In one interview, Jennifer shared her enjoyment of Buddhism and meditation when she said, “It’s a very interesting thing. The Buddha doesn’t want you to take anything on faith, but to investigate it on your own, so it requires a lot of analytical thinking… before that, I had enjoyed meditating in a group, and remember saying to a friend that I really enjoyed the meditation part of yoga class and wish I could find just a meditation class.”

Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Chicago on July 17-18 was promoting a need for religious harmony at an invitation by the Theosophical Society of America and his President, Tim Boyd. On his first day, Dalai Lama had a public talk at the University of Chicago on “Bringing the Faith Divide”.

Photo ©louis himes / PR Photos

Before His Holiness’s speech, Jennifer Beals introduced the InterFaith ARTreach Collaboration program, which was an initiative where different religious groups got together to create various sculptures that were their representation of the symbolism of the 12 World’s religions. Jennifer spoke about the importance of art, which is a part of our DNA as human beings. “We have all witnessed the power of the arts to deeply connect people, to open our minds to new ideas and express our innermost sacred selves. The imagination isn’t just simply reserved for children. The imagination can be, for all of us, a very real gateway to joy, understanding, liberation and peace. “ArtReach” acknowledges the power of that creative spirit and celebrates it as essential to the creation of compassion and action.”

Jennifer also brought up the connection between the creative art on the stage and different beliefs when she said, “Much like the world that we all aspire to live in, the collective whole of the sculptures is a sacred expression of many beliefs and practices coming together and working as one. Separate beliefs, but with a common purpose of respect and service to humanity.”