World Water Day will be celebrated at the Lake Merritt Boulevard Amphitheater, with the community gathering to bless Lake Merritt, as well as heal our relationship with water – and one another. Through the event – which includes education, entertainment and music, a water blessing and culminates in a guided meditation – a field of resonance will be created which has the potential to reduce crime in Oakland.
In 1993, mass meditation was found to have reduced crime in Washington DC by 23%. Similar results were found for reducing violence in war-torn areas of Lebanon. Several Oakland organizations – Know The Self and BALANCE Edutainment – and global conscious event producers – the Shift Network, Unify, and Uplift – are investigating whether a large meditation event can reduce crime in an urban area like Oakland. Sponsors include Know Yourself, EBMUD, Numi Tea, and Impact Hub Oakland.
On Sunday March 22nd, 2015, Lake Merritt will host ‘Bless the Lake, a United Nations World Water Day event. Since 1993, March 22nd has been a day for raising awareness around local and global water issues. World Water Day was selected for the experiment because water is sacred and we are largely water (70%). Yet, at a time when California is experiencing its worst drought on record, few Californians know where their water comes from or how much they use.
Lake Merritt was selected as the experiment location because for many, it is the heart of Oakland. For the past 100 years, “the Lake” has been a community, recreational, and commercial hub; a climate buffer - moderating the extremes of temperature in the City; and a flood control basin that protects downtown. The new amphitheater (inaugurated in 2014) was chosen for both its functionality and to support the energetic revitalization of the area after the massive excavation.
The guided meditation will be led by Amelía Aeon Karris of KnowTheSelf.com, accompanied by singer songwriter Nasumbu of Mystic Nomads. Studies show that when we’re thinking creatively, feeling peaceful or expressing love, we generate a very coherent electromagnetic field that is broadcast to the rest of our body and into the field around us. This creates a field of resonance within the body where the cells of the body are all doing the same thing, while still expressing their unique functions efficiently. The field is also broadcast externally. The guided meditation seeks to align all the participants to create a positive and potent field of energy that brings peace and healing to Oakland.
“All the activities leading up to the guided meditation at Bless The Lake are designed to create a coherent container for the creation of a powerful field of resonance that uplifts the spirit of Oakland,” says Amelía. Community Engagement Director, Armando Davila adds, “no experience of meditation is necessary – just be present.”
In collaboration with Open Oakland and the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), Executive Producer Dave Room is leading a team to analyze whether mass mediations like Bless The Lake can reduce crime in Oakland. Room says, “We want to see if gathering people with varying levels of experience for meditation can reduce violence and crime in Oakland.” Perhaps City officials will take notice and adopt public meditation as a crime reduction technique in the future.
Bless the Lake will also be featured as part of two global healing events: the Shift Network’s World Water Day teleseminar and Unify.org’s 2nd annual #LoveWater global synchronized mediation. Bless the Lake is one of three highlighted #LoveWater events - along with the Ganges in India and Los Angeles - with over six hundred events planned worldwide. More than ten thousand viewers are expected to watch the live webcast where Oakland will be center stage.
For more information, see http://BlessTheLake.com. To support this experiment, visit the Bless the Lake IndieGoGo page at http://igg.me/at/blessthelake.com.
About KnowTheSelf.com
Amelía’s Mystery School for Modern Day Living is dedicated to helping you attain your next level of Self Mastery. Nine modules cover all areas of spiritual, holistic and sustainable living. These nine modules create a complete, well-rounded inner education and support structure for sustainable, full potential, high frequency living.
About BALANCE Edutainment
BALANCE is an entertainment technology firm specializing in childhood entertainment products that children love and parents can feel good about. BALANCE is creating an ecosystem of digital and physical products for pre-teens (television, apparel, film, books and music), which make learning a play-based family experience.
Watch "Bless the Lake" Video
