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We are now into the third year of the new millennium. At midnight
in 1999, humanity celebrated as never before. We were one global
neighbourhood, delighting in our unity and in our differences;
partying, joyful and full of hope – a spirit that continued
for many with the television coverage of the Sydney Olympics.
In so many ways the transition into a new millennium signified,
at a popular level, transition into a new culture inspired by
the vision of human unity and interdependence.
This visionary spirit was reflected in two extraordinary documents.
The first, the Millennium Declaration, was produced at the end
of a special Summit of heads of state at the United Nations. This
was a negotiated, agreed statement of specific, targeted goals
towards the creation of a more compassionate, healthy and harmonious
world community. All 191 members of the UN agreed that by the
year 2015 they would, for example, work together to reduce by
half the proportion of people living on less than one US dollar
per day; and reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children
under five. Eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, and
Kofi Annan was instructed to make an annual report on progress
towards meeting those goals. You can read the goals and see how
we are doing online at www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
The second international document reflecting the spirit of a
new age, Manifesto 2000, drawn up by an assembly of Nobel Peace
Prize winners, is a simple statement of the ethics and values
which lie at the heart of the struggle to create a more enlightened
and unified world. Over 75 million people have signed a pledge
to strive to live their lives by these ethics for a new era. Check
it out, and sign the pledge, at www3.unesco.org/iycp/
But, as any practitioner of a spiritual path knows only too well,
clarity of vision can often induce crisis. Lesser goals, habits
and addictions, which may have been quietly sleeping, come to
the surface. And this, it seems, has been a major part of the
story of the new millennium. The visionary Millennium Goals stand
in apparent contrast to events in the Middle East and the tragic
events of September 11.
It is in this situation that people of spirit of all faiths who
recognize the potency of unified, consecrated thought have a particularly
vital role to play. How important it is in such times to hold
the vision in the light, and to think the vision through in its
deepest, spiritual sense. By holding these planetary festivals
in the light we can contribute greatly to the creation of an atmosphere
and environment of mind and heart in which cultures of peace and
right relations can develop and flourish.
Please click here to see new entries
Saturday 8 March
International Women’s Day
www.unac.org/en/link_learn/monitoring/rights_women.asp
www.un.org/events/women/2002/
The Feminine is on the rise in human consciousness and this key
festival is widely celebrated around the world. In our time the
rights of women, and the rights of children nourished by women,
are key issues in every modern society. Take, for example, this
statement from the United Nations:
Today a central organizing principle of the work of the United
Nations is that no enduring solution to society's most threatening
social, economic and political problems can be found without the
full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women.
We are entering an Age when Woman will stand with Man as equal
partner in all fields of life.
In the hands of woman lies the salvation of humanity and of
our planet. Woman must realize her significance, the great mission
of the Mother of the World; she should be prepared to take responsibility
for the destiny of humanity. Mother, the life-giver, has every
right to direct the destiny of her children. The voice of woman,
the mother, should be heard amongst the leaders of humanity. The
mother suggests the first conscious thoughts to her child. She
gives direction and quality to all his aspirations and abilities…
Helena Roerich
Friday 21 March
International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/issracis.htm
In the past fifty years much has been done to transform the attitudes
and values lying at the heart of racial discrimination. The law
has been changed in many countries to make discrimination illegal,
and Race Relations Commissions co-ordinate programmes to try to
eliminate discrimination. Yet still racism persists as one of
the prime diseases of the separative consciousness – an ancient
thoughtform in need of transformation.
This important international day reminds us of the work that
is needed in all societies to build an awareness of human unity,
and to render unacceptable all behaviour based on any sense of
racial superiority or separation. The challenge of our time is
to foster the ethics of human unity.
The Day marks the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre
in South Africa when 69 people were killed while protesting peacefully
against the apartheid Pass Laws.
Kofi Annan has spoken of March 21st as 'a day to celebrate the
many steps the world has taken to free itself from racial hatred',
and as 'a day to reflect on the challenges that remain, and our
commitment to overcoming them'.
Saturday 22 March
World Day for Water
www.worldwaterday.org
www.worldwatercouncil.org
2003 International Year of Freshwater
www.unesco.org/water/iyfw
Not only will World Water Day be celebrated in March, the whole
of the year 2003 is being observed as International Year of Freshwater.
Water, one of the four natural elements, is a necessity of life.
Throughout the ages it has been regarded as a symbol of purity.
