PATHWAYS INTERVIEW
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dance the opportunity to ask questions, make comments or tell the au- dience about events coming up. It was at the end of one such weekend session that I came up with the idea of Fasting for Peace. How and where did you organize that first event in 2008? I organized the event in NYC at our last conference session. I stood up and spoke to the group about taking a day, June 21st, to fast for peace. I had hundreds of business cards made up with nothing on it but “Fasting 4 - June 21, 2008” and passed them out to everyone. It was well received by the group and the host. Once the class had ended for the day, as I was walking around Manhattan people were stopping me and telling me how they loved my idea and were going to join me in the fast. I went to a vegan restaurant and there was a couple there who had attended the session and were really excited about the idea. On the day of the fast many people reached out to me to let me know they were fasting for peace. Many people responded on Face - book and by email letting me know they were doing their part. What made you choose June 21st as the day for this event to take place? June 21st is the longest day of the year and marks the first day of summer. In astrology, it is a marker for new beginnings. Taking those into consideration along with the plight of the world, the thought was if we can get enough people to spend one day focusing their energy on peace, it will have an impact, like a rock thrown into the lake and watching how the ripples fan outward impacting the entire lake.
subject was, many students jumped on the bandwagon in favor of that particular health trend for that day. For example, a speaker would talk about the wonders of fish oil, and by the end of the day, many students were talking about and buying fish oil. Or if the topic was the bene - fits of raw foods, people were talking about and eating raw foods. I realized how impactful one person can be to a like-minded audience or a group of people who are interested in improving themselves and others around them. It also impressed upon me how most people just want to be happy and are searching for ways to do that. What was your reaction to this type of collective response to what you were learning at the time? Did you have the opportunity to ques - tion or challenge what you were taught? What was impressive about my experience at IIN is I saw for my - self that there are many people interested in helping others find their way to a happy and holistic lifestyle. More importantly these people challenged the status quo of what we thought was the right way to eat, think and live. Most of the people were participating in this program as a transition from one career to the next — in my case from an ac- countant to a health coach and trainer. As I talked to people during the sessions it was amazing and refreshing to witness the openness every - one had to new ideas, which also accounted for their similar reactions to the speakers we encountered, as I mentioned earlier in regards to fish oil and raw foods. At the end of each weekend session the host gave students in atten-
STOP BY NATURAL LIVING EXPO BOOTH #61
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26—PATHWAYS—Summer 22
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