The Universal Multicultural Dialogue – an international interfaith festival – was launched in 2012 in Guadalajara, Mexico. As TIO reported last month, UMD II will be held this coming May 6-9. Elías González Gómez joined the Carpe Diem Foundation sponsoring the first UMD as soon as he heard about it. He has written an extended article about the experience. Excerpted below is his story of the 2012 festival’s opening day.
Interfaith Dialogue Flowering in Mexico
More than 1,000 participated in the “Universal Multicultural Dialogue of 2012,” a spiritual and cultural festival held at the Archeological Museum in Guadalajara, Mexico, August 29-September 2. The five-day conference included 140 events: panel discussions, dialogues, workshops, performances, meditations, ritual celebrations, yoga instruction, and a keynote by neurosurgeon Dr. James R. Doty of Stanford University. His talk centered around scientific research of the beneficial effects of meditation on the brains of a group of Buddhist monks.