. To spread awareness of meditation to the public.

3. To come together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking

May all people everywhere have love and peace in their hearts.

by wakeuplondon
MindfulnessNews & EventsPeace SitWake Up London

Next Meditation Flash Mob – Trafalgar Square Again!

2 August 2011

We ARE being the change we want to see in the world!

When: Saturday 27th August 1:30pm to 2:10pm
Where: Trafalgar Square, in the central area between both fountains, less then ten minutes walk from both Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus tube stations.
Map: http://bit.ly/nmgY89
RSVP here on the Facebook event invitation: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179484552118420

1:30pm to 2pm: Begin the sitting meditation in Trafalgar Square as soon as you see one person sit, in the central space in between both fountains. Spread out across the square as you so wish.

You are welcome to go to the entire event or you can come for part of it. You can meditate the entire time, or you can chill and bask in the peace.

Please make sure that we allow the public to walk freely around us.

2pm to 2:10pm: Optional sound bath: You can use any mantra or sound, for example, Om, Ah, Ong, Nah or any other sound that calls you personally. If you choose to move closer to one another, donate your physical presence, your positive energy and your voice. It’s also a lot of fun and just sounds awesome to everyone around.

2:10pm: End

What to bring: Please feel free to bring your own cushion or stall for sitting meditation.

Bring Everyone! This is going to be a beautiful event that we will all remember!

**************************​**************************​****

THIS IS GLOBAL

ALL over the world, meditation flash mobs will be taking place in over 100 cities between August 25th and 28th. You can visit http://www.medmob.org/ to see all the other cities who are joining us!

The intention of the movement is to expose the world to meditation and expand positivity to every walk of life.

Come experience the power of collectively exuding peace and feel the impact we are having on our city by sitting together, silently radiating happiness and grace in all directions.

**************************​**************************​****

FOR EVERYONE

This is an event open to everyone, all ages, from every path, experienced or not. This is a movement that our entire world is creating together as one unified force to set the momentum for the future of our planet!

“If you are a Buddhist, please come. If you are a Christian please
come. If you are Jewish, Muslim, or belong to or identify with any
other religions, creed or peace organization, please come. If you are
white, brown, black, yellow, red or any other colour, please come.

We shall learn together that wrong perceptions of self and others
are at the foundation of separation, fear, hate, and violence; and that
togetherness and collaboration is possible.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

**************************​**************************​****

OUR GOALS

1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation.

2. To spread awareness of meditation to the public.

3. To come together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking

**************************​**************************​****

LINKS

Pictures from the last meditation flash mob at London Bridge:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.264848206868009.71177.264304326922397&type=1

A previous video of our meditation flash mob in Trafalgar Square: http://www.youtube.com/wat​ch?v=mqZA5cToPgs

Check out the Guardian article written about the Trafalgar Square flash mob: http://www.guardian.co.uk/​commentisfree/belief/2011/​jun/14/trafalgar-square-me​ditation-flashmob?INTCMP=S​RCH

Get in touch wkuplondon AT gmail.com to stay updated and to receive news about upcoming meditation flash mobs in the city.

**************************​**************************​****

Let’s have fun!

Let’s meditate!

Let’s thrive!

Rejoice!

Yes!

by wakeuplondon
News & EventsPeace SitPicturesWake Up London

This time it’s global! Upcoming meditation flash mob in London

3 July 2011

Join us in a global meditation flash mob co-ordinated with over 80 cities worldwide! The intention of the movement is to expose the world to meditation and expand positivity to every walk of life.

Come experience the power of collectively exuding peace and feel the impact we are having on our city by sitting together, silently radiating happiness and grace in all directions.

This is an event open to everyone, from every path, experienced or not. This is a movement that our entire world is creating together as one unified force to set the momentum for the future of our planet!

Now is the time to create the world we choose to live in!

Click here for the Facebook event invitation

When: Thursday 28th July 6:30pm to 7:10pm
Where: Potters Fields Park, next to City Hall, about ten minutes walk from London Bridge station and fifteen from Tower Hill. City Hall is the distinctive curved glass building which is home to the Mayor of London.
Map: http://tinyurl.com/3hrveh4

6:30pm to 7pm: Sitting meditation in Potter’s Field Park, in the space nearest to City Hall and the River Thames. Spread out across the park or the walkway, as you so wish.

You are welcome to go to the entire event or you can come for part of it. You can meditate the entire time, or you can chill and bask in the peace.


7pm to 7:10pm: Optional sound bath: You can use any mantra or sound, for example, Om, Ah, Ong, Nah or any other sound that calls you personally. If you choose, move closer to one another, donate your physical presence, your positive energy, your voice. It’s also a lot of fun and just sounds awesome to everyone around.

