It's a far cry from the Badlands of the Dakotas to the Hill of Uisneach, but one could be forgiven for thinking they were one of the same last Thursday as native American Indians joined with hundreds of others to hold a very special ceremony to celebrate the Sixth Annual World Peace and Prayer Day as well as the Summer Solstice.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe invited representatives of all faiths throughout the global community to unite and participate in this effort to bring about a positive shift of consciousness by connecting with the earth's sacred sites on June 21st, the Summer Solstice.
Among those who were present at the ceremony were actor John Hurt, Liam Ó Maonlaí of the Hot House Flowers and journalist and writer Pablo Trulli. Mr Hurt expressed his delight of being present at the ceremony, saying he was "very happy to be part of it". He stressed the importance and significance of the peace and prayer ceremony stating that "it's the makeup and collection of so many people that make such a day". Liam Ó Maonlaí delighted the crowd after the ceremony by singing and playing the tin whistle. An amazing atmosphere was present, as the crowd prayed, meditated, sung and danced - many barefoot - during and after the ceremony.
The Hill of Uisneach was chosen for this year's World Peace and Prayer Day because Ireland is "a significant place in need of a healing. Ireland has now come full circle; many of the (Irish) people are creating a strong voice of ideas for healing a fragile ecosystem. They have learned from their mistakes by the visual depletion of their ecosystem and producing possibilities in the various environmental restoration projects", according to the Indians.
Prophecies were instilled upon the chief by his Spiritual Elders when he was young that someday the spirit of the White Buffalo Calf Woman would once again stand upon Mother Earth. At that time, great changes would happen to the earth. The first white buffalo was born in 1994 and since then eight more have been born. According to Chief Arvol, this signifies a great urgency to fufill these positive changes. These drastic changes prophesised are of great concern to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, as "peace and harmony is in our hands for the future of our children and is looking very bleak. I have witnessed the last stages of beautiful cultures and traditions that have maintained the connection to Mother Earth are now in the stages of dark times". It was prophesised that it would take many prayers to heal the global changes. This enticed the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nation to begin a journey around the world to ask the global communtiy to pray with them for global healing.
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