In all religions water has deep significance.
Yet today there are not millions of people, but billions (2.4
billion people to be exact, or one-sixth of the world’s population)
who do not have access to clean water. And the same number of
people are without access to even a simple latrine. One of the
most successful agreements to come out of the Johannesburg Earth
Summit was a commitment (with funding for special programmes)
to halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking
water and sanitation by 2015. People of goodwill need to be aware
of this situation so they can keep up pressure on governments
to ensure that the commitments made at Johannesburg are kept.
Water will be in the news throughout the year – and Caduceus
readers will be especially interested in the remarkable project
‘Love and Thanks to Water’ which seeks to contribute
to the cleansing and purifying of the world’s water through
prayer. The Project founder, Dr Masaru Emoto, has shown through
photographs that prayer can change the crystalline structure of
water. People all over the world are invited to send sincere
Love and Thanks to all the water on Planet Earth on the 25th
day of every month – culminating in a special World Day of
Love and Thanks to Water on July 25th. Further information on
the web at: http://thank-water.net/english/
Monday April 7
World Health Day
www.who.int
Much of the illness and premature death in the world could be
prevented. On World Health Day the focus is on what can be done
to address the causes of ill health. According to the latest World
Health Report, 40 per cent of global deaths are caused by avoidable
risk factors. The five biggest killers in poor countries are:
malnutrition, unsafe sex, iron deficiency, unsafe water and exposure
to indoor smoke from solid fuels. In the richer countries the
five key killers are: tobacco, alcohol, high blood pressure, high
blood cholesterol and obesity.
This year the special theme for the Day is the need for healthy
environments for children.
Caduceus readers may also want to observe World Health
Day by holding in mind the network of all true healers in the
world – from orthodox and complementary disciplines. May
they be blessed in their work; and may all people of goodwill
be empowered in their efforts to foster health in mind, body,
spirit – for the individual and society.
Saturday May 3
World Press Freedom Day
www.rsf.fr (Reporters
Without Borders)
It is easy for those of us who live in liberal democracies to
take a relatively free press for granted. We can forget how fundamentally
important freedom of the press is to the health of a community.
Reporters Without Borders document the many areas of the world
in which journalists are far from free.
In Alice Bailey’s words ‘focused, determined, enlightened
public opinion is the most potent force in the world’. It
is public opinion that is demanding a more compassionate and unified
community. A press that is free from harassment and outside control,
and that
attracts responsible and far-sighted journalists is an essential
element in the awakening and mobilizing of public opinion.
This is a Day to celebrate those who struggle to win freedom
for the press; just as it is a day to reflect on the need for
a responsible, enlightened press.
We need a new information attitude, a new set of news values
and new training which enables us to make process reporting as
interesting and vital as we make the daily events we report. Reporting
process – finding answers to the questions ‘why’
and ‘how’ is the inner dimensions of journalism.
Tarzie Vittachi
Thursday 8 May
World Red Cross Red Crescent Day
www.icrc.org
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are one of the greatest
examples of organized goodwill activity in the world. Over 100
million Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and members provide
humanitarian assistance to people in need in all parts of the
globe. Since 1860 the movement has been saving lives and reducing
the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Thursday 15 May
International Day of Families
www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/
In this time of transition, families are under enormous stress
– yet the family remains at the heart of the human experience.
All in all it is the worst of times and the best of times.
In spite of all the dreary statistics about the family, never
before in the history of humankind has there been a greater opportunity
for family love based on true intimacy. I honestly believe that
we are standing on the foundations which will open up an area
of self-actualization and interpersonal co-creation – the
likes of which we’ve never known. All transitions are difficult.
We are in the open air between trapeze bars. The transition offers
us an evolution of consciousness. Like all previous evolutions,
growth and expansion are fraught with pain. But without pain there
is no gain. We must all ‘take the current where it serves,
else lose our venture’.
John Bradshaw
Thursday 22 May
International Day for Biological Diversity
www.biodiv.org
Marking the date of adoption of the Convention on Biodiversity
– focusing on actions being taken to conserve and protect
the fragile eco-system of the planet.
When we speak of ‘our planet’, ‘our climate’,
and the like, we must expand the notion of ‘our’ to
embrace our 30 million fellow species.
Norman Myers
Wednesday June 4
International Day of Innocent Children Victims
of Aggression
www.unicef.org/gmfc
Shining a light on the suffering of children who are the victims
of physical, mental and emotional abuse…and affirming a commitment
to protect the rights of children.
