Anna Jonsson

24th of November 2009

Den allra senaste glada nyheten är att jag har dansat idag. Jag har skakat på höfterna och rumpan, slängt, svängt och virvlat med armarna - låtsades att jag var med i en bollywood-film ;-D
Jag blev varm och glad, och dansen fick mig att gilla min kropp och mig själv. Genom dansen hittade jag hem till mig själv igen. Det är en bra nyhet för mig, och för världen för det betyder att här finns ännu en glad människa! /Kram! Anna

Indiansamtal efter SVT Debatt om Obama och Nobels Fredspris

Watch live streaming video from svt1 at livestream.com

http://svtplay.se/v/1805479/debatt/del_17_av_17_tisdag

Sharing Life Stories - Jan Göransson shares about to appreciate music in the Swedish Talk Show "Här är mitt liv - min planet!"

170 st nya företag på Drivhuset i Göteborg 2009

En god nyhet är väl att det aldrig startats så många nya företag på Drivhuset i Gbg som under 2009, trots finanskris och lågkonjuktur! 170 st! Gott nytt år! Kram Mariah

Mariah Ben Salem Dynehäll den 7 januari kl. 06:45

Skickat via Facebook i mobilen

Sharing Life Stories - Susanna Odin's dream

0:00:00.500,0:00:09.000
My dream has been, since I was 7 years old,
to become an author and to get to publish a book.

0:00:09.000,0:00:12.500
I have always been writing poems and some
different stories

0:00:12.500,0:00:20.000
but you start with history and you write a page
and a half and then you think I can't write

0:00:20.000,0:00:27.000
and you put in the drawer and you think I give up
that dream, I can read the books of others instead

0:00:27.000,0:00:32.500
and then there is something that brings it up
and you start write again

0:00:32.500,0:00:40.000
so my dream is actually to publish a book but I hope
that I sometime in the future get confidence enough

to start write that book and to keep writing even if
it isn't that really good

another drram I have is to get children

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMPLETE THE TRANSLATE IN A COMMENT :=) /JJ

Susanna Odin

Westcoast, Sweden

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by jackjohansson.

Färg & Förändring REKLAMFILM

http://hallofhappynews.ning.com/

ENVY Event - Lokala Hjältar!!!

Drömjobbade med ENVY Event idag. Ett inspirerande gäng på Asperö Idrottsgymnasium som har som UF Företag att arrangera drogfria fester.

Den 18 december är det dags för deras första. Julfest på Kviberg.

Mer om http://local-hero.nu

Ansvar is the shit!

Hur tar du ansvar för ditt mående?

Vilken enkel och skön fråga! Ansvar är kraft. Jag får kraft genom att ta ansvar. Vi har glädjen att ansvara för vårt eget mående! Det finns hjälp, kunskap och stöd att få. Universum/naturen ger oss det vi ber om. Vad behöver vi hjälp med? Hur ber vi om hjälp? Vilket stöd ber vi om?

Tacksamhet är en riktning. Ett förhållningssätt. En attityd. Vad behöver jag hjälp med? Vad behöver jag förändra? "Those who have shall have more".

Jag är tacksam över växterna i mitt rum som förgyller min vardag. Jag är tacksam att mamma, pappa och min storebror finns. Jag är tacksam att jag har pengar så att jag kan köpa och äta frukt och grönsaker. Jag är tacksam över kunskapen om energi, vetskapen om att vi människor får energi genom andningen, ett positivt sinnestillstånd, sömn, vatten och mat. Jag är tacksam över att jag har tid att göra det fint omkring mig, för migsjälv och andra. Jag är tacksam att jag är nöjd. Glad. Att jag kan inspirera och glädja andra genom att vara nöjd och glad.

Jag är tacksam över H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar och all den visdom, energi, avslappning, klarhet och inspiration som jag har fått och får ifrån honom. Jag har börjat med en ny rutin. Varje kväll innan jag lägger mig, tittar jag på Ashtavakra Gita.

"The Ashtavakra Gita documents the unveiling of the highest knowledge in the form of a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and the wise King Janaka many thousands of years ago. It is one of the most profound discourses that exists. H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar shows how, step-by-step, King Janaka is taken to deeper levels of understanding and how we too can apply this knowledge to our own lives."

