It seems like public meditations are slowly but surely finding their way into the mainstream of society. I encourage everyone to grab a friend and go meditate in public: at a park, at school, at a busy intersection, or at a mall.
Yesterday we went to Iowa City Iowa to celebrate the UN's International Peace Day by performing several Public Displays of Meditation along the crowded parts of the city.
Sunday, September 21st is the UN's International Peace day.
Sebastian Gronbach, our friend over at Oekomed, has written about and published an article about public meditation in a German magazine called Info3.
It is really quite a peculiar idea. How can something so peaceful and silent be done amidst the hustle and bustle of a big city? Some may say that it's probably harder to meditate in public than it is in private. But in reality, it's quite easy. In fact, some of the best meditations I've ever had have been in the middle of lots of noisy, restless people. What better way to make an impact and be the change you wish to see?
There will be a Public Meditation held in Iowa City, IA on September 21st. This day marks the United Nation's International Day of Peace, and this website talks more about it and how you can participate.
So here's the deal: the Public Meditation Project will organize one million people around the world to meditate in public spaces, and show their inner peace to the world. Imagine people in every city, town, and country meditating at a specific time in public spaces like parks, malls, streets, sidewalks, museums, you get the point. Since this is a decentralized movement, it can happen easily if everyone organizes 4-5 people they know, and gets others to do the same... think "pay it forward" or "pyramid scheme with a purpose."
I am planning a public meditation for September 21st, in Iowa City, Iowa. It's "International Peace Day," so it's quite fitting for our cause.
I’ve been getting a lot of requests for help in creating a Public Meditation Project group in various different places across the What is Enlightenment? Magazine (August, 2008 issue) featured a story about the Public Meditation Project and said that the movement “…may represent the next big thing among Gen-Y spiritual seekers in
Since this is a decentralized, grassroots movement, I am posting simple guidelines so all Public Meditations are the same even if they are geographically separate. I ask that you please use the Public Meditation logo exactly as it appears in all flyers, promotion, articles, etc. It is under a creative commons license(see bottom), and you are free to download and use. (PMP logo here, and here).
How to Conduct Your Own Public Meditations PDF
Sample Flyer for Public Meditation Groups
If you feel you are a Spiritual Activist, you should take a quick glance to the Principles of Spiritual Activism found on this link.
I have to make a special mention of the Oekomed blog, it is a group led by Sebastian Gronbach who is doing Public Displays of Meditation in
Below are some pics from their blog and others I’ve received from the meditating public:
The only “leader” in this revolution is the guiding inner light inside of you.
We held a "Public Meditation for Peace and Sustainability" on the streets of Chicago featuring about 20 students and innocent bystanders. We brought the peace wherever we went and spontaneously meditated in various Chicago landmarks while people looked on and asked questions. In a big city like Chicago, you seldom get the chance to visually experience peace. We see a fast-paced sea of stress and people feeling rushed and missing the moment. Our intention was to display peace, in almost an artistic form, and let people get curious about meditation and sustainability. There's been lots of recent talk about sustainability and "green" but seldom do we ask ourselves where it comes from. We cannot have a peaceful and sustainable planet without peaceful and sustainable people, and this is what we wish to 
cultivate. Furthermore, our cause is young and relevant to the times. Meditation isn't some weird esotheric ritual but a statement to the world that says, "I am truly being myself."
like to contact me for info about our project, you can reach me at publicmeditationproject(at)gmail(dot)com
PUBLIC MEDITATION for peace and sustainability
The Public Meditation Project intro-video is now an "award-winning" video (you can watch it here). It won the "Quantum Shift Outstanding Video Award" last December, and it is currently KarmaTube's "Video of the Week."
We're planning a demonstration of peace in Chicago to take place sometime around the weekend of March 21st. We'll probably take a tour of the most crowded Chicago malls (if you're from Chicago, please tell us where you would like to see us meditate), and everyone is more than welcomed to join us.
We're planning on making shirts that display messages not just about peace, but also about sustainability and awareness (For example: "Buy Organic," "Buy Local," "Recycle," "Stand for Corporate responsibility," etc)
The vibe was an electric blend of progressive visionaries and modern activists who have long replaced their torn-jeans and tie-dye shirts with khakis and business savyness. Three days of munching on delicious organic meals, meetings with students of every area of sustainability, and all sorts of business initiatives and movements meant to inspire and help infuse our lives with a little more consciousness. Green Festival-San Francisco looked to provide the growing number of environmentally-concerned citizens with practical ways of changing ourselves and in turn the world around us.
The Public Meditation Project was there to infuse a little mystical inspiration, and maybe make one or two people smile at the playful innocence of meditating in public.
begins with inner peace, and inspiration leads to revolutionary action. This is the type of action we see at this event. 
The Public Meditation Project encourages everyone to publicly display their peace. This may come in the form of praying, meditating, or just sitting quietly. Today, I was at Coralville mall in Iowa City. We decided to do several short meditations all over the mall. We ran into security at Target, and they told us we couldn't sit and block the walkways. So, we meditated on the small sitting area, and many people gave us strange looks. Then we meditated on several benches around the mall, and people's reactions ranged from curiousity, to reading our signs, to saying things like "you guys are cool!" or "Those people are insane." Others took 
pictures.
I've just returned from Boulder, Colorado. I spent almost a week there promoting our university at a Sustainable Living fair in Ft. Collins, CO about 45 minutes away from Boulder. We got a chance to hang out at Boulder and I meditated on Pearl St while friends goofed around me (as you can see by the pics)
in. There was no mall security to kick me out, so I meditated in peace.
Last week I went to Chicago for a spontaneous one-day road trip. I went with some friends from Maharishi University, and they were really excited about going to go meditate in Chicago malls. We ended up hanging out around Chicago and walking through downtown. There was a protest going on in front of the museum and we thought, "Hey, what better place to go meditate...but let's eat first."
like, "oh..hi"
Pretty sweet. We will continue to take trips around the US, and do this wherever we go...
The Public Meditation Project consists of using public meditation sessions as a form of social and spiritual activism. The goal is to create change from the feeling level. The best case scenario is that people walk past and feel the peace. Then they momentarily become peaceful, and the people they are with become peaceful. This is world change from the core of our beings.
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