November 29, 1996

This is the time, this is the hour of the big decision. About 10 years ago I started writing a book after receiving a powerful impulse from within, a book about a child who discovers he is One with all Life on Earth and who also discovers that we, the people of this world, are destroying our common web of Life, unravelling one by one the threads which have been holding it together for hundreds of millions of years. I was shaken to the bottom of my soul, as were many other people who read this book, by the incredible challenge we all face. Either we all band forces together and change the course of history, or we all fall into the abyss of an ecocataclysm like no other before in the whole history of this planet.

Prompted by a keen desire to contribute to a global awakening of humanity as to our common responsibility to avert the impending catastrophe, but also gently thrust forward by my inner, outright confidence in our ability to face the Thing we have unleashed and then succeed in turning around the whole situation - while at the same time claiming our true, and I would even say, divine birthright of spiritual oneness with the Universal Intelligence behind the whole creation - I jumped into action and initiated the organization of a global telethon to be called the Earth Concert.

Countless hours of feverish work followed during a two year period. Thousands of letters were mailed and hundreds received from around the world. Phone calls and faxes poured at any time of the day and night from dozens of countries in every continent. Seven major trips to the Unites States and Europe were made to meet with various people, participate to organizational meetings and get things going. Hopes of a big event with major stars participating to over a dozen national concerts kept building. The satellite time for a 12 hour broadcast was almost booked and a production team nearly put together. Yet, despite an all-out effort to find enough financing to produce the televised event, no one came forward to bankroll the dream and no big Earth Concert took place on the TV screens around the world.

Still, on December 31st 1989 the unexpected took place! Over 20 concerts, some small, many quite big, took place around the world in 15 different countries. Three were even televised nationally! Thanks to the ceaseless efforts of local and national organizers who took up the dream of celebrating our coming into the 90's and raising awareness about the need to protect the environment and safeguard our planet against any additional ecodamage, millions of people in over 40 countries were made aware of this project. Along with hundreds of other NGOs dedicated to the fight to save our planet, locally and globally, this humble initiative started by one man, wholeheartedly supported by his life mate and dozens of local contacts and co-workers from around the world, contributed significantly to the birth of a new environmental awareness that to this day has had a major influence in the affairs of this world.

Now, almost three years before the crucial, almost mythical and quite epochal date of the year 2000, the time has come to revive the Great Hope of a coming together of humanity as One United Family celebrating peacefully and with conscious intent, not the fact that we turn a new page on our calendars, but the fact that, against all odds, we are succeeding in making the transition from one of the most destructive and bellicose centuries of our history into a new era that, hopefully, will be under the banner of Peace, Sharing and Unity for all beings on Earth. The choice is ours, individually and collectively, to open our hearts to this real possibility, and take the necessary steps to gradually shift our whole world towards a more benign and balanced way of living on this land of plenty. This is not an impossible dream for it is already happening all around and within us.

The only problem is that most of us have not seen it yet, because it has not properly come into focus within our minds to be acknowledged and really empowered by all our thoughts, hopes and deeds. The global organization of a massive event, joining together all the brothers and sisters of our great human family in a common celebration of our hopes for a better future on the eve of the 3rd millennium, could be just the right thing to do to bring that awareness into sharp focus for all to see and cherish.

Imagine for a moment... In parks and venues all around the world, millions of people have come together to celebrate and have a Big Bash while large viewing screens are showing images from around the world of people doing just the same thing and watching similar viewing screens. Billions of TV viewers at home are also watching and joining in their hearts this global moment of Unity. At a predetermined moment a solemn ceremony begins with appropriate symbolism and grandeur to mark the beginning of the new millennium. Dignitaries, celebrities, kings and prime ministers from all countries stand together around a huge globe representing our planet to accentuate the momentous importance of what is about to happen. Then runners bearing a symbolic flame of Life and leading a group of people from their respective countries, people from every culture and land of this immense world, converge like a sublime gathering of all the tribes to join the official delegates circling the central globe. We then see successive close-up views of indigenous people from Amazonia, from the heart of Africa, from North America, from Asia and Europe, from the Pacific islands and the taigas of the North, from all the corners of this magnificent planet, all dressed in their traditional attires, marching solemnly towards the center, accompanied by people from the other cultures now sharing the land with them, each group joining successively the central gathering as the world is watching the rich diversity of our human family.

