'Vibe The Vote': Omni Center visualizes 'world that works'

The Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology in Fayetteville is calling "spiritual warriors of all paths" to come together for 20 minutes Sunday to "visualize an election outcome that brings us closer to a world that works for everyone."

One of the event organizers is Tas Zinck, a Little Rock native who has called Fayetteville home for the past seven years.

"I'm a full-time permaculture designer here in Fayetteville, doing edible landscaping, food forestry, and regenerative agriculture, design, consulting, and implementation," he explains. "Right now, my business partner, a handful of fellow permaculturists and community organizers and I are working on a community food forestry initiative we're calling Eco-Archipelago.

"Before I ever moved here, I had attended an event hosted by the Omni Center," he continues. "My entire residency in Fayetteville, I have been involved with the Omni Center in various capacities. My friend and sometimes collaborator Kim Brasher asked me if I would be interested in participating in this event and I said yes."

According to Zinck, "Kim and I were talking about the importance of mindfulness practices, and their potential to influence the mindsets of large groups of people. With the election coming up soon and political tensions running high, we decided asking people to collectively take a deep breath and pause to visualize what a better world would look like could only be a good thing."

On Sunday, says Zinck, "10 of us will be be assembling, socially distanced of course, in the Omni Center parking lot to meditate together. We will have someone facilitate the beginning of this exercise to guide us into a state of deepened awareness and contemplation."

But they're asking that everyone who wants to join in.

"We are hoping people -- wherever they may be and whoever they may be with -- will take a moment to sit back and visualize everything working out and going smoothly on [Election Day]," Zinck explains. "For some, they may see this as an effort to 'manifest' or 'will to be' an election outcome, but I think regardless of what you believe about the power of prayer, or the Maharishi effect, the proven benefits of meditation to your mental well being and ability to handle stress could help reduce the societal anxiety surrounding this coming transfer of political power."

"Many yoga studios and people from different churches are participating, [and] we are hoping that small Covid pods will be gathering together in this effort all around town," Brasher says. "We are hoping way more people will join us in our efforts all around the country. We feel there is power in numbers and feel this is one small thing we can do that might make a difference.

"This event is sponsored by students from the [University of Arkansas student organization] Omni UARK," she adds. "According to The Associated Press, millennials and younger generations outnumber the Baby Boomers, so we are extra excited about this election."

Zinck does not mince words when he's asked about the outcome he hopes for -- his definition of "a world that works for everyone."

"To me the first step towards a better world is voting the current president out of the White House. He has pushed us closer to climate catastrophe and fascism, increased the concentration of wealth into fewer hands, and emboldened prejudiced groups in the United States. For me a world that works for everyone is created through policy such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and reforming criminal justice by rethinking public safety programs and abolishing ICE.

"I think a lot of us are pretty wound up, and distressed over the political climate right now and forget how important it is to remind yourself that fixating on potential doom is damaging to our well-being and can end up fueling a self-fulfilling prophecy," he adds. "You have to first believe change is possible before you can seek to affect said change. When your actions are rooted in mindfulness, the results are generally more fulfilling."

"In a time where everything is so connected, yet circumstances require us to be disconnected, we think that it is important to get together, safely of course, to put our collective energy into looking to a better future," says Sydney Golding, president of Omni UARK. "There is power in positivity, and we hope to harness it."