Peace Week

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Akron Yoga Summit!

Akron Yoga Summit 2015!

Vision/Intention of the Akron Yoga Summit:

The Akron Yoga Summit seeks to inspire Akron and Northeast Ohio's conscious com...munity that’s actively contributing to world peace. This event unites and highlights Akron’s yoga leaders for a weekend of ahimsa (non-violence) immersion delivered through creative experiences that educate and empower individuals, families and organizations to embody the path of yoga in every aspect of life. Akron Yoga Summit intends to help all in our city elevate to their fullest potential for compassion and service.

Objectives:

1.Educate about what yoga really is (the path of yoga) and demonstrate how everyone can embody and practice its principles in all aspects of daily life.

2.Enhance collaboration among Greater Akron yoga community and create a resource of yoga/meditation teachers and other conscious healers to support existing initiatives that meet the mission of The Akron Peace Project (APP)

3.Raise the remaining money needed for a Community Foundation Fund for the Akron Peace Project to launch APP Community Empire

PEACE Partners-Businesses and Organizations

PEACE Peeps-community members

Community PEACE Calendar

-Yoga Studio and Community Yoga Offerings Calendar

-Wellness and other offerings

Northeast Ohio has an active and growing yoga community! It supports a good number of studios, classes, and events. The Cleveland Art Museum brought in the Yoga exhibit for a reason. As such a burgeoning community, it’s imperative we find more ways to collaborate and grow together. In the Greater Akron area, we have some strong studios. What if there was an opportunity to strengthen our activities with and knowledge of each other.

The Akron Yoga Summit will bring together the Greater Akron Area yogic and spiritual community for the purpose of inspiring, educating and growing yogi leadership and stronger commitment to the full path of yoga, especially karma yoga: the yoga of service, in our region.

The Akron Yoga Summit will focus on delving deeper into yogic principles and expanding karma yoga into our community. There will be classes with mantras, kirtans, workshops with Yamas and Niyamas, a Gandhi yoga class, a talk on the seeker as the placemaker/city builder, Akron as an Ashram, ayurveda workshops, and more! We’d also like to have reiki, meditations, massage, healing bowls, and other healing modalities.

Kicking off the 6th Akron Peace Week, this event will hopefully reach much of our existing community as well as reach out to new members. Akron Peace Week is fiscally sponsored this year by Global Ties Akron.

Initial Ideas for the Weekend:

Friday: Celebration

•University of Akron Student Ballroom

•One goal of ours is to feature a yoga workshop and performance of MC Yogi on Friday, Sept 25th. This is a large expense, but very worthwhile. We are in the process of waiting to hear if we can make this a reality.

•Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Credit Class

•Meet and Greet time for yoga community

Saturday: Study, leadership, activism thru yoga, deepen spirituality

•Summit ArtSpace

•Evening Kirtan (end)

Sunday: Relax, renew, restore

•Summit ArtSpace

•Evening Kirtan (end)

More info and updated schedule at: www.facebook.com/akronyogasummit

Tix are $10/class, $20/day, or $50 for the whole weekend!
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/akron-yoga-summit-tickets-17958930645?aff=es2

Peace Week 2015!

The 6th Annual Akron Peace Week will be Friday Sept 25th- Sun October 4th!

More info will be announced soon.

The first annual Akron Yoga Summit will kick off Peace Week, Sept 25-27th.

More info to be posted soon!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Full Schedule for Peace Week 2014!

The 5th ANNUAL AKRON PEACE WEEK

OCTOBER 1st - 9th

EVERYDAY - MEDITATIONS ON PEACE - Noon - 1pm.
Spend some time where you are, or visit us downtown Akron during the Noon hour to put meditative energy towards peace without our community. The power of our thoughts really does make ripples in the world,

Wednesday the 1st -
OPENING CEREMONY!
Crystal Awakenings center, 404 Crystal Lake Rd, Akron)
6:00pm - 8:00pm
The 5th Annual Peace Week kicks off with an intention setting ceremony on the very lovely grounds of Crystal Awakenings. We invite you to join us in meditation, pot luck, intention-setting exercises, and community-building. For more info on this great space at Crystal Awakenings, check out: http://crystal-awakenings.com/

Thursday the 2nd -
A MORE PEACEFUL DOLLAR
Presented by the Market Path
6:00pm
Market Path - W. Market St
Dae Evans will discuss the impacts of buying locally and buying from fair trade businesses and organizations. The choices we make in how we spend our money could go a long way to building sustainable systems and create more peaceful communities.

