Our founder, Kelly Smith, talks with GenConnect’s Claudia Potamkin about the goals and ideals of the Center for Living Peace. Check it out here! What do you all think of the video?

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out! 

UC Irvine anthropology and film & media studies professor, Roxanne Varzi; Producer & filmmaker, Abigail Disney, and Academy Award Winner Actor & Advocate, Geena Davis, all shared the insights on the changing landscape of war. The panel was moderated by Center for Living Peace, Founder, Kelly Thornton Smith!

We started the night off right with a party, celebrating all that women have done to help bring awareness to this issue.

It was such a beautiful event, thank to our fabulous event coordinators, Upon Request, and cater, Good Gracious.

The lovely, Kelly Thornton Smith with UCI Vice Chancellor, Parham.

From L to R: PBS SoCal President, Mel Rogers; Abigail Disney, Geena Davis, Kelly Thornton Smith, Roxanne Varzi and UCI’s Chancellor Drake.

Behind the scenes at our step & repeat!

Chancellor Drake welcomes our guests.

The VIP event was such a huge success. We are so grateful for our continued partnership with UCI, and for our NEW! partnership with PBS SoCal!

After the party, we walked over to UCI to dig into the issues at hand and learn how we can help.

Chancellor Drake and Kelly Thornton Smith welcome guests.

The event was packed and the room was filled to capacity! The talk was such a huge success. The panel brought thoughtful insight to the issues surrounding women in war, and Kelly moderated the panel with ease and grace. We are so proud of Kelly for doing such a great job!

Our expert panel, along with the fabulous Kelly!

Geena Davis and Kelly!

The night went by so quickly– it was so great to have Kelly moderating and asking these women how we can inspire other to “be the change they wish to see in the world.”

Speaking of be the change…

The Saturday before the speaking event, on October 8th, we welcomed youth to talk to them about women who are affected by war, and show them what they can do to help and inspire others.

Here are some highlights from the night…

Professional Tennis player and advocate, Maja Muric, spoke on her experiences growing up in war-torn Croatia.

Living Peace Project participants eagerly await the next module with UCI’s Center for Unconventional Security Affairs.

Pamela Donohoo, the CUSA artist-in-residence performed a breathtaking dance inspired by the women of the Congo.

The performance was improvised, but used cultural dance movements that symbolized violence, nurturing and recovery.

Next, everyone broke up into smaller groups to delve deeper into the issues facing women all around the world who are victims of war.

College students discussed the impact of prominent women who have led challenges and shaped the ideas and practices of democracies around the world.

Elementary school attendees learned how to use media tools to share their story & explore ways to connect with other students & stories through Internet media tools.

Middle & high school students came together to make personal connections with a family who has been displaced by conflict in their homeland.

At the end of the day, participants left their hand prints on the CUSA’s painting. This painting will be sent to the Congo, symbolizing our dedication and commitment to helping them.

Check out this cool video from the Living Peace Projects!

It was such a great event– and we are so grateful to have worked with PBS SoCal! Want to learn more about Women, War & Peace? We’re screening the 5 PBS documentaries on Saturdays. To see the full schedule, click here.

We want to send out a huge THANK YOU and lots of love to Apples & Oranges for filming these events for us, our fabulous photographers, Alex Abercrombie & Jason Niedle; as well as everyone who participated in the events! We couldn’t do any of it with out YOU!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

Redeye. New York to Los Angeles
8:42 AM – 9/11/11 – NYC Close to Ground Zero

The silence in New York City this morning was powerful. It sounded like music and mourning and respect. I left my room numbered 911 (yep 911) overlooking the Liberty Tower construction and arrived close to Ground Zero at 8:42 AM, where I heard what sounded like a church choir. The walk down had been quiet, with a few joggers running the opposite way. I followed the sound of the music to see groups of policeman walking in formal uniforms and families wearing photos of their loved ones passing through a security gate.

Others were wandering the silent streets. I asked the guard how to pass. She said that without an invitation it would be best to find a TV.

