Southwest will never be quite the same. Last month more than 200 people came out and participated in the “Day Out of Time” Celebration at Westminster Church, an all-day event celebrating planetary peace through culture.Every July 25, the 13 Moon Calendar, a Mayan-influenced natural time system, acknowledges this day as a time to honor our creativity, disconnect from the mundane affairs of life, exercise forgiveness and cancel debts.The Day Out of Time observance began at dawn and lasted into the evening, occurring simultaneously with other similar synchronized events happening worldwide. With an overall theme of “Time is Art,” and in keeping with Westminster’s current “Wellness Wednesdays” activities, the event emphasized the healing, culinary, creative, visual, musical and environmental arts through activities and presentations.
Participants started the festivities with sunrise meditation, Tai Chi–Qigong, yoga, and a walk in Westminster’s labyrinth. During lunchtime, people enjoyed a variety of arts-focused activities for youth and adults, drumming and dancing, meditation, Tai Chi–Qigong, and acoustic musical performances from local artists including harpist and singer Ivy Hylton and reggae musician Baba Ras D.
The afternoon featured seated yoga, laughter yoga and Tai Chi–Qigong offered to participants. The day’s activities concluded with a “Time is Art” talk, sunset meditation, and film screening of the documentary “2012: Time For Change,” produced in part by Evolver.
The late Dr. José Argüelles (1939 – 2011), author of The Mayan Factor, clarified and popularized the date Dec. 21, 2012 as being the end of the Mayan Great Cycle. He wrote that, “The Day Out of Time has been celebrated since 1992, as part of a growing populist world movement, the World Thirteen Moon Calendar Change Peace Movement, whose purpose is just that – to change the calendar.”
He continued, “July 25, the Gregorian calendar date of the Day Out of Time, is the 365th day of the year of the Thirteen Moon calendar. This harmonic timing standard (reflected in the lunar cycle) measures the year in 13 even months of 28 days each, a perpetual calendar of 52 perfect weeks, making a total of 364 days. The 365th day, the Day Out of Time, is no day of the week or month at all, but truly a Day Out of Time. For this reason, this special day is observed as the day to cancel debts, to pardon and forgive, and to celebrate life through art and culture.”
The event was produced in collaboration with Planetary Art Network-DC, Evolver DC, One Common Unity, Heal Humanity, and the Foundation for the Law of Time. For information about the 13 Moon Calendar, how to get involved in the calendar change movement or next year’s event, contact Manifest at (202) 746-4537.