Pentagon Meditation Club - PMC

    TIME LINE - PMC History              

 See also:  ABOUT THE PENTAGON MEDITATION CLUB

(SDI) Prison Project    (SDI) Military Exchanges    (SDI) Peacemakers

SPIRITUAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE - (SDI)

1975     “New Approach to Problem Solving: The development of Creative Intelligence” 3 Vols. – A thesis on meditation, consciousness, and problem solving cleared for open publication by the Directorate for Freedom of Information and Security Review, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs).

1976     Meditation Club charter (bylaws and constitution) approved by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Welfare & Recreation).

1980     (SDI No. 1) Prison Project  phase 1 co-sponsored by Office of the Secretary of Defense and the District of Columbia Department of Corrections under an interagency mobility program - The project first in a series of Spiritual Defense Initiatives.

Approximately 200 corrections officers and 400 prison inmates introduced to centering meditation in a stress management classes.

1976 - 2004     (SDI No 7) Spiritual Warfare      Throughout the entire twenty-year history of the PMC and for many years afterwards there was spiritual warfare and a long trail of deception arising from false allegations and attacks (in books, video's and on TV), frequent misunderstandings, ridicule, and abuses by religious clergy and religious conservatives, including Bible groups at the Pentagon and uninformed critics inside the Pentagon, across the country, and in the City of Winchester, Virginia where Ed and Loretta Winchester live just outside of the city.  The opposition that came from those opposed to meditation activities initiated by the Club's founder and president, Ed Winchester amounted to a witch hunt. The "trail of deception" that started in New Zealand in 1976 gained momentum at the Pentagon, and ends in the City of Winchester, Virginia with SDI No. 7.

1981     Lorton Transformation Project phase 2.

Approximately 800 prison inmates introduced to centering meditation in stress management classes.

1986 - 1988     (SDI No. 3 ) Military Exchanges inaugurated at the Pentagon. (An International Transformation Program)

1986     The idea and name for "Peace Shield Meditation" came from Edward Winchester who first coined the terms "Peace Shield," "Peace Shield Effect," "Peace Shield Campaign," and "SDI - Spiritual Defense Initiative" in 1986 at the beginning of the war with Iraq. 

1987    (SDI No. 2) U.S. - U.S.S.R. Citizens Summit)   Changing Perspectives on National Security By Changing Consciousness An International Transformation Project based on a study written by PMC President, Edward Winchester. The Winchester study was discussed with a visiting Soviet delegation at a “Citizens Summit” sponsored by the Center for Soviet-American Dialogue. 

1988     (SDI No. 2) US-USSR Pentagon Prayer Breakfast   Hosted an interfaith group of religious clerics (Muslim, Russian Orthodox, Jewish, and Christian) and five members the Soviet Peace Committee at the annual Pentagon Prayer Breakfast.

Co-sponsored with the Soviet Peace Committee a (SDI No 3) Military Exchanges program approved eventually by the U.S. Secretary of Defense as the “Military-to-Military Exchange Program”.

1988     (SDI No. 4 ) Peacemakers – Initiated the Peacemakers Monument Project as an  International Transformation Project  - Designated project manager for situating two identical 8- ton marble monuments created by artist and sculptor Frank Hendler, one for the Soviet Union the other for the United States, and started investigations of possible sites for the monuments.

1989     Journey to Russia for discussions with Russian officials concerning the Peacemakers Monument -  Meditations and public lectures presented at various locations in Moscow, Kiev, and Leningrad. According to news reports, the Peace Shield Meditation at Kazhan Cathedral was televised to approximately 400 million viewers.

PMC hosted “Soviet-American Youth Ambassadors” at the Pentagon and at the U.S. Capitol building.

1991     (SDI No. 5)  Middle East Crisis -  Proposals submitted and considered by White House staff, the Office of the Chief of Chaplains, the Government of the District of Columbia, and the Embassy of Iraq to co-sponsor an International Spiritual Defense Initiative aimed at transforming the Middle East Crisis and Persian Gulf War..

"GEMS - Government Employees Meditation Service" established on a trial basis for six months.

Assisted employees at the Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, and American Red Cross in establishing new meditation groups.

One of the peacemakers erected in Moscow, Russia; the other is situated on the main campus of Shenandoah University at Winchester, Virginia.

Ceremonies organized at Shenandoah University for dedication of the Peacemakers Monument including representatives of the White House National Security Council, the Russian Embassy, state and local officials, and other dignitaries in attendance.

1995     (SDI No. 6) Nuclear Tests and Peacemakers Award  Participated in New Zealand efforts to halt nuclear testing in the Pacific ocean; Presented a replica of the Peacemakers Monument to the New Zealand and Peace Foundation for Peace Studies at Auckland, New Zealand.  Also presentation to Dr. Elaina Bonner, wife of the late Dr. Andrei Sakharov - top Soviet nuclear physicist accepting the "Dr. Andrei Sakharov Peace Award" (the Peacemakers Statue, miniature replica).

1996     Ed's VISION of a nuclear explosion of the Pentagon and Wash. D.C., received while in the Pentagon Meditation room.

1996 -1997     The PMC became inactive.      ABOUT US: PMC HISTORY

9-11-2001 to Present Time     Pentagon Meditation Club reactivated to continue working on SDI No, 5 in the face of terrorism and new developments in Middle Eastern countries.  The Pentagon Meditation Club - PMC and Edward Winchester obtained permission from the acting Pentagon Chaplain at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. to start a PMC website that had been on the drawing board for 6 months prior to 9-11.  The Club began operating outside the Pentagon as tighter restrictions were imposed on admittance to the Pentagon building.  It is now a civilian based organization sharing this work outside of the Pentagon facility and through it website. 

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