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Thought you might like to take a look at another peace project I have been working on - it's the reason why my posts to this blog have been so erratic of late! I have recently created a website to promote inner peacefulness called The Peace Pledge. If the link doesn't work you can find it here: www.ThePeacePledge.org
There is also a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/peacepledge and within six days of launching it had 2500 page likes! It is now tracking close to 21,000 "likes". Pretty cool, huh?
Kind of exciting to discover there are so many people in the world striving to be peaceful and live peacefully.
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Showing posts with label peacefulness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peacefulness. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Your Words Have Power: What Are Aum Qualities?
Do you speak the truth, always? How carefully do you choose your words? We take language for granted. We throw words around, playing, experimenting, casually expressing ourselves according to our mood and whim. Often we are quite unconscious of our impact on others, or how our words can bounce back to impact even on ourselves.
Words have power. They shape our life experience, they influence other people's views of us and their opinions of how things are. I read recently that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your communication. Perhaps a rather large statement, but I can certainly see some truth in it.
I have a friend who seems to be constantly on the attack / defensive. His language can be very passive-aggressive; I have watched this past year while his business has crumbled around him. He wonders why people keep double-crossing him or letting him down. I wonder if perhaps he just didn't start out with clear boundaries, accurately articulating his expectations, and then when confusion set in, found his communication style alienated the people he was working with, setting up a nasty spiral, often ending in legal action.
Is it the words themselves that have the impact or is there something else at play also?
In eastern religions, there is a sacred or mystical term, said to mimic the sound of creation and life itself. The term "aum" or "om" is a verbal phrase that when spoken or chanted it is reported as having a profound resonance, an eternal, universal quality. It is said to contain cosmic energy that makes up the very fabric of existence, and resounds forever.
Think about the sound of a bell ringing - the sound gets softer and softer but does it ever end? Or a pebble dropped into the ocean... does the ripple ever stop running through the water?
Om is supposed to be a bit like that. Powerful stuff.
But that's not all.
The universal sound of "aum", according to Indian philosophy, has three forms of expression; creation, preservation and destruction.
In Autobiography Of A Yogi (Paramahansa Yogananda, 13th edition, 2010, Self-Realisation Fellowship) it says: "Each time a man speaks a word he puts into operation one of the three qualities of aum".
Creation, preservation or destruction.
Each time you share words, what are you putting out into the world? What are you creating? Maintaining? Unpicking?
We live our lives on so many levels. If we could become more aware of what we are creating, perpetuating or destroying, and how, rather than being taken by surprise when things don't unfold as we hoped, perhaps we could start to create and manifest a life for ourselves that was closer to our best-case imaginings.
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Words have power. They shape our life experience, they influence other people's views of us and their opinions of how things are. I read recently that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your communication. Perhaps a rather large statement, but I can certainly see some truth in it.
I have a friend who seems to be constantly on the attack / defensive. His language can be very passive-aggressive; I have watched this past year while his business has crumbled around him. He wonders why people keep double-crossing him or letting him down. I wonder if perhaps he just didn't start out with clear boundaries, accurately articulating his expectations, and then when confusion set in, found his communication style alienated the people he was working with, setting up a nasty spiral, often ending in legal action.
Is it the words themselves that have the impact or is there something else at play also?
In eastern religions, there is a sacred or mystical term, said to mimic the sound of creation and life itself. The term "aum" or "om" is a verbal phrase that when spoken or chanted it is reported as having a profound resonance, an eternal, universal quality. It is said to contain cosmic energy that makes up the very fabric of existence, and resounds forever.
Think about the sound of a bell ringing - the sound gets softer and softer but does it ever end? Or a pebble dropped into the ocean... does the ripple ever stop running through the water?
Om is supposed to be a bit like that. Powerful stuff.
But that's not all.
The universal sound of "aum", according to Indian philosophy, has three forms of expression; creation, preservation and destruction.
In Autobiography Of A Yogi (Paramahansa Yogananda, 13th edition, 2010, Self-Realisation Fellowship) it says: "Each time a man speaks a word he puts into operation one of the three qualities of aum".
Creation, preservation or destruction.
Each time you share words, what are you putting out into the world? What are you creating? Maintaining? Unpicking?
We live our lives on so many levels. If we could become more aware of what we are creating, perpetuating or destroying, and how, rather than being taken by surprise when things don't unfold as we hoped, perhaps we could start to create and manifest a life for ourselves that was closer to our best-case imaginings.
