An OM Revolution...

I was recently approached by OM Matters and asked the question: What does OM Revolution mean to you?

This was an interesting question. My first thought was about the word "Om." It is a Hindi word that is most often (in our society) heard in yoga class, but is rooted to the Hindu religion. It's meaning can be as individual as "the soul" to something as huge as "the universe." In any case, it is often chanted as a calming invocation to look within an individual being and/or to unite many individual beings into one large, truly unified unit.

On the flip side, the very first mental image I get when I hear the word "revolution" is the image of war and all of the violence and bloodshed that goes along with it. I hate that this is the first place that my mind goes, but I suppose that as someone who both studies history and has a basic sense of what is going on in the world, it isn't surprising.

The great thing about loving history is that I also have an awareness of times in the past when the word "revolution" hasn't been tied to something vicious and bloody. I think of the Baltic Chain/Baltic Way, from 1989, in which nearly 2 million people across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania held hands across the borders of their countries to peacefully draw attention to the fact that they wanted their independence. I think of Rosa Parks, quietly refusing to give up her seat on the bus. I think of "Revolution," the Beatles song that explicitly states, "When you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out."

So when I hear the phrase "OM Revolution," I think of a gentle movement. A peaceful movement. A movement in which people all over the world are aware of themselves and are aware of the people around them. It is a movement of kindness. It is a movement of connectedness. It is a movement that takes the good lessons from the past and applies them to the future.

It is a movement that we greatly need.

What do you think? Want to join the revolution? Even a step as small as purchasing and wearing a tank top (or tee) can help? You can proudly wear your message for all to see, which will spread the word. Also, 10% of all proceeds from OM Revolution tops will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-profit that is focused on defending rights and liberties.