I saw children holding American flags, flags at half staff, lines of trash trucks and tow trucks and police cars and vans full of silent public servants just waiting there if needed.

A bit later someone told me to go to church. I thought they meant a building but then I saw Church Street and the lines to get in. I passed through security and found myself walking toward a large screen with Paul Simon’s image as he sung, “The Sound Of Silence.” The sound went straight to my heart.

And then those heroes stood before me listing the names, the many, many names. I felt a profound sense of love. Everyone was there to honor and remember. Children stood and read parts of the list and then the name of their parent, the one so many told them they looked like or acted like. A procession of those left behind took turns listing the names of those lost. They thanked them for laughter and pennies, blew kisses to the sky, and spoke of their courage. We all stood in the sound of silence and respect.

A group making a documentary for Korea asked me what I experienced 10 years ago and what I experienced today. My voice unexpectedly broke as I said, “I remember the fear, but today I see the strength.” When they saw my tears, they asked me what upset me most. “Seeing the children speak,” I said, thinking of my own.

They asked how I felt about those who had caused the attacks. How I felt about Muslims. Did I forgive? What could I do as an American now?

Her choice of words struck me hard. Muslim. Forgive. American.

What I chose is to realize how important each individual is. That is what I saw at the memorial. As each name was read, each life was honored. No one asked of the victims’ religions, their races, their job titles, or their politics. No one asked if they forgave. The family members spoke of their love for those lost, their special gifts, and what they each shared during their sacred lifetime.

As I relived 9/11 at the memorial, I felt grateful for the reminder to share what I can, to use my energies to make GOOD HAPPEN. I don’t remember what else I said, caught up in the emotion of the day, but I handed her my card, and told her about the mission of the Center for Living Peace. That we believe peace can be lived and experienced in all aspects of our daily lives – it is in the way we care for our environment, appreciate arts and culture, and in every word we speak and every action we take. She and the rest of her crew for whom she translated nodded and smiled shyly.

How can you make GOOD HAPPEN and Live Peace? Here are things you can do:

End Violence in the name of religion by signing the petition at www.themissingmdg.com.  ArchBishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Laureate for Peace), Professor Mohammed Yunus, The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway all signed the petition as well. Please support their tireless efforts to make the world a much better place. Together, we can keep everyone accountable for a concerted global effort to END violence in the name of Religion.

Or maybe you want to honor the victims of 9/11 by supporting the memorial at the sight of Ground Zero.

Or maybe you want to find more ways to live peace in your own life. www.GOODHAPPENS.org

Good Happens.

Peace Out, Kelly.

It’s Up to Them-Short Profile Film from Barry Berona on Vimeo.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

The sweet ‘Stang is a special edition “Hawkized” mustang, customized by Tony Hawk! The mustang went for $60,000! $30,000 will go to the Tony Hawk Foundation, and $30,000 will go to The Center for Living Peace’s Youth and Service Initiative! Here are some highlights from the event…

And here is a video of the car being auctioned off!

Thank you SO MUCH to Wing Lam of Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Tony Hawk & everyone at the Tony Hawk Foundation, Lelani Bluner Kroker & The Orange County Register and Eric Morley & our friends at Blue C Advertising for helping us make GOOD HAPPEN!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

We had lots of delicious goodies for the big day! Our friend Kathleen made us some amazing brownies, Kelly and her daughter Kenzie made wonderful cupcakes

And our friends from the Veggie Grill generously donated a delicious vegan carrot cake!

Even our 4 pillars were in the birthday spirit!

We had a lot of amazing FREE classes in honor of our birthday.  Here are some great highlights from the classes that we held…

Lots of fun with Alejandro at our New Earth Drumming class!

Manuel Gomez was also kind enough to read us some amazing poetry…

We made some beautiful bracelets with Girl Socuts!