Jag mår bra. Jag är glad, till och med lycklig! Jag har sinnesro. Allt i och omkring mig är långt ifrån perfekt. Jag är nöjd, jag har sinnesro. Jag har bestämt mig för att vara nöjd. Lugn. Stilla. Glad. Jag orkar inte oroa mig. Jag orkar inte vara arg eller rädd. Jag är tacksam över min hjärna. Jag är tacksam över att min hjärna är smart.

Nisse Simonsson. läkare:

"Det går att tänka sig lycklig genom att låta bli att tänka sig olycklig. Låter det lite väl enkelt?

Det visar sig nämligen att tankens kraft är större än vi tror. Det är vetenskapligt bevisat att optimisten i genomsnitt lever hela sju och ett halvt år längre än pessimisten. Vår förmåga att känna glädje och tillförsikt beror i slutändan på hur vi tänker om våra liv. Både när lyckan ler och solen går i moln. Våra negativa tankar om oss själv är ofta orsaken till våra depressioner. Detta är den bärande tanken inom den så kallade positiva psykologin som på senare år fått allt större genomslag.

"Man kan faktiskt välja att vara lycklig."

Eftersom vår hjärna är plastisk, det vill säga förändringsbenägen ner till minsta hjärncell, påverkas den rent fysiskt av om vi tänker i dur eller moll. Lyckas vi bryta gamla invanda negativa tankebanor kommer hjärnan sedan ”vilja” välja det positiva tankespåret. Man kan faktiskt välja att vara lycklig."

Question: What is the best way to reach bliss?
Sri Sri: What is the best way? - One is, by meditating, and the other, is by serving the people around you - by getting into some service activity. You know the technique to get depressed is to sit and only think: "What about me? What about me?" - all the time! That's good enough to get thoroughly depressed! Seeing God within you is meditation. Seeing God in the people around you is love, is service. They go hand-in-hand.

http://us.artofliving.org/content-wisdom-qa?center=nj

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=is%20the%20shit

/Jack Johansson

"Service is the expression of joy and love"

"Ask yourself, "How can I be useful to those around me and to the whole world?" Det säger H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, flerfaldigt nominerad till Nobels Fredspris. Sri Sri är grundare till YES!+, en kurs i Yoga, Empowerment & Service där huvudmomentet, förutom att stärka sig själv genom andningsövningar och yoga, är att göra goda gärningar. Att göra en positiv skillnad för andra.

Jag har vidareutbildat mig under ett antal år och blev i maj Sveriges första YES!+ lärare. Vi är nu två YES!+ lärare i Sverige, Victor Påhlsson i Stockholm och jag i Göteborg.

Under den senaste YES!+ kursen i Stockholm, valde kursdeltagarna att designa böcker med en inspirerande text i, som de gick ut på stan och gav till personer.

"Idag är den skönaste dagen i år,
vi glömmer i morgon, vi glömmer igår.


En dag värd att leva vad önskar vi mer,

om bara vi mottager allt vad den ger.

Då upptäcks att livet helt underbart är,
så ta vara på stunden, just nu och just här.

Gör något av den, något du vill

fyll den med mening för dej finns den till.

Försumma ej chansen, du ångrar dej sen,

för tiden just nu kommer aldrig igen"

I böckerna skrev de också "Skriv något och ge boken vidare till någon annan. Maila gärna en rad om hur du fick boken till bookitforward@gmail.com." För en vecka sedan fick vi det första svaret,

"Hi, I received the red book from a woman in Stockholm today! Let´s see where it goes next. /Daniel"

/Jack Johansson

H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

"Guruji" - the Art of Living Foundations grundare. Rishikesh och Bangalore, Indien, februari 2006. Över 1 miljon människor deltog i världens största meditation för fred någonsin vid The Art of Living Foundations 25 års jubileum.

Sri Sri's interview with Dan Shilon at President Shimon Peres' Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, 'Facing Tomorrow' October 21st 2009.

Dan Shilon: You must be very disappointed with this age.

Sri Sri: Do I look disappointed?

Dan Shilon: The world is not going your way.

Sri Sri: I have patience and perseverance and I know it will come right.

Dan Shilon: How old are you?

Sri Sri: I am a little over half a century but I still have a few more years.