Friday the 3rd -
LOVE IN ACTION
Presented by Nancy Holland and Blue Hen Yoga
6:00-7:30pm
Blue Hen Yoga - 109 N. Highland Ave, Akron
Nancy will lead us through a special meditation and take us on an interactive journey into what it looks like to bring Love into Action. Yoga asks us to look at ourselves and make changes, and then to go into the world and bring Love into each day. This will be a powerful and moving program. Feel free to bring a journal or notebook.
Donations are accepted for Nancy's time and the Yoga studio's space.

Saturday the 4th -
WE ARE ALREADY PEACE (A Meditation Journey)
Presented by area meditators.
11:00am - 1:00pm
Lock 4 - 182 S. Main St, Akron (corner of Main and Bowery)
Peace is humanity's basic nature. We just need to remember that. Meditation brings us into the quiet of the present and helps us connect with our true selves, and our true nature - peace. Meditation is a large concept and there are many paths that all lead to the goal. This workshop will give us a taste of some of these various paths, led by skilled practitioners from the area.

PEACE THROUGH CITIZEN JOURNALISM
Presented by the Akronist, with Blue Green and Chris Miller
Time TBA
Akron Public Library - 60 S. High St, Akron
The Akronist is a community-based project engaging the community in telling it's stories. Peace spreads when we tell our stories of peace, as well as when we shine a light upon the dark things in our neighborhoods. Learn how to tell stories, use technology like cell phones, and more!

PEACE THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN
Presented by the Akron Public Schools, with Jodi Crossley curating.
October 1 - 9th
Location TBA
Art is a powerful medium that invokes beauty, thought, and inspires us to our ideals. This is doubly so when the artwork is made by children. Art classes in all of the Akron Public School system were asked to create pieces dealing with the topic of what peace is or what peace means to the students. We are most happy that these pieces can be displayed and a part of the Akron Art Walk for October.

PEACE POP UPS AT THE AKRON ART WALK
5:00pm - 10:00pm
The Art Walk footprint (Summit Art Space, We Gallery/ High St Area, and Northside district)
We will be creating signs with peace and Love slogans to display and carry along the route and for venues of the Art Walk. There also may or may not be a Hug Flash mob happening throughout the night.

Sunday the 5th -
EATING HEALTHY ON A BUDGET WORKSHOP
Presented by Beth Vild and the WOMB (Way of Mind and Body)
12:00pm.
Summit Lake Farmer's Market
Beth shows sensible and economical ways to be healthy! A common deterrent to healthy eating is the cost. As the Health and Wellness coordinator with the WOMB, Beth provides many delicious options and suggestions to getting healthy food on very limited budgets.

The PROVENANCE CONCERT
Presented by Zach & the GAR Hall
5:00 - 7:30pm
$5
GAR Hall - 1785 Main St, Peninsula
Last year 15 songwriters with ties to NE Ohio came together to write songs and collaborate on something that could benefit the community. This concert features several of the artists involved in this project. You will hear a few songs from each of these artists, as well as the one from the Provenance CD. Some of the featured artists are Zach, Colin John, Kristine Jackson, Ryan Humbert, Scott Franklin, Courtney Cable, Theresa Gottl, Charley Mosbrook, and more! We will be raising funds at this concert for the Love Initiative Fund, a fund started through the Provenance CD to help area nonprofits create programs to educate and inspire nonviolence in our community.

Monday the 6th -
LAUGHING PEACE
Presented by Patrick Welage and Lululemon Akron.
6:00 - 9:00pm
Lululemon - 403A 21 Furnace St, Akron
Laughter produces numerous productive and enjoyable hormones and reactions in our bodies. When we feel happier, we can be happier. When we are happier, peace is much more clearly manifested. Patrick Welage is one of the preeminent Laughter Yogis in the country, a disciple of the yogi and doctor who began the practice. This is not a class of jokes, but of exercises and en-light-enment! It is truly a transformative experience.

Tuesday the 7th -
MARIGOLD YOGA
Presented by Jeffrey Zayda and the Massage and Yoga Healing Arts
2:00 - 3:00pm
Massage and Yoga Healing Arts - 3250 W. Market St, Suite 104, Fairlawn
Marigold yoga is generating peace, wellness and health into late life. Exercises for bone density, balance, and to reverse and prevent the effects of aging.

FREE AKRON YOGA
Presented by Free Akron Yoga and Nancy Holland
7:00 - 8:15pm
Musica- Market St, between High and Main St
Yoga is a philosophy that takes us within to connect to our universal Selves. Free Akron Yoga uses asana poses and insights to help us connect to the unity and peace within us all as we get to know and realize ourselves.
Donations are accepted for the use of the venue space and Nancy's time and instruction.