Humanity is organizing as never before to put children first
in the process of building a better world. This is a Day to celebrate
the millions of individuals and organizations working to protect
and preserve the rights of children. Nelson Mandela and Graca
Machel lead the Global Movement for Children, an inspiring force
for change involving ‘ordinary people’ and families
in all parts of the world.
Thursday June 5
World Environment Day
www.unep.org/wed
Widely acknowledged as the most important event in the environment
calendar, World Environment Day ‘inspires action by governments,
individuals, non-governmental organizations, community and youth
groups, business, industry and the media to improve their environment…’
This year’s theme: Water – Two Billion People are
Dying for It!
Tuesday June 17
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
www.unccd.int
Up to one quarter of the world’s surface is covered by dry
land areas. The fragile environment of these areas is under
serious threat – deserts are spreading at an alarming rate,
and drought is increasingly prevalent. The livelihood of over
one billion people is under threat. The Day reminds us of the
serious threat to the health of the planet, and of a vast array
of initiatives being undertaken in an effort to prevent the spread
of deserts.
Friday June 20
World Refugee Day
www.unhcr.ch
A day to reflect on the scope of the refugee problem (there are
an estimated 22 million refugees); the immense personal, family
and community suffering experienced by refugees; and the opportunities
which the refugee crisis presents all peoples to act on their
sense of interdependence and compassion.
Saturday June 21
World Peace and Prayer Day
www.worldpeaceday.com
Since 1996, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, leader of the Lakota, Dakota
and Nakota Tribes of North America (the Great Sioux Nation), together
with various other spiritual leaders, has performed a spiritual
ceremony at sacred sites in the US and around the world on this
Day. The Ceremony seeks to unite all peoples in prayer, asking
for Peace and healing for Mother Earth. In 2003 the ceremony will
be held in Australia. People from all nations are asked to offer
ceremonies at Sacred Sites.
All nations recognize Sacred Sites as places to gather or
perform private ceremony. For countless generations these sites
were honoured, cherished and strengthened through ceremony and
Our Mother remained healthy. To ensure the lives of future generations
for all our relations, we must begin again to honour, cherish
and renew Our Mother. We invite representatives of all faiths
throughout our global community to unite and participate in this
effort to bring about a positive shift of consciousness by connecting
with the earth’s sacred sites on June 21st, the Summer Solstice.
Thursday June 26
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
www.undcp.org
Whatever words we use, we must come to the realization of the
parallels within our internal environment to those priceless and
limited resources within our external environment. Humanity now
concerns itself with dangers from the abuse of our forests, our
atmosphere, our soil, our rivers and seas...
We must begin to talk about the atmosphere within the individual
body, its soil (our flesh and bones), its rivers and seas (our
arteries and veins). I suppose it is because we are so familiar
with our own bodies that the sense of wonder and preciousness
has not dawned upon us. We need scholars who will specialize in
the ecology of self-esteem for our bodies and gradually develop
programmes which will help every child and adult to explore the
once-for-all gift of an individual life.
Ted Noffs
Friday July 11
World Population Day
www.unfpa.org
One of the big fears of the past was the ‘population explosion’.
While global population is still growing, the startling news is
that fertility rates are declining and in the future we will start
to see a reduction in the total population figures. Women in the
developing world are having half as many children today as they
did in the 1960s. This is one of the great success stories of
human development.
The focus now is on further extending access to family planning
facilities and in raising the quality of reproductive health amongst
the poorest communities. Every minute, one woman dies during pregnancy
and birth because she did not receive adequate care and prompt
treatment. As the UN Population Fund reports: By channeling
resources to reproductive healthcare, we can save lives, stabilize
population growth, slow the spread of AIDS, reduce poverty and
foster gender equality.
Friday July 25
World Day of Love and Thanks for Water
www.thank-water.net
Visit this stunning website to learn more about the global day
when it is hoped large numbers of people will fill all the water
on planet earth with the highest energies of love and thanks.
First we are asked to send love and thanks to all the water in
our physical body, and then to all the water on the planet. Special
ceremonies will be held at the Sea of Galilee, Lake Starnberger
in Germany and Lake Biwa in Japan.
Water is the most ordinary matter on this planet, but at the
same time it is multidimensional and connected deeply with our
own consciousness. By sending our own Love and Thanks to water,
we believe that we can not only purify the water on this planet
but also raise our own collective consciousness towards the peace
of the world.