Tweet
IF YOU LIKED THIS BLOG POST YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
God Speaks In Whispers - Margaret Silf
The I Accept Prayer
Anger Gets A Bad Wrap Sometimes
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Creating a more peaceful world
One peaceful person is like a pebble cast onto a lake. The ripple effect of that person's peacefulness creates gentle, wide, unending waves.
If we set peace as our primary goal, suddenly all of our interactions have focus and meaning. At each moment we can be choosing to create peace - or create drama and upset. It is possible to have difficult conversations without losing your peacefulness. It is possible to be frank - and gentle - when necessary, without crossing into drama and conflict. It requires committment, self mastery - a lifelong goal!!! - and at times we will not be able to pull it off. Old patterns will dominate us, challenge our new thinking. We will make mistakes, but every second is a new opportunity to see yourself more clearly and step outside to reflect and re-focus on peace.
Our sources of unrest may not be reactions to other people and events, they may be thoughts or situations we keep choosing for ourselves. In each new moment, though, you can make different choices. Meaning that with each new thought you have a new opportunity to choose and move closer to peace.
Sometimes our desire to please others, or protect them, means we don't listen to ourselves, our inner voice that tells us when we are okay and when things are off. I have a friend who is engaged - but doesn't want to be. To avoid disappointing his parents, and hurting his girlfriend, he is reluctant to break it off. Needless to say he lacks peace. In his heart, though, he knows what is right for him. When and if he can eventually be honest with himself, and those around him, about what is right for him, hopefully inner peace will be much closer for him. Although a period of drama and upset, may, indeed, be part of his journey in that case.
Whatever your situation, work, home, self, it is possible to move and grow and embrace a more peaceful life, a happier, more honest life, closer to our individual bliss.
When fear and guilt coming rushing in and you stand on the edge of a major upset breathe, ground yourself, trust, and re-commit to a peaceful path.
Tweet
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If we set peace as our primary goal, suddenly all of our interactions have focus and meaning. At each moment we can be choosing to create peace - or create drama and upset. It is possible to have difficult conversations without losing your peacefulness. It is possible to be frank - and gentle - when necessary, without crossing into drama and conflict. It requires committment, self mastery - a lifelong goal!!! - and at times we will not be able to pull it off. Old patterns will dominate us, challenge our new thinking. We will make mistakes, but every second is a new opportunity to see yourself more clearly and step outside to reflect and re-focus on peace.
Our sources of unrest may not be reactions to other people and events, they may be thoughts or situations we keep choosing for ourselves. In each new moment, though, you can make different choices. Meaning that with each new thought you have a new opportunity to choose and move closer to peace.
Sometimes our desire to please others, or protect them, means we don't listen to ourselves, our inner voice that tells us when we are okay and when things are off. I have a friend who is engaged - but doesn't want to be. To avoid disappointing his parents, and hurting his girlfriend, he is reluctant to break it off. Needless to say he lacks peace. In his heart, though, he knows what is right for him. When and if he can eventually be honest with himself, and those around him, about what is right for him, hopefully inner peace will be much closer for him. Although a period of drama and upset, may, indeed, be part of his journey in that case.
Whatever your situation, work, home, self, it is possible to move and grow and embrace a more peaceful life, a happier, more honest life, closer to our individual bliss.
When fear and guilt coming rushing in and you stand on the edge of a major upset breathe, ground yourself, trust, and re-commit to a peaceful path.
Tweet
IF YOU LIKED THIS BLOG POST YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Finding Joy Each Day
Wishful Thinking
Beautiful, Perfect, Broken
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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Love Is Letting Go Of Fear
The other day a friend sent me a text message. It said "You'd think I would find it easier to love than be fearful". Yet again she was at a cross roads in her life and, tormented by her expectations for herself and of others, was profoundly uncomfortable. Her lack of peacefulness was like a mantle she was wearing; a tight-fitting, restrictive jacket she was straining to be free of. You could see it in her face, hear it in her voice, her words.
It doesn't seem fair, when you want something so desperately, to find yourself so far away from it. Career, love, home comforts. It is easy to become angry, moody, resentful. Easier still to start to doubt yourself: "Will it ever happen?", "Have I done the wrong thing?", "Is there something wrong with me?", "Have I made bad choices?". You can get desperate, start to make rash choices, react, panic.
