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Our apologies if this is not an appropriate group for this posting.  We've 
having a challenge finding appropriate venues for this announcement.



March 29, 1995       

                             For Immediate Release

  ==========================================================================
 World Peace Institute Launches Search for California Conference Site Donor 
 ==========================================================================


SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The World Peace Institute (WPI) announced it plans today 
to establish a combined headquarters and conference/seminar site in the San 
Francisco Bay area of northern California.

Craig Sharrow, co-founder and executive director of the organization, said 
that the World Peace Institute has begun a search for a multi-acre site for 
its training, conference and behavior-change programs.

"We hope to find a donor, or a sponsor of a low-cost long-term lease, for a 
secluded mountain-top site in the coastal area of northern California near 
San Francisco," said Sharrow. "This type of environment would be conducive to 
the Institute's goals and objectives."

World Peace Institute hopes to find a 50+ acre site, with or without existing 
structures, at which it can offer educational, informational and research 
programs for "ordinary people" as well as for civic, business and 
governmental leaders.


The World Peace Institute's Mission
===================================

The World Peace Institute is a non-profit, non-denominational organization 
working to bring about fundamental changes in individual values and 
priorities that will foster a more humane, more compassionate and less 
aggression-driven society.

"Think of us as a Peace Corp for people's hearts and souls. We believe that 
the present level of tension and conflict in the world is a 'bottoms-up' 
phenomenon. That is, nations or cultures or societies don't become more 
violent without the invididuals who comprise those groups tacit or active 
buy-in." Sharrow continued "Therefore, if we can identify the changes in 
social structures and values which have occurred in this century which have 
contributed, we can begin to separate them from those values and beliefs 
which encourage greater humane regard for ourselves and others."


World Conflicts and Individual Violence Have the Same Roots
===========================================================

"The conflict in northern Ireland. Iraq's aggression against Kuwait. Turkey's 
genocidal repression of the Kurds. Rwanda. Haiti. Drive-by shootings. Spouse 
and child abuse. Children's use of guns and drugs to solve perceived 
problems.  Destruction and defacing of property. All these behaviors are 
related. The common thread is a loss of belief in people's self-worth and in 
their ability to constructively deal with the problems of the society they 
find themselves part of."


The World Peace Philosophy
==========================

Individuals have become increasingly alienated from themselves, fellow humans 
and their natural environment.  Many social and governmental programs attempt 
to attack symptoms rather than underlying causes. Prisons, gun control, drug 
enforcement, and an increasingly growing and byzantine patchwork structure of laws that 
seek to control people's behavior have failed.  They were destined to fail as 
much as putting a bandaid on cancerous tissue will fail to halt cancer's 
spread.

Actions are based on values.  Values evolve from beliefs.  We need to prove 
to people that some of the fundamental time-tested beliefs and values of 
Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, native American Indian, and other 
humanistic and spiritual philosophies are relevant to 20th century societies 
and issues.  Many individuals view the world with a "God is dead", 
"everything is relative" mindset.  This "your point-of-view is no better than 
anyone elses, so what does it matter, let's not even bother with such silliness" 
attitude is not simply a fatalistic, nihilistic reaction to a sense of 
powerlessness. It IS the root cause of the "take the money and run" sense of 
lawlessness pervasive in today's society.

Without recognizing that some form of clearly expoused and accepted beliefs 
and values is essential to human mental health, people walk through their 
lives confused, bewildered, frustrated and angry.  This leads to individuals 
and groups wildly lashing out at their perceived tormenters and wrong-doers.

A re-examination of traditional world-philosophies and their values, a 
reacceptance of their teachings, and an integration of them into daily living 
is the necessary first step to the kinder and gentler world everyone wishes 
for.


Encouraging Individuals to Re-Take Personal Responsibility
==========================================================

The World Peace Institute is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by any 
religious organization, sect, cult, nor by any other political or social 
organization or movement.  It believes in the individual's ability to 
positively and actively change their environment and society by taking 
personal responsibility and initiative.

We have come to believe that it is someone else's job to 'mind the store' 
and make things right.  That someone may be the government who should look 
after us in retirement via Social Security payments.  Or it may be the 
court system who is supposed to extract retribution from corporations who 
have "wronged" individuals.  Or it may be schools who are supposed to take 
responsibility for bringing up children we're too busy to, and too incapable 
to provide moral training and guidance.

               'I don't know what to believe anymore.'

                     'Someone should fix this.'

            'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it.'

                        'It's their fault.'

               'They don't know what they're doing.'

Take reponsibility.  Decide what to believe in.  If it's broken, don't wait 
for someone else to fix it.  Anger comes from a sense of powerlessness.  
Empower yourself; no one else can do it for you.  Take time to smell the 
roses.  Recognize that you are part of nature.  We're all in this together.  
Don't pee in the swimming pool.

Does it sound too simple and too simplistic?  Why should life have to be 
complicated?  

The right mind.  The right attitude.  Belief in yourself.  Regard for fellow 
men.  Courtesy.  Kindness.  Courage.  Compassion.  Justice.  Mercy.  
Conviction.  Responsibility.  Honor.  Truth.  They're not mere words.  They 
are principles that can shape the world.

Every civilization's wise men, philosophers and prophets have expoused these 
principles.  The fundamentals are small and simple.  But like needles in a 
haystack they can easily become lost or overlooked.  And once lost or 
misplaced, it may take a great deal of effort to recover.  

That is the World Peace Institute's real goal.  To help individuals learn to 
recover what has become lost.  A sense of humanity.  A sense of purpose.  
Rational moderation.  Balance and perspective.



For More Information Contact:
=============================

Craig Sharrow
Executive Director
World Peace Institute
P.O. Box 471839
San Francisco, CA 94147-1839

Email: sharrow@calon.com  
                                      ###

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  Craig M. Sharrow
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  P.O. Box 471839                        Fax:  415-454-1839
  San Francisco, CA  94147-1839        Email:  sharrow@calon.com
                                   Alt Email:   csharrow@crl.com

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