A small, quiet flash mob assembled Dec. 22 at the New Lenox Public Library and, instead of singing, they mediated, leaving behind a spirit of calm, serenity and stillness.

The event was soothing and educational for participants and those spectators unaccustomed to the mechanics and benefits of meditation. More than 20 cities worldwide participated in meditation on the same night, said Michelle Ann Frank, founder of MedMob South Suburban Chicago.

“Some people think meditation is religious, that’s it’s about worshipping false gods or that it’s for pot-smoking hippies, but science has shown we’re wired for this,” Frank said. “I just want people to know all …

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Writer Megan Bishop-Scott has had this one idea percolating in her mind for some time now.

What she calls a “flash mob meditation” in Calgary where people get together for the spiritual practice.

The challenge, she says, is helping people understand what meditation is all about.

One of her main contracts is writing life histories for foster children.

“Because of that, I’ve actually been asked to go to group homes where some of these really hard foster kids are,” she says. “I’ve taught them how to meditate. And they get it in a second. Basically what I explain to them is that life …

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Connie Mears: If you were searching for peace, rush hour at the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal might not be the first place you’d look, but commuters spilling off the 6:20 p.m. ferry Dec. 22 were met with the soothing sound of – well, breathing.

A group of residents gathered in the terminal as part of a “MedMob,” a takeoff on the popular flash mob movement. Instead of thrashing to “Thriller,” MedMobsters meditate in a public place for one hour, then offer an 11-minute “sound bath,” in this case chanting “Om Shanti Om.”

“We might have gone a little longer than 11 minutes,” said Helen …

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Julian March: Saturday morning winds whipped swirling wisps of water from the Cape Fear River into a gray sky.

Triathlon runners periodically glided by as a gathered crowd cheered “wooo-woooooo” as a woman “dling-dling-dlinged” a cowbell.

In the middle of the movement, meditators silently sat on a stone courtyard on Water Street.

Their eyes were closed. They did not speak. Wrapped in blankets, they did not move.

A woman with coffee wondered aloud why the meditators chose the location at the farmer’s market in front of the Federal Courthouse. A toddler danced before a bluegrass trio. Across the river, music played over speakers at …

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For those who may wish to meditate, and help create a peaceful atmosphere at Occupy Wall Street events, here are some upcoming dates, courtesy of The Jizo Chronicles:

Oct 15: Occupy the Present Moment in solidarity with OWS. Where: Santa Fe, NM. Click here for more info.

Oct 15: Occupy the Present Moment in solidarity with OWS. Where: Vancouver, BC For more info: Click here for more info.

Oct 15: Meditation at the Occupy Vermont event. Where: Montpelier, VT For more info: Click here for more info.

Oct 16: Public Meditation at Occupy Wall Street. Where: New York City, meet at the steps of Trinity Church at …

People with the Occupy Wall Street protest in Zuccotti Park form a circle and meditate on October 5, 2011 in New York. The Occupy Wall Street protests started Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp nearby in Zuccotti Park and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Shreya Banerjee: Although many mobs are affiliated with loud noise and violence, a different kind of mob took over the north side of the Long Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday night.

Approximately 150 people gathered to participate in a meditation event held by the group MedMob in conjunction with International Day of Peace.

The participants silently meditated for one hour and then did a sound bath afterwards. The sound bath is an 11-minute interval in which the members chant one word together — with “om” being the most common — as a way to supplement their meditation.

“We spend most of our time hearing bad…

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Naseem Khan, the Guardian: I’ve never been too drawn by flashmobs.

If people chose to gather clandestinely and suddenly burst out into song en masse or into a dance routine, it seems harmless enough. Maybe a burst of a surprise activity in a public place is a good thing, momentarily shaking people’s assumptions of what is normal, and maybe raising their spirits.

But the idea of a flashmob of people meditating? In Trafalgar Square? I didn’t care for the idea. It seemed to either present meditation as a display of the weird and wonderful, or be making an ostentatiously pious comment about the dehumanisation of urban contemporary life.

Weirdness or smugness, why …

Flash Mobs are large groups of people who gather “spontaneously” in a public place, perform an unusual act then quickly disperse. On June 2, the Wake Up London sangha organized a flashmob meditation in London’s Tragalgar Square, which attracted several hundred participants. The event was modeled on public meditations such as the one in Austin, Texas, that took place this spring.

The project’s goals included creating an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation, spreading awareness of meditation to the public, and coming together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

At 6:32PM a female member of Wake Up London …

The Statesman reports on a Meditation Flash Mob, that converged on the State Capital grounds in Austin to promote a message of peace and harmony.

People convened at the Capitol on Sunday afternoon for the first Austin flash mob meditation. They meditated all over the capitol grounds from noon to 1 p.m. using their meditation power to bring positive intentions to the state. Then they moved inside the Capitol and formed a circle in the rotunda and chanted OM for about 20 minutes.

This was the second such event in Austin, and the organizers said in a press release that they would be joined simultaneously by eight other …