You know everybody wants peace. Peace is the innate need of people but they don’t know how to get rid of the negative emotions, tendencies, anger and frustrations. Education is needed in the world today to teach people how to let go of the negativity, let go of the past and move on to the future.

Dan Shilon: Your quote on how to measure your success by your smile, how does that relate to the world. The world is not smiling anymore?

Sri Sri: I know there is a lot of work that needs to be done. There is work for the reformers, work for the doctors. The doctor’s job is to treat the patient but if the doctor falls sick there is no hope for patient! So if we lose our smile we cannot bring a smile onto the face of others. We need to be centered; we need to work hard to bring the smile back onto the faces of the people.

Dan Shilon: When you say lets stop the world for an hour, for 10 days. What do you mean by that?

Sri Sri: Stopping our mind, stopping the racing mind. It is always thinking about the past or it is always thinking about the future. We are angry about the past or anxious about the future. To take a fresh look at the world, the situation, you need to wake up and see, - as Mahatma Gandhi used to say never look back. He would say lets see what we should do now and for the future. That gives a lot of energy, encouragement, enthusiasm, and lifts you up from the ashes even though there are ashes around you.

Dan Shilon: And all this starts in India?

Sri Sri: Exactly, perhaps it may be in other parts of the world as well.

Dan Shilon: I wonder why so many of our children are going to India. Why are they so fascinated with this place?

Sri Sri: India has a long history of spiritual upliftment. When you see that everything is collapsing, all doors are shut, and there is no hope and depression sets in, India gives a vision of something higher. The power of your thought and mind can create your reality, your world and allow you to move in that direction. You may not be successful immediately or tomorrow but the vision and the mission will always take you forward.

Dan Shilon: You are the one who tries to form a bridge between the business world and political world. Is it bridgeable at all?

Sri Sri: Basically we are all human beings. There is humanness in everybody and I feel the reformers, the rulers and the providers they all have to work together only then can society really come together.

Dan Shilon: Are you a little concerned about this mixture between politicians and business leaders? Sometimes it brings corruption. We know it is in this country and in other western countries?

Sri Sri: It is everywhere; even in India there is corruption. Corruption begins when the sense of belongingness ends. If you draw a circle of belongingness around you corruption only begins after that. Politicians need to be more spiritual. By spiritual I mean, have a sense of belongingness towards people. Mahatma Gandhi is an example of this, in this century. He was a spiritual person and at the same time he was a politician too. He had the sense of sacrifice. ‘I want nothing for myself but I want it for my people’. That spirit is going down somewhere along the line. That is why there is corruption and all sorts of unethical businesses have sprung up. We need to inculcate those value systems again, both in politics and in business. Trust is the backbone of business. From what we’ve seen in last 10 months, it took 10 years for communism to collapse, it took less than 10 months for capitalism to collapse, and the reason is that we have ignored our value system and ethics in business.

We have ignored the human values of caring and sharing, of dedication and devotion. If we can somehow re-inculcate these values in our youth, I tell you the youth are ready for it. They want this because they have seen the older generation just running. It is like running on the treadmill that is going nowhere.

Dan Shilon: What is wrong with the current leadership in the world and perhaps our visionary leadership?

Sri Sri: I would say that the sense of belongingness is shrinking. There is a more self-centered, self-serving attitude rather than a sense of sacrifice for the cause. The vision and mission is really lacking.

Dan Shilon: You once said that forgiveness is a cure. Is forgiveness the formula to make peace between Israelis and Arabs?

Sri Sri: Let go of the past and find a new future. From independence to inter-dependence. That is what we have to understand. Independence was a slogan of the past era. Everyone wanted to be independent so that they could be prosperous, but today prosperity does not come from independence it comes from understanding the inter-dependence. This needs to be educated to people. There is also an identity crisis. A person thinks ‘I am a Muslim’ or ‘I am a Christian’ or ‘I am a Hindu’ or ‘ I am Buddhist’ and those who are not, do not belong to me. They look like an enemy.

They need to shift this type of thinking to: - first and foremost, our identity is that we are all human beings. Then, we belong to a certain gender of either male or female. The third identity is that of religion and then finally to a particular nation. If the priority of identity is in the right place I think conflicts can be resolved very quickly.

Dan Shilon: How would you like to see the stereotype of the future leader?

