Holidays Greetings to you!

We are all in a festive mood and it is wonderful to celebrate life with friends and family like you. I am grateful for all the blessings and life lessons that 2010 has brought me. The year began with the theme of "Spiritual Friendship" and indeed, that is what manifested. I truly treasure genuine friendship! The heartfelt support and wonderful experiences that I encountered in my world travels is much appreciated and I am thankful. Also, to all the lovely people back home who are sincere in my well-being. Thank you.

There are many celebrations in the month of December and it began for me with the Islamic New Year, Awal Muharram, on December 7. Various other faiths all over the world also celebrated the many different occasions. And now, Christmas is upon us, followed by the New Year. Let's celebrate what matters the most to us. For me, it is love and the peace that comes with it. I believe all of us want to feel loved, safe and secure. Let's give that to each other. It's a priceless gift that will be appreciated and remembered by the heart. We just want to know that somebody is thinking of us and that we matter. We do matter. You do matter. So does that person walking on that street. Give the gift of a smile. Share your abundance, especially with people who probably just need that one thoughtful loving gesture, to keep their hope alive and restore their faith in humanity.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for the many ways you have shown your love to me and continue to do so. I accept it with an open and gracious heart. I welcome the abundance of unconditional love, eternal peace and unlimited joy into my life and yours for 2011. I believe the greatest wealth anyone can have is the abundance of love, to give and to share. I would like to wish your families and you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year 2011!

With lots of Love and Peace to you, Shareen.

Creators of Peace

Greetings of Peace to you....

I had the wonderful opportunity to host a "Creators of Peace -- Peace Circle" event in my home from 8-10 October. It was a wonderful experience and I highly encourage this program to everyone. It is so important to create experiences like this, to promote peace and what it means to have peace or to be at peace.

The Creators of Peace (CoP) initiative was launched in 1991 at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, Switzerland by the Hon. Anna Abdallah Msekwa of Tanzania, a respected politician and leader of her country’s women’s organizations. In her inaugural speech, she urged everyone to “create peace wherever we are, in our hearts, our homes, our workplace and our community. We all pretend that someone else is the stumbling block…Could that someone be myself?”

CoP is now a global network of people working on different continents through Creators of Peace Circles, workshops, personal encounters, community building activities and international conferences - Caux, Switzerland ’91 and ’94, India 2001, Uganda 2005 and Australia 2009. A delegation attended the UN Women’s Conference in Beijing (1995).

Aims

• To engage women in their role as creators of peace at every level of society
• To promote the transforming dynamic of a change of heart, starting with oneself, as a primary tool of peace creation
• To pre-empt violence and despair by addressing the roots of conflict, in and around us
• To encourage and connect existing practitioners of peace building
• To raise awareness of the moral and spiritual prerequisite for effective social action
• To build just, caring and inclusive communities for all.

THE WHEEL OF ENERGY

The Eternal Light longs to be incorporated in us,
longs to become a glowing candle into hearts
which are humble,
hearts which are open,
steadfast,
listening and obeying.
Hearts which are lovingly given to that Light.

When such hearts unite
the wheel of energy starts rotating
throwing them out into unknown distances
as a group and as an individual to unknown shores.

They may create order and peace then.

Grant us that we may become Peace-builders,
ultimately Peace-givers.

HEARTS OPENING, HEARTS CLOSING....LET'S KEEP THEM OPEN!!! By Nick Ralls

My greatest desire is to keep my heart open... I use compassion as the tool to go into the world with an open heart, not judging, not setting myself apart from others who share my journey. I have the power to keep my heart open.

KEEPING our heart open is perhaps the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others and so often the most challenging thing we face.

Our heart opens when we connect.

Our heart closes when we buy into the illusion of separation... when we withdraw... keep to ourselves when we truly do not really want to... when we isolate... do not join in.

Our culture... our society... our politics... aren't they so often vying to close our hearts.

The biggest culprit is when we put our head to problems... when we begin to judge.

Guaranteed to close our heart are those judgments associated with isms... racism, sexism, ageism, classism and nationalism.

Globally and locally hearts close when we put up borders between peoples... when we restrict entry to people...when we say this person is not right for this person or indeed ourselves.

If we want to open our heart we can try being compassionate.

When we are compassionate we care... we start to understand... we see ourselves in the person whom we are being compassionate towards... With compassion comes sympathy... with compassion comes empathy... with compassion comes forgiveness for the person while not condoning poor behaviors...

We feel our hearts close when we have ill will to people, spite, malice, condemnation and hatred.

So often these feelings come out of emotional wounds and the pain we have gone through or witnessed at the hands of others.

But when we open our heart we can see the person for who they really are even if they have not showed up in the world as they really are. That is the key.

Sometimes we do not like others simply because their behavior... which is not really them at all... mirrors those aspects of us which we are so uncomfortable with because we are in those aspects not showing up who we really are.

With a closed heart, we cannot possibly reveal ourselves for the truth of who we really are.

It is in this realm of fear based thinking that we mistrust others... pull away from others who so much want to share their love...do not join in human connection...do not respond to the invitation... The closed heart disconnects... sets apart... is the cause of loneliness.

