The Voice of Peace - April Blog

April Blog: The Voice of Peace

Against a backdrop of earthquakes, wars, bombings and oppressions, I recently experienced two awakenings about the power of voice to create peace.

The first was the launch of my album Empty Cup - which made me aware of the value of voicing powerful stories from the oral tradition of english folklore, stories which resonated with my personal story and the stories of our current society.  As I was recording Molly Bawn - click here to listen  - the story of a woman shot accidentally by her lover - I heard a news story from the US of a toddler who had shot his mother dead by accident whilst playing with a gun.  

The second was the DVD launch of the film Road to Peace at Union Chapel, an extraordinary event featuring a music concert MC’d by Stewart Pearce with chanting from the monks of Kagyu Samye Dzong, sound healing from Lama Lobsang, music from Tim Wheater, Joshua James Field and myself, a Big Om from The Barefoot Doctor and a powerful Q&A with director Leon Stuparich and the Dalai Lama’s representive Thupten Samdup.  Being part of this event has heightened my awareness that peace has a voice within all of us and has amplified my commitment to be a voice for peace.  I am now even more aware that the voice of peace is everywhere, struggling to be heard - even in the bombs in Boston, the fighting in Syria, the debates surrounding North Korea - there is a deep desire for peace.  Those who make threats, throw bombs and repress others are feeling fearful and threatened in themselves and their actions are a distorted attempt to communicate and to find some sort of peace.  Everyone contains this desire to be at peace, it is the differing beliefs and resulting behaviours about how peace is to be found which create an illusory sense of division.

That old phrase ‘anything for a peaceful life’ can for some people convey a sense of submitting, giving in so as to ‘keep the peace’ and not rock the boat.  The boat sometimes has to be rocked by the storm before peace can reign - sometimes we are called to be active pacifists. I have been considering myself what actions I can take to show my support for the Tibetan people who face increasingly horrific violations of their human rights. One action we can all take is to lobby our MPs, because at the present time, out of fear of economic consequences many European leaders are not wishing to rock the boat with China. However the UN is already sounding the bell of human rights and the more of us who raise our voices to communicate our support for Tibet to the leaders of our countries, the more that bell can be peacefully sounded.  You find out more about how to raise your voice for Tibet and lobby your MP at The Tibet Society.

That the raising of peaceful, non-violent voices can change the course of history is documented by the Singing Revolution a film which charts the non-violent, singing based liberation movement of Estonia between 1986-1991 which resulted in their independence from Russia.  By standing in the truth of their cultural and musical tradition and sounding a courageous ‘NO’ to the Russian occupation, they were able to find peace and freedom.  

So when we stand lovingly in our truth, honouring our uniqueness, we can create peace. We may be called to say No in our own personal lives - No to oppression, prejudice, injustice, violence, harassment, gossip - and when we do so with full compassion for those who are in their own way also trying to find peace - our world begins to change.  We let go of blaming, naming and shaming those who resort to violence and see them as the walking wounded.  We begin to disarm and to lay down our weapons and defences.  We begin to walk the Road to Peace towards a world where Molly Bawn may walk amongst the bushes unharmed.  

Wishing you the unique sounding of your voice for peace

Katiex

* Road to Peace DVD & Music CD
DVD of the film and a CD featuring the music of Naweng Khechog, Tibetan flautist and Grammy Nominee and my composition Love and Compassion - 5% goes to support Tibet House

 

* Empty Cup is now available at my website - £1 from every album goes to support WaterAid.