7:10pm: End of sitting.

What to bring: Please feel free to bring your own cushion or stall for sitting meditation.

Bring Everyone! This is going to be a beautiful event that we will all remember!

********************************************************

“If you are a Buddhist, please come. If you are a Christian please
come. If you are Jewish, Muslim, or belong to or identify with any
other religions, creed, or peace organization, please come. If you are
white, brown, black, yellow, red or any other color, please come.

We shall learn together that wrong perceptions of self and others
are at the foundation of separation, fear, hate, and violence; and that
togetherness and collaboration is possible.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

********************************************************

Our Goal:

1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation.

2. To spread awareness of meditation to the public.

3. To come together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking

********************************************************

Pictures from the last meditation flash mob in Covent Garden:

Pictures of meditation flash mob in Covent Garden 28/06/2011

A video of our meditation flash mob in Trafalgar Square: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZA5cToPgs]

Check out the Guardian article written about the Trafalgar Square flash mob: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jun/14/trafalgar-square-meditation-flashmob

You can visit http://www.medmob.org/ to see all the other cities who are joining us!

Poster for distribution:

Get in touch wkuplondon AT gmail.com to stay updated and to sign up for future flash mobs.

********************************************************

Let’s have fun!

Let’s meditate!

Let’s thrive!

Rejoice!

Yes!

by wakeuplondon
News & EventsPlum VillageRetreatsWake Up London

International young people’s retreat at Plum Village, France

2 July 2011

We’re very happy to announce that Plum Village will be hosting our annual young people’s retreat again this Summer, in the Upper Hamlet, and this year it will be a full week long – starting on the afternoon of Monday August 22nd and finishing on the afternoon of Monday August 29th.

Registration is now open at: http://register.plumvillage.org/youthretreat/youth2011

Take a break from stress and busyness, and come and join us in the beautiful nature of South-Western France, where several hundred young monks, nuns, young men and young women will together create a joyful, refreshing and peaceful retreat. You will have the chance to learn and experience the arts of sitting meditation, deep total relaxation and walking meditation on our legendary paths through fields and forests. We will learn how to really be there for ourselves and for each other, and to really listen to our own hearts and to one another. We will live together simply, healthily and joyfully – with music, dance, sport, hikes and bonfires.

What more could we possibly want?

Facebook event invitation here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=213912305307233

by wakeuplondon
Peace SitPressWake Up London

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mohandas Gandhi

30 June 2011

Dear friends,

Just a little message to express my deepest gratitude to those who came to sit with us in Covent Garden on Tuesday 28th June. I’m still beaming from this experience, my heart feeling so warm and wholesome from connecting with new friends on this path.

Credit: Nicolas Laborie

Some wonderful photos have been shared with us already, look here
and a couple of videos are currently being made and will be posted on here soon.

I also wanted to let you know that we were featured in yesterday’s Evening Standard newspaper on page 26!

Other mentions are in Shambhala Sun and Mindful.org….How amazing that our actions are being recognised like this!

A great article has also been written by Kenneth Bok.

I also wanted to let you know about the date for the NEXT one and this will be a GLOBAL meditation flash mob, coordinated with over 50 cities across the world. Together, we’ll be creating a giant world wide meditation community! So please, save this date: Thursday 28th July, evening time – exact location in London not yet decided….

Keep in touch by adding us as a friend on Facebook if you like and we’ll invite you to the next event. Or you could send us an email to wkuplondon AT gmail.com to be kept updated. With thanks to MED MOB for organizing this amazing global movement.

Sending much joy and love to nourish your kind and beautiful hearts.

Elina
The Wake Up London Sangha

by wakeuplondon
Peace SitVideoWake Up London

We did it!

7 June 2011

On Thursday June 2nd 2011, people from all walks of life gathered together to meditate in the centre of Trafalgar Square.

This poem written by one meditation flash mobster describes the moment so beautifully:

“We shared a profound peace,
a still point of love and light,
radiant and eternal,
together as one,
we bathed in the sound,
as London pulsed around us
with all its indifferent bluster
and curious beauty..”
~ Sam Iamweare Spark

Check out the videos…

By Nicolas Laborie

By Phil Haslam

Thank you so much for putting together these amazing videos!

