yoga is a way of life.. For inner peace and good health, practice yoga

yoga is a way of life.. For inner peace and good health, practice yoga

Monday, October 10, 2011

My "Occupy Wall Street" Experience on Oct. 9, 2011

Everyone's been asking what the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters want. Just read their signs! My husband Serafino and I went to downtown Manhattan yesterday to Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square near Wall Street to see for ourselves what's going on. It was exciting to be there among so many different types of people who want our current system favoring the rich to balance more in favor of the 99% of Americans who want a middle class way of life -- "The American Dream" -- that made America the envy of the world. Enjoy my slide show at "Peace and Health Cafe!"

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Movement is Peaceful

Most of you have heard by now about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests in downtown Manhattan, the movement that is mobilized against the corruption in our government and corporate sector leading to the impoverishment of most while enriching the fewest. Thus far the protesters have been peacefully practicing civil disobedience as utilized successfully by Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the NYPD exhibiting rather "thuggish" handling of the citizens exercising their right to assemble in public.

Without too much judgment, it is quite plain to most people in this country that our form of government and society has been pretty much "maxed out" by legalized and unregulated greed on a scale the world has never seen. Indeed, it is unsettling the entire world's economies and societal stability. A lot of power, isn't it?! Being able to turn the world upside down. So, without too much effort, most people agree there are huge problems that are perhaps now so huge that no one knows how to fix them. That's why people are finally taking to the streets because they "are mad as hell and not gonna take it any more." Certainly natural!
Tentacles of this rampant and unchecked greed include more than our financial and economic picture, but reach into the food we eat, water we drink, air we breathe, our educational system, municipal services, employment, health care, security and personal freedom. In fact, just about EVERYTHING in our lives. It's all on the edge, precariously perched and ready to free fall. 

Many of us are nervous, unsure how to affect "revolutionary" change, have one toe in the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd. I am about to pull my bank accounts out of Wells Fargo and open accounts instead in my local bank. If it's "all about money," I suggest we withdraw our money from the market. How else can we hurt the goliaths who are turning us into serfs? If we want a one-two punch, we could stop paying taxes to the government. But that would take a lot of people to make an impact and most of us are too afraid that we'd go to jail. Fear is one thing holding us in the serf position, the 99% of us who are not vasals or lords or masters of the universe.

But, go peacefully, and hold your head up high. The People shall prevail. Have faith. Do your part. Join the movement. Keep Gandhi and MLK in the forefront of your mind. 

Download Occupy Wall Street's Declaration made public on September 29, 2011 on my web site, www.peaceandhealth.com (on right side of home page, by the peace apple).