Our meeting on Thursday, January 18 was attended by 25 people. One of the first orders of business was to continue defining who we are and what we are all about. Group members read the following seven part statement.

Alliance for a New Humaity

I. THE MISSION

The mission of the Alliance for a New Humanity is to connect people committed to create a just, peaceful, and sustainable world, in order to accelerate a cohesive global movement of personal and social transformation, reflecting the unity of humanity.

II. THE DREAM

The Alliance for a New Humanity dreams of a future illuminated by a consciousness of unity, a future where any boundary can be taken down because it has first come down in our hearts, where this vision provides the basis for sustainable solutions to humanity’s greatest threats.

III. THE INTENTION

The intention of the Alliance for a New Humanity is to create an alliance of people who are building a new awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness. The Alliance aims to connect caring communities, groups, and individuals (Change Agents) at a global level, to promote understanding of humanity’s underlying unity and advance its expression through peace, social justice and ecological balance.

IV. THE OBJECTIVES

Connection: To accelerate a global movement for a better world through increased connectivity

Communication: To transmit and amplify the new story of humanity, of compassion, of human solidarity, and change.

Inspiration: To help create an awareness of the oneness of all humanity as the basis for the development of a peaceful, just, sustainable world.

V. THE STRATEGY

To effectively facilitate a global movement for change, the Alliance utilizes a strategy that appeals to various levels of involvement and intensity of experience, and allows the movement to self-organize and propagate on a grass-roots basis.

VI. KEY WORDS

Forgiveness Sacrifice Acceptance

Vulnerability Voice Satori

Strength Foundation Action

Emotion Purpose Compassion

Discernment Tolerance Respect

Energy Dignity Boldness

Patience Love Heart

Encouragement Farsightedness Pain

Will Fire Joy

VII. THE COURAGE OF THE ALLIANCE

Courage! To do something we must first be willing to do it. Everything is a risk. Taking the first breath of the day and setting out is the first act of faith and courage in a day filled with challenges and opportunities. Courage is not a lack of fear. Courage is having fear and acting anyway.

There is very little we can do to prepare for courage. One of the few effective ways of bolstering courage is encouragement, to be encouraged by others, and to encourage others.

We want to see results, to see a peaceful world, a just world, a kinder way of life. We want to see everyone have enough to eat, good work available, and the earth honored and cared for. Obstacles are considerable, and the accompanying discouragement is natural.

We come together with courage to act. We come together for the purpose of connecting inwardly to the sources of our own strength, and then, using that strength we encourage each other. We need each other to put love into action.

Courage is the precursor and peace is the result. Everything else in-between is what we can work on.

We watched an inspiring video featuring indigenous Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Manchu, followed by remarks by Deepak Chopra, given at the recent global conference in Puerto Rico.

Through a guided visualization, group members began the process of envisioning what A New Earth and a New Humanity might look, feel, and act like. A lively discussion followed a writing exercise in which each person recorded their thoughts during the visualization.