As people from all over the world watch this live on TV, they all have this inner realization, viewing the representatives from their culture joining the big circle, that they too are represented at this Global Gathering and that for the First Time in the whole human history, the entire human family is about to join hearts in a shining moment of collective At-One-Ment, changing forever the inner sense and view we have on all other humans, no longer strangers from faraway lands, but true brothers and sister in the universal Circle of Life.

The momentum is growing apace as the last groups join the crowd of thousands of people now gathered around the slowly rotating Earth globe in the middle of the vast open-air amphitheater. Then the final ceremony begins as all the torch bearers come forward to simultaneously communicate the fire coming from the farthest reaches of all lands to this huge Torch of Hope above the globe that will keep burning afterward for the duration of the whole year, and maybe for years to come, as a living symbol of our global commitment to make our world a better place to live for all generations to come. A long moment of silence and inner presence to the magic of this instant allows every human being enough time to truly commit his or her remaining days, months and years of life on this planet to do the best he or she can to contribute to the betterment of the world. A Declaration of Intent, possibly the only moment of talking during this whole ceremony, coalesces in a few well crafted words the spirit of the moment and spells our common hopes for the future. Simultaneously translated in all languages through national televisions and radios all over the world, these few well chosen thoughts help us all, just before the moment of silence, to join our minds in a common appreciation of the New Reality now dawning on Earth.

Then the torch bearers lift their torches and communicate the fires of our hopes and dreams to the central torch that springs to life, illuminating the whole audience. After a moment of awe, the whole audience bursts into applause and then la fÍte begins! A properly conceived musical and theatrical event follows and continue late in the night... And the world is changed forever.

Imagination can give an ephemeral reality to what has just been described, but human ingenuity and a lot of dedication and heart must be devote by a great number of people to make such an event possible. I may say, on the basis of my previous experience, that I know what I'm talking about in this regard, but I believe it will be beyond anything anyone could even try to figure out... and I'm sure you will agree with me on this. Despite our best intents and the great desirability of such a momentous event, mountains will have to be moved to make anything remotely similar to this vision possible. Yet, faith can move mountains! So, let's get the ball rolling...

Or at least, let's see who wants to help get the ball rolling. I'm just one guy with a vision and a complete trust in the force of God - or whatever one may want to call this Force. I will do my part. I will get on the Net, and ask some help from whoever will want to respond to this. And then we will see. I won't drop out and abandon once it get started. This I promise. Whatever happens, I will follow through with the best I can put forward to contribute. But I will never try to drag this ball alone. This must be humanity's project! Not mine. So the ball is rolling. Who wants to push it with me? Give me a call, mail, fax or e-mail a letter and tell me what could be your contribution. If enough goodwill manifest - and I'm sure there will be plenty - I will let you know in due time, preferably through the Internet, but also through the mail if you wish (so provide me with a couple of International postal coupons when you write me to get a feedback if you are not on the Net). And keep in mind that proper financing, serious organizational skills and a heartfelt and steady commitment are a must for such an endeavour to succeed.

Please do not expect a personal response to your written communications with me as I might soon not have enough time to do so. But I will have an e-mail address next week as well as a home page and your letters or at least the essence of it will be posted there for all those interested to read - unless you request me not to do so. Please mention if you need to keep your e-mail and/or mailing address confidential for otherwise it will also be posted with your communications. A discussion will build up, other similar projects (as there are a few others, but not necessarily similar in scope and purpose) will be approached for an eventual collaboration on this, a plan will take shape with target dates for things to be done and so on. Help will be needed in all domains. So please, feel free to spread the word around if you think of anyone who might be willing to contribute his or her expertize, but please do not get this into any media just yet as a solid foundation must be in place before introducing this concept to a larger audience; and it must be done at the right time and in a proper way for it to be credible. Thank you!