Sri Sri: I feel through education we can change and unite the hearts and minds of people. This cannot be done by the people who are in power. People who are in authority cannot unite the hearts and minds of the people. It is the voluntary organizations, social workers and reformers that have to bring about this change in the mindset and bring the hearts and minds of people together.

Dan Shilon: Are you optimistic like Jimmy Wales?

Sri Sri: I am realistic. Optimism is just hope but when you see it is possible it is practical then I think I am realistic. It is going to happen. People cannot stand tension or stress for too long, somewhere one has to give up. You cannot hold a fist for so long at some point you have to relax and when you relax you see the whole sky is in your hands. This has already begun in the world. Take a look at France and Germany, and in Western Europe. There were so many conflicts in the previous era but now the borders are gone. It has become one currency yet it was unthinkable in the 19th Century. So in the same way I am sure the Middle East crisis could be solved through educating people with a multicultural, multi-religious and broader spectrum of knowledge.

The above is an unedited transcript taken at an event and maybe updated.

© The Art of Living Foundation

H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Receives The First World Culture Forum Award (Culture in Balance) in Germany

Spiritual leader and Art of Living Founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was Saturday conferred with the 2009 Culture in Balance Award in Dresden, Germany, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to all the facets of culture, and for his commitment to global cultural balance. In granting the award, the selection committee attached special importance to Sri Sri's efforts in promoting intercultural dialogue, peace and reconciliation in conflict zones, and ethics in business. The award, instituted by the Forum Tiberius, was presented to Sri Sri by Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz, amidst a standing ovation. The award ceremony took place in a special session of the World Culture Forum, at Volkswagen's landmark transparent factory in Dresden. Rich tributes were paid to Sri Sri by a number of prominent individuals, including Nirj Deva, British Member of European Parliament, Prof. Gesine Schwan, candidate for the 2009 German presidential elections and Dean of Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Berlin, and Prof. Bernd Guggenberger, Dean of Lessing University, Berlin. Upon receiving the award, Sri Sri said, "I share this award with all those people who stand for a violence-free and stress-free society. This award is not for a person or personality, but for a principle that stands for the ideal of a 'one world family and cultural plurality." Earlier in the day, Sri Sri spoke of the need to globalise compassion, wisdom and humanism in his keynote address at the World Culture Forum, besides answering a wide range of questions and conducting a meditation. 


Image: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar addresses the World Culture Forum in Dresden on Saturday. 


Link: http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/11/sri-sri-receives-2009-culture-in-balance-award.htm

Speed Up The Millennium Development Goals

Subject: Faith

Karolin sent you a message.

--------------------
Subject: Faith

Hej Jack!

Gick resan hem till Gtbg bra? Själv så fick jag tag i en tidigare tågbiljett men nog fick jag springa till tåget allt.



Slog upp fatih och visst betyder det tillit också. Så nu gillar jag tatueringen ännu mer :) Haha, sånt kanske jag skulle ha kollat upp innan jag gjorde tatueringen men tur att det innebar någonting mer som jag kunde stå för :)



Faith.
För att ta sig framåt i livet och kunna resa sig upp när man har ramlat behöver man tro och tillit. Ha tillit på din egna förmåga att förändra och påverka ditt liv. Och tro. På dig själv, kärleken, Gud, ödet eller The Simpsons. Bara du tror på någonting för det är det som gör att du stiger upp varje dag.

Ha de bra så ses vi under processledarhelgen!
Kram

Mia Törnblom, Jonas Gardell, Renzo Aneröd & Co gav Eldsjälar Drivkraft

Nättidningen för eldsjälar - drivkraft.org, träffade Mia Törnblom på Forum för Eldsjälar. "Kom ketchup så går vi" är en kortare variant av "Sinnesrobönen" sa Jonas Gardell. Renzo Aneröd planterade drömprojektet "Samhällstjänstgöring" istället för "Värnplikt".

Klimat-färdriktning

Lyssna på fantastiska Sophy och Magnus från Åländska TV Programmet Rakt på.

Sophy Elevall och Magnus Åkerlind från Save the Planet berättar för Nina om sitt miljöengagemang. Klicka HÄR!

A Good Act is wasted if it is not done on time

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Global Creative Leadership Summit @ Yahoo! Video

Sri Sri speaks on the Environmental Crisis & Spirituality @ Yahoo! Video

Photos from the past 3

Världskulturmuseet. Peace Day 08. 21 september.

