Blog: Reporting back from DOP conference

Where do I even begin? 2 years ago when I attended this conference and I felt that I had taken the red pill akin to Neo in the Matrix. I felt I had truly woken up to my life purpose; that what I had been exposed to at the conference: the speakers and the attendees had shown me a world that my heart had always known possible. And I knew that after the conference, that I had been changed for ever.
This 3rd Annual DOP conference was even more amazing than 2003's. From Azim Kahmisa's program that helps reduce gang violence by 80%, to Patch Adams call for us to be beacons of love, to Laurie Meadoff's TV Program Chat the Planet which connects and facilitates dialogues between American and Iraqi youth, this conference showcased only a small slice of what the Department of Peace could do create a positive change in this nation. I cried through out the entire event, and cried right into my congressional meeting with Congressman Henry Waxman's aide Zahava Goldman.
My own personal point during that meeting was my belief in the importance of creating a Peace Academy, where graduates would be taught cutting edge ways to wage peace. To me this is personal, because if such a program existed, I would be enrolled in it right now. Because there is nothing that I want to do more than be a facilitator of peace.
If you have yet to check out the Peace Alliance website, I encourage you to do so. This is necessary work and it's time has come.