Annie Lennox Joins Mother's Day Walk In London

Annie Lennox Joins Mother's Day Walk In London

PeaceJourney.com Salutes These Women for Speaking Out in Support of Solidarity and Justice!

Mar 07, 2016 12:30 pm

Dr Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of suffragette Emmeline, Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger led a mass walk through London on Sunday 6 March, ahead of International Women’s Day.

Annie and Sister Sledge on the Care International Walk In Her Shoes March

They were joined by crowds of supporters as they walked in solidarity with women and girls worldwide who endure inequality and injustice. The annual event launched CARE International's nationwide campaign, Walk In Her Shoes.

Supporters spent an unforgettable Mother’s Day walking alongside a star line-up of outspoken feminists, including celebrities such as ‘Suffragette’ actress Romola Garai, director Sarah Gavron, comedian Bridget Christie and activists from around the world. They were joined by London’s very own 21st century ‘Olympic Suffragettes’, who walked in traditional Edwardian costume to highlight the fact that the Suffragettes’ goal of equal rights remains unrealized.

“In 2016 there are 757 million adults who cannot read or write a sentence – 2 out of 3 of these are women,” said Annie Lennox. "Globally the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age is HIV/AIDS. Women around the world aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.

“Whether the issues are education, health care or security – dis-empowered women and girls around the world face unimaginable challenges. There is still so much more to be done in terms of creating transformative change towards a fairer and more equitable world. That is why I’m joining the Walk In Her shoes, in solidarity with women and girls worldwide who bear the brunt of the burden of poverty.”

The Mother’s Day walk in London is the start of a nationwide Walk In Her Shoes campaign, which encourages people in the UK to raise money for CARE by walking 10,000 steps a day for one week in March. The charity’s work includes providing clean water sources in poor communities, allowing girls and women more time to go to school or work instead of walking miles each day to collect water.

From: https://www.looktothestars.org/news/14954-annie-lennox-joins-mothers-day-walk-in-london

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#LA REID Cincinnati Man and Soul Brother From Another-Mother

#LA REID  Cincinnati Man and Soul Brother

I had the honor of meeting music-mogul,  ‪#‎LAReid‬ in Chicago Wednesday night at Morningstar- during Chicago Ideas Week. 

"Sing To Me"

There are Beautiful Miracles of Connection in This Story. 

Wednesday's February 17, 2016  Chicago Ideas event was sold out, but I went anyway. A few friends tried to get tickets for me, but no luck. I heard he was in Chicago from friends Wednesday morning and on WGN TV. All I knew is I had to get there. 

I did not know of LA. (My bad!). I caught him on the @KathieLGifford Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda 2-weeks ago. During the TV interview, I felt a deep connection. I stopped and acted, ordering his 390 page book from Amazon titled "Sing To Me". It came the next day. 

Reading the book, I had learned he and I lived on the same street in Mount Auburn, Cincinnati when we were kids, a few years apart. He got his nickname "LA" when he wore a Los Angeles t-shirt at a music production meeting during the Reds vs LA World Series games in '75. Such an amazing time in Cincinnati. I lived there back then. 

I read his book in one day. I did not have that planned. I kept personal Cliff Notes during the 15+ hour read--amazed to find he was from my home town, lived on the same block as young kids; and that during my adult life, I had met so many of the artists/managers he represents today, as one of the top music producers/record Executives in the world 

(I have met Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Russell Simons, Snoop Dog, Justin Timberland & Lionel Richie's managers, Avril Lavigne, Michael Jackson, some members of the Wu Tang Clan). 

LA also had attended Hughes High School where my Portuguese mom studied to become an American Citizen way back then. I bet they were crossing paths in those halls. 

He worked on Johnson's Party Boat on the Ohio River as a kid. He wanted to be a drummer so he started by buying drum sticks because that's all he could afford. Years later he was given drums. He was a member of the band The Deele (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deele), performed at my fav venue, Bogarts in Clifton, and started the LaFace Record Label. He recorded at CGA Studios' old location where I produced a short video for my son's wedding with music, and he opened for Luther Vandros on tour (a friend of mine, Ava Cherry, was Luther's amazing back up singer and lived with and toured with David Bowie). 

