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BILLION BELLS FOR PEACE

One World, One Dream, Ringing in Unity!

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December 2008

KWANZZA: PRINCIPLES AND A MESSAGE THAT CAN FOSTER WORLD PEACE

Posted by Doug on December 26, 2008

So what if this is a recently instituted African American Holiday.   Even though Kuanzza seems to be somewhat of an after thought and its focus is on a smaller community its principles are  certainly universal and would help humanity grow in a positive, cooperative way toward peace.

1. umoja – unity
2. kujichagulia – self-determination
3. ujima – collective work and responsibility
4. ujamaa – cooperative economics
5. nia – purpose
6. kuumba – creativity
7. imani – faith

This holiday celebration is a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. We know the human race evolved from one source, prove otherwise, so as an interdependent global family we need to become friends with all. Kwanzaa is to be a time of sharing and pulling together. These guiding principles teach values we tend to lose in a more modern and solitary society. Since the original ideas were to bring forth the harvest, the guiding principles bring people together to remind us how important we are to each other. Each of us is special and unique yet we are all part of a mosaic that creates this world community.  Even though it is beyond our limited human ability and understanding we can make a concerted effort to come together in unity for Peace On Earth Good Will To Al l. We need the faith and hope that believing in the magic of this dream we can make it come true.

PEACE ON EARTH GOOD WILL TO MEN!

Posted by Doug on December 26, 2008

Yes today the Christian World celebrates a most significant day and the theme is all about a special light that came into the world in the form of a baby, like you and me.  This child brought us what we need most as humans need, illumination, to see how we have been domesticated and how our tendencies toward natural self centeredness and the expectation that others are there to meet our needs does not help make the world a place of Peace.

At present it is estimated that there are 32 large and small wars going on in the world today. As we have become more educated we have also become more polarized. We have developed little niches of likes, dislikes, expertise etc.  It is not the mind but our open hearts with reconciliation that will bring us together. Intelligence, facts and knowledge can not only be deceiving but often times we are wrong. That is why it has been said that the longest distance is often from the heart to the mind.

If we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. Wayne Dyer

Let us move toward the understanding that we are all one family in spite of our different upbringing, culture, history and language. At one time on this planet there were fewer that 100 people, possibly and probably only two from which we have on become more than 6 billion. We are all the same, you and me, and we all desire the same: significance, fraternity, freedom and love. This can only happen through a realization of the heart, one person at a time. So let us begin, NOW!

P.E.A.C.E. Really Rings True!

Posted by Doug on December 23, 2008

P eace stands for Promote reconciliation… *
E quip servant leaders….
A ssist the poor…
C are for the sick….
E ducate the next generation…

* Taken from Rick Warren’s  The Purpose of Christmas. .. the second half of this book is all about Peace.

Visit www.thepeaceplan.com We truly believe  during this season of light you could be enlightened by this site. ….Serenity, Love, Peace.

Dalai Lama’s Message for 2008 Rings A Bell for Peace!

Posted by Doug on December 15, 2008

Take Into Account That Great Love & Great Achievements
Involve Great Risk (surrender to something outside-bigger-than yourself)

Follow the 3 R’s Respect For Yourself, Respect For Others and Responsibility For All Your Actions

Be Gentle With The Earth

Know the Rules So you can Lean How To Break Them Properly

Don’t Let A Little Dispute Injure A Great Relationship

Spend Some Time Alone Every Day (in Stillness & Silence)

Remember the Best Relationship is the One In Which You Love For Each Other Exceeds Your Need For Each Other

Open Your arms To Change But Don’t Give up Your Values

Judge Your Success By What You Had To Give Up To Get it

Approach Love and Cooking With Reckless Abandon

or you can click on and experience more

FIRST ANNIVERSARY ALMOST RINGS A BELL!

