Be The Change - Tampa, Florida
Connecting people, supporting personal and social transformation
By Eluv
On Friday February 6th the world became a more loving and peaceful place with over 1200 people taking The Vow of non-violence in thought, speech and their actions.
The Alliance for a New Humanity in Co-operation with The Chopra Center presented “Be The Change” Tampa Bay. This unprecedented event took place at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Over 1000 community members of the Tampa Bay area, along with 200 attendees from across the world attending the Chopra Center’s seminar entitled Journey to Healing.
A Press Conference and Reception for distinguished community members and presenters preceded the program. Among those attending were Terri Bryce Reeves, St. Petersburg Times Correspondent, who covered the event in the Saturday edition.
Dale Colton, a local Palm Harbor resident who works with Chopra, both moderated and put the outreach program together, bringing visionaries and members from all areas of the community together for this special event.
Attendees were welcomed by an array of local community members having tables representing organizations and individuals sharing information on everything from sound healing to community gatherings, yoga, healthy living, spiritual groups and much more. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with people, and begin new friendships. The mood of the evening was filled with excitement in anticipation of the extensive program.
The Welcoming began with Dale Colton opening and dedicating the evening to inspiring people to learn how to be the change in any way they can in their community. Florida State Representative Peter Nehr spoke of Dr. Chopra saying “Dr Chopra is doing with his life what almost all of us want to do with ours but have not yet dedicated ourselves to the task, and that is to take away all the negativity in the world, to show the world a different way to live and to promote peace and exist in peace, to make a difference and most important, to live life to its fullest”. Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Clearwater followed by leading a short meditation prayer and beautiful invocation to the evening.
David Greenspan, Chief Operations Officer of the Chopra Center shared the beautiful story of the Chopra Center. The Alliance for a New Humanity’s CEO, Jorge Colmenares said “ the Alliance is not just another organization, The Alliance is a little bit more, we see ourselves simply as a catalyst. This is not a time of change; this is the time of transformation… He encouraged the audience to create a little bit of time after the event to get to know the person sitting next to them.
The Program Deepak Chopra spoke of the world we are living in and how people can actively participate in the creation of a critical mass of consciousness stating that Gandhi said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world". He spoke of the need for personal and social transformation using the wonderful analogy of how the caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. "Together we can make it happen" he said and thanked everyone for being a part of this global effort.” David Simon, Director and CEO of the Chopra Center shared a framework of how to interact with each other in the most peaceful and loving ways.
The Concert was moderated by Vocalist and Percussionist Fred Johnson who provided an expansive backdrop of musical accompaniment throughout the evening, It began with Robert A. Freedman, President & CEO Ruth Eckerd Hall and Joyce M. Bonomini, Director of The Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute at Ruth Eckerd Hall discussed the important role the Arts play in sustaining humanity in a community. Deepak joined the concert with poetry reading of “Unity Consciousness by Rabindranath Tagore, Deepak’s poetry reading was set to live music and accompanied by Ann Marie Calhoun on violin and Fred Johnson playing percussion. The musicians weaved a sublime tapestry of music blending beautifully with Deepak’s poetry, which was one of the evening’s treasured highlights.
The finale of the event was a special screening of the fantastic “I Take the Vow” music video, featuring Deepak Chopra and friends, followed by an opportunity to take the vow. Fred and Deepak had everyone at the event singing along and actively participating, sharing spontaneity and enthusiasm with the audience.
It was an evening of profound wisdom, inspiration, beautiful music and poetry, and a community gathered together as one to create a change.
Event Photos Courtesy of VonHenry Productions