5 Incredible Global Mass Meditation
The results of meditation will vary depending on your motivation… However, one thing is for sure, the benefits are limitless. They range from the simple opportunity to achieve some much needed silence at the end of the day, to enhancing brain performance, to being able to self-heal through the purification of our winds, and to achieving enlightenment.
At the end of 2014, Kechara Forest Retreat (KFR) started the 2D/1N Inner Peace Retreat. With the retreats facilitated by Li Kheng, and organized by Jennifer Yuen, the retreat initially ran as a monthly program… but due to the popular demand, the retreats were increased to twice a month.
Kechara’s Inner Peace Retreat is specifically designed to be short, but offers city dwellers the opportunity to realize peace and happiness through breathing and walking meditation.
Many people come to KFR with the simple intention of getting away from the city and to enjoy the fresh forest air… but by engaging in the program, they also learn techniques that they can bring back with them to the city to develop their inner peace.
It’s not surprising that our programs have been doing so well. Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in the East, and since the 60s, has become increasingly popular in the West.
Below are 6 mass meditation sessions held at the most unexpected places. Enjoy!
Tsem Rinpoche
1. New York, USA
Every year, the famous Big Apple plays host to the event, “Solstice in Time Square: Athleta Mind Over Madness Yoga”. Approximately 16,000 people gather at the city’s busiest square for an event which has a full schedule of classes all day.
Each class runs for an hour, and ranges from meditation classes to Bikram yoga. Although the main aim is to celebrate the summer solstice, practitioners being in Time Square are provided with the rare opportunity to develop inner peace in one of the busiest cities on Earth.
2. London, UNITED KINGDOM
The practice of meditation in London is picking up, and in good speed.
In 2011, a group of 16 to 35-year-olds called Wake Up London (inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh), organized a Meditation Flash Mob in Trafalgar Square. The total number of registered participants was 500, but taking a glance at the above image will prove that a lot more people showed up!
Gathering at 6:30pm at Trafalgar Square, the session started with a chant and continued with a peaceful 30-minute meditation. The main aim was to demonstrate how anyone can sit down and experience inner silence amidst the hustle and bustle of the English capital.
3. Mexico City, MEXICO
Dubbed the “Naamathon”, in 2012 a mass yoga and meditation session was held in metropolitan Mexico City. The event was organized by Naam Yoga LA, based in Los Angeles, Santa Monica where they hold various classes free of charge.
15,000 people came together with the motivation of doing something positive and good for their city and country. This was achieved through the chanting of prayers and mantras in order to create positive vibrations of healing, love, and peace.
4. New Delhi, INDIA
As economically powerful and progressive as she may be, India remains deeply spiritual. Clad in white, 35,000 people sat behind their Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and engaged in a 35-minute session of yoga and meditation earlier this year.
The historical event was held on International Yoga Day at the center of the capital. Prime Minister Modi started the session with a prayer and chant, where the national message sent out was one of universal love, peace and unity.
5. Kaoh Siung, TAIWAN
In 2014, Fo Guang Shan (a Buddhist organization) organized a mass meditation in the southern city of Taiwan, Kaoh Siung. 40,000 participants came from various countries around the world, and from all corners of Taiwan to gather in one place to pray.
The occasion included a candlelight ceremony, mantra chanting for world peace and compassion, and there was even Dharma-inspired performances.
We end our list back in New York City where Central Park became the venue for ‘The Big Quiet’, a 20-minute mass meditation session. For the first time in history, the park saw 1,500 people who, although vastly diverse in their background, were brought together by their interest in meditation.
The Big Quiet was organized by Medi Club, a network of 500 young professionals who meditate together monthly in a SoHo loft. In a city where silence is sacred, it’s no surprise that very little promotion was needed for The Big Quiet. Having the ability to remain unfazed and at peace in a high-stress city is invaluable.
For more interesting information:
- 5 Practical Tips For A Spiritual Retreat
- 6 Signs You Need A Retreat – Pronto!
- Do You Know What These 3 Millionaires Did?
- 5 Unexpected Women Who Became Buddhist Nuns
- 10 Incredible House Blessings by Kechara Pastors
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All religions have different kinds of their own meditation techniques and the suitable environments for them. There are so many benefits by doing meditation, It’s all about how much our mind is concentrated to focus.
I salute the organizer of the Incredible Global Mass Meditation, I would say that any place is good for meditation, getting people to participate and motivate them doing something positive and good for their city and country, as the large group prayers of chanting mantras to create positive vibrations of healing, love, and peace.
I hope this Mass meditation would have achieved to introduce meditation to new people, cultivate more interest on meditation and promote positive energy to the world.
Mass meditation might be a good way to introduce meditation to new people.Many scientific researches and in recent decades brain research have gone into in depth studies on meditation and new benefits are being discovered.
Meditation helps us to turn our attention away from distracting thoughts and focusing on the present moment.There are many guidelines to help beginners ease into meditation. Thank you very much for the good sharing.
Wow ….wonderful to see so many people coming together for this beneficial mass meditation event. More people are coming to terms that meditation can also help us to understand our own mind. We can learn how to transform our mind from negative to positive, from disturbed to peaceful and from unhappy to happiness. Meditation helps us to turn our attention away from distracting thoughts and focusing on the present moment.
It will be wonderful if more of this event can be held annually so as more and more people will know how meditation benefits them.
Like in the recent case of the teenage footballers been trapped in the remote cave at Chiang Rai. Their coach taught them meditation that saved them from fear and distracting thoughts of death. Scientific researcher has discovered that for sure that meditation helps to transform our negative minds.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Meditation in a good way to help one stays calm and focus. It is beneficial especially for urban people who are subjected to many distractions. Mass meditation might be a good way to introduce meditation to new people, cultivate more interest on meditation and promote positive energy to the world. Nice! Thank you for this sharing.
I really like to thank the organisers of these event to promote meditation. Before I met Rinpoche, I thought meditation is very far fetched, and don’t think it is something I can do. But through sharing from Rinpoche, I learn the step by step approach and it is beneficial to me as it really calms the mind. We live in a world where we are constantly busy with something and we don’t have time (sometimes we avoid too) to reflect our thoughts.
I wish Malaysia can have a such big scale meditation event once a year to promote meditation 🙂
There are so many benefits to doing meditation, meditation is the act of knowing oneself. If we know ourselves then it makes us very confident of all that we do. Sometimes we spend so much trying to this or that external action, to find out about ourselves as not everyone is exposed to the techniques of meditation.
Meditation you have your mind to deal with, that could be unnerving to some people I suppose, who are not used to checking their mind from time to time.
Wow! These global mass meditations across different continents showed how the modern society are embracing meditation. Many scientific researches and in recent decades brain research have gone into in depth studies on meditation and new benefits are being discovered. Whether it’s for religious reasons, spiritual or health, the benefits are undeniable.
However the idea of meditating can be daunting to many of us. There are many guidelines to help beginners ease into meditation. There are many programs and courses easily available these days on meditation. Kechara Forest Retreat offers The Inner Peace program for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike in the heart of nature. The program takes you from classroom breathing meditation, to outdoor walking mediation, sensory discovery, Feldenkrais, earthing for health and more.It is truly a privilege to have such a program in Malaysia.