@LA_Reid has an amazing story about working with Michael Jackson & Jermaine and letting Lady Gaga go from Epic Records. He was a judge on the X-Factor too. I heard randomly last weekend at a dance event our granddaughter attended through a friend of my daughter's, that LA just received keys to the City in Cincy a week ago and that her hubby, a Cincy radio Exec, was at the event. More & more miracle info threading this story through so many people and over so many years. 

@LA Reid writes, "Passion is my superpower. I wanted my work to be cultural." I got to tell him that "Passion, peace and culture are my superpowers". We laughed. I gave him my book to read "Peace Journey, Seven Paths To A Charmed Life". He said he would read it. 

Last Sunday while watching the Grammys, Meghan Trainor @Meghan_Trainor won artist of the year. She thanked LA Reid: she cried, and so did I. To know he brings so much joy to artists & musicians got to me. 

Wednesday night, in an audience of hundreds I felt his true spirit. I told him I lived in Mount Auburn till I was 6. I broke my arm in that yard! He looked at me and reached out to hold my hand--knowing what I knew too, that I am white and lived there when it was pristine, he lived there when it was nice and turned ghetto. This is where race riots destroyed part of our innocence in Cincy in '69. Yet we were right here, right now, and it felt as if time stood still. 

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. When all was said and done, it was the memories we shared as little kids, when life was innocent, full of music and light, and now as adults, for a heartbeat or two, strangers; a brother I never knew, shared a precious moment from another time. They say everything you are is formed by age 5. Today, I believe that more than ever. 

I have loved this series of small and important acts of connection, to remind me that God is here, in the room and it pays to trust that, no matter what.

Now, I hope to connect on the business of PeaceJourney and bringing the world to peace through youth and music!

Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz

Executive Director

sponsorKIDS Charities Peace Journey Projects and

PeaceJourneyProductions

Practicing Benevolent Actions Takes Us to a Higher Place

Practicing Benevolent Actions Takes Us all To a Higher Place

Over the years, with all of life’s ups and downs. it’s been amazing to get back to realizing the importance of benevolent prayer. And, in getting back to that space where you know you are connected to a spiritual source.  It’s so easly to simply forget that connection when we need it the most.

I remember a time when my strongest belief was in my personal connection of my spirit to the universe.  It’s funny, how when really bad things happened, how I immediately wanted to be in that space that says “I am fine” but the true experience is doubt and frustration.  Afterall, I didn’t ask for the pain.  I didn’t ask for the disappointments. So why did they happen when all along I believed deeply in my connection to all things good.

Pretty soon, I stopped believing in my connection. 

There is nothing about me that shouts vunerability.  Or naiveté.  Yes, I do believe that when you ask you shall receive when the time is right.  I trust that you can ask for the best in the most outrageous outcomes and that all things are possible.  But the difficult reality is when things happen out of the blue.  Things you don’t expect done by people you trusted with your whole heart.  And those things impact you deeply.  How do you pick yourself up again?  Where do you start to reinvigorate that sense of spirit and of peace and belief.

Since I have gone from the heavens, down the rabbit whole, and back to a stable place, I believe I have a better strategy:

Forget the worry.
Forget the regret.
Embrace your spirit.
Ask for benevelant outcomes in all things.
Rely on your connection to the Universe.
And stop worrying.
Meditate. Pray.
Now, and forever.
Believe in the best for yourself.
And that is exactly what the world will provide to you.

Peace everyone,
Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz
Peace Journey Seven Paths to a Charmed Life

Peace Journey Loves Cultural Exploration Everywhere!

Peace Journey Seven Paths Sharing 7 Cultural Concepts 

7 cultural concepts we don't have in the U.S.