We made some beautiful mandalas and sand paintings…

Kids became monkeys in our Smiling Monkey Yoga classes…

We learned how to cultivate the possibility of compassion in our Possibility Thinking class…

And we had story time with Cynthia Callard…

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our first birthday with us and made it a huge success. We are so grateful to all of our friends and affiliates who have supported us in our journey! You are making good happen, and we are so thankful that each of you have been brought into our lives!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

Working Groups for Compassion and Global Leadership

On Saturday, April 30, 2011 we held working groups at CLP with youth between the ages of 14 – 24.  They gathered together to work on projects and awareness raising initiatives that promote compassion and global leadership in their lives, their communities and the world.

A few days later, our working group participants were invited to attend a speaking event with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, called PTTOW. At this event, His Holiness watched this video:

We are so thrilled with the outcomes from the working groups. Here are a few of the service projects and initiatives that they will be working on…

High Tech High Media Arts’ 4 Africa Club will be executing a local week-long awareness campaign about issues in Africa and how individuals can help. They plan to include: an organized 5k walk that will help them gather donations and supplies for youth in Africa, documentary screenings, a benefit concert, and a letter writing campaign.

Peace Jam plans to research the issue of access to and scarcity of clean water throughout the world from local and international perspectives. They are also going to organize a beach clean-up; raise awareness about water in local schools, neighborhoods and through social networks.

The Interfaith Youth Council will host a county-wide interfaith youth forum (which will be planned, run and facilitated by high school teens) that will encourage interfaith understanding, respect, and civility. They hope to increase attendance at the event this year from 120 (in 2010) to 200, and build on the 12 faiths previously represented by including Baha’i and Hindu youth as well.

Students for Integrative Medicine plan to pair volunteers with bedfast individuals to record the bedfast individuals’ stories.   Volunteers will be trained in compassionate listening and will visit patients in a 5-session program designed to give the participants time to build rapport, share stories, and crucially, to say “goodbye.”

We are so thrilled to work will all of these organizations and assist them in their projects as they grow and evolve!

The Living Peace Series featuring His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

If you missed the speaking event, you can watch it on our Livestream page!

PTTOW!

Immediately following the speaking event at the Bren Center, His Holiness met with our working group participants at PTTOW!.

PTTOW! (Plan to Take On the Word) is a conference that brings together the nation’s top marketers, from companies such as Microsoft, Red Bull, Mastercard, Electronics Arts, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Quiksilver, Pepsi, and many others. The Dalai Lama spoke about the power of youth and technology to catalyze global change, promote ethical leadership and spread compassion. Here is a video from the PTTOW event:

A special thank you to:  Apples & Oranges for filming our working groups and Living Peace Series events, Alex Abercrombie for her beautiful photography, Philip Schneider and Lisa Rueff from Jacmel Children, PTTOW!’s Roman Tsunder and eXcel Youth Zone’s Bryan Banville for presenting at our working groups. And of course, all of our participants! YOU help us make these events possible!

“A compassionate mind thinks more about others, that makes it very easy to communicate.”

- His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

Salila Sukumaran

My daughter is living peace to me because she has inherited all my physical flaws and yet has my unconditional love and teaches me to love myself unconditionally too.

Sonya Golnaz Teymourian

Hi, my name is Sonya Teymourian. When I took this photo I felt extreme peace- the soft sound of the waves, the light breeze, the touch of sunlight, and the peaceful bird all created a surreal moment of freedom and peacefulness for me. I was so glad I could capture it and share with you. )

Dusty Brandom

Hi, my name is Dusty Brandom. I am 18 and I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I have spent the last 9 years in my power wheelchair as I lost my ability to walk because of the muscle wasting disease that I suffer from. I don’t really dwell too much about the negative aspects of Duchenne, and instead I enjoy life to the fullest. I love to sit by the window of my home with my dog Leo, and watch the waves and the ocean. Sometimes I see dolphins and surfers catching the waves. Being near the ocean makes me feel connected to nature and this makes me feel peaceful and calm. From where I sit I can see people walking by on the beach. I love it most when I watch my brother and sister play in the sand as they laugh and run around.

Magar Jon (Moj)

HI, My name is Moj. I have MS and as a result I can not walk but at the same time it taught me a lesson that I am very thankful for and that was to know myself and to be at peace and love with who I am and to appreciate for all I have.  I realized what the artificial happiness is in refer to our material world and made me to realize how able I am compare to majority of healthy people who are blinded by materialistic love and happiness who are afraid to loose what they love..  This picture of mine shows a person who is in peace with him.

