In 2014 Peace Rebel Gabriela Torres spread the first seeds of peace in Ecuador by organizing a Mini PIPO, but the story didn't stop there. She later applied for the international fellowship in Thailand and was selected to represent her country, Ecuador.
At the same time, Santiago González, a student of environmental engineering from Cuenca was looking for a place to learn meditation. He tried different schools and methods but none of them really convinced him. Until one day, he found the Peace Revolution website and right away he started the self-development program because it was exactly what he was searching for. After completing the program, he decided to apply for the international retreat, and was chosen to participant in the Global Peace on the Move XIII Fellowship in Thailand.
Both Gabriela and Santiago; were very happy to be the first representatives of Ecuador in the international retreat. Having become Peace Agents, they accepted the mission of continuing to cultivate their own inner peace and spreading the seeds throughout the country.
The third member of the Ecuadorian community is Sumana Lloret, an experienced yoga teacher and holistic healer. She knew about Peace Revolution through Gaby Velarde and immediately felt connected with the vision and mission of the project. Motivated by Gaby, Sumana started the self-development program and attended the CAC retreat that was organized in Guatemala in May 2015.
After experiencing inner peace at a more profound level, all three of them developed a common dream, to bring light to their communities, their loved ones, friends, and many others. Everyone can experience at first-hand the benefits of meditation.
Gabriela, Santiago, and Sumana started organizing the PIPO in July. The agenda included sessions in 4 main cities: Guayaquil, Loja, Cuenca and Quito and also in the valleys of Vilcabamba in Loja and Cumbayá and Tumbaco in Quito. What made this new visit to Ecuador special was that the sessions would be guided by one of their teacher monks, Luang Phi John.
Organizing a PIPO in four different cities is not an easy task. You have to find locations to facilitate the sessions, as well as diffuse the activities you are organizing. Fortunately, they found many receptive and generous people that were glad to help and support the cause. They found yoga teachers who opened their studios, universities, and other institutions that provided space. Even Cuenca’s municipality provided a theater for free to hold an event. In addition to finding the locations, they had to promote the event. Luckily there were many people who were happy to help spread the words. The promotion includes an article on the newspaper and an interviewed at the local radio station to talk about the activities and the Peace Revolution project. And lastly, we cannot forget the people who helped share the event on the social networks; which was the main factor that more people knew about the workshops and were able to attend.
The experience was great; people were very happy, peaceful and thankful. For some of the participants, it was their very first time to connect with inner peace and happiness that exist within us. Every one enjoyed the teachings of Luang Phi John which invite us to continue with our meditation practice as a way to overcome life challenges and to live a happier life.
The outcome exceeded their expectations: 7 locations, 13 sessions and more than 700 new potential peace rebels receiving the light which will continue to shine and to irradiate peace energy in Ecuador.
And this story will be continued….
Submitted on 15 Oct 2015 15:11
