G.P.A. History

From Armchair Theorists to Global Peace Actionists™

I had been vacationing on the island of Bali, Indonesia for three days when terrorists attacked on October 12, 2002 brutally killing hundreds of young people, most of them foreign tourists like me. My life was changed forever in that moment.

I volunteered at the local hospital where the injured and deceased were taken. I worked in the Crisis Centre and what I saw, smelled, and felt during my time in the centre with the families and friends of the missing and dead, has had a profound affect on my life. I witnessed mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters searching in the hallway of the overflowing morgue – bags of unidentified bodies and body parts of young men and women lifeless on the floor; I struggled for ways to console their families and friends and myself. I felt helpless.

I spent a month on the island of Bali, Indonesia after the terrorist attack. This gave me the time to process what had happen and to share my feelings and thoughts with the local Balinese people, survivors and the few remaining tourists on the island like myself. I have since heard that over 200,000 people had fled the island within three days of the attack, crippling the local economy.

Through these discussions, I noticed a common thread. Most of the adults I spoke with where quite fearful and held little hope for the future. What was inspiring to me was that the youth that joined in these discussions had a very different vision than the adults – they still had great HOPE for their futures. I was asked prior to leaving the island by several Balinese mothers that, as a foreigner, could I do something to help their children’s vision of hope be actualized globally. I made a promise to “do” what ever I could to make a difference for them and for myself; not only the Balinese youth, but all youth that have been affected by acts of terror globally.

What is it I can do? How can I make a difference? These are the questions I struggled with and found answers for. I became a Reiki Master and a Chakras & Chi Practitioner to make a difference in my life and the lives of others who have suffered from trauma, to be empowered – to live a healthy, peaceful, productive life.

The “One Voice at a Time” documentary is also a part of my recovery. My experience has been instrumental in forcing me to look at my responsibility in shifting from an armchair theorist – looking from a comfortable distance at the reality of our times – to actively doing something to empower myself and to seek methods and tools that will help the most marginalized society affected by these atrocities – youth.

My ultimate dream is to see complete and total disarmament and destruction of ALL arms globally by 2015 through the co-creation of the Global Peace Actionists™ Movement.

What’s it going to take for you? What trauma must you suffer before you choose to heal your life and to assist those around you to do the same. To say “I must be a part of making a difference, co-creating a movement; I want to be part of co-creating change”.

Your decision to become a Global Peace Actionists is as simple as joining the movement. Living the G.P.A. Code, wearing the G.P.A. Code and sharing the G.P.A. Code with everyone you know.

We are focusing on a shift in global consciousness as the solution.
We are not focusing on terrorism as the enemy.