Stop. Step back. Breathe.
The sun comes up each day, and sets quietly behind the horizon. Most of us have a roof over our heads, a bit of cash coming in, a few people who care about us. There are birds singing in the trees. A big wide sky overhead. Fish in the oceans (for a while longer anyway).
Trust that the choices you have made were the best you could make being who you are and knowing what you did at that time. You may know better now, be better equipped now to make different decisions, but back then... you didn't. Don't beat yourself up.
Similarly, that glorious future you imagine for yourself... is it stealing joy from your now? Are you so consumed by the picture you have created in your head that you can't be grateful for the wonderful present? Sun on your back, steaming hot coffee, compliment from a stranger...
I was given a book many years ago by a friend. It was called "Love Is Letting Go Of Fear" (by Gerald G Jampolsky). It's a thin book, less than 150 pages. The writing is big. It has cartoons. Six years later I still sleep with it by my bed. I can go weeks without referring to it, but I think about it daily.
Fear, expectations (future), guilt (past) - they steal your peacefulness. They unsettle your day, take you away from this moment, right now. And it is so important that in this moment we are doing everything we can to expand and love and be generous with ourselves and others. By doing so we benefit immediately... and the benefits continue to flow to us over time... and whether those secret dreams of ours come true or not we've been feeling good along the way.
Unlike my friend, whose sleep is disturbed, heart is closed, and head is full of harsh stories of failure and doubt.
I love her and wish her peace. I hope she can shake off that prickly coat (and I hope I can keep mine hanging neatly in the cupboard...)
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It doesn't seem fair, when you want something so desperately, to find yourself so far away from it. Career, love, home comforts. It is easy to become angry, moody, resentful. Easier still to start to doubt yourself: "Will it ever happen?", "Have I done the wrong thing?", "Is there something wrong with me?", "Have I made bad choices?". You can get desperate, start to make rash choices, react, panic.
Stop. Step back. Breathe.
The sun comes up each day, and sets quietly behind the horizon. Most of us have a roof over our heads, a bit of cash coming in, a few people who care about us. There are birds singing in the trees. A big wide sky overhead. Fish in the oceans (for a while longer anyway).
Trust that the choices you have made were the best you could make being who you are and knowing what you did at that time. You may know better now, be better equipped now to make different decisions, but back then... you didn't. Don't beat yourself up.
Similarly, that glorious future you imagine for yourself... is it stealing joy from your now? Are you so consumed by the picture you have created in your head that you can't be grateful for the wonderful present? Sun on your back, steaming hot coffee, compliment from a stranger...
I was given a book many years ago by a friend. It was called "Love Is Letting Go Of Fear" (by Gerald G Jampolsky). It's a thin book, less than 150 pages. The writing is big. It has cartoons. Six years later I still sleep with it by my bed. I can go weeks without referring to it, but I think about it daily.
Fear, expectations (future), guilt (past) - they steal your peacefulness. They unsettle your day, take you away from this moment, right now. And it is so important that in this moment we are doing everything we can to expand and love and be generous with ourselves and others. By doing so we benefit immediately... and the benefits continue to flow to us over time... and whether those secret dreams of ours come true or not we've been feeling good along the way.
Unlike my friend, whose sleep is disturbed, heart is closed, and head is full of harsh stories of failure and doubt.
I love her and wish her peace. I hope she can shake off that prickly coat (and I hope I can keep mine hanging neatly in the cupboard...)
Tweet
IF YOU LIKED THIS BLOG POST YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Practicing Gratitude
Finding Joy Each Day
Do You Hear What People Tell You
.
Monday, June 28, 2010
True Champions For Peace
Not sure why the phrase "champions for peace" popped into my head but, on impulse, I did what every good cyber citizen sitting by a computer does and Googled it... Two results came back that hit home. The first was to a book of that name called "Champions For Peace - Women Winners Of The Noble Peace Prize" by Judith Hicks Stiehm, and the other was a link to a site about the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Israeli / Palestinian conflict.
Suddenly I was in over my head. As I scanned this "peace with realism" page and came to the lengthy references at the page's end I felt tremendous anxiety. Walking side by side with peace is conflict, death, anger, pain, justification and passion on all sides, opposing positions, huge consequences. Wading into the cause of peace brings you brushing right up against it's opposite. Contrast... as it is with so many things. They are the other side of the same coin. Love / fear. Joy / grief. Victory / loss. If one team wins a soccer game, then the other must, by definition, lose (yes, we have World Cup fever here at the moment).