Project of Love and Thanks to Water
Saturday August 9
International Day of the World’s
Indigenous People
www.unhchr.ch/indigenous/main
This Day, together with an International Decade on the World’s
Indigenous People, is a sign of the growing concern for the rights
and welfare of indigenous communities. In past decades they have
suffered greatly as minorities in their own lands, yet the heart
values, passion for the Earth, and wholistic spiritual perspective
found amongst many Peoples of the Earth are now seen as a source
of inspiration.
The reciprocity of the experience of life with the earth,
with nature, with the places where the planet rests is natural.
And in those places where life is deeply altered, where the quality
of life is directed to other horizons, nature becomes shy not
because she has impoverished herself, not because she has lost
herself. Nature becomes shy because of our lack of care. Nature
becomes shy because of our lack of attention. When people open
their hearts and turn their attention (not the intellectual attention,
but the one of the spirit) to a sun’s ray that crosses the
sky and touches the ground, they are restoring a subtle level
of contact with life and nature. When the heart starts to beat
again in unison with the cycle of the winds, the rain, the moon,
this spiritual reintegration of the man with the place where he
dwells starts to unveil again and starts to run vividly inwardly
and outwardly.
Ailton Krenak
Tuesday, 12 August
International Youth Day
A Day to celebrate the contribution which young people have to
make to the creation of a new world.
Young people should be at the forefront of global change and
innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development
and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins,
all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people
have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their
societies.
Koffi Anan
Monday 8 September
International Literacy Day
www.unesco.org/education/ild
It is hard to imagine a more basic issue in development than literacy.
In the modern world the ability to read, write and count is essential
for survival. Just imagine how much more limited your world would
be if you could not read. Some 80% of adults over the age of 15
have learnt this skill – a remarkable achievement in human
evolution – but this leaves 20% of all adults who are illiterate.
Wednesday September 10
World Healing Day
www.worldhealing.co.uk
The World Healing Project is a series of initiatives to help foster
the healing of human and planetary relations through the expansion
of heart, mind, and spirit. World Healing Day has been observed
every year since 1996 in an effort to foster wider awareness of
the interconnectedness of the global family. Participants are
encouraged to link in meditation, prayer or thought for at least
20 minutes at 12 noon GMT and 16.30 GMT. (In the UK 13.00 and
17.30).
When people work together as a whole, the energy they produce
is greater than the sum of their individual energies. As well
as increasing the power of the healing, this also makes it easier
for others to change.
Tuesday 16 September
International Day for the Preservation
of the Ozone Layer
By tackling the greenhouse effect the world’s nations
will have to learn many new modes of collaborative endeavour.
The lessons will stand us in good stead as we then move to confront
other major issues of One Earth living.
Norman Myers
Sunday September 21
International Day of Peace
www.un.org/events/peaceday
Please join in the surge of support for this world-wide concentration
on peace. The Day will be observed with a global 24-hour Vigil
of Meditation and Prayer (organized by a network of religious
and spiritual groups – see www.idpvigil.com);
with ceremonies and rituals in schools and local centres; with
one minute of silence at noon; and with special initiatives to
create a day of global cease-fire and non-violence. In a short
ceremony at UN Headquarters, Koffi Anan will ring the Peace Bell
and there will be a constant vigil of meditation and prayer in
the Meditation Room at UN Headquarters. Further information on
the Day at www.pathwaystopeace.org
Sunday September 22
World Day of Planetary Ethics
www.planetaryvision.net
The Club of Budapest, together with a network of organizations
sponsors a Planetary Vision Festival, several international days
to call for a new planetaryconsciousness with appropriate values,
ethics and actions. September 22nd is observed as World Day of
Planetary Ethics.
The new conditions call for radically different ways of thinking
and acting. We must evolve our consciousness to the planetary
level. Ervin Laszlo
Friday October 4 – Thursday October
10
World Space Week
www.spaceweek.org
A Week to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology
to human betterment. This year’s theme: Space & Daily
Life. At a deeper level this is a week to reflect on our relations
with the cosmos, and the impact this has on our daily life.
Through our science we have created magnificent spacecrafts
and telescopes to explore the night and the light and the half
light. We have made visible things that are invisible to the unaided
eye. We have brought the dreamy heavens down to Earth, held them
in the mind’s eye. Our explorations have produced a vast
archive of remarkable astronomical images …. The riches are
too many for choices, the revelations beautiful and dreadful.
