Read this online at www.intuition-in-service.org/newsletter/August18.html


Please Hold in the Light
August 2018

Welcome
During International Days and major international conferences there is a special opportunity to serve in the creation of a more unified and compassionate world.
As meditators we can symbolically stand together with all actively working in the spirit of the Charter of Compassion, and invoke the aid of the Forces of Light in support of these events.

Daily Reminder
Check out a daily reminder of these events to hold in the light. Share this daily reminder with others by including the app on your website.

Sustainable Development Goals & Climate Change 
These International Days and events reflect important themes in the mobilization of energies to:
  • End poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030 through practical actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
  • engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement. .
 
2018 United Nations International Year
  • Contrary to common practice, the United Nations has not declared 2018 as International Year for any specific topic.
 
Silence at the United Nations



The Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations gathers in the vicinity of UN Headquarters in New York (September - June) on the third Thursday every month for 30 minutes of silence followed by 30 minutes of dialogue, sharing insights and exploring ways to use an inner focus in service of the work of the UN. On the 1st Thursday of the month the Caucus invites friends to sit in silence for 30 minutes in the newly renovated Meditation Room at UN Headquarters in New York.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/

In August the Spiritual Caucus is on a summer recess.
 
 
 

August Please Hold These Events in the Light


August 6 & 9
Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Day will be observed in Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9 and around the world.

The World Peace Prayer Society (Thought forms create an energetic field strong enough to empower the course of planetary destiny) invites people around the world to watch a live broadcast of the Hiroshima Commemoration on UStream and to send prayers to Hiroshima.
www.ustream.tv

August 9
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

Theme 2018: Indigenous peoples' migration and movement
This Day, together with the Second 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 holistic spiritual perspective found amongst many Peoples of the Earth are now seen as a source of inspiration.
Indigenous peoples contribute extensively to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge.
There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. …

from State of the Worlds Indigenous People
www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/

August 10 - 13
The Youth Assembly

Theme 2018: Breaking New Ground for Sustainable Development
Youth leaders from around the world (ages 16-25) gather every year in in New York. The Assembly fosters youth action for sustainable development.
www.youthassembly.nyc/

August 12
International Youth Day

Theme 2018: Safe Spaces for Youth
There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world. This is the largest youth population ever. But 1 in 10 of the world’s [youth] live in conflict zones and 24 million of them are out of school. Political instability, labour market challenges and limited space for political and civic participation have led to increasing isolation of youth in societies.
www.un.org/en/events/youthday/ www.un.org/development/desa/

August 13 - 20
XXIVth World Congress of Philosophy, Beijing, China

Organized every five years by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies, the Congress aims to globalize philosophical investigations to encompass the diverse forms of philosophizing by past and present thinkers across cultures. Philosophical reflections on emerging global issues are encouraged.
wcp2018.pku.edu.cn

August 19
World Humanitarian Day

Theme 2018 Civilians are #NotATarget
This Day celebrates and shines a light on humanitarian aid workers around the world while also honoring those who have been killed or injured in the course of their work. The Day commemorates the tragic bombing of the UN Office in Iraq on 19 August 2003.
Humanitarian aid workers can be international, but most come from the country in which they work. They reflect all cultures, ideologies and backgrounds and they are united by their commitment to humanitarianism.
www.un.org/en/events/humanitarianday/

August 22 - 23
67th United Nations Dept. of Public Information / NGO Conference, UN Headquarters, New York

Theme 2018: We the Peoples … Together Finding Global Solutions for Global Problems
Described as the premier event for NGO's at the UN,this years conference wil be attended by over 2000 people from more than 100 countries. This years gathering provides an opportunity for NGOs and UN officers to consider the significant challenges and opportunities facing multilateral cooperation, and to explore deepening ties between NGOs and the UN.
outreach.un.org/

August 23
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

This is a Day to celebrate humanity's achievement in abolishing the slave trade, and to reflect upon the history of the relations between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The process that led to the abolition of the slave trade began on the night of 22 to 23 August, 1791 when the slaves of Saint-Dominque and Haiti rose up in rebellion.
Meditators can reflect on the deep significance to the goodwill movement of the struggle against slavery, and its eventual abolition. This was a moral revolution of enormous significance. Yet although law abolished the slave trade, slavery continues to be practiced throughout the world, and the struggle against slavery continues in many fields of human relationship. The principles of freedom and human rights are now deeply ingrained in the conscience - the struggle is to bring these principles into expression.
www.unesco.org

August 26
Full Moon - Virgo

Since ancient times human beings have honored the full moon as a time when the sacred is most accesible. It is a time of light - the moon reflects the light of the sun onto the face of the earth. In astrology this is a time when the qualities and potentials of the zodiacal sign of the sun are especially available to humanity for use in service.
During the full moon religious and esoteric groups around the world use the opportunities of this time to vizualize light and love and spiritual power flowing into humanity and strengthening all that is being done to help prepare the way for a world of unity, justice and peace; a world in which the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved.
www.lucistrust.org
www.worldservicegroup.com/

August 26 - 31
World Water Week

2018 theme: Water, ecosystems and human development
World Water Week in Stockholm, involving over 300 collaborating organizations, is the annual focal point for the globe’s water and development issues. World Water Week provides a unique forum for the exchange of views, experiences and practices between the scientific, business, policy and civic communities. It focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction agendas.
www.worldwaterweek.org/

August 29
International Day Against Nuclear Tests

On this United Nations Day the goal is to encourage governments, ngo's and all concerned parties to raise awareness of the need to ban nuclear tests as a valuable step to achieving a safer world.
It is a little known fact that, as a result of regional treaties, the entire southern hemisphere of the planet is now a virtual nuclear weapons free zone. On July 17 2017 the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted. This is the first multilateral legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years, by 122 countries.
www.un.org/en/events/againstnucleartestsday/

August 30
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

Enforced disappearances (including arrests, detention and abduction)have frequently been used by military dictatorships and political groups to spread terror in a society and eliminate opposition.
Reflecting a growing concern amongst governments as well as people of goodwill, UN member states have recently adopted an International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and, since 2011, have observed August 30 as this International Day. www.un.org/en/events/disappearancesday/