The person who wrote that page about the ISM wrote with passion, conviction, indignation. Tragic deaths were cited, excitable words used, and very specific examples given to illustrate the point. I am so ignorant of the topic I would not even begin to suggest the slightest hint of an opinion about the materials that website contains... rather it is the emotion behind the page that interests me, the incredible tension within the words of that page, the thousands of people who have read it and linked to it to push it so high up the Google rankings...
...and the constant challenge each of us have each day to stay on the peaceful side of conflict.
When did you last have a sleepless night? Perhaps it was work stress that was keeping you up, or a disagreement with a friend or partner, anxiety about an exam... a noisy neighbour? It is probably not a stretch to suggest that at some point, as you lay there trying to rest, you felt a spark of anger. "How could she speak to me like that?"; "How dare they turn the music up so loud so late at night?" etc.
It's true, there are "big time" champions for peace out there who are tackling conflict on a large scale, extreme conflict, violence, injustice, big, nation-wide issues... like the Noble Prize winnng women, and others who are vocal about peace... perhaps even, in his way, "Carlos" the author of the anti-ISM page... and that may not be your calling in life BUT...
...what you do and how you react to the issues and conflicts that come up in your life all contribute to a culture and community of peacefulness or conflict. Do you honk your horn at a fellow driver? Or slow down and waive him into the lane ahead of you? If someone yells at you do you yell back or step away and remove yourself from the drama? Do you make choices in your daily life to support and increase your peacefulness and that of others or do you find yourself perpetuating tension? (Gossiping at the water cooler).
You don't have to have your name mentioned in a book to be a true champion for peace and you don't have to let the world "walk all over you either". In fact, you don't even have to succeed at being peace-making!!! It's the constant re-committment to trying again, doing better, striving for a more harmonious outcome that is what it's all about.
Hopefully, as we all get better at being peace champions, instead of giving us bigger tests, the universe will reward us with more peaceful lives and help us to "increase the peace" for others. Or perhaps just being peaceful - showing that it is possible - will be enough to inspire greater peacefulness in another...
Suddenly I was in over my head. As I scanned this "peace with realism" page and came to the lengthy references at the page's end I felt tremendous anxiety. Walking side by side with peace is conflict, death, anger, pain, justification and passion on all sides, opposing positions, huge consequences. Wading into the cause of peace brings you brushing right up against it's opposite. Contrast... as it is with so many things. They are the other side of the same coin. Love / fear. Joy / grief. Victory / loss. If one team wins a soccer game, then the other must, by definition, lose (yes, we have World Cup fever here at the moment).
The person who wrote that page about the ISM wrote with passion, conviction, indignation. Tragic deaths were cited, excitable words used, and very specific examples given to illustrate the point. I am so ignorant of the topic I would not even begin to suggest the slightest hint of an opinion about the materials that website contains... rather it is the emotion behind the page that interests me, the incredible tension within the words of that page, the thousands of people who have read it and linked to it to push it so high up the Google rankings...
...and the constant challenge each of us have each day to stay on the peaceful side of conflict.
When did you last have a sleepless night? Perhaps it was work stress that was keeping you up, or a disagreement with a friend or partner, anxiety about an exam... a noisy neighbour? It is probably not a stretch to suggest that at some point, as you lay there trying to rest, you felt a spark of anger. "How could she speak to me like that?"; "How dare they turn the music up so loud so late at night?" etc.
It's true, there are "big time" champions for peace out there who are tackling conflict on a large scale, extreme conflict, violence, injustice, big, nation-wide issues... like the Noble Prize winnng women, and others who are vocal about peace... perhaps even, in his way, "Carlos" the author of the anti-ISM page... and that may not be your calling in life BUT...
...what you do and how you react to the issues and conflicts that come up in your life all contribute to a culture and community of peacefulness or conflict. Do you honk your horn at a fellow driver? Or slow down and waive him into the lane ahead of you? If someone yells at you do you yell back or step away and remove yourself from the drama? Do you make choices in your daily life to support and increase your peacefulness and that of others or do you find yourself perpetuating tension? (Gossiping at the water cooler).
