If
that’s the wish of all people why has peace still evaded us?
I
once read a book called the “Anatomy of Peace” by the Arbinger Institute where
the authors ask some very profound questions: What if conflicts at home,
conflicts at work, and conflicts in the world stem from the same root cause? What is their conclusion? The
choice between peace and war lies within us. As one of the characters says, "A solution to the
inner war solves the outer war as well." This book offers more than hope
-- it shows how we can prevent the conflicts that cause so much pain in our
lives and in the world.
“If the way of peace is
to succeed, it must offer a substitute for everything war now offers.”
~
Dr. Deepak Chopra, author of the Peace is the Way: “Bringing War and Violence to an End.”
What
is the meaning of Peace?
Peace
is defined by a freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility, calm and
serenity; privacy and solitude; also ease and contentment.Peace can also be law and order, harmony and non-violence; absence of violence and war.
“There is no other way
to peace. Peace is the way.”
~Mahatma
Ghandi
Why
is it so hard to create Peace?
For
once, it is an abstract term, an invisible value, a dream, a vision, something
nobody has ever seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted. But so are terminologies such as love,
beauty, truth, and goodness. There are
values we all strive for but we all have different ideas of what they
mean.
"The democratic
world places value upon the individual person because each one is a child of
God. The greatest care must be taken to assure each individual's liberty and
freedom of choice, for without liberty, a person's actions have no value."
~
Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon - Challenges
and Possibilities for World Peace, June 1, 1987
How
can we overcome that internal struggle?
It
is no wonder that we are fighting wars between countries when the actual
conflict starts in our own mind. Have you ever become aware of the internal
battle in your own mind? Or the struggle
your head puts up when your heart says something else? Or witnessed the arguments and repetitive
slogan your negative mind plays over and over again? That conflict happens when one part of you
disagrees with what the other part is doing. Or the clash of your mind and body
when the alarm goes off 6:00 AM and you would rather stay in bed than get up and
go to work?
As
we discovered before, the values we are striving for are all invisible. The way we can manifest anything into the
physical realm is through experience and practice. The same way an athletes have to train day in
and day out or a musician has to rehearse the scales before she can play a
beautiful song, the daily repetition brings him the perfect result. And even with all the drills and repeats the
probability of success is only 3 out of 10 or some similar rate; practice and
training make perfect score.
How
can we ever achieve that mind-body unity?
Since
the dawn of times the individual and mankind as a whole have been striving to
create peace while conquering each other, while battling and fighting war at
the same time.
The
moment we forget that man is not only a physical being but a creature with
spirit and soul, we are always faced with challenges. And they are not only encounters of
relationships. Darrel Scott, the father
of Rachel Scott who died in the Columbine High School tragedy, says it best:
"Men and women are
three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to
acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil,
prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were
present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many
of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical
fact.
What has happened to us
as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors
to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy
occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They
immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away
our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.”
~ Darrell Scott, Father of Rachel Joy Scott, victim of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999
As
Darrel mentions we have pushed all spiritual elements out of our schools and
education systems, in fact out of almost every aspect of our society. Why can’t spirituality without any particular
religious flavor be part of our everyday lives?
“People say to me, ‘but
if I simply accept reality then I will become passive and nothing will
change. I answer them with this question.
Which of these statements makes more sense? "I wish I hadn't lost all that
money.’ or ‘what can I do now to create more income?’
Accepting ‘what is’
doesn't mean you settle for the way things are, it just means you give up all
the resistance and inner struggle by wishing it were different.”~ Robert Anthony, Author and Self-help guru
How
can we become Peace-Makers?
In
his book “Peace is the Way” Deepak Chopra writes about war being a myth which provides an outlet for national vengeance, it
satisfies the demands of fear, it brings power to the victor, it provides
security to the homeland, and it opens an avenue for getting what you want by
force. He talks about being addicted to
war just like to any other bad habit.
The
first step to any change is awareness. We
all can practice peace every day by changing our habits and mindsets. Chopra
salutes conflict resolution, voting, and finding concrete ethical ways of
supporting nonviolence. Dr. Chopra
suggests a seven step process to replace addiction to a way of love.
One practice for each
day:
Sunday:
Being For Peace
Monday: Thinking For Peace
Tuesday: Feeling For Peace
Wednesday: Speaking For Peace
Thursday: Acting For Peace
Friday:
Creating For Peace
Saturday: Sharing For Peace
I
am glad that Dr. Chopra includes the existence of God as necessity for finding
a way to peace. He says that the way of
peace isn't based on religion or morality. It doesn't ask us to become saints
overnight, or to renounce our feelings of anger or our thirst for revenge. The way of peace is based on the same thing
that ushered in the age of science: a leap in consciousness.
Next
week I will explore more ways as to how peace can come about.
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