Posted by Doug on December 10, 2008

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Meade

On December 10^th 2008 the world celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day. On that day we at BillionBellsForPeace.org celebrated our first anniversary of trying to make a small but unique difference in a world that hungers for some form of Peace and Stability. Last summer, the theme for the Olympics was "One World, One Dream." and this matched perfectly a song we co-wrote in 2007 with Al Barr and released on a new CD called the A Best of The Martins @ . Also, we had the privilege and honor of presenting our "Bells Around The World Program" at the National Directors Convention in Orlando, Florida this past summer and we were pleased and gratified to know that our program fit into their special theme, "Ring-In Unity." Since the foregoing two themes are so appropriate to our message of a world united in fraternity, we have incorporated them into the subheading of our BillionBellsForPeace blog,"One World, One Dream, Ringing-In Unity."

A special thanks this past year to the Verdin Company of Cincinnati for allowing us to ring the (Millennium) World Peace Bell in Newport, KY. We were also most gratified that Steve Petruccio & James Zatlukal volunteered to create a logo for this blog and for a project we have been presenting and are creating www.billionbellsforpeace.org/kids For the past decade we have been presenting programs for children in schools, libraries and museums bRinging the idea that they will be our future leaders who, as examples and sharers of the ideals of peace and freedom, will bring this action and message to their neighborhoods and the rest of the world. We look forward to them becoming a part of BillionBellsForPeace in word, story, song and special art projects.

"If we wish to create a lasting peace we must begin with the children" Mahatma Gandhi

This coming year as we are moving toward non-profit status we look to continue improving and updating our site. As our society and family of nations evolves into a new world consciousness, each of us should strive to make our own small personal contributions to justice, freedom, peace and fraternity among all peoples. By the action of A doing one nice thing for others each day @ we can move more deliberately toward world peace. Mattie Stepanek

A There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth." Leo Tolstoy

We also want to thank our webmaster Steven Williams for his tireless efforts and special thanks to Rich and Addie Kania for their wonderful podcast and Robert Kwasny, Joe Incoronato, and long time friend, Dan Ritchard for their ideas and encouragement. We are likewise grateful to all of you who have sent us your comments and suggestions as we continue to refocus our efforts on our projects.

Remember to continue chiming in with your comments and suggestions and:

Ring bells daily (actually or metaphorically) realizing peace begins within!

Ring bells monthly (actually or metaphorically) realizing we are all united!

P.S. Does the saying, "Peace on Earth" ring a bell? We know it does. Let’s make it happen!

THE WORD “PEACE” RINGS A BELL IN THE “HEART” OF ALL LANGUAGES

Posted by Doug on December 9, 2008

LANGUAGE         PEACE
Arabic                salam
Czech                 mír
Danish               fred
Dutch                 vrede
Esperanto           paco
Finnish               ruaha
French                paix
German               Frieden
Hebrew               shalom
Hungarian           béke
Italian                 pace
Japanese             heiwa
Norwegian          fred
Polish                 pokój
Portuguese         paz
Romanian           pace
Serbo-Croat.      mir
Spanish              paz
Swahili               amani
Swedish              fred
Turkish               sulh

TRAGIC LOSS CAN RING A BELL TO PEACEFUL BLISS

Posted by Doug on December 9, 2008

As we all know great literary and cultural works have often come from tragic and often desperate events and circumstances. Having lost all possessions, children, a spouse, social position, reputation, exiled from our homeland and or a job strips us of whatever we identified with and leaves us all alone. Suddenly this situation can lead us to awareness and enlightenment , the anguish and intense fear that was initially felt can give way to a sacred sense of Presence, a deep peace, serenity and complete freedom from fear. This becomes as St. Paul has expressed, “the peace of God which passes all understanding.” Form that we have identified with, that gave us our sense of self, our ego, collapses and we now become identified with true consciousness.  This will be what happens to all of us at death and what will we have then but our essential formless being, the peace of our creator, the ultimate truth of who we are. It will not be I am this or I am that, it will only be I Am. Let us start today in learning to meditate and comprehend this ultimate goal and see others in this same consciousness, pure, enlighten state. What a precious gift we have all been given, “Life.”

Playing for Change Rings a Bell of Peace

Posted by Doug on December 8, 2008