Imagine Peace: The Work of Yoko Ono

I posed the question, What Would a Low Density Lifestyle World Look Like? in yesterday’s introductory article in this series.

And I answered that it would be quite the awesome world – it would be a world of peace and of many great things, and a world filled with bold thinking visionaries who put their positive visions into action.

In today’s article, I want to focus on someone who has worked tirelessly for peace, for the cultivation of the imagination, and for the integration of the two, originally with her husband John Lennon, and then by herself. That person is Yoko Ono.

John of course, wrote the anthem for imagining peace, with his song Imagine. That song is featured in the video above.

Yoko Ono has, since John’s untimely passing, continued on in the same vein, with many varied activities, doing many things to encourage people to imagine peace, and imagine a more peaceful world.

***She worked with New York City to set up the Strawberry Fields gardens in Central Park. The highlight of Strawberry Fields is the word that is laid in brick: Imagine.

***This past summer, in collaboration with the Youngstown, Ohio State University Museum of Art, a billboard of hers was put up in downtown Youngstown. The billboard says quite simply enough, “Imagine Peace.”

***In April of this year, in Montreal, the Montreal Transit Corp. began broadcasting a 17-second message of peace and love from Yoko Ono on its public address system throughout the métro network.

“Bonjour Montréal, ici Yoko Ono!” it begins.

The rest of the message, in English, said, “Hi. This is Yoko! It’s time for action, and action is peace. Think peace; act peace; spread Peace and tell your friends to IMAGINE PEACE I love you!”

***On October 9, 2007, Yoko dedicated a new memorial called the Imagine Peace Tower located on the island of Vioey, 1 km outside the Skarfabakki harbor in Reykjavik, Iceland. Each year, between October 9 and December 8, it projects a vertical beam of light high into the sky.

It consists of a tall “tower of light,” projected from a white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages.  The Tower consists of 15 searchlights with prisms that act as mirrors, reflecting the column of light vertically into the sky from a 10-metre wide wishing well.

It often reaches cloudbase and can be seen penetrating the cloud cover. On a clear night it appears to reach an altitude of at least 4000m. The power for the lights is provided by Iceland’s unique geo-thermal energy grid.

Buried underneath the light tower are upward of 500,000 written wishes that Yoko Ono gathered over the years in another project, called “Wish Trees.” She plans to have the tower lit every year from October 9, John Lennon’s birthday, through December 8, the date he died. Iceland was selected for the project because of its beauty and its eco-friendly use of geothermal energy.

In case you’re interested, you can see a live view of the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, courtesy of the Imagine Peace Tower MegaPixel Cam.

***Yoko Ono’s most recent action was a Thanksgiving message she sent out on Nov. 25, 2009. It is:

THE AFFIRMATION FOR PLANET PEACE

Thank you, thank you, thank you
Our planet is healthy and whole.
Every part of the planet is revitalized and healed.

We, the people of Earth
See clearly, Hear clearly, Think clearly.
Express and communicate our thoughts clearly,
Spiritually, mentally, and physically
For the benefit of ours and other planets.

We make the right judgement, right decision, right move
At the right time
At the right place
For ourselves and others.

We are now bathing in the light of Dawn
Standing in the Heaven we have created on Earth.
Sharing the Age of Joy
With all Lives in the Universe,
United with infinite and eternal love.

For the highest good of all concerned, So be it.

I love you!

yoko

You can read more about Yoko Ono and her work at her website, Imagine Peace.