PUERTO RICO
A meeting in Puerto Rico becomes an open door for global friends and peace partners. Here's the story from the people who were there....

Global Unity

Peace is Achieved By Those Who Fulfill Their Part of a Greater Plan

Knowing how the Law of Attraction works, in the months preceding the dedication of the Peace Dome on the College of Metaphysics campus, I paid attention to any resource for letting people know about the Universal Peace Covenant. During that time, I received an e-mail from the Deepak Chopra Center about an upcoming gathering of The Alliance for the New Humanity.

The list of names was impressive: Oscar Arias (former President of Costa Rica and the recipient of the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize), former Vice President Al Gore, Betty Williams (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate whose life we have studied at the College of Metaphysics, and who is featured in The Invitation), Dr. Deepak Chopra, Rinaldo Brutoco (President and founder of the World Business Academy), Barbara Marx Hubbard (futurist and visionary who we met at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1994), Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love and Everyday Grace, and maybe a hundred others.

I sent an e-mail to Dr. Barbara Condron, asking her if we should contact these people about the dedication of the Peace Dome. We spoke briefly about letting them know of the peace covenant, and after the dedication was over, she asked me if I wanted to lead a delegation of SOM representatives to attend the Gathering in Puerto Rico. Upon investigating the Alliance website I learned that

“The Alliance for the New Humanity came to light spontaneously, when individuals from all walks of life, concerned about the dehumanizing trends that prevail in theworld, got together to assess the deterioration of human values as perceived in the upsurge of accelerating economic and social inequalities, terrorism and wars, social violence, ecological degradation and a generalized spread of social fear, individual frustration and lack of respect for life.

“They concluded that the root cause of these problems is the indifference to the other, as a result of the materialistic models adopted as
organizing principles of society, with their emphasis on selfishness, competition, accumulation, and separateness.

“Many people in the world perceive the need for more positive thinking, for a more compassionate society, for a less poignant media envelope.

“The purpose of the Alliance to connect these sensitive individuals, into a global human network, that leads to the creation of a critical mass that influences national and international policy towards a more compassionate humanity.”

Picture 1: Mind Map of first day of Conference

Picture 2: Spiritual author Marianne Williamson and conference organizer Arsenio Rodriguez

Picture 3: Jay McCormick, Dr. Laurel Clark, and Karen Mosby from the School of Metaphysics.

The Alliance planned a gathering of people to meet and share their visions and ideas. When Dr. Barbara Condron asked me if I would be interested in leading a delegation I gladly accepted the opportunity. It was clear to me that the School of Metaphysics has solutions to the needs addressed by the Alliance. For thirty years we have already been causing positive change, one person at a time. I wanted to be in a position to share what we know, to give what we understand to be true, to offer some answers to the questions raised by this group. The Universal Peace Covenant arose from a dedicated group of teachers who researched peace, change, and how to bring it about. This in itself is a great gift we have to share with other people who are doing what they know how to do to make the world a better place.

More than 500 people from all over the world came to the Gathering in Puerto Rico. These were all people committed to doing their best in whatever arena of life they have chosen to focus upon. The SOM delegates were Connie Orsini from Palatine, IL; Jay McCormick from Chicago, IL; Karen Mosby from Des Moines, IA; Lisa Bold from Dallas, TX, and Dr. Laurel Clark from the College of Metaphysics in Windyville, MO.

The sessions were set up as conversations about important issues facing humanity today such as Vision of a New Humanity: a call to peace, serenity, compassion, and joy. Many of the groups focused on Ethics and Mass Media, forming new paradigms in the press, films and advertising. There was a big emphasis on children, as they are the future of humanity. There was also a focus on spiritualizing the business world and forming a more responsible global economy. The closing plenary was on Love. It was called “‘The tapestry of oneness,’ the binding force of the universe”

It was an inspiring and enriching experience. In the beginning, I was a little frustrated because of the seeming lack of organization. I wanted to contact the organizers to offer our services as volunteers. I also wanted to find out if we could ask people at the gathering to join in reading the Universal Peace Covenant at a specified time. I could not reach anyone by phone or e-mail at first, although I did finally connect with two people by phone who assured me that when we got to Puerto Rico we could meet and discuss these ideas. They were very open to the participation of anyone who would be attending. Arsenio Rodriquez, the man in charge of bringing everyone together, told me that the idea was to set up the gathering like a town meeting where everyone could participate in sharing their ideas.

As it turned out, the informality of the organization was a blessing. The people who were there came from a kind of inner calling, not from a big publicity campaign. The subconscious minds of those who attended drew them together. Often, the opening line of conversation for people who met one another was, “How did you find out about this gathering?” People found out about it through word of mouth, one person letting another person know, through internet connections.

Former US vice president Al Gore (at left) gave the keynote address during the Conference.

"Vision of a New Humanity -- A Call to Peace, Serenity, Compassion & Joy"
(at right)

Plenary session presenters, left to right

Arsenio Rodriguez, Costa Rican organizer of Conference. Antonio Skarmeta Chilean writer/film director. Betty Williams, Irish Nobel Peace Laureate. Antonio Martorell, Puerto Rican artist. Diane Dupuy, director and creator of Famous People Players. - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Indian spiritual teacher. Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Tikkun community in New York City. Helen Henderson, U.S. economist calvert-henderson.com .

There was also a great humbleness among those who spoke at the gathering. People were there because they are committed to living their ideals, committed to bringing their vision and ideas into reality, committed to being a force for good in the world. Former Vice President Al Gore was the keynote speaker, speaking about his passion, “Earth in the Balance.” He gave an educational presentation about the state of the earth. Prior to his speech he was in jeans and a T-shirt setting up his own sound equipment. This was the flavor of the gathering: each person there was on par with everyone else. Everyone was respected for their work, their ideas, their questions, and their passion. Without name tags, the participants got to know each other by making conversation, whether seated in a classroom or at a breakfast or lunch table.

Most of the gathering was set up with panel discussions. A group of five to seven specialists in a field spoke about their ideas, and then the floor was open for the audience to discuss their ideas, ask questions, and give feedback. With so much to say, so many people devoted to their ideas and their work, many people in the audience did not have a chance to speak during the classroom time. So much of the follow-up discussion occurred in the halls and at meals.

This was the venue for those of us from the School of Metaphysics to share our work and vision, and especially to give the Universal Peace Covenant to those attending. By the end of the first day, when I met someone to give them a peace covenant, often they would say, “Yes, I met someone else from your school and they gave this to me.” By the end of the second day almost everyone at the gathering had heard about the Universal Peace Covenant. Many are going to be joining us as we read it December 31st as One Voice.

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