Read this online at www.intuition-in-service.org/newsletter/December15.html


Please Hold in the Light
December 2015

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 hold these events in the light of a Higher Wisdom.

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 new Sustainable Development Goals
  • engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement.
 
2015 United Nations International Years
 
2016 United Nations International Years
 
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 December the Spiritual Caucus will gather in the UN Meditation Room on December 3rd and at the Conference Room of the NGO Resource Center at UN Headquarters in New York on December 17 from 1.30 - 2.45 PM.
 
 
 

December Please Hold These Events in the Light


November 30 - December 11
Paris Climate Summit - COP 21

Over 750,000 people joined public marches around the world in the weekend leading up to the Paris conference. This is the largest ever mobilization of public opinion on the issue. At events in 75 countries, marchers called for leaders to be more ambitious in their plans to act on climate change. In spite of the ban on public marches in Paris, thousands of people linked hands in a courageous, popular display of pressure for stronger action by Governments at the conference.
The Global Convention on Climate Change summit which will be attended by over 130 heads of state is expected to reach agreement on the world's first ever climate agreement - and this is what makes it so significant a step in the emergence of a more unified global focus on ending poverty, inequality and climate change. Yet the agreements of governments at Paris are not expected to be sufficient to reduce rising temperatures, and simply mark one important step forward.
Beyond the government negotiations, Paris will see an assembly of tens of thousands of participants from civil society, local government, business, education and the arts who will be co-ordinating their own actions to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, develop renewable energies and foster just economic relations as well as pressuring their governments.
Paris will see a microcosm of spiritually-aligned networks and movements that are leading the way forward. Programs of meditation and prayer in support of the best possible results of the Paris conference include the visualization initiative from World Goodwill, Cycle of Conferences - www.worldgoodwill.org/cycle

Official source for news on outcomes from the conference: newsroom.unfccc.int/paris/

Official guide to the daily agenda at the conference as well as the civil society meetings and seminars and the live webcasts of the conference - newsroom.unfccc.int/cop21parisinformationhub/

Independent daily reports and news: www.climatenetwork.org/event/paris-climate-summit

Popular global mass movement: 350.org/paris/

December 1
World AIDS Day

2015 theme: On the fast Track to End AIDS
Already 15 million people are accessing life-saving HIV treatment, new HIV infections have been reduced by 35% since 2000 and AIDS -related deaths have been reduced by 42% since the peak in 2004.
To end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals will require investment, commitment and innovation to be accelerated.
www.unaids.org/en/resources/
UN Aids Day

December 1
#Giving Tuesday

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Join us and be a part of a global celebration of a new tradition of generosity.
www.givingtuesday.org/

December 2
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Millions of men, women and children around the world are forced to lead lives as slaves. Although this exploitation is often not called slavery, the conditions are the same. People are sold like objects, forced to work for little or no pay and are at the mercy of their 'employers'. more The UN reports that almost 21 million men, women and children are today victims of slavery and forced labor.
Slavery was, in a very real sense, the first international human rights issue to come to the fore. It led to the adoption of the first human rights laws and to the creation of the first human rights non-governmental organization….
On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts so that the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- "no one shall be held in slavery or servitude" -- ring true.
- Kofi Annan

www.un.org/en/events/
www.iloartworks.org


December 3
International Day for Persons with Disabilities

2015 theme: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities
Over a billion people, approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Following the historic passage of a global Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities there has been a growing recognition by governments and civil society that any plans for human development must include and involve the community of people living with disabilities.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.un.org/disabilities/

December 5
World Soil Day

Theme 2015: Soils a solid ground for life
Soils have been neglected for too long. We fail to connect soil with our food, water, climate, biodiversity and life. We must invert this tendency and take up some preserving and restoring actions. The World Soil Day campaign aims to connect people with soils and raise awareness on their critical importance in our lives.
The day marks the end of the International Year of Soils www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/ www.fao.org/soils-2015/events/