The open heart is the path to deep meaningful connection... to intimacy.. to sharing... to being socially attuned... to being human.

With an open heart it is so much harder, if not impossible, to harm or hurt others.

Opened heart people are the safest on the planet.

But with a closed heart we do not see our common humanity... we feel alienated.. superior or inferior... disconnected. And, yes, so dangerous.

The closed heart people are sometimes those who do hurt and harm one another... who think little of maiming or killing another human being whether in a so called legal framework or an illegal one.

We need the greatest compassion of all for those who do close their heart, whether occasionally, some of the time, most of the time or all of the time.

To the degree a heart is opened or closed will define the path and subsequent karma of the person involved.

Let us make it our mission in life to open our heart as much as possible.

Fear closes the heart... fear of rejection... fear of being judged... fear of being criticized..

Love opens the heart.... when we know that no one can reject us but ourselves... that no one can judge us but ourselves and what anybody thinks of us is really none of our business.

An open heart can never really be closed by anyone else.

It is only closed by us... When we really know and feel and are the love that we truly are then it will be hard indeed, and so unnecessary, to close that heart.

Let's push our hearts so open that they are very hard indeed to close.

THE DEEP VALUES THAT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART Written by Nick Ralls

I tune into the deepest values of my life...I find words that represent the truth of the highest vision of myself. These are my sacred words and they are the language of my heart. Let it be.

WHAT is the deepest value in your life?

Close your eyes, relax, breathe deeply and yawn.

Now focus on your deepest value, staying relaxed and find a single word that captures that quality.

Intently focus on the word for a minute and notice how you feel.

This can be your sacred word.

It is a word that speaks loudly from the core of your heart.

Maybe, the word was compassion... one of the strongest echoing of a heart united with others, seeking to understand, not to judge, to accept...

Or the word might be respect... respecting others for their path through life even if it does not accord with our own. Allowing others the freedom to be without condemnation, judgment or scorn.

Was love the word...the most powerful four letter word in our vocabulary... love is the total absence of fear and unity of all beings.

Truth is another high core word.. the truth of we really are. There is nothing greater than the truth.. nothing more sacred or true to our soul.

Another important aspect of love is gratitude... being grateful for all you have... for all that has happened for your greater good.

Or might the word have been kindness... peace... oneness...
healing...

If we take a few moments each day to reflect upon and to tune into our deepest values then we will bring more love and peace into our own lives and, therefore, into those who share our journey and into the world at large.

Let these deep values become our core beliefs of who we are in the world.

Let them replace the false beliefs, the limited views and thinking that we have taken on board.

And let them take us into love which is where we belong.

Away from fear where we do not belong.

In our hearts we find the sacred. Let it be.

THE DAY WE MAKE THE WISH OF OUR SOUL Written by Nick Ralls

Today I make a wish... I wish for world peace.. I wish for an end to poverty... a borderless world where compassion is in the heart of everyone. I go into that place inside of me where my soul lives and I know that I am pure love... and so you are... and in those moments of awakening I know nothing is impossible and I can fulfill all my dreams

FACED with a wishing well and we had one wish for all humanity what would it be?

What would you and I wish for?

For world peace... for an end to hunger... for unity... for joy... for happiness... for all aspects of love.

But all that we yearn for in our heart would come about if each and everyone on the planet loved themselves....

... loved themselves enough so that this love would be radiated outwards.

With self love in abundance comes the bonus of an open heart.

And with the bonus of an open heart comes a life of love... and when people love there can be no war, there can be no division, there can be no hunger, there can be no greed.

The love of the soul melts the personality of the ego.

When we go into that place inside of us where our own soul lives we do not think about the next pay check, the next flashy car or the next gold necklace.

We just revel in who we are.

We stand still... we stop and we reach that AHA moment in our own consciousness.

It is in that moment that the only thing that matters is love.

It is in that realization that the most important thing is how much I love you... and how much love I have in my own heart to make those wishes come true.

The dream starts to take shape.

We start to do work that improves not only ourselves but also makes the lives of others so much better.

We reach out to others... we bless them with our own loving heart... and give them permission to open theirs so that their own light and love can shine in the world.

We can say I LOVE YOU... with conviction... with purpose.

And it matter only that we are able to say it.. that we are able to feel it... and we are able to be the love that we so much wish to see in the world.

So take your wish.

You could wish for the next car... for the next job... or the pretty girl or boy.

But all this is trivial.. is so unimportant when we align it to the wish that is incumbent in our soul.

It is the wish of LOVE... pure love... unconditional love..the ability to see the beauty and truth and goodness in everyone. Yes, everyone.

And to reach that AHA moment.

Yes, that AHA moment when we can see the beauty of the universe in our fellow man or woman... and in so doing see it a reflection of all that we are.

We are at home.

We are in the garden of love.

We are love.


Yes, dear and beautiful friend.. do open your heart and share.

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A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Interfaith Peacebuilding

Greetings of Peace to you, my dear friends!