Perhaps one of these ideas will inspire you to think differently in your day-to-day life.

From the end of October through the New Year and onto Valentine's Day, it's easy to forget that the holidays we celebrate are simply cultural constructs that we can choose to engage in — or not. The concepts and ideas we celebrate — like our spiritual beliefs and daily habits — are a choice, though sometimes it feels like we "have" to celebrate them, even if we don't feel like it.

Culture is ours to do with as we choose, and that means that we can add, subtract, or edit celebrations or holidays as we see fit — because you and me and everyone reading this makes up our culture, and it is defined by us, for us, after all. 

If you want to add a new and different perspective to your life, there are plenty of other ways to recognize joy and beauty outside American traditions. From Scandinavia to Japan, India and Germany, the concepts below may strike a nerve with you and inspire your own personal or familial celebration or — as is the case with a couple of these for me — sound like an acknowledgement of something you have long felt, but didn't have a word for. 

Friluftsliv translates directly from Norwegian as "free air life," which doesn't quite do it justice. Coined relatively recently, in 1859, it is the concept that being outside is good for human beings' mind and spirit. "It is a term in Norway that is used often to describe a way of life that is spent exploring and appreciating nature," Anna Stoltenberg, culture coordinator for Sons of Norway, a U.S.-based Norwegian heritage group, told MNN. Other than that, it's not a strict definition: it can include sleeping outside, hiking, taking photographs or meditating, playing or dancing outside, for adults or kids. It doesn't require any special equipment, includes all four seasons, and needn't cost much money. Practicing friluftsliv could be as simple as making a commitment to walking in a natural area five days a week, or doing a day-long hike once a month. 

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means "forest bathing" and unlike the Norwegian translation above, this one seems a perfect language fit (though a pretty similar idea). The idea being that spending time in the forest and natural areas is good preventative medicine, since it lowers stress, which causes or exacerbates some of our most intractable health issues. As MNN's Catie Leary details, this isn't just a nice idea — there's science behind it: "The "magic" behind forest bathing boils down to the naturally produced allelochemic substances known as phytoncides, which are kind of like pheromones for plants. Their job is to help ward off pesky insects and slow the growth of fungi and bacteria. When humans are exposed to phytoncides, these chemicals are scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, relieve stress and boost the growth of cancer-fighting white blood cells. Some common examples of plants that give off phytoncides include garlic, onion, pine, tea tree and oak, which makes sense considering their potent aromas

Hygge is the idea that helps Denmark regularly rate as one of the happiest countries in the world — Danes have regularly been some of the most joyful in the world for over 40 years that the U.S. has been studying them — despite long, dark winters. Loosely translated at "togetherness," and "coziness," though it's not a physical state, it's a mental one. According toVisitDenmark (the country's official tourism site): "The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family — that’s hygge too. And let’s not forget the eating and drinking — preferably sitting around the table for hours on end discussing the big and small things in life." Hygge's high season is winter, and Christmas lights, candles galore, and other manifestations of warmth and light, including warm alcoholic beverages, are key to the concept.

Still a little confused and wondering how you could cultivate hygge in your life? This Danish NPR commenter sums up some specifics: "Hygge is a deep sense of cosy that can originate from many different sources. Here is a good example from my life : a cloudy winter Sunday morning at the country house, fire in the stove and 20 candles lit to dispel the gloom. My husband, puppy and I curled up on our sheepskins wearing felt slippers, warm snuggly clothes and hands clasped around hot mugs of tea. A full day ahead with long walks on the cold beach, back for pancake lunch, reading, more snuggling, etc. This is a very hyggligt day." Now that sounds do-able, doesn't it? 

