Discover meaning at the Festival of Faiths, April 19 24 – Insider Louisville

What do Muhammad Ali, Trappist monk Thomas Merton and His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lamashare in common? They each have a special connection with Louisville. Serving as the birthplace of Muhammad Ali, the location of Thomas Mertons epiphany, and a destination that is highly regarded by His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Louisville is an important place in the world of thought, faith, compassion and opportunity.

The ideas and influences of each of these individuals are brought to lightduring Louisvilles ever-growing annual Festival of Faiths, hosted bythe Center for Interfaith Relations. The festival, which began 22 years ago and is the first of its kind, has grown into a well-known international event, showcasing impressive guest speakers from across the globe and attracting visitorsfrom a number of different countries. Scheduled for April 19 24, the 2017 Festival of Faiths titled Compassion: Shining like the Sun is sure to be the annual events biggest, most exciting yet.

Conversations on meaning

The key focus of the Festival is the question of meaning, making it a unique forum for looking at contemporary issues through a spiritual lens: from politics and the economy, to media, race and pop culture. The Center for Interfaith Relationsbelieves these subjects deserveattention and deepdiscussion.

Attendees at the Festival of Faiths are engaged inConversations on Meaning in a time of multiple crises of meaning involving internationally renowned faith leaders, thinkers and practitioners.Ideas, principles and wisdom from the depths of the worlds great spiritual traditions are explored, along with new research in science and social sciences, all with the goalofoffering deeper insight on lifes most pressing issues. Referred to as the Ted Talks of the Spiritual, the Festivals conversations inspire reflectionand invite celebration.

Whether you have a strong spiritual, faith or secular background, and wherever you are on the political spectrum, you canfind your own personal inspirationby attending the Festival of Faiths. The Festival offers the opportunity to connectwith people from Louisville and all over the world,and learn how other religions and cultures have viewed the world and approached the subject of meaning. This event is much more than a fellowship of the religiousits an opportunity for personal empowerment, enrichment and community engagement.

A showcase ofour citys compassion

Thanks to the vision and leadership ofLouisvilles Mayor Greg Fischer, compassionate cityis more than a soft description. Itis becoming a true aspiration for many engaged local residents. And in an effort to contribute to Louisvilles commitment to compassion, the Festival of Faiths will reflectthis year on what it means to be a compassionate city.

At the Mayors invitation, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to Louisville and be featured at the Festival of Faiths on April 23 and 24 at the KFC Yum! Center. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is returning tothe city due to a deep sense of obligationto see what Louisville has done to cultivate compassion as a universal human responsibility in order to grow into a truly compassionate city.

At the Festival of Faiths, you can learnabout many local innovations, including Louisvilles designation as anInternational Model City of Compassion and what this means to people in our community and around the world. You can also hear results of the 2017 Mayors Give A Day week of service as well as an update on theCompassionate Schools Project, which aims to educate the whole child for self-awareness and self-understanding.The experience should help us gain a greater understanding ofthe meaning of compassion and the factors that must combine to produce an authentically compassionate city.

An opportunity to discover new ideas and traditions

The 2017 Festival will look at how we would cultivate inward and outward compassion in the face of multiple challenges locally and globally: inequality, alienation, disinformation, racism, violence, polarization and fear.

In a time of extremes, of rapid change and a growing sense of disorientation, the Dalai Lama talks of the universal human need for inner mental and emotional strength and balance, regardless of religious affiliation. Moving from the global to the local, what would a compassionate city look like? How would we integrate those universal interior values the Dalai Lama speaks of, those principles for inner self-regulation to rebalance our inward and outward health in the civic space and urban laboratory. How would we reimagine a compassionate city?

For more information on the Festival of Faiths, its schedule of events and its list of speakers, visit the events website or visit the Center for Interfaith Relations at 415 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Sign up for the latest announcements on the Festival of Faiths here: http://bit.ly/dalai-lama-lou-emails.

The Center invites readers to join in on discussions of meaning on compassion on social media pages, using the following hashtag: #compassionshining.

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Discover meaning at the Festival of Faiths, April 19 24 - Insider Louisville