So what else can be said now!... I just wish us all to succeed in putting together such an event as it obviously would facilitate the emergence of a better future for us all and for our beleaguered, yet so lovely planet.

May we enter the 21st century united and invigorated by a common, powerful and empowering vision of our future. Love to all of you!


Jean Hudon
E-mail: globalvisionary@cybernaute.com.


P.S. I should mention that the following letter sent to me a couple of months ago by Jeremy Burnham, from South Africa, has played a key role in rekindling my interest to undertake such a project.

"Dear Jean! Some seven years have passed since we met in Brussels, in such high hopes of an Earth Concert to herald in the decade of the 90's. And your Immortal Child book has just come back to me (given away years back, but somehow now reclaiming my attention). I realise I never properly read it then, and so never gave myself the gift that you had prepared. I think it is probably true of all of us (maybe even yourself) who met around that table. The book came to seed the energy into the Earth's human consciousness, but at a yet homeopathic level. I think the time to bring it out into the open, to materialise it, is now with us. I don't know whether you are still there, or what you are up to, but I think an Earth Concert 2000 (or even 1999?) is now both attainable and ready for itself. Maybe you have already started things moving in that direction. This is just to say, I am still here, and now ready to make it happen. My companion at the Brussels meeting is no longer with us, but there are many talented people worldwide now waiting for the right project to focus their delight and enthusiasm. Maybe this is it."

In addition, 2 days after writing this call for an 'Earth Concert 2000', I received a phone call out of the blue from Lee, another key helper for the first Earth Concert effort, with whom I didn't have any communication for years and who was calling me precisely to talk about another Earth Concert! What a coincidence... if you see what I mean! Lee is once again fully committed to help make this happen. A week later I received the news by fax from Jeremy that his wife Naomi also wants "to be part of creating an event to celebrate and welcome the millennium". Her advice is "Take it slowly, there is plenty of time. If this event is to happen in the right spirit, it must be so from the start. First bring together a nucleus of a few strong, grounded, clear people, and create a strong, grounded, clear bond between them. (...) Then, take it easy. If this is to be a celebration to seed the way for the future, it has to be simple, elegant and fun - all of it. If at any stage it seems to be a struggle, this just means it is off course somewhere.(...)"

P.P.S. Four months later, more than 15 people are involved at various degrees. And since February 13, 1997, anyone is now able to visit the Earth Concert 2000 Web site at http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000.

You may download this letter to share the vision of the Earth Concert with others, the Earth proclamation, and much more information in the Background Material section where you will find several emails sent out by the participants to this co-creation process as it took shape since the very beginning. New material will be regularly posted there for all to see where we are going with this.

We also plan to create a Web Board to share the emails of the growing number of participating people, and information will be provided upon request about this to those who wish to take part in our ongoing discussion. You just have to send me an email through the Earth Rainbow Network section of this site.






The vision is taking shape

January 19, 1997 By Jean Hudon

"The Earth Concert 2000
a renewed effort to unite our world
in a spirit of hope and responsibility
for our common future."


Introduction

I would like first to thank all those involved in the discussions so far for their enlightened collaboration in designing what contribution we could all bring to the upcoming new millennium celebrations. This is an open and ongoing process and I would like to extend an invitation to all those reading this to join our discussions and contribute with their own perspective to this collective endeavour.

Being the initiator of these discussions, I bear a special responsibility in trying to forge the basis of a common vision of our purpose and to formulate synthesis statements that could form the basis of our common approach to implement this vision. I do not intend to direct in any way the process, but I will need, by the very nature of my role, to orient the focus of our discussions so as to aim at achieving some significant results.

It all started with this vision I got last November 29, 1996, when I suddenly had a clear and powerful vision of what could be the key moment of the new millennium globally televised celebrations. As described in the first presentation letter (above), I envisioned hundreds of people coming from all over the world and, literally, representing every single culture and people of this planet, sharing together and with the rest of the world a moment of silent collective attunement as our world is faced with the daunting task of sharing more fairly the bounties of the Earth while making the urgently needed changes required to protect and restore the fragile balance of our endangered global environment.

