Anti-war couple conceive new way to generate peace
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Living on their houseboat off the Marin County coast, anti-war
activists Donna Sheehan and her partner, Paul Reffel, concocted a way
for the world to communally create a lot of peaceful vibes.
They want everyone to have an orgasm on the same day.
On Dec. 22, they're asking the world to contribute to the Global Orgasm
for Peace. Sheehan said not to worry if you don't have a partner.
Busy multitaskers shouldn't despair about trying to cram this global
activism into their busy schedules, either, she said. Take any time
during the 24-hour period at the beginning of the winter solstice to
join the demonstration. Just make sure to think of peace before or
after participating.
Once you've committed, there's even a secret sign to show others that
you plan to take part: Flash the universal "OK" sign and wink. Or, as
it has been redubbed, "The O" sign.
Reffel and Sheehan are not just tossing off this idea. They're pros at
launching global peace demonstrations. In the run-up to the U.S.
invasion of Iraq four years ago, Sheehan and a few dozen of her new
best friends stripped naked and spelled out "Peace" on a Marin County
field. As photos of their naked activism spread, similar so-called
Baring Witness demonstrations were replicated dozens of times from
Australia to the conservative nether regions of Utah.
Their activism was rearoused recently when they heard about two U.S.
warships camped out around the Middle East, activity they fear portends
war with Iran.
Having experienced the futility of petitioning international leaders
through mass nudity before the Iraq war, the pair decided to ramp up
their tactics.
While the Global O may sound much like other collective actions
attempted over the years, the O's organizers promise something more on
their Web site: "The combination of high-energy orgasmic energy
combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than
previous mass meditations and prayers."
Just pick a time.
"We wanted to make it during the cocktail hour," Sheehan said. "But
since everybody is on a different time, then it would be harder for
everybody to participate."
In a manner that could only be birthed in the fertile energy fields of
the Bay Area, the Global O for Peace ties together activism, sexual
identity, gender roles, the fledgling effort to measure global
consciousness and the movement of battleships. The GOP -- initials
likely creating the only link to the Republican Party deep in liberal
Marin County -- is about more than the latest anti-war tactic.
Personally, Sheehan's experiences with the Baring Witness
demonstrations opened up new avenues of self-exploration for the
76-year-old artist. Since then, she has learned more about how women
can initiate courtship, sex and peace, culminating this year in a book
she and Reffel wrote, "Redefining Seduction."
Not surprisingly, the Global O isn't the first effort to synchronize
pleasure in the name of peace. Or even just in the name of synchronized
pleasure. For several years, a weekly climax has been coordinated
online (Webcams optional), and sexuality experts say there have been
several other attempts to link pleasure and peace.
"Yes, the vast majority of global orgasm coordinations have been firmly
rooted in San Francisco," said Carol Queen, the staff sexologist at San
Francisco's Good Vibrations store and a nationally recognized expert on
sexuality. "It is natural to link pleasure and peace. If you're
experiencing pleasure, you're not engaging in aggressive, destructive
behavior. "
Not all such efforts have been successful. Queen's partner, Robert
Lawrence, who is president of the Center for Sex and Culture, remembers
participating in synchronized pleasure-for-peace demonstrations in the
early 1990s.
The results?
"Shortly thereafter, I left my partner at the time," Lawrence said. "It
wasn't exactly the peace I was looking for."
Queen said the orgasm-challenged shouldn't be discouraged from
participating Dec. 22. In fact, knowing their efforts are going toward
creating world peace "might actually relieve some of the anxiety they
feel around their sexuality that leads to problems in that area."
While Queen plans to set aside "20 minutes to two hours" for her Dec.
22 demonstration, her partner, Lawrence, is not.
"I think I've got a meeting that day," Lawrence said. "I'm really
busy."
But you've got 24 hours to participate.
"Oh, all right," Lawrence said. "I think I can work it in, then."
While this is one anti-war demonstration sure to leave its participants
smiling, measuring its global impact might be more problematic.
What's troubling some activists is that the carrier Eisenhower has
pulled into the Arabian Sea to replace the Enterprise, which was
scheduled to return to Virginia on Saturday, according to a Navy
spokesman. The Boxer Expeditionary Strike Force, warships loaded with
Marines and their battle equipment, is in the Persian Gulf now.
Getting them to turn around will be challenging.
Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Dave Smith said he has never heard of
coordinated global energy affecting the battleship movements before.
"But I've only been here since June," Smith said. "I've been told that
there are no absolutes about anything."
Would that preclude his plans to participate in the Dec. 22
demonstration?
"I'm not going to answer that one," Smith said.
No matter how many people participate, don't look for any increased
seismic activity to show up on the Richter scale.
"The filters we have screen out any man-made activity, like a truck
rolling past, or uh, the activity you described," said U.S. Geological
Survey spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna.
So when somebody says, "Baby, you just made the earth move," that's
just hyperbole, huh?
"I guess reality is whatever you perceive it to be," said Hanna,
speaking seismically. She was equally vague on her Dec. 22 plans.
"This is the first I've heard of it," Hanna said. "It sounds like, uh,
an interesting idea."
Perhaps the only way to measure its effect will be through the New
Jersey-based Global Consciousness Project. Run by volunteers who
monitor a network of dozens of random number generators around the
world, the project looks for any correlation between the numbers
produced and significant, shared events like elections, terrorist
attacks or New Year's Eves that could signal the existence of some sort
of global consciousness.
Project director Roger Nelson said he will look for any data blips
around Dec. 22 if the Global O Project becomes a significant worldwide
event. Regardless, Nelson has no qualms about potentially corrupting
his data by taking part in a little global activism.
"If luck befalls me," Nelson said. "Who knows?"
Even skeptics like Jim Underdown, who investigates paranormal matters
in California for the Center for Inquiry-West, plans to join in the fun
-- even if he believes there is no way to transmit energy from one's
brain to achieve a physical result.
"You don't need a good reason to have an orgasm," he said. "Even a
stupid one is OK."
For more information about the demonstration go to globalorgasm.org/.
E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com.
Page A - 1
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| User: "Perseid" |
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| Title: Re: MORE ON THE UPCOMING 'GLOBAL O' !!! |
25 Nov 2006 10:39:26 PM |
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After Much Chewing of Cud and Cogitation, "Dr. Psycho" <g-ray52@excite.com>
Spat the Words
Anti-war couple conceive new way to generate peace
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Living on their houseboat off the Marin County coast, anti-war
activists Donna Sheehan and her partner, Paul Reffel, concocted a way
for the world to communally create a lot of peaceful vibes.
They want everyone to have an orgasm on the same day.
What is it about that word 'orgasm' that conjures such messy images
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/19/MNG2LMG0I81.DTL
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| User: "Dr. Psycho" |
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| Title: Re: MORE ON THE UPCOMING 'GLOBAL O' !!! |
27 Nov 2006 06:04:32 AM |
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Perseid wrote:
After Much Chewing of Cud and Cogitation, "Dr. Psycho" <g-ray52@excite.com>
Spat the Words
Anti-war couple conceive new way to generate peace
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Living on their houseboat off the Marin County coast, anti-war
activists Donna Sheehan and her partner, Paul Reffel, concocted a way
for the world to communally create a lot of peaceful vibes.
They want everyone to have an orgasm on the same day.
What is it about that word 'orgasm' that conjures such messy images
Harmonic earth tremors won't be felt like when a volcano is moving lava
down below, but I expect heavy rythmic vibrations shaking the walls,
ceilings, and floors of apartment dwellings as men 'erupt' across the
planet. And, oh yeah, plenty of long, loud "oh's" and "aaahs", too.
LOL!
Whether it turns out to be "messy" or not depends on how many
participants use rubbers and how they're disposed of. Rubberless
humping creates more messes, naturally, and dumb humpers who don't
neatly dispose of their "skins" are to be reviled.
I've always been a neat person, myself. If Jane or Dani's still around,
I'll be glad to hump them on Dec. 22nd only if they'll wear clean
underwear, especially Jane. I'm quite picky. I don't know how many
women I'll be able to hump in a 24 hr. period that day, but I'm
certainly game. The more gals I hump, the more good vibes for peace and
brotherhood for the planet!
Dr. Psycho ;))
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/19/MNG2LMG0I81.DTL
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| User: "00:00:00Hg" |
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| Title: Re: MORE ON THE UPCOMING 'GLOBAL O' !!! |
25 Nov 2006 09:26:13 PM |
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On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:53:19 -0800, Dr. Psycho wrote:
On Dec. 22, they're asking the world to contribute to the Global Orgasm
for Peace.
***** that!
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