As an act of solidarity with lakeshore communities that have suffered a recent wave of criminal violence, some 400 high school students and teachers from Guadalajara’s Preparatoria Jalisco arrived at Ajijic’s waterfront Malecon early Saturday, June 2 to launch the creation of the Labyrinth of Peace meditation garden.
Arriving aboard a fleet of ten buses, the throng of teens quickly spread out to pick up litter strewn along the shoreline. A team of expatriate volunteers pitched in to hand out cups of water to slake the thirsts of the busy young visitors.
All the while, a string of dump trucks began unloading loads of clean earth, with a bulldozer following along to smooth the surface of the garden maze, a work in progress designed by Ajijic artist Efren Gonzalez. Once completed, it will be made up of a brick walkway winding through beds of plants all bearing white blossoms.Just after noon all participants received a small token of appreciation consisting of a white quartz stone previously energized at the Foco Tonal, a place located near Ocotlan renowned in spiritual circles as a focal point of powerful cosmic vibrations. The entire crowd then gathered up flower pots plants and formed a human chain on the future labyrinth site. Raising up their arms and the plants in their hands, all joined in for a minute of silence while meditating on thoughts of peace and harmony.
The Prepa Jalisco academic staff, under leadership of professor Rosalio Almaguer Ramirez, brings student groups to the Lake Chapala area twice a year to engage in community service projects. These activities began with the school’s participation in the Abrazo del Lago (Hands Around the Lake) celebration held in 2000. Over the years the students have cleaned up tons of trash, planted thousands of trees and learned to appreciate Lake Chapala as one of Mexico’s natural treasures.