The feeling of unconditional love and complete inclusiveness I experienced while "assisting" to this potential coming together of our global human family left a profound and indelible mark in my soul... and prompted me on the spot to take the decision to dedicate all my creativity and skills in the next few years to help make this vision happens. Although this self-assigned task may appear presumptuous or simple unfeasible, I nevertheless have a complete faith in the divine providence that whatever needs to be done will be achieved to make this dream of global unification come true.

Still, much groundwork needs to be done in the "real" world of human relationship for this one vision to be recognized by other equally inspired humans and blended into a collective achievement that will help change the course of our destiny. We are now millions of people all over the world who have awakened to the high-level risk of pursuing the same route of over exploitation of our global environment and desecration of all life forms that can but lead us into oblivion. Millions more have also started to change their ways so as to lessen the impact of their existence in this world. Still, the wheel of change may not be turning fast enough yet to avert the incalculable loss of life and unbearable suffering that will ensue if we don't all agree that things much change, and very quickly.

But there is hope, as there has always been, for we are not left alone in this predicament. Countless invisible signs and subtle nudges coming from within us are elbowing us in the right direction. There is no fear to have. We can succeed! And I trust we will! For we have the wisdom of the stars reaching into us to guide us onto the best route to our future destiny. These words may not sound logical or simply not be understandable for those still caught in the glare of the superficial materialistic culture of our world, but those who have opened themselves to the still small voice within know this is ringing true, somewhere within. We have the power to create a new world of plenty for all, a world where no child will go his or her whole life needlessly suffering from lack of food, care and love - a world where the ideal of peace won't be a vain promise amidst a torrent of deadly weapons, but a deeply felt reality for every single human.

It is guided by such a vision for our common future that we would like to share this work of renewal with a growing number of people from around the world. So now that you know what we are all about, where we want to go, let's see how we can trace the road on the map leading us to this promised land. There might be some bumps on the road ahead and some hard to cross passes up in the mountains of our dreams, but with the confidence of one who knows his power and inner resources, let's start threading the path leading to our goal. The voyage is the teaching and the ultimate goal may forever remain out of reach. So let's enjoy the ride! Do you want to come along with us?

"Look forward to more understanding and an opening of communication at many levels."

Naomi


The Next Steps
Now, I would like to share with you what has been my experience since starting this. I think that to give an idea as to where I feel we should go from here, I will simply try to relate as best as I can the successive discoveries I have made as I was looking around on the Internet for other similar projects and as I was sending and receiving emails to and from a very small number of people interested in this project. This way you will find out as well where this could all be going.

If you really want to get the complete picture since the very beginning, you may read the email communications exchanged between the first people interested by this project by looking at this Background Material ­ this is a big file though -200K+ - so be patient. You will also find a list of all the related web sites I have visited so far [under Useful Links] to find out what others are preparing for the year 2000.

Judging from the numerous initiatives and projects concerned with the new millennium, there is a growing number of people who have recognized the year 2000 as being - potentially - a moment of great importance to create a renewed momentum to foster a better understanding of our various cultures and create better conditions for peace, justice and environmental protection. But the year 2000 is also seen by many governments and entrepreneurs as an excellent opportunity to launch major job creation schemes and promote tourist-oriented fairs, parties and tours to capitalize upon the great interest generated by this unique event. We should also mention that for all countries, including in Asia and in the Middle East, the year 2000 is also a significant date since many people apparently display our western calendar along with the calendar of their own culture. But for most other people struggling on a day-to-day basis to make a living or simply to survive, the relative importance of this date is still far from their daily preoccupations.

