I remember September 11, 2001 very vividly. I was a student at NYU at the time so was living in New York City near Union Square. I woke up to an NPR broadcaster who was in shock as she was reporting a second plane was headed towards the second world trade tower.
I had voicemails on my phone from loved ones and my girlfriend who could not locate her mom who was scheduled to go vote in the towers that day was besides herself. In the end her mom was ok.
That day in New York City was surreal. Everything was in chaos but in order at the same time. White ashes were flying around everywhere and people were just roaming the streets with a new found love and openness to one another.
People were lined up for hours to donate blood. So many volunteered that the hospital had to turn people away. Almost immediately people began to gather in the parks and create candle vigils to band together to honor the lives lost and make sense of what was happening.
I distinctly remember, how grateful I was to be in NYC that day because of the love and solidarity experienced amongst fellow New Yorkers and how this was in such sharp contrast to what we were watching on television.
I will never forgot a phrase that George Bush, the US President at the time, said. He went on national television and told the American people, to make sure they keep shopping and that the terrorists would win if the US economy fell. I was in shock!
September 11th is so near and dear to my heart because it woke me up! And it wasn’t just the day but more so the response by our government and the decision to go to war with Afghanistan and then Iraq and it so continues until today.
I realized that the government did not represent my views and my values of peace and love. This awakening took me into the world of politics and economics, where I thought I could effect the most change.
I immediately joined the anti-war movement and then went on to work for the largest community and labor organizations in the US, advocating for economic justice. I moved to India and directed a national campaign against the entry of Wal-Mart and spread of Western consumerism. I got my Masters at the prestigious London School of Economics, and after all this, I felt lost.
The change I was seeking, had not come to be, but rather I was left feeling oppositional, full of judgments, full of animosity and completely tired and burnt out from fighting and opposing the “bad guys”.
My search for another way, truly born of love and peace, took me into what has become the creation of Feminine Awakening.
The search took me back to myself and the understanding that never can I change the world “out there”, it is only by coming in “here”, in this body, in this mind and spirit, that I can hope to establish greater peace and harmony and Oneness.
The seeds of all the violence we experience in the world lies in thinking we are separate, which is a lie. The Truth is we are ONE and Truth is the highest expression of LOVE. To awaken into Oneness is a blessing. It is a blessing that the world needs so deeply right now and one that starts in healing our own thoughts, words, actions that are based in separation.
However this inner journey, does not preclude action in the world, but rather necessitates it. As we discover our greater inner power, wisdom and love, we naturally desire to share this with others. Particularly as women, it is our time!!
So on this commemoration of September 11th, 11 years later, I take the time to honor myself, to do my own healing and to continue to offer my gifts to the world, in whichever way I can at this moment in time.
I am gearing up to launch my new initiative to bring my skills in movement building to women change-makers!!! It’s coming SOON. I can’t wait!!
I will end by asking you to join me today in uniting our thoughts and prayers that the seeds of LOVE and PEACE may grow within our own hearts, within the hearts of those we love and in the hearts of all beings, ALL Beings. And that through this LOVE we may begin to bring about a world created in the name of our children.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Always with LOVE,
Reena