And look at the pictures here:

Watch this space for some more meditation flash mobs!

by wakeuplondon
MindfulnessNews & EventsPlum VillageWake Up London

Afternoon of Mindfulness with a Monk…

23 May 2011

When 04 June · 13:30 – 18:00
Location To be confirmed, London

The Wake Up London Sangha invites you all to a special afternoon of mindfulness with a guest monk from Plum Village! Brother Phap Lai, or Brother Ben is coming to London next week and has kindly offered to share his time and energy with our budding community.
We will probably have lunch and walking meditation in the park and then an indoor meeting where we will practice sitting meditation under the guidance of Brother Phap Lai and also listen to his dharma talk and have a question and answer session.

Exact details of times, location and activities to be announced later on…….Location-wise, it will most likely be St. James Park for the lunch and then for the indoor event, our usual meditation hall at the Friends Meeting House, near Leicester Square.

Email us to get in touch: wkuplondon gmail.com

Some info on Brother Phap Lai:

Brother Phap Lai was recently on the worlds first Wake Up Universities tour in the UK in March with six other monastic students of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. His name means ‘Coming of the Dharma and he was ordained May 2002 making him the first born and bred Englishman monk of Plum Village.

He enjoys sharing the practice with young people – from children to young adults. He has run a few 4 week teenage programmes (part of the annual Summer Family Retreat) here in Plum Village.

During his 3 year stay in Deer Park, California, he enjoyed the regular college student retreats, teenage camps and weekly childrens programmes. He enjoys impromptu music jams, hanging out with his young brothers and injecting the odd dose of British humour into the community life (eg. putting on skits during the many festivals in Plum Village).

Br Phap Lai first came across Thay’s teaching at the age of 28 and immediately knew he’d struck gold. He learned how to meditate, how to become a little more mindful in daily life and very importantly how to recognize and take care of his emotions. Discovering the joy of being still and coming back to himself was a revolution. Knowing what an incredible difference it would have made had he found the practice earlier in life fires his inspiration to share with young people.

As well as tours in the US, UK and S.E.Asia with our Teacher as a one year old Dharma Teacher Br Phap Lai has conducted retreats in Israel/ Palestine and Ireland. In his previous life Br Phap Lai’s science degree landed him a wonderful job as an Environmental Protection Officer with the Scottish EPA until the even more wonderful career of a monk opened up to him. He misses the Scottish hills and rock climbing – just a wee bit.

by wakeuplondon
News & EventsPeace SitWake Up London

Meditation Flash Mob in Trafalgar Square

17 May 2011


Be the change you want to see in the world!

What: Meditation Flash Mob
When: Thursday 2nd June 6:30pm to 7:00pm
Where: Between the two fountains in Trafalgar Square, London

Meditation flash mobs have been popping up across the United States recently (check out www.medmob.org) …Let’s start one in London!

Flash Mobs are a large group of people who gather “spontaneously” in a public place, perform an unusual act then quickly disperse.

Our Goal:

1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation.

2. To spread awareness of meditation to the public.

3. To come together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking

Details:

When: Thursday 2nd June 6:30pm to 7:00pm
Where: Between the two large fountains in Trafalgar Square, London

6:30pm – Arrive at Trafalgar Square

6:32pm – A female member of the Wake Up London Sangha meditation group will find a spot on the ground in between the two large fountains to sit and meditate. Please continue to look inconspicuous during this time.

6:33pm – Then feel free to join the sitting meditation at staggered times within the first 2-3 minutes.

Please do not to block any public pathways, otherwise, sit anywhere you like… spread out all over the place and lets create a profound experience.
Make sure people can still walk freely.

6.33pm to 6.53pm – Silent sitting meditation, in your own style.

6.53pm to 7pm – Sound bath: You can use any mantra or sound that connects you to the higher source within you, the universal energy of all life. Om, Ah, Ong, Nah or any other sound that calls you personally.If you choose, move closer to one another, donate your physical presence, your positive energy, your voice, use any sound or mantra that connects you to the source of your deepest wisdom.

It’s also a lot of fun and just sounds awesome to everyone around!

7pm – Disperse and walk your own separate ways. We want to confuse and bemuse the public and leave them in bewilderment as to what just happened.

What to bring: Please feel free to bring your own cushion but do not sit down on it until after 6:33pm. It will seem more spontaneous if you do not use a cushion, but for health concerns, we understand if you choose to use one.

More details will be announced…Spread the word (Sshhhh..quietly…..) Invite your friends! All are welcome, meditator or not!

And it’s free!

If you’re on Facebook, check out event here and click attend: http://on.fb.me/meditation-flash-mob

by wakeuplondon
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Wake Up London is a community of individuals practicing together to promote peace and reconciliation within ourselves and for our planet. We’d love to highlight what’s happening within our community, and how the practice is positively impacting our society.

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