Photos from the past 2

About 9 years old Cowbow J Johansson.

Photos from the past 1

Nathalie and Maria, Projectmakers 2009

Dear all,

Since I recently found a lot of nice photos in my computer I will share it with you, every now and then.

Please, feel free to make comments.

Enjoy! /Jack

Krokodilsoppa

Krokodilsoppa, originally uploaded by jackjohansson.

Its a good soup. :)

Krokodilsoppa (broccolisoppa)

Soppor

Posted by yogastudion Tue, March 04, 2008 21:25:24

2 l vatten
2 st grönsaksbuljongtärningar
2 st broccolibuketter
3 dl matlagningsgrädde
3 msk creme fraiche
4 msk vetemjöl
4 msk rapsolja
salt
vitpeppar
en skvätt pressad citron
250 gram kokt pasta

Gör så här:
Skär broccolin i mindre bitar
Koka upp vattnet och buljongen
Låt broccolibitarna koka med buljongen och vattnet i ca 7 min innan du tillsätter övriga ingredienser.
Tillsätt matlagningsgrädden och creme fraichen, vispa.
Red av med oljan och mjölen (som du blandat slät), vispa.
Låt småkoka på svag värme en liten stund och smaka av med salt och peppar och en skvätt pressad citron.
Mixa soppan slät med en stavmixer direkt i kastrullen, smaka av.
Lägg i den kokta pastan på botten av sopptallriken och slå i soppan,njut!

Receptet kommer från Maria Eriksson, vars barn älskar både krokodilsoppa, dinosauriesoppa och solskenssoppa.

Vegetariskarecept

Blurry tabasco soup, originally uploaded by jackjohansson.

Blurry tabasco soup :-)

Estonia was cleaned up from illegal waste. 50 000 volunteers cleaned up more than 10 000 tons of illegal garbage in ONE day!!!

Campaign "Let's Do It!" - a grassroot initiative to clean up the country from illegal waste in just one day. There was over 10 000 tons of illegal waste lying around all over Estonia and it was an outrageous plan -- to clean it all up on one day! More than 600 volunteers were working to make it all happen with only 3 full-time employees. On May 3, 2008 with help of 50 000 volunteers more than 10 000 tons of garbage gathered and Estonia was cleaned up from illegal waste. http://www.teeme2008.ee
Next project is: look www.minueesti.ee

Ett glatt Göteborg - 10 000 leenden på 10 dagar

Nu kommer Take A Breath till Sverige och Göteborg!



På midsommaraftonen arrangerade the Art of Living Foundation Take A Breath DC och Smile DC - for a violence-free and stress-free America. I kampanjen det samlades in tusentals leenden, 200 personer personer deltog i workshopen YES!+ som står för Yoga, Empowerment & Service och det gjordes en meditation för världsfred utanför Vita Huset i Washington DC.



Nu tar Art of Living Sverige vid med kampanjen "Ett glatt Göteborg". 10 000 leenden fotograferas på 10 dagar med start på Götaplatsen måndagen den 13 juli kl 13.00. Den 23 till 28 juli arrangeras YES!+ workshopen i Nordengården på Stockholmsgatan 16. Gratis introduktion med mat på söndag 19 juli kl 17.00. Anmälan på: http://www.artofliving.se/yesplus

Smile DC from Ben Henretig on Vimeo.

Teaching D.C. How to Take A Breather

By Rachel Saslow
Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

About 200 people are sitting on yoga mats in a Washington hotel ballroom trying to learn how to do something they already do about 21,600 times a day: breathe.

This "automatic breathing" they've been doing all their lives? No good. So they're learning to breathe deeply from their diaphragms and hoping that benefits -- such as stress reduction, better sleep and increased mental focus -- will follow.

"If you're angry and you want to be calm, what do you do? Breathe how?" asks senior teacher Rajshree Patel from a stage at the front of the room, a white orchid at her side. "The breath of rest and relaxation. And you will see the mind will shift. If you switch the rhythm of breath, it will switch the emotion."

"Take a Breath DC" ran from Wednesday to Saturday and culminated in a group meditation for about 600 in Lafayette Park. The course was organized by the Art of Living Foundation, a nonprofit group that has its national headquarters on 15th Street NW. The cornerstone of Art of Living is a rhythmic breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya. About 30 years ago, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (not the sitarist who knew the Beatles; different guy) discovered that this type of breathing, combined with yoga and meditation, can bring inner peace; he and his followers have taught the art of better breathing to millions since then.