I had the great honor to be invited to the Consultation on Interfaith Peace Building in Cyprus, September 2010. This remarkable event was hosted by the "International Fellowship of Reconciliation - Women Peacemakers Program". The focus of this first consultation was the need for a Gender Perspective to be included in interfaith peace building efforts.

It was a wonderful experience to meet so many amazing women from all over the world, who had so much to share and contribute to this very important on-going work in the name of peace. I felt truly blessed to be in the presence of such dynamic women who do incredible work to make this world a better place for all of us. I was inspired and motivated to further continue in my commitment to peace work. I am delighted with the opportunity to work together in this genuine effort for peace building for the betterment of our humanity.

I fully support and endorse IFOR Women Peacemakes Program in their quest for creating a more peaceful world, through initiatives such as these. We would love your support and contribution towards these peace building efforts. For more information, please visit www.ifor.org or contact me personally.

Below is a brief description of IFOR -WPP's focus on interfaith peace building efforts:

On the verge of the tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325, the momentum is there to increase the support for women peacebuilders within the different faith traditions, as well as to support the inclusion of a gender perspective in faith-based and inter-faith peacebuilding. Pioneering progressive theologians and peace activists from different spiritual traditions and different regions are being formed as working groups to use the gender-perspective and the multiple roles of religion in current conflicts, both as cause of war and as incentive to peace building.

With much love and gratitude to the IFOR - WPP Team and to my beautiful sisters from around the world! Your presence was truly a gift and a memorable occasion for me.

Quotes and Thoughts

If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive.
If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred.

—Bhagavad Gita

What does truth look like? I can tell you.

Next time you your face in the mirror, look closely.

Don't look for defects; look for truth.

And when you see that person in the mirror, that's what truth looks like - You.

Here lies truth -- in you.

-- Prem Rawat

You are goodness and mercy and compassion and understanding.

You are peace and joy and light.

You are forgiveness and patience, strength and courage, a helper in time of need,

a comforter in time of sorrow, a healer in time of injury, a teacher in times of confusion.

You are the deepest wisdom and the highest truth;

The greatest peace and the grandest love. You are these things.

And in moments of your life, you have known yourself as these things.

Choose now to know yourself as these things always.

-- Neale Donald Walsch

Surrender means accepting this moment, this body and this life with open arms.

Surrender involves getting out of your own way and living in accord with a higher will,

expressed as the wisdom of the heart.

Far more than passive acceptance, surrender uses every challenge as a means of

spiritual growth and expanded awareness.

-- Dan Millman

My Work

My life's work and my life's purpose is all about LOVE. I will tie-in the topic of Love into any of my presentations, ranging from speeches given to Business Schools (creating a more loving atmosphere in the organization to induce harmony and cooperation) to presenting at Climate Change conferences (Changing the Climate from Fear to Love).

I have worked with many international organizations focusing on humanitarian issues, namely through education via training and consultancy work. Some of those I have worked with and continue to work with are:

• International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• UNHCR, UNESCO
• International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR)
• Women Peacemaker's Program
• Living Values Education Program (ALIVE)
• Faith Regen Foundation (UK)
• MADE in Europe

I am truly blessed to have had all this opportunity and I am excited with the upcoming projects to do meaningful work. My deepest appreciation to my European partner organizations who continue to show strong faith in me, through their loving collaborative work with me. And thank you, to each and everyone of you, for making my life's journey a little bit more special in your own magical way. My love and gratitude to everyone I have worked with, all the way from Malaysia to South Africa and beyond!

I would like to share with you,

my friend Harold's message:

Founder’s Global Love Day Address
May 1, 2010

Welcome Dear Friends to Global Love Day 2010,

This is a precious and essential moment on our beautiful planet as we gather around the world today in a unified expression of unconditional love. In every nation and in each culture, we come together as one heartbeat sharing the love that is our true and natural collective potential.

We choose on this day to embrace ourselves and each other and to celebrate our extraordinary humanity.

From the great oceans, vast plains and highest mountains that sustain our fragile and vital ecosystem, to our village friends and city dwellers that bring meaning to our common journey, we are quickly realizing that everyone and everything is interconnected and interdependent.

With each passing day, it is also increasingly evident in every corner of our world that great change is upon us and that by standing together in mutual respect, honor and dignity for one another, we will answer this call with creative, viable and sustainable solutions.

We must take the necessary steps now to reach out to our fellow humans and extend our hand in forgiveness, acceptance and genuine friendship. Our choices shall be made from compassion while embracing the richness of our amazing diversity.

The love and acceptance we have for ourselves will be the source of our strength to assist others. Together we can and will make a difference through love.

These necessary changes may challenge us to the depths of our courage and test the very essence of our personal character, yet with each ensuing breath we shall remain in love and this love will be the very basis of a new era of peace and abundance, equality and goodwill for all.

You are powerful beyond measure and have come together at this remarkable time to share your incredible wisdom, creative nature, and unconditional love, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation to each of you.

We welcome you to our seventh annual Global Love Day.

Love, light and peace,
Harold W. Becker
Founder and President
The Love Foundation, Inc.