You don't have to have your name mentioned in a book to be a true champion for peace and you don't have to let the world "walk all over you either". In fact, you don't even have to succeed at being peace-making!!! It's the constant re-committment to trying again, doing better, striving for a more harmonious outcome that is what it's all about.
Hopefully, as we all get better at being peace champions, instead of giving us bigger tests, the universe will reward us with more peaceful lives and help us to "increase the peace" for others. Or perhaps just being peaceful - showing that it is possible - will be enough to inspire greater peacefulness in another...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Happiness Is Contagious
Next time you are walking down the street, looking for a bit of a distraction, try this little experiment. When you see someone coming towards you give them a smile, not in a freaky way but a "gee, what a nice day it is" kind of way.
People's reactions can be quite entertaining. Some will be confused, others will ignore you, but most, without even thinking about it, will simply give you a sheepish smile back. It's like a happiness echo. Perhaps inspite of themselves, your cheeriness triggers a response.
I suspect that, like peacefulness, happiness may be a teeny tiny bit contagious.
People's reactions can be quite entertaining. Some will be confused, others will ignore you, but most, without even thinking about it, will simply give you a sheepish smile back. It's like a happiness echo. Perhaps inspite of themselves, your cheeriness triggers a response.
I suspect that, like peacefulness, happiness may be a teeny tiny bit contagious.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Beautiful, Perfect, Broken
Often we are so much more tolerant and generous with others than we are with ourselves. Is it possible to reach a point where we are at peace with who we are, warts and all, right here, right now?
I was walking a long a beach two weeks ago - a very quiet beach in a hard to reach place in a national park on the edge of the world. The sand was soft; in the course of the day the sky was every shade of blue from full sunshine to slade, rain-cloud grey; the back drop was stunning. Yes, there were even dolphins swimming in the bay. It was a truly ideallic place.
As I walked along the water's edge a shell caught my eye. It was large, green and beautiful. I held it up and looked at it from every angle. I have seen sea aneome shells before. They are fragile and exquisite and usually quickly smashed into little pieces by the sea. It's not often you see one so large, or in such good condition, and yet, it was not whole.
As I stared at it, taking in the complexity of the pattern on it's skin,the amazing shade of green that had not yet been bleached by the sun, it's white interior, the soft, porcelin like feeling of it, I was struck by how incredibly perfect it was, this natural artwork. Beautiful and perfect... and yet, broken. The sea had been at it. A large piece was missing from one side.
At that moment, it occurred to me that so many people are just like that shell - amazing, beautiful, incredible creations... perfect in their way... and yet, broken or damaged too. Is it possible to be both "perfect" and "broken"? The terms seem contradictory; the English language limited in this context. Yet here, in my hand, was that very object. A perfectly conceived object (the skeleton of a once-living creature); beautiful still, but with a big piece broken off it.
It made me happy.
We spend so much time trying to improve ourselves, face our demons, work through our issues, and so on and so forth ad nauseum... what if we could just accept that we are, right now, in our current state, whatever that may be, both perfect AND, perhaps, not quite as perfect as we'd like? Even broken. But beautiful in essence anyway.
Sit with that for a moment. Beautiful. Perfect. Broken.
What a gift, that feeling of peacefulness when the "striving" falls away and we can take a wide enough view of who we are and where we are up to to clearly see our own beauty. Warts and all.
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I was walking a long a beach two weeks ago - a very quiet beach in a hard to reach place in a national park on the edge of the world. The sand was soft; in the course of the day the sky was every shade of blue from full sunshine to slade, rain-cloud grey; the back drop was stunning. Yes, there were even dolphins swimming in the bay. It was a truly ideallic place.
As I walked along the water's edge a shell caught my eye. It was large, green and beautiful. I held it up and looked at it from every angle. I have seen sea aneome shells before. They are fragile and exquisite and usually quickly smashed into little pieces by the sea. It's not often you see one so large, or in such good condition, and yet, it was not whole.
As I stared at it, taking in the complexity of the pattern on it's skin,the amazing shade of green that had not yet been bleached by the sun, it's white interior, the soft, porcelin like feeling of it, I was struck by how incredibly perfect it was, this natural artwork. Beautiful and perfect... and yet, broken. The sea had been at it. A large piece was missing from one side.