Nevertheless, the awareness of the potential of this event in time is bound to become universal. Still, I believe, as others do, that many would be happy with simply having a Bigger Bash on that particular night and then continuing their daily routine as before without much concern for the future of this world. This is a fact to be kept in mind as the natural inertia of people, in front of any change deemed important, will keep their expectation low and therefore won't contribute to create a momentum for such a change. This is precisely why I feel - as others do - that we should not let this opportunity seep through our fingers and thus not take advantage of the great potential for awakening and change that lies in it. Otherwise, it could well be just another Bigger Bash. This is, I guess, the first common realization about this.

But then, there are many well-intentioned projects already presented to the world as THE right way to celebrate this special New Year's eve, some of them involving a fair amount of consultation with other people and groups within their country or region, but most of them being a "single-handed" effort aiming at achieving on their own strength this noble goal without any real involvement in the designing process from people of many other countries and different cultural backgrounds. I see this as a pitfall we should avoid by all means but also as a major challenge since it is easier to make it happen your own way, as for the Times Square Millennial project (which appears to be an all-American approach and effort, though I do not have enough information yet to make a definitive assessment on this), than trying to bring people with diverse background to efficiently collaborate together on such an endeavour. But I believe that for this Millennial event to "belong" to the world as a whole, people from as many countries as possible should be involved in the designing and planning process.

I see parallels or examples of this in previous efforts and can appreciate the value of going this worldwide way. The Earth Day 1990 involved nearly 300 million people from all over the world in local activities to promote sustainable development and the protection of the environment. The US organizers of this event really empowered people in other countries to participate in their own way to this collective awareness-raising effort and the very success of Earth Day stems from this collaborative approach. Similarly, the organizers of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro strived hard from the very beginning to involve non-governmental organizations from all over the world in participating to this major UN conference and subsequently a parallel Forum was held in Rio to give a voice to the people of the world that could not be heard at the official governmental summit. The same parallel events and Forums occurred afterwards at all major UN organized world summits, including the G7 annual summits.

I believe that the organization of the year 2000 Millennial Celebrations must also involve as many people and organizations as possible from all around the world for it to be a real collective event. This is why, in our email discussions, we quickly and spontaneously felt the need to establish what I first called a "Global Rainbow Coalition" to join as many groups as possible in this project. Now after some more thinking on this, I came to realize that the specific name of this gathering of Year 2000's related initiatives is quite important in itself to properly characterize what it is intended to be. I would now like to propose the name "Earth Rainbow Network" for it, and here is why.

* "Earth", because it is open to the participation of - and designed for - people from all over the earth. Not "Global" because this word could have some negative connotations, not "Millennium" either for, as I realized, what is now being proposed could be a vehicle for other future concerted actions beyond the Year 2000's specific events. Why disbanding this once the Big Event is passed when we could continue to do something along the same lines every year afterwards? There won't never be too many events bringing closer our planetary human family; in fact, there are certainly not enough of these all-inclusive events now!

* "Rainbow", because we find all the colors in the spectre of the rainbow, just as we want to have all the cultures, races and tribes represented in this Millennial event we are going to plan together. Also because a rainbow is a natural phenomenon occurring on special rare occasions when unique conditions are met, just as when the sun will rise for the first time at the dawn of the new millennium. "Rainbow" is to me a synonym for "all-inclusiveness" and the perfect symbol for the harmonious and peaceful world we all want.

* "Network", because what we are going to have here is not a centralized effort with one single group deciding on behalf of everyone else, but a loosely knitted network of people and organizations collaborating in a fluent manner to a generally agreed common goal. In such a network, as in the natural ecosystems linking millions of different species loosely cooperating to the goal of sustaining the harmony of the whole, every part of the network is as essential as any other to the balance of the whole. A magic spontaneously operates in such an environment whereas the part most able to fulfil a need naturally takes its proper "niche" to help achieve the common goal. Trust is the rule and assuming our own responsibility the duty of each.

So if you agree with these perceptions, and want to acknowledge your inner desire to contribute to the common effort, whatever it will mean, wherever it will lead (for no one knows for sure what the end result will be - but we can all certainly agree as to where we are generally headed) then, the Earth Rainbow Network is born! Please look in the Earth Rainbow Network section of this Web site to signify your desire to share in the co-creation process now in the work. You may also email me (or mail a letter/send a fax) whatever you want to say about this and I will let you know how to join the Internet forum we are setting up, if you want to take part in our discussions.