The D.C. students paid $250 for the course, which ran for 22 hours over four days. (Art of Living also teaches prisoners, high-schoolers and natural-disaster survivors how to breathe, for either a reduced rate or for free.) The organization will host two more breathing courses in the District this month: One starts today, the other on Friday.

The students must agree to these rules:

1. Be on time.

2. Finish the course.

3. Eat a vegetarian diet. (One muscular young man seems concerned he won't get enough protein. "I'll let you eat eggs," Patel says. "Because they're not chickens yet.")

4. No alcohol. ("You're going to do a lot of cleansing of the system, and you'll find that if you've had alcohol the night before -- or the morning or the afternoon -- what happens is, in the evening, the first thing you'll cleanse is the alcohol, and I'd like to go to deeper layers of cleansing with you.")

5. Refrain from tobacco.

6. No recreational drugs.

Students get extra credit for avoiding caffeine.

Vincent Ko, a Georgetown University student, heard about the course when a young woman from the Art of Living chatted him up at the Iceberry frozen yogurt shop on M Street NW. His "party animal" friends, he said, were skeptical of all the yoga and meditation talk, but Ko was intrigued.

"I'm at that point where I'm going to be a senior, and I'm really stressed out about what I'm going to do for the rest of my life," Ko says. "I'm trying to start this business, I want to be an entrepreneur, but then, like, should I do an investment banker type of deal? So I'm just freaking out. . . . I'm at a crossroads."

During the first session, Patel leads the participants in a variety of games and exercises that all end with a life lesson. For example, Patel tells a math riddle about a shop owner and a counterfeit $100 bill. The students must try to solve it themselves, then break into groups of two, then four, then eight to come to a consensus on the answer.

She makes an example of a group that cannot agree on a solution.

"You are so convinced that you are right, that instead of listening, you're giving an argument in your head long before you speak," she says. "Then we wonder why relationships don't work."

"I've been married three times; don't ask me!" quips one man.

During a break for granola, fruit and energy bars, Ko gives a "so-so" verdict on the seminar so far: "They've been talking a lot about the past, and it's mostly about the future for me."

After the break, the students learn the first breathing technique aimed at bringing the mind into the present moment: "ujjayi," sometimes called "ocean breath" because it makes the sound of the sea. The 14 Art of Living instructors and 46 teachers-in-training (most whom wear flowing white pants) scatter throughout the room and show the students how to breathe in and out through their noses while constricting the backs of their throats. When everyone has it down, Patel instructs them to sit cross-legged, close their eyes and practice ujjayi breath. After a few minutes, participants say they feel peaceful and relaxed.

One even says, "The colors are brighter."

By the end of the four days, Ko is a believer: He plans to meditate 30 minutes a day and take refresher classes at the Art of Living headquarters on Wednesday evenings.

"It was really powerful," Ko says of the course. "While we were doing meditation, I could visualize all my stress, and it stopped bothering me."

Comments: saslowr@washpost.com.

Du vill så du kan!

Vad gör du för att må bra? from Drugsmart on Vimeo.

Skårdalsvägen, Bohus

Skårdalsvägen, Bohus, originally uploaded by jackjohansson.

Blommar.

Take A Breath DC at WUSA9

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Stopping what you're doing for one moment each day can make the difference in curbing stress, turmoil and even violence.

An international organization called Art of Living says meditation and yoga is a great way to find some peace and live better.

Their message is simple, in order to lessen the amount of stress we face each day, everyone should give breathing exercises and meditation practices like yoga a try.

Art of Living has spread their recipe for finding peace around the world, from Iraq to Russia to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit.

Their latest campaign is called, "Take a Breath DC."

Art of Living Program Director, Rajshree Patel says the way we deal with the turmoil in our lives will impact all are other reactions.

Patel explains, "If you look at the state of the economy, the wars, the violence, everybody is under stress. If we don't address the route cause of stress in the individual it shows up in the family and it shows up in the community."

The Art of Living Foundation's Take a Breath DC campaign offers empowerment programs year round for young people wishing to gain confidence, focus and give back to their local communities and abroad.