December 5
International Volunteer Day

2015 theme: Your World's Changing - Are You?: Volunteer!
A day to celebrate the goodwill energy radiated throughout the human family by volunteers. Every society in the world relies on a vast network of volunteers to bring the energies of heart into community.
Volunteer Day offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions - at local, national and international levels - to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Over the years, rallies, parades, community volunteering projects, environmental awareness, free medical care and advocacy campaigns have all featured prominently on Volunteer Day.
In a world dominated by self, volunteers are catalysts in the generation of the selfless spirit. Volunteers bring soul into community. Because volunteers in human development and environment issues are, more often than not, acting from idealistic and altruistic motives they bring a spiritual force into their own communities and the communities they serve. In the process of serving others, volunteers become a source of inspiration. They help to create an atmosphere of hope and goodwill that can be the critical transforming factor in ending a cycle of poverty and despair.
Yet bringing soul into community is not only about inspiration and vision. It is about meeting the most basic human needs at all levels - physical as well as psychological. Volunteers play a crucial role in every area of life, in all parts of the world. Wherever people are in need, volunteers are at hand to assist. In times of disaster, governments turn to voluntary agencies for all manner of expertise and assistance. And volunteers are key agents in tackling the silent disasters and human tragedies associated with poverty, pollution, disease and conflict.

www.un.org/en/events/
www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/

December 9
International Anti-Corruption Day

Attitudes on corruption are changing. As recently as ten years ago, corruption was only whispered about. Today there are signs of growing intolerance toward corruption and more and more politicians and chief executives are being tried and convicted.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption - which entered into force in December 2005 - is both a cause and an effect of this trend. Its provisions are the most comprehensive, universal and even-handed measures for tackling this global challenge. The Convention subjects all the State Parties to the same scrutiny and sets clear rules to be applied equally to all.
www.un.org/en/events/anticorruptionday/
www.actagainstcorruption.org/
www.transparency.org

December 9
International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

This United Nations Day was unanimously proclaimed by the General Assembly in September this year. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the 1948 Genocide Convention (adopted on 9 December) and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as defined in the Convention, and to commemorate and honour its victims.
www.un.org/en/events/genocidepreventionday/

December 10
Human Rights Day

2015 theme: Our Rights.Our Freedoms. Always
On 10 December every year, Human Rights Day commemorates the date on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaiming its principles as the "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."
This year’s slogan, Our Rights.Our Freedoms. Always,aims to raise awareness of the two international Covenants on Human Rights, which mark their 50th anniversary: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ohchr.org/

December 11
International Mountains Day

2015 Theme: Promoting mountain products for better livelihoods
International Mountain Day is an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the world’s mountains and highlands.
Many of the world's great mountain regions have long been considered to be sacred. See for example:
Nine Sacred Mountains of China;
Sacred Mountains, Themes and Teachings by Edwin Bernbaum.
www.fao.org/forestry/
www.mountainpartnership.org/
www.un.org/en/events/mountainday/

December 18
International Migrants Day

International Migrants Day is observed on December 18 to mark the anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly, in 1990, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. During the last decade migrants have made up around 3% of the global population — 214 million people are today classified as migrants.
Migrants contribute greatly to the sense of cultural diversity in modern societies, and to our appreciation of the oneness of the human spirit. They give us the experience of living in a global neighborhood. Yet migrants are often subject to discrimination and exploitation. In a world of unity in diversity all communities are challenged to ensure that migrants are treated with humanity and their rights respected.
The Day will be observed by Migrants groups as The Global Day of Action for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.globalmigrantsaction.org/
www.gfmd.org/

December 20
International Human Solidarity Day

Convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important for combating poverty, the UN General Assembly, in 2005, proclaimed 20 December as International Human Solidarity Day.
It is to be observed as :
  • A day to celebrate our unity in diversity
  • A day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements
  • A day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
  • A day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals including poverty eradication
  • A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace. - John Paul II.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.facebook.com/

December 25
Full Moon - Capricorn

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 Millenium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved.
www.lucistrust.org
www.worldservicegroup.com