Peace Begins Within

In order for peace to prevail, we must alter our thinking to believe that as individuals we can make a difference in the world. As a result of our efforts, it will be seen that we honor and are tolerant of each other’s humanity, respecting our differences and emphasizing our similarities.

Peace begins with centering the self…

If we wish to ease the burden that is ‘”out there” in the world, it is necessary to ease our own burdens first. To help accomplish this, we must focus the mind or consciousness to reflect within and pray for assistance from the Cosmic Energy, God, the Great Source, the Mind, or however we choose to recognize the ultimate power of life and being.

Someone once said, “God doesn’t make junk.” We must know that we are loved by God, for we are a part of God. We must love ourselves with all our faults and failings, yet strive to overcome these. Most of us let little things get under our skin from time to time. We play a blame game that makes us victims of imagined wrongs. We do not accept responsibility for effects we feel from actions we have caused. When we can get away from our own self-deception that tells us we are not good enough, and move instead to a point of balance and self-love, then we are able to achieve a state of imperturbability. Then the small stuff ceases to bother us. This creates a peace of mind within and a consciousness poised to serve others as well as ourselves.

Earth roots humanity to the same strivings…

Everyday on this planet people are working hard to survive. There is great disparity among the human race: some are born in wealth, more in poverty; some in fine health, others in a daily struggle to exist. Yet, however one may encounter humanity, the basic needs are the same—food, shelter, water, health, self-respect, employment, appreciation, love, laughter, family. In fact, there is so much more in common that should bring us together, rather than drive us apart by dwelling on differences. Neil Diamond’s song, “Done Too Soon,” poignantly emphasizes this sameness: “They all sweated beneath the same sun, looked up in wonder at the same moon; and wept when it was all done, for being done too soon.”

We all tread the ground beneath us. It is a foundation and a connection for us while we are here on Mother Earth. We have choices in how we deal with those we encounter on our path in life. Recently in Canada there was a program bringing Palestinian and Israeli teenagers together at a summer camp. Through games and projects where they needed to rely on each other for success and even safety, these young people gained respect for one another and a sense of hope for their shared future in the Middle East. Their cautious “cease fire” was nurtured by seeing each other as non-threatening and having like goals simply as people. This gives us hope.

Air is the breath of God we share…

Another commonality of the human race is evident in the biblical verse in Genesis which says “God breathed the breath of life into man and he became a living soul.” In other words, every breath of air we take is life, is God, and we are all, therefore, connected through the one soul. This truly makes us brothers and sisters with every other person on earth. Think about that….we all come from the same source, and air, or nous, connects us all.

There is a line in Leon Uris’ book Exodus which reads, “The dead share the earth in peace; it is time for the living.” With every breath, we in-spire the consciousness of God. How we choose to use this great gift of life is up to us. Let us choose peace.

Charity for one another can begin with a smile…

For peace to have a chance we must reach out to others through love, hope, and service. If we think a smile may not seem like very much, remember Mother Theresa’s words: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” It is up to us to make the first move. We have a suffering, war-torn world if we make the wrong choices, or choose to do nothing.

We know that thoughts are things that have creative energy. By sending thoughts of peace and harmonium to our beloved Earth, to Gaia, to people from every nation, culture, and creed, as well as to all creatures great and small, we help to bring that peace into reality. Our positive thoughts and prayers have many times the energy of any negative consciousness, for that negativity ultimately returns to poison the thinker. How much better it is to assist in the raising of humanity’s collective consciousness in an upward spiral, however slowly that may manifest.

One wonderful exercise for this process is a guided peace meditation written by Dr. Lonnie Edwards of AMORCLink to Water-Light Meditation, where the flags of each country are first focused upon with thoughts of peace, love, healing, sharing, etc., and then are sent back to their home countries carrying concentrated energy for peace throughout the globe. Each of us can easily give a few minutes time to perform this kind of simple and loving service to mankind.

Egos subdued, our higher selves prevail…

For most of our lives, it has been so easy to imagine ourselves as entities separated from everything else around us. Sadly, much of the world is consumed by feelings of selfishness and lack. An attempt is made to soothe this misconception by moving from one material pleasure to another. If, as shown above, we can now see that we must master ourselves first, see that happiness lies within, and that we are all one family of humanity, we may begin to eliminate pride, fear, hate, greed, resentment, vengefulness, anger, and all ego-based energies. In their place we can exhibit tolerance, love, sharing, caring, respect, dignity and a host of other aspects of the higher self.

Wordsworth put it well, “The world is too much with us late and soon. Getting and spending we lay waste our powers, little we see in nature that is ours, we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon.”

In summary, we find that peace requires each human mind or consciousness to recognize “Ma,” the mothering aspect of our earthly strivings, coupled with ubiquitous air, which is the Holy Spirit we must be ready to receive, plus “Ra,” the love of God expressed by humanity as service. Yet this trinity is dependent upon free will to subdue the ego allowing our consciousness to align with the will of God. We must combine these aspects to create peace. Now if this seems daunting, just remember to charitably smile and keep trying, for the mystical law states that “if we will to do, we will be given the power to do.”

So mote it be.

--Phoenix Rose

Click here to listen to the meditation mentioned in this essay.