Farshid Fard

The Holiness Dalai Lama has supported the Iranian people under the suppression. He is holding a sign for Freedom of Iran, next to Mrs. Nazanin Afshin Jaam, the Iranian activist for Human Rights in Iran, while he was in Canada for the peace conference.

Cindy Tiehen

This photo is LIVING PEACE to me because is represents growth & transition, showing the stages of life of a lotus bloom (bud to seed pod) after it has risen through the mud & the muck to shine in the light above.

Robin Rockey

This photo is #Living Peace because it represents a meditation on the wonders of nature.

Quan Hoang

It’s easy to believe that our perspective is the only one and that different = bad. The Dalai Lama’s lesson on compassion reminds us to rise above hate and see that we are all more alike than different. Seeing LIVING PEACE over hate is a choice – one worth making every time. If not for anything but the better view (of a giant cow).

John Wie

This pic at the Japanese Tea Garden in SF shows living peace because its creation symbolizes a half moon that becomes a whole moon in the peaceful water below it.

0_Zurich_0

This is #LivingPeace to me: looking at nature & seeing the beauty revealed within life

Congratulations to all of our winners!

You will be able to pick up your tickets for the event starting tomorrow. We are open Wednesday, April 27 from 9am to 10pm, Thursday, April 28 from 9am to 8pm, Friday April 29 from 9am to 5pm, CLOSED on Saturday, April 30, and open from 9am to 5pm on Sunday, May 1.  You will NOT be able to pick up your tickets on May 4, 2011. Please arrange to have your tickets picked up before May 4, 2011. Please bring photo ID when you pick up your tickets. If someone else will be picking up your tickets for you, please contact the Center for Living Peace and let us know ahead of time.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

All you need to do is post an ORIGINAL photo to Facebook or Twitter and explain to us in about 140 words how your photo represents Living Peace. If you’re entering on Twitter, please include #LivingPeace somewhere in your tweet.

Example:

This is a sample entry for to win DALAI LAMA tickets! This photo is #LivingPeace because it represents love! I hope I win!!!!!!!!

ENTRY:

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Contest starts April 11, 2011 and ends at 5PM Pacific Standard Time April 25, 2011.

ELIGIBILITY:

-User’s entry is void where prohibited by law.
-Limit one entry per Facebook or Twitter account.
-If you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, you may enter by emailing your submission to amorin@goodhappens.org.

WINNER SELECTION:

• Winners will be chosen at random and notified on April 26, 2011 on our blog.

PRIZE:

Each winner will receive 2 (two) tickets to the Living Peace Series event at UCI featuring His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama at the Bren Center at the University of California, Irvine.

WINNER NOTIFICATION:

• Winner will be notified on April 29, 2011 via the Center for Living Peace blog. Winners for Twitter will be identified by the winner’s Twitter handle.
• Winner must email amorin@goodhappens.org to provide contact information (full name, email address, and mailing address). Winners will be able to pick up their tickets from the Center for Living Peace Tuesday through Sunday between the hours of 9am to 5pm PST. Tickets will NOT be available for pick up on May 4, 2011. You must pick up your tickets by May 3, 2011.

USE OF CONTEST INFORMATION:

By entering, entrants give The Center for Living Peace permission to share the contents of the Facebook or Twitter message on the Center for Living Peace blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts or other public channels.

The Center for Living Peace reserves the right to use any and all information related to the contest, including submissions provided by the contestants, for editorial, marketing and any other purpose, unless prohibited by law or relevant 3rd-party Terms of Service agreement.

CONDUCT:

All contest participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules. The Center for Living Peace reserves the right to disqualify any person it finds to be in violation of these rules.

LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:

The Center for Living Peace reserves the right to cancel the contest. By entering this contest, you also agree to release The Center for Living Peace from any liability resulting from, or related to participation in the contest.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.