Sedona AZ (December 15, 2013) – Here’s a great way to start the year 2014 peacefully. The 15th of January marks the first day of the 7th annual 40-day world-wide Winter Feast for the Soul. It’s a perfect time to renew personals commitment to one’s spiritual practice. Regardless of one’s faith or beliefs, the public is invited to participate in the opening meditation gathering at the Sedona Creative Life Center Chapel at 5 pm.
Last year over 10,000 people in over 29 different countries participated in this worldwide event as they committed to a personal spiritual practice for 40 minutes a day for 40 days.
The Dalai Lama has endorsed the Winter Feast. Deepak Chopra has added his endorsement saying:
“Meditating forty minutes a day for forty days, as done in the Winter Feast for the Soul won’t just further one’s conscious evolution, it will have an effect on humanity. Humanity will be at peace when enough individuals choose to make peace a part of their spiritual practice. ”
All are invited to join the non-denominational opening ceremony of the Winter Feast for the Soul at a one-hour gathering at the Chapel at the Sedona Creative Life Center on Schnebly Hill Road on January 15, at 5:00 pm sponsored by the McLean Meditation Institute. The gathering is led by Hay House author Sarah McLean. Attendees will hear inspirational readings and be guided into a silent meditation.
Admission is by donation. Participants may register by calling 928-204-0067 or simply arrive on time to participate
The McLean Meditation Center will continue to host 40-minute silent meditation gatherings during the Feast January 15-February 23 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9 am. And every Sunday at 2 pm there is a guided meditation and at 4 pm a silent meditation. There is a $5 suggested donation to attend these programs.
And for those unable to attend in person, Sarah McLean, along with other meditation experts lead daily meditations online each day for 40 days. Access to the program is free and can be found on the Winter Feast website: www.WinterFeastfortheSoul.com.
“Winter Feast is that when people spend a block of time each day focusing inward they will discover there a source of inner peace. That peace, if shared by enough people will spread around the world,” says Winter Feast founder, Valerie Skonie, of Hailey Idaho, who recently visited Sedona.
Skonie said that her initial inspiration for the Winter Feast came when she read a three-line poem by a 13th Century mystic Jelaluddin Rumi:
What nine months does for the embryo
Forty early mornings
Will do for your growing awareness.
That’s when she decided to make something happen. Spiritual practice can be defined as prayer, meditation, reading sacred texts, yoga, martial arts, and expressive arts. “We even had a woman who committed to singing for forty minutes a day last year,” reports Skonie.
Consider the stories of Noah, Elijah, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed. Each spent forty days in retreat or contemplation. When these prophets returned from their inner journey, they had changed, and, in turn, their world had changed. “Now it is our turn to participate in this shift and not to look to our spiritual leaders to do it for us,” says Skonie. You can learn more about the Winter Feast for the Soul by going to their website: http://www.winterfeastforthesoul.com.
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