The Great Compassion Prayer
HealthWarrior
Oneness of Life and Light,
Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself,
Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,
During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize true entrusting,
Through Other Power,
and realize Supreme Nirvana.
Namo Amida Buddha
Access: PublicGlitch hits Darfur talks
HealthWarrior
| August 02 2007 at 11:51PM | |
Khartoum - Commanders from a large Darfur rebel faction have threatened to boycott a crucial unity meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday unless the Sudanese government allows a senior rebel figure to attend.
The latest hitch in the peace process sponsored by the African Union and the United Nations coincided with the first African troop pledges to a new peacekeeping force, approved by the United Nations this week and given guarded backing by Sudan.
Expected to cost more than $2-billion (about R14-billion) in the first year, the "hybrid" force will assume authority by December 31 over 7 000 AU soldiers who have struggled to stop the violence in Darfur.
| International experts say 200 000 people have been killed |
Five African nations - Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and Ethiopia - have pledged to send peacekeepers, a top AU official said on Thursday, and South Africa said it would consider adding to the 97 soldiers it already has there.
But the task of building up the force to its target strength of 26 000 is expected to take many more months.
The UN and the AU will chair the Arusha meeting, starting on Friday, with the aim of getting the rebels to agree on a joint negotiating platform for peace talks.
A faction leader from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) said its commanders would not attend the talks unless the SLA's humanitarian coordinator was allowed to go too.
Suleiman Jamous has been virtually imprisoned in Kordofan, near Darfur, for 13 months since being moved to a UN hospital there for treatment. Sudan says it will arrest him if he leaves.
Observers say Jamous is crucial as the rebels' link with the humanitarian operation in Darfur, the world's largest, which has been forced to scale down because of attacks on its convoys, leaving about 500 000 people out of reach of aid.
They also say he is key to uniting rebel factions and military commanders in Darfur with political leaders outside the region, whose differences are a major obstacle to a settlement.
This week 11 prominent activists including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke, former Czech President Vaclav Havel, and Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, wrote to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir requesting his release.
"Our commanders on the ground are saying that unless Jamous goes to Arusha, they will not go," SLA faction head Abdallah Yehia told Reuters.
"I told the UN and AU, but they say it is difficult. I ask why is it difficult? He is in a UN hospital," said Yehia, who is from the SLA-Unity group. Yehia said he would travel to Arusha but his commanders were refusing to go.
Sudan said on Wednesday it was ready to consider releasing Jamous but neither UN Darfur envoy Jan Eliasson nor his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim had raised the issue in talks.
UN spokesperson George Somerwill said the issue had been raised with the government, which had said it would consider his release once the peace talks began.
Key field commanders Jar el-Neby and Suleiman Marajan agreed on Thursday to attend the talks, improving the prospect of progress. "We have received an official invitation and we are prepared to go to Arusha," Jar el-Neby said from Darfur.
A visiting UN rights envoy called on Sudan to curb the powers of its security forces amid continuing rights violations across the country.
Sima Samar, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, said during a visit to Sudan there were some positive signals from Khartoum but still many problems, including the arrests of political opponents and journalists.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the central government of neglect. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias, known locally as Janjaweed, to quell the revolt.
After an AU-mediated peace deal last year, signed by only one of three rebel negotiating factions, the non-signatories split into more than dozen factions, complicating peace moves.
Additional reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa and Paul Simao in Pretoria.
Light a candle for Dr Osman & Darfur
HealthWarrior
Hi All,
I lit a candle for Darfur and one for Dr Osman and his colleagues (amongst others). Please go to http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng and click on “search” then type Afric into “Groups” box which will bring you to the group I have created for Africa … follow instructions from there to light a candle …
Love 'n Light
LightSpirit
Peace is the only line of defense
HealthWarrior
Right now, somewhere over in the Middle East, crouched behind a boulder or hunkered down in a foxhole, are countless young men and women praying to God for relief from the horrible situation they're in. They're not sure how they got there, but it is certain that they would much rather be cruising down the road with their friends back home or planning for the future with their loved ones. Instead, they could die by bullet at any instant and there is no one they can turn to: no sergeant, no captain, no friendly farmers or shepherds, nobody...
Their only line of defense against the insanity they're facing is you and me, the peacemakers of the world. We are the ones, from thousands of miles away, who must represent our beautiful children in their time of need. Their mothers and fathers didn't speak out when they had the chance, nor did any help come from the lawmakers and leaders who supposedly care for them. In fact, when the smoke of war settles and the truth finally comes to light, it will be shown, unequivocally, that "the supposed caring lawmakers and leaders" are the conscious perpetrators of our conflicts in the first place, and they, like hungry vipers, get a kick out of all the suffering and death.
It's a hard concept to grasp onto - that our leaders, not some impoverished, disgruntled middle easterners, are the ones we must defend ourselves against; and that, for eons, they've been using every deceitful tactic imaginable to perpetuate the fear and death and keep us from living in peace. What will it take for us to wake up and reject their same-old solutions and agendas? How bad does it have to get before we demand peace from our leaders? Must we, like the young soldiers frightened in the foxholes, be facing imminent death before we stand up and shout, "God Help Me! I want to live! I want peace NOW!"
Or will we wait until the vipers have all but squeezed the life out of us and it's too late?
"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God."
From The Bible
"I talk only on behalf of peace. I ask you to reject all aggressive solutions from this day forward and to approach all others--no matter where we live or how we look--as equals, equals whose dreams call out for fulfillment . . . just as your dreams call out for fulfillment . . . just as your children's dreams are calling out . . .
"May we possess wisdom enough to enable the dreams of our children. May we feel compassion enough to respect one another's way of life. And may we want peace enough to find it within ourselves and let it spread outward into our world from there."
From The Reunion: A Parable for Peace
My Intention for today is:
I Intend that I am making peace whenever I can.
Namaste
LightSpirit
Lightworker Daily Reminder
HealthWarrior
Lightworker Daily Reminder
I ask that spirit walk with me this day,
and that I have the courage to carry this truth
within me in all that I do.
To fully stand in my own truth and power
is to honor the spirit within.
Help me today to re-member
both who I am and who I am not.
Who I am is magnificent,
yet to carry a facade of who I am not
only detracts from that magnificence.
To accept the truth of my own limitations
clears the path to carrying my true power.
I know that holding my power is only possible
when I am not afraid of being vulnerable.
This day I will balance my ego
by checking it often and seeing my true motivations.
I accept the power that is rightfully mine
and will use it to create Home on this side of the veil.
I ask that I may allow Spirit to emanate
from me to all who choose to look upon me,
that I may be a perfect mirror
so that they may see the God within themselves.
Help me to touch their hearts with my Love
and allow them to re-member Home and who
they really are as I re-member who I am.
As Spirit walks with me this day
I remember to give thanks
for the gift of Spirit on my shoulder.
May I always use it
to the highest good of all concerned.
I vow to enjoy this day to its fullest
and to laugh at every opportunity.
This day I will play the wonderful Game
and I will carry the vibrations of Home
in every move on the Gameboard.
This day I will Re-member.
'Lightworker Daily Reminder' reproduced with permission from Lightworker.com
peace
September 2007 