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Article published Nov 19, 2006
SUSAN SWARTZ: 'Make love, not war' gets literal
On Dec. 22, if organizers get their way, there will be a giant energy blast that will rock the world, make it smile and want to cuddle.

Call it cosmos orgasmos, a variation of a meditation for peace. But instead of a group "Om" this is a collective "Big O" -- as in orgasm.

The first synchronized Global Orgasm for Peace is the brainchild of those who four years ago birthed Baring Witness, the anti-war demonstration that called for people to get naked for peace, starting with 45 women forming a giant peace sign on a chilly Marin County, Calif., field in November 2002 for an aerial photographer.

It was artist Donna Sheehan's way to get media attention and show the world that not all Americans were gung-ho for the newly declared war. The idea caught on and Baring Witness actions were staged around the country and the world, with men and women stripping and spelling out "peace" or "no war" or similar sentiments in places like Salt Lake City, Hong Kong, Dallas, Hiroshima, Antarctica, South Africa and Paris.

With no letup on Iraq's killing fields and with new wars threatened, Sheehan and her partner, Paul Reffell, advanced to a new plan for coming together -- a worldwide day of whoopee Dec. 22, the winter solstice. Reffell, who lives with Sheehan on Tomales Bay, Calif., where sharks mate and whales sing, said he came up with the idea at a party.

"I said, 'Wouldn't it be something if we had a synchronized global orgasm, releasing the most powerful input of energy that humans produce at the same minute around the world?'"

But knowing you can't always orchestrate these things, even between two people, they decided it could be just as potent to extend the Big O throughout the 24-hour period, a series of little O's if you will, allowing flexibility of time and place for participants.

There is no official count of recruits since the couple started circulating e-mail announcements in five languages through www.globalorgasm.org. But there is enthusiasm. An engineer from Hungary wrote that "he will be doing it alone but he will join us." For those who need to arrange for a partner or shop for supplies, the site has a countdown clock of days, hours and minutes to blastoff.

Unlike Baring Witness, the Big O will not be photographed or turned into a calendar, but Sheehan and Reffell do expect to see the earth move.

Soon after Reffell had his epiphany, Sheehan heard a report on late-night radio about special generators being used to measure the effect of human consciousness on matter. The two became convinced that releasing sexual energy and peaceful thoughts en masse could jump-start a sick world in the same way some believe that collective prayer and meditation can cure illness.

So far the idea has been met with "a howl and a giggle," but Sheehan said that's how Baring Witness began before winning converts. "Even the conservative male media that started out wanting to make us look stupid gave the idea a sort of grudging respect."

Even if nothing goes off but a few ring-a-ding-dings, at least, Reffell said, "it's a high-energy way to put something positive out in a negative world."

Well, sure, and aren't we looking for some way to feel better about the world, since it's pretty obvious war isn't working? A climactic convergence might be a nice healthy outlet for all that misdirected testosterone that gets us into war.

Susan Swartz is a columnist for The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.