In response to the Tibetan Monks Walking for Peace, I wrote a reflection on my experiences with monks, walking for peace, and non-violent protest.

“In 1995, I received Reiki training for the first time. During the training, I received a message to leave the job that I loved working with kids and families in crisis, my home by a brook, give everything I had away, and walk across the country so that I could practice meditation and Reiki all day, every day. I was already removed from pop culture and didn’t know what was popular at the time.

As I passed through towns and villages, kids and families would gather behind me and walk with me.

They would often ask, “Are you walking for peace?”

I felt incredibly honored and seen. I thought it was amazing that the meditation and Reiki I was doing all day were so obvious to everybody that they knew I was walking to achieve inner peace.

Sometimes, kids would walk with me for 30 minutes or even an hour. They were quiet, respectful, and present.

Reading and seeing the monks Walking for Peace has been incredibly nourishing for me; warmth floods my body with every image and thought of their presence.

I have visions of Thich Nhat Hanh walking them, even though he is no longer in his body and was not a Tibetan monk. I see Pema Chodron in my mind, and the Dalai Lama (whom I spent ten days with in 1999). Thomas Merton, who was a Trappist Monk, at the Abbey of Gethsamane in Kentucky, where I sat a silent retreat in the mid-90’s. The healers, sages, mystics, and those who have dedicated their lives to peace, harmony, humility, and lovingkindness, quietly, without centering themselves. I see them all walking together in my mind.

They are us, and we are them.”

This is an excerpt from an essay, Walking for Peace: Monks, Mystics and Michaels. You can view the full article on Medium.

Michael Swerdloff

Providence Holistic Counselor, Coach and Reiki