At that moment, it occurred to me that so many people are just like that shell - amazing, beautiful, incredible creations... perfect in their way... and yet, broken or damaged too. Is it possible to be both "perfect" and "broken"? The terms seem contradictory; the English language limited in this context. Yet here, in my hand, was that very object. A perfectly conceived object (the skeleton of a once-living creature); beautiful still, but with a big piece broken off it.
It made me happy.
We spend so much time trying to improve ourselves, face our demons, work through our issues, and so on and so forth ad nauseum... what if we could just accept that we are, right now, in our current state, whatever that may be, both perfect AND, perhaps, not quite as perfect as we'd like? Even broken. But beautiful in essence anyway.
Sit with that for a moment. Beautiful. Perfect. Broken.
What a gift, that feeling of peacefulness when the "striving" falls away and we can take a wide enough view of who we are and where we are up to to clearly see our own beauty. Warts and all.
IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Keeping Promises
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Saturday, July 18, 2009
World peace facebook group discussion: "imperfect humans" thread
I just spent ages responding to questions posed by a guy called Peter Fodor on the Facebook group "world peace" and have decided to share the post (post 71) here. Peter's question was: "how can world peace be achieved on a planet with imperfect humans?"His postings revealled a very detailed knowledge of global human crisis, Government failures, and a pretty fixed view of the hopelessness of the situation. The way he was expressing this view was causing a bit of a ruckus...
I said: "Peter, I think the question you have posed taps into some very big territory. It is wonderful to have a place to explore it.
I enjoyed hearing your conversation with Mark but must admit I was relieved when Ann chipped in and challenged you. We all have choices and though you think of yourself as an optimist your consistent expression has been the opposite, and for a peace forum, I found that disturbing. It is my view that if we wish to experience or create greater peace we focus on peace not its opposite. (That does not mean denying the current reality, where opportunities for positive action definitely exist).
I was also struck by the fact that so much of your "argument" against peace relates to "evidence" provided by the external world. One of my favourite quotes is "there will not be peace on Earth till there is peace in the hearts of every man, woman and child".
To me this says that each of us are responsible for our own peacefulness and contributing to the peacefulness of others... pointing a finger at governments etc is a way of giving our power away (waiting for "someone else" to fix it), and - can I offer this as a question? - possibly shirking our responsibilities? (What are we doing in our day-to-day lives to create a culture of peace (that may eventually create permanent change)? Or to give and share peacefulness with those we meet every day?).
Peace is not an intanguible that exists (or does not exist) "out there". I believe it is something that starts within and can be created and shared with others. Granted, what we are seeing around us right now is the creative expression of many people who are not peaceful. But as WE change, hopefully what we create will also change...?
Continuing to read, it was with relief I came across your reference to Rinpoche. I hope you are continuing to seek out Buddhist texts and information about other peaceful philosophies. I think it is always a good thing to be exposed to new viewpoints and possibilities for seeing things in new ways and that may be a very interesting path - for you and for us all!
...If we have never been exposed to alternative ways of being and given examples of different ways to react or interact how can we expect change to occur around us?
It is for this reason I believe that learning and education is so fundamental, especially in countries where an extreme lack of peacefulness exists. And also why demonstrations of generosity and compassion are so important.
Thank you for starting this conversation, Peter. I wish you (and those who read this) joy and ever greater peacefulness."
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Finding joy in each day
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I said: "Peter, I think the question you have posed taps into some very big territory. It is wonderful to have a place to explore it.
I enjoyed hearing your conversation with Mark but must admit I was relieved when Ann chipped in and challenged you. We all have choices and though you think of yourself as an optimist your consistent expression has been the opposite, and for a peace forum, I found that disturbing. It is my view that if we wish to experience or create greater peace we focus on peace not its opposite. (That does not mean denying the current reality, where opportunities for positive action definitely exist).
I was also struck by the fact that so much of your "argument" against peace relates to "evidence" provided by the external world. One of my favourite quotes is "there will not be peace on Earth till there is peace in the hearts of every man, woman and child".
To me this says that each of us are responsible for our own peacefulness and contributing to the peacefulness of others... pointing a finger at governments etc is a way of giving our power away (waiting for "someone else" to fix it), and - can I offer this as a question? - possibly shirking our responsibilities? (What are we doing in our day-to-day lives to create a culture of peace (that may eventually create permanent change)? Or to give and share peacefulness with those we meet every day?).
Peace is not an intanguible that exists (or does not exist) "out there". I believe it is something that starts within and can be created and shared with others. Granted, what we are seeing around us right now is the creative expression of many people who are not peaceful. But as WE change, hopefully what we create will also change...?