Wednesday the 8th -
YOGA & MEDITATION ON THE TIBETAN FOUR DAEMONS
Presented by Jeffrey Zayda and the Massage and Healing Arts
9:00am
Massage and Healing Arts - 3250 W. Market St, Suite 104, Fairlawn
Come to greater peace with yourself through this ancient Buddhist meditation practice of opening a dialogue within yourself to whatever issues are keeping you endarkened (in suffering) in order to help integrate, heal, and resolve them. This is a tantric visualization practice. Bring a journal.

SPEAKING PEACE
Presented by Davidionne Pearl, Nonviolent Communication, American Friends Service Committee, and the WOMB
6:00-7:30pm
Akron Public Library. Meeting Room 2AB, 60 S. High St, Akron
Words hold incredible importance and power. We can create peace or conflict often time simply based upon what we say, how we say things, and what we think we hear other people say. This workshop will give us tools to help us learn to listen to what others are actually trying to say, and how we can communicate more clearly.

SINGING PEACE
Presented by Zach and Uncorked Wine Bar
8:00-10:00pm
Uncorked Wine Bar - 22 S. High St, Akron
Zach's music is built upon inspiration, Love, and positive energy.

Thursday the 9th -
CLOSING CEREMONY
Presented by the WOMB and the American Friends Service Committee.
6:00 - 9:00pm.
The WOMB - 915 E. Market St, Akron
We end as we began, with intention ceremonies, music and nonviolent games. We set our intentions for how to take what we've learned during peace week and bring it into our daily lives and throughout the year.

Peace Week 5!

2014 marks the 5th year the Peace Project and Akron Peace Week have been inspiring and educating nonviolence in the Akron community! We are very excited to announce the dates for this year's festivities as:

OCTOBER 1st - 9th.

As always, the events will be held in a variety of locations across the greater Akron area, in association with a variety of wonderful peace partners!

This year, we'd love to thank the WOMB (Way of Mind and Body) for their support of the efforts of peace in Akron.

This year's theme is Love in Action. It is important to learn about the tools of nonviolence, but it is most important to put them into effect in our daily lives. Each event will be focused on achieving both of these goals, and challenging us to manifest these ideas and skills as much as possible in our own daily lives.

Be the peace.

Namaste.

Akron Peace.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

This I Believe

This I Believe: we are alive to Love.
To Love all creation, all beings, all habitats.
To Love not with only with our heads and minds, but with our hands and words.
With our shadows and money.
I believe Nature roots for good.
That we are Nature.
I believe singing makes the day better.
I believe we each hold the power to change and influence.
That I am the most powerful person on Earth. And so are you.
That I am also just a manifestation of nature’s compassion in the world – like a tree. Among the forest.
I believe our greatest calling is to inspire.
I believe dancing is celebration, and all celebration can be worship to the Beloved.
That every smile is sunshine to a fledgling soul.
That every ripple of kindness makes its way around the world.
I believe in chocolate.
It reminds us we are all children.
I believe that peace is strength.
Respect is strength.
Forgiveness is freedom.
I believe that evil exists, but that nothing is as powerful as Love.
That we grow brighter and sweeter even in rain, ashes, and manure.
That inner peace is a choice.
I believe in Brussels sprouts. And spinach.
And kale and cauliflower and spelt and eggplant.
Because it’s made with sunshine and water.
And who doesn’t love sunshine?
Who doesn’t want to be sunshine?
I believe in the sacred.
That life is mystical. And magical. And beautiful.
And that everything worth doing requires an initial leap of faith.
That every day is an adventure.
That every breath begins with the universal sound for Love.
I believe in turn signals. They were invented for a reason.
I believe we should treat ourselves well, and others even better.
I believe to choose kindness.
In every choice.
I believe it’s up to us. Each of us.
I believe in peace by pieces.
Life is a verb.
Love is a lifestyle.
Peace is everywhere.
I believe we should listen more.
I believe there are 8 billion names for God.
And another trillion upon trillion more.
And that all numbers add up to One.
This I believe: we are all here to Love.

(Originally published in the Healthy & Humane Observer, 2013)

Monday, October 7, 2013

Life Between Peace Weeks

The Peace Project works on bringing peace inwardly and outwordly throughout the year, not just for one week in October. After all, every week is in reality Peace Week, if we want it to be.

We are planning a few events for the fall and winter, which we are excited about.

We would like to use this space as a space for insights and information. I will be posting some weekly information about food and nonviolent lifestyle. I hope we can have regular contributors to our dialogue as well. Peace does not come from any one person, it comes from within.

We are open to your suggestions.

Who would like to be a part of a Vegan Chili Cook Off in early November?

Who would like to be part of a monthly Peace tune up?

Talk to us.

Namaste.
Zach