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese idea of embracing the imperfect, of celebrating the worn, the cracked, the patinaed, both as a decorative concept and a spiritual one — it's an acceptance of the toll that life takes on us all. As I wrote about it earlier this year, "If we can learn to love the things that already exist, for all their chips and cracks, their patinas, their crooked lines or tactile evidence of being made by someone's hands instead of a machine, from being made from natural materials that vary rather than perfect plastic, we wouldn't need to make new stuff, reducing our consumption (and its concurrent energy use and inevitable waste), cutting our budgets, and saving some great stories for future generations." We might also be less stressed, and more attentive to the details, which are the keys to mindfulness.  

Kaizen is another Japanese concept, one that means "continuous improvement," and could be taken to mean the opposite of wabi-sabi (though as you'll see, it depends on the interpretation). It's a very new idea, only coined in 1986, and generally used in business circumstances. As this tutorial details, "Kaizen is a system that involves every employee, from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year are written down, shared and implemented." These are regular, small improvements, not major changes. Applied to your own life, it could mean daily or weekly check-ins about goals, as opposed to making New Year's resolutions, or a more organized path based on small changes toward weight loss, a personal project or a hobby. 

Gemütlichkeit

Gemütlichkeit is a German word that means almost the same thing as hygge, and also has its peak usage during the winter. In fact, some linguists posit that the word (and concept) of hygge likely came from the German idea. Blogger Constanze's entry on the German Language Blog for "Untranslatable German Words" describes how the word means more than just cozy: "A soft chair in a coffee shop might be considered ‘cosy’. But sit in that chair surrounded by close friends and a hot cup of tea, while soft music plays in the background, and that sort of scene is what you’d call gemütlich."

Jugaad is a Hindi word that means "an innovative fix" or a "repair derived from ingenuity," — think a jury-rigged sled for snowy fun, or a bicycle chain repaired with some duct tape. It's a frequently used word in India where frugal fixes are revered. But the idea has further merit beyond figuring out solutions to get by with less. It also encapsulates the spirit of doing something innovative. As the authors of Jugaad Innovation write in Forbes, they see jugaad in many other places than the repair shop: "In Kenya, for instance, entrepreneurs have invented a device that enables bicycle riders to charge their cellphones while pedaling. In the Philippines, Illac Diaz has deployed A Litre of Light — a recycled plastic bottle containing bleach-processed water that refracts sunlight, producing the equivalent of a 55-watt light bulb — in thousands of makeshift houses in off-the-grid shantytowns. And in Lima, Peru (with high humidity and only 1 inch of rain per year), an engineering college has designed advertising billboards that can convert humid air into potable water."

Jugaad's idea of frugal innovation can definitely be applied in the individual life — what about setting aside a half a day twice a year where everyone in your family fixes something that needs repair? You'll save money, spend time together, test problem-solving skills, and get a sense of accomplishment from repairing instead of buying new. 

Read on... See Full Article & Beautiful Visuals Here!  Seven Cultural Concepts Mother Nature Network.

Peace Journey Book Launch February 15 through Mother's Day 2015

No Time Like The Present

Staying Focused on What Matters!

Ok, so I have taken writing marketing classes, communicated with successful authors & publicists as well as social media gurus and have a pretty good handle on next steps for my book launch.  Having a small budget makes the whole process daunting, but with the help of people at Amazon,  I have decided to self-publish and get this show on the road.

I wanted to get my book out late last year, but due to a series of health issues and events, I felt the universe was telling me to wait.  And so I did.  And now, it makes sense since Peace Journey; Seven Paths to a Charmed Life is all about love and the heart, so bookending the launch starting on Valentines Day promoting through Mother's Day clearly has helped me to commit.

My life has been filled with creating PeaceJourney.com trips from scratch, no excel spreadsheet action, all trips sponsored and most importantly, listening to my intuition and trusting my instincts.  You might think this no different!  But I have found, that it is different and the reason why?  It's because it is so personal to write a book and share a piece of yourself, your story and your views.  

Soon, I will be launching a CrowdFunding Campaign so that everyone who cares about our success can participate in it!  

I look forward to an amazing campaign, with your help and the help of your heart! 

Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz (Facebook)

Supported by PeaceSpaProducts.org (Facebook & Website)