Who can look at these images and not be transformed? The heavens
declare God’s glory. Chet Raymo
Wednesday October 16
World Food Day
www.fao.org/wfd
A Day to focus on the task of ensuring that all people have enough
food for their basic requirements. In 1996 the international community
set a goal of reducing by half the number of hungry men, women
and children in the world. Achievement of that target would have
meant 20 million less hungry people every year. But we are a long
way from that target: over five years the number of hungry has
been reduced by 8 million a year.
Thursday October 17
International Day for the Eradication
of Poverty
www.undp.org/idep
Over 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty. Increasingly
international service organizations are directing their efforts
towards the task of reducing, and ultimately eliminating poverty.
This is a Day to empathize with the most vulnerable in the human
family, and to visualise a new will and resolve amongst peoples
and governments to address the causes of poverty.
Thursday October 24
United Nations Day
www.un.org/events/unday/unday01_e.htm
A Day to celebrate the United Nations, and to reflect on the UN
as an organization of we, the peoples of the world.
Year after year I increase my respect for the United Nations,
to the point that I consider it now as one of the greatest institutions
ever created by humans, a true meta-organism for the evolution
of the human species and of the planet. In it converge all aspirations,
dreams, differences, problems perceived by humans. These are being
resolved sooner or later thanks to the global consciousness which
has now grown world-wide as a major new evolutionary phenomenon.
Robert Müller
Thursday October 24 – Wednesday October 30
Disarmament Week
www.igc.org/disarm/
A Week to highlight the dangers of the arms race, promote recognition
of the need to stop the arms race, and increase public understanding
of the urgent tasks of disarmament.
Saturday November 16
International Day of Tolerance
www.unesco.org/tolerance/hometole.htm
A Day for reflection on the quality of tolerance, and the need
for tolerance in all societies.
If you are thinking a year ahead, sow seed. If you are thinking
ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking 100 years ahead,
make people aware. By sowing seed once, you will harvest once.
By planting a tree, you will harvest ten-fold. By opening the
minds of people, you will harvest 100-fold. Chinese proverb
Tuesday November 19
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
www.woman.ch/children/introworlday.asp
Child abuse, particularly sexual abuse, is a universal and alarming
problem. This special Day, held in synergy with Universal Children’s
Day on November 20th, is co-ordinated by the Women’s World
Summit Foundation. ‘Together let us create a culture of prevention’.
Send your love and healing energies to the children of the world.
Wednesday November 20
Universal Children’s Day
www.unicef.org
Commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of
the Child, a Day to celebrate children and the vision of a future
world in which the needs of children are given the highest priority.
Every child is a unique human being who deserves to be seen
without preconceptions. Anuradha Vittachi
Monday November 25
International Day for the Elimination
of Violence Against Women
www.unifem.undp.org/pr_idavaw.html
It is a shocking truth that, world-wide, a quarter of all women
are raped during their lifetime.
If we commit ourselves to creating a world free from violence
against women and girls, our children will say we stopped the
most universal and unpunished crime of all time against half the
people of the earth. Noeleen Heyzer
Sunday December 1
World AIDS Day
www.unaids.org/wac/2002/
‘The greatest single assault on humankind that we’ve
ever known, greater than war and greater than the Black Death’.
That is how UN Special Envoy to Africa, Stephen Lewis, summed
up the alarming rate at which HIV is spreading throughout the
world. In some countries of sub-Saharan Africa the virus affects
as many as 39% of adults. On World AIDS Day there is a real need
for ‘healers of the world’ to unite. Imagine the healing
energy that could be released through a day of co-ordinated inner
work. Imagine how this would enhance and empower all of the outer
efforts in AIDS education and research in complementary and orthodox
therapies that are focused around this special Day.
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Please write to me at:
info@intuition-in-service.org with news of international Days
for possible inclusion in future issues. Further information,
including suggested meditation outlines, from UN Days & Years
Meditation Initiative: www.UNmeditation.org
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Steve Nation has been involved
in service work inspired by the Alice Bailey teachings for many
years. Together with his wife, Jan, he established the non-profit
project Intuition in Service and the United Nations Days and Years
Meditation Initiative in 1999. He now lives in New Zealand.
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Share your thoughts and experiences
in the general discussion forum
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© Caduceus, 2003.
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