We will list there all those people and organisations wishing to share with others through this site what they are preparing to celebrate the beginning of the new millennium. And of course links will be provided to their own Web sites for those who want to know more and/or get involved. But most importantly, your participation to this process will mean that you want to cooperate with other like-minded people and similar organizations to achieve a greater impact through this synergy with regard to the common aims outlined above - and to be more clearly defined through our future interactions and discussions.


Proposed common actions
With the establishment of this Earth Rainbow Network, which will gradually grow as more and more people and organizations are contacted and invited to join, we need to devise some common actions that we could undertake right now to get things going and also to get used to collaborate together before the Great Event. There has been a number of ideas circulated so far which are listed below with a short description for each. To know more about each of these ideas, you may look into the "Background Material" available through my homepage.



April 6, 1997 1000 Day CountUP to the Year 2000

Many groups are planning special activities on the 6th of April to get some media attention to the fact that on that date only 1000 days will remain before the year 2000. We think that joining enough of us who believe in the importance of the start of this new millennium to create a greater bonding between all human beings and inspire hope and a sense of responsibility for our common future, will initiate a domino effect of involvement and activation of more and more people to make this event a true millennial landmark in the history of this planet. The actions proposed for that day range from asking radio stations to play John Lennon's Imagine song at a certain moment of the day (after reading a short statement explaining the start of the 1000 Day Countdown to the year 2000) or gathering a group of people to sing along this song, to holding these "imagine meetings" every 100 days from April 6 to the year 2000, to promoting the idea of a 5 minute simultaneous meditation all over the world and to organizing a local event and a press conference with some artists performing in support of this initiative. A global press conference on the Internet just a couple of days before this April 6 event has also been proposed and could be the first public activity organized by the Earth Rainbow Network and supported by its participating member organizations - see in the "Background Material" section for more on this proposal.

To have an idea about initiatives already in the work for the April 6, 1997 CountUP Launch, go to www.countup2000.com where you will find the following information and more.

"Building A Positive Future Together, 1 Day At A Time..."
April 6, 1997 is the 1000 Day Count-UP to the Year 2000. Celebrations for a POSITIVE future will take place all around the world.

"The 1000 Days could be the framework and opportunity for us to work together, one day at a time, to change ourselves into the people we want to be, and transform our world. 1000 opportunities, 1 day at a time, with millions focused on the same goal..."

Robert Alan Silverstein


Earth Proclamation
Another idea discussed was the creation of an "Earth Proclamation" presenting in simple terms the intended objectives we all generally pursue and the crucial importance of that moment to create a can-do/take-responsibility atmosphere of hope for the common future of our human family. This proclamation, now posted on this site also includes the idea that we can work together to transform ourselves and our world and one way to do so could be for instance to commit oneself to have one more person everyday to sign this Earth Proclamation - until the year 2000. A children's version is also proposed as well as some complementary material. See under The Earth Proclamation for more information on this.

We will use it as a vehicle to raise awareness about the importance of the upcoming millennium and the role each one of us may play to help make the world a better place for all. We will try to get mayors, governors, presidents, kings and queens, actors and actresses, music and sports stars to sign it, and then generate more support from this. It will be translated in many languages and circulated around the world. We will ask as a contribution from local newspapers to include it in their April 6 edition and later on before the year 2000.



Some additional considerations on this project

March 28, 1997

by Jean Hudon


"My focus goes well beyond the purely cultural aspect of this event - which needs to represent the multifaceted tapestry of our common cultural heritage from around the world. In fact, it goes to the heart of what may help bring about a global unification of mind and spirit of our planetary human family. We are all well aware that the future of our world is still in jeopardy because of the relentless over exploitation of its natural resources and its accompanying overpopulation in certain parts of the world, not to mention decades of cumulative pollution, some very lethal and dangerous for future generations. Despite great progress in this decade to stem the tide of destruction and alleviate the pollution, recent reports state that the governments are way behind in their pledges of implementing sustainable policies made at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

(See the Global Warning of the World Scientists and a news article "World still in bad shape, five years after Earth Summit" HERE for more information on this.)

Something very fundamental needs to change in our collective attitude and understanding regarding our relationship with the countless other life forms constituting WITH US the entire Web of Life on Earth. To me and to many other leading edge thinkers, nothing less than a spiritual revolution in our hearts and minds, in our emerging collective consciousness, is necessary to help stir the world on a true sustainable path, on a path to sanity, justice, sharing and truly lasting Peace. Nothing less will suffice. To this goal, like many other kindred souls on Earth, I have dedicated most of my life and I will keep working relentlessly to bring my contribution to this collective task of renewal and metamorphosis of our culture and global civilization. And so it is from this perspective that I approach the task of cocreating with others what could potentially be a major steppingstone in our path to collective self-renewal, namely the moment of entry into a new millennium.

From this unique vantage point in our history, we will stand at the threshold of untold opportunities to create a more just and healthy world for all. We will all have a chance at this point in time to assess our course of evolution, change and development, and possibly make a conscious choice to dedicated our entire life from then on to improve our options in the face of the mounting crisis that, on all sides, will assault us more and more frequently as a result of past neglect and sheer, blind and stupid greed.

To achieve such a change of hearts and attitude, I firmly believe that a special ceremony must be designed to help mark this important moment of transition into a new era and, at the same time, create an opportunity for the entire human population viewing this event to participate to a much needed experience of spiritual attunement into one collective whole awareness. At a certain moment of the ceremony, as described in the November 29 letter (see above), all should have a few minutes, after listening to proper instructions, to join their thoughts and minds and delve deeply into the awareness of our unity as One human family, sense the inexpressible beauty of being all alive on this planetary Jewel of Life, and turn our attention as One group consciousness to the task awaiting us to make this world a better place to live for all human beings and all species. A specially designed musical segment will infuse this moment of soulful cohesion with exactly the right vibrations, thus magnifying the unifying effect of that Instant of Magic.

In addition to contributing to this part of the broadcast, there is another aspect which to me is likewise vital to insure a true success and lasting effect to this project. Nothing of this nature stands a chance of seriously influencing the course of our history, if it's just an ephemeral blip on the calendar of our civilization. The spirit emanating from this project and the means to achieve it must be shared as widely as possible long before and well beyond this event. To this end, there are many tools that have been created in the last few weeks which, once they are shared and widely recognized all around the world, will create the right context and atmosphere for such an event to flourish and bear fruits. The Earth Rainbow Network and the Earth Proclamation are such tools and are designed to gradually reach out to the multitude in an effort to create an all-inclusive momentum of anticipation for what is intended to become a turning point in our collective history. (Though we may shy away at the thought of intentionally working toward such a goal, my deep sense of foreboding is that this is precisely what we are and must now be striving for - so I don't hesitate to use such high-flying rhetoric.)

The general idea here, at the basis of these tools, is to open to all the option of participating in the creation and implementation of this project, a bit the same way Earth Day in 1990 offered to the whole world the chance of being part of this environmental awareness day of activities, thus rallying the participation of over 300 million people from all countries. This is also what was achieved on a smaller scale with the first Earth Concert in 1989, with 20 concerts taking place in 15 different countries, and the involvement of thousands of people in 40 countries in the preparations leading to this event. My experience is that when the people can appropriate an idea and make it their own, it has a much more powerful impact than when they simply witness the efforts and achievements of others. Offering to a wide diversity of people, cultures and organizations the option of contributing a portion of a global project such as this one will offer them the possibility of co-authoring this collective effort and thus being infinitely more proud of it and dedicated to its success and continued effect. This is why I sense it is so important that almost everyone watching this Event in less than 3 years from now, be able to recognize at some point that someone from his/her part of the world is representing him/her there and participating to this great Gathering of all the tribes and cultures of this planet.



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