Making friends around the world....the Alliance for a New Humanity conference in Puerto Rico

My experience in Puerto Rico was very transformational. I arrived on Wednesday Dec. 10, 2003. I looked around the hotel, visited the beach, went to dinner, then headed for the hotel casino. While at the casino I met a man from Boston. He inquired about my visit to Puerto Rico. I told him I was here to be a part of the Alliance for the New Humanity. I told him people from all over the world were coming together to discuss how to raise the consciousness of this planet, and to better the planet for the goodness of all concerned. I then proceeded to tell him this was our first meeting and I really didn’t know what to expect.

The Alliance for the New Humanity Gathering started out with former vice president Al Gore giving a speech on global warming. I knew a little about global warming and appreciated his insights, knowledge and connectedness in his speech. Rabbi Michael Lerner, a panelist speaker who spoke later in the convention, talked about how Al Gore gave from his heart and this will help him get elected President versus telling people what he thinks they want to hear.

Next I listened to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev from India. He began his speech talking about how Adolf Hitler had good intentions. This statement blew me away for a few seconds yet I gained my composure and remained open to hear what he had to say. He basically said everyone is a good person with what they think are good intentions; some people just make bad choices.

Next I listened to Betty Williams speak. She started her speech out quoting Lee Iacocca. “There are people who make things happen, watch things happen and wonder what the hell happened.” Then she said “I would love to kill George Bush right now.” She refused to address him as our President. I was at this point kind of shocked at her statement thinking this isn’t peaceful thinking. She talked a lot about how women need to be heard. After listening to her I really appreciated her feistiness and perspectives.

I enjoyed listening to all the speakers. I resonated with all of them in some form or fashion. I wanted to share some quotes from some of the speakers:
“To feel compassion toward someone is to not see the way that person is but the way God imagined that person to be.” Antonio Skarmeta, author, film director (Il Postino), TV producer

“Every child that’s born is proof God hasn’t given up on human beings.” Deepak Chopra

“Don’t define who you are; become who you want. Meditation is not an the act but something you become.” Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

“We have to let go of what was and start on what will be.” Antonio Martorell

Rabbi Michael Lerner

Deepak Chopra, Dr. David Simon, and Barbara Hubbard

Antonio Skarmeta

“Leadership is doing something to make this world a better place.” Anand Shah, teacher and founder of Indicorps public service fellowship

“Love is not a fact, it’s a process. Love is always trying to find a way through.” Ray Chambers, philanthropist and founding chairman of Points of Light Foundation

“Once we become conscious of evolution, then we can consciously evolve.” Barbara Marx Hubbard, futurist

“The world would be a better place if everyone extended their hugs by six seconds.” Jim Channon, Corporate Shaman

The last quote is from a film we saw Sunday, December 14 on Mother Teresa. In an exclusive interview she states, “Love is how much you put into something, not how much time it took to do.” She also talked about forgiveness and said when we have truly forgiven someone we will forget about what they’ve done. If we continue to remember what they’ve done then we haven’t completely forgiven that person. She said once we have fully forgiven then we will be at peace and be able to bring this to the world.

The one thing that meant the most to me was how I would sit down at a table with people from all over the world or they would sit down with me and share stories as though each person at the table was my brother or sister. I am really grateful for my experiences. In some ways my life has been changed forever.