Midday meditation

Raleigh church opens doors to spread peace and quiet

They sit in the pews facing the semicircular stage in silence. They're not waiting for the pastor, nor do they expect a sermon.

Many close their eyes. Only an occasional cough breaks the quiet inside the cavernous sanctuary.

Outside on Person Street, cars and trucks whiz by, while the noontime downtown crowd darts to lunch. But this group sits still.

They are meditating. Thirty minutes. Midday. Downtown Raleigh.

Lunchtime prayers and Bible studies are a staple in the South, where office buildings abut churches. But a new practice is slowly emerging in the state's capital -- silent meditation. The Unity Church of the Triangle, which recently moved into the Long View Center next to the Exploris Museum, is leading the way. The goal of its new initiative, called "one%," is to get one percent of the people in Wake County to meditate daily.

To that end, the church is throwing open the doors of its sanctuary, weekdays from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

Meditation's health benefits are proven. Studies have shown an association between meditation and lower blood pressure, pulse rate and levels of stress hormones in the blood. But that's not the main reason Unity Church members sit in silence and focus on their breathing.

Members here believe meditation can reduce violence and promote peace.

"When we become peaceful, it helps people around us become peaceful," said the Rev. Neusom Holmes, Unity Church of the Triangle's minister. "There's a communitywide shift toward peace."

Holmes proposed the idea to his congregants last year and 125 people -- about a third of the congregation -- pledged to meditate daily. Now the church wants others to join them. The Unity Church is open to people of all faiths, cultures and sexual orientations. Members want the "one%" project to be multifaith. Christians can come in and pray to Jesus. Buddhists can come in and empty their minds.

The initiative falls neatly among the church's eclectic offerings. This Saturday, Cheri Huber, a California-based Zen Buddhist teacher, will hold a workshop on ending suffering and living mindfully. The congregation offers prayer classes, a Hatha yoga class and spiritual movie nights, too.

Time for a break

But the idea of meditation as a way of promoting peace has caught on, even among people who initially resisted it. Mamie Potter, for example, said the first time she tried it, she thought she was going crazy.

A busy woman who helps her husband run a general contracting business, Potter sits on the church board and leads a couple of discussion groups in Raleigh.

Slowly, though, the practice grew on her. She now meditates an hour daily at home, sitting on a cushion, cross-legged. The practice has helped her quit smoking and drinking alcohol. Plus, she has lost weight.

"I had been filling up moments with empty things -- food, alcohol, smoking," said Potter, 55, of Raleigh. "Meditation allows me to stop the busyness in my life and find a calm place within myself."

And while the benefits of meditation may seem personal rather than political, the two are connected. That's what Holmes, the church minister, found out after reading an article by a University of Maryland researcher who helped teach people to meditate in a remote Lebanese village.

John Davies, the researcher, suggested there was a link between the number of people meditating and a reduction in the rates of violent crime. He concluded that people who meditate may be able to let go of their anger and open up to new possibilities of cooperation.

The theory makes sense to Trisha Hasch, a Raleigh city planner. After she began meditating, she found she wasn't getting as irritated with people, and she had greater confidence she could resolve problems. In meditating, she said, she is able to break down the divisions between herself and the rest of the world.

"It's a calming mechanism," Hasch said. "I truly believe it can have an effect on your home, community, city, country, the world."