Continuing to read, it was with relief I came across your reference to Rinpoche. I hope you are continuing to seek out Buddhist texts and information about other peaceful philosophies. I think it is always a good thing to be exposed to new viewpoints and possibilities for seeing things in new ways and that may be a very interesting path - for you and for us all!
...If we have never been exposed to alternative ways of being and given examples of different ways to react or interact how can we expect change to occur around us?
It is for this reason I believe that learning and education is so fundamental, especially in countries where an extreme lack of peacefulness exists. And also why demonstrations of generosity and compassion are so important.
Thank you for starting this conversation, Peter. I wish you (and those who read this) joy and ever greater peacefulness."
IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:
Finding joy in each day
Volunteering in Africa - Kiandu School
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Time and peace: gifts money can't buy
It took me 28 minutes this morning to find out that my date of death is either 28 November 2058 (findyourfate.com) or 28 November 2074 (deathclock.com). Curious both gave me the same day but different years. Being a fairly logical person I worked out what the average was (95 years) and have contented myself with that... but what if it is only 87 years, as foretold by findyourfate? What if I really only have 18,047 days, 4 hours and 36 minutes to go... I mean 35, 34, 33... gosh by now it must be just 18,047 days, 4 hours and 30 minutes to go!!! Heck! What am I doing! The days of my life are just ticking away!!!
That is, of course, what the makers of those death calculators want you to think: "time is precious; what am I doing with the time given to me?" They also want to sell you vitamin supplements and change jobs and make some kind of general attempt to change your lot in life by buying one of their sponsors' products. And that's okay 'cause the calculators are kind of fun.
Did you know that the average life expectancy in the West is 84 for women and 78 for men? In America the life expectancy is 81 (women) and 75 (men). How many weekends do you have left?
We spend so much time working, sleeping, eating, grooming, shopping, caring for the family, letting off steam with our friends... how much time is left after "the basics" are taken care of? If you enjoy the work you do then it's not lost time... but so many people don't.
It is my firm belief that a mastery of time is key to personal peace and satisfaction. If you feel good about how you spend your time - and are consiously choosing where - chances are that when you get to the end of the road you'll be content with your life - and will probably have made a huge contributon to the world in some way.
I know some very successful business people and all of them guard their time as if it was a suitcase full of gemstones. For them, time is their most precious asset; without time they have nothing - no opportunity to create their vision, nor experience the benefits of health or wealth. (I suspect that this respect for time has contributed in a very large way to their successes.)
Perhaps if we all thought a little longer about how we spend our time we'd be more content and find ourselves in a more peaceful, happier world. And I do mean "spend" - no matter who you are or how much you have at your disposal, your time is one thing money can't buy back.
In the next 24 hours you have 1440 minutes to spend... how will you do it? Who on? Where? Why? Ah, the big questions...
(The 35 minutes it took me to write that was my gift to YOU! With love)
Tweet
IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:
"I hate my job"
Finding joy in each day
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That is, of course, what the makers of those death calculators want you to think: "time is precious; what am I doing with the time given to me?" They also want to sell you vitamin supplements and change jobs and make some kind of general attempt to change your lot in life by buying one of their sponsors' products. And that's okay 'cause the calculators are kind of fun.
Did you know that the average life expectancy in the West is 84 for women and 78 for men? In America the life expectancy is 81 (women) and 75 (men). How many weekends do you have left?
We spend so much time working, sleeping, eating, grooming, shopping, caring for the family, letting off steam with our friends... how much time is left after "the basics" are taken care of? If you enjoy the work you do then it's not lost time... but so many people don't.
It is my firm belief that a mastery of time is key to personal peace and satisfaction. If you feel good about how you spend your time - and are consiously choosing where - chances are that when you get to the end of the road you'll be content with your life - and will probably have made a huge contributon to the world in some way.
I know some very successful business people and all of them guard their time as if it was a suitcase full of gemstones. For them, time is their most precious asset; without time they have nothing - no opportunity to create their vision, nor experience the benefits of health or wealth. (I suspect that this respect for time has contributed in a very large way to their successes.)
Perhaps if we all thought a little longer about how we spend our time we'd be more content and find ourselves in a more peaceful, happier world. And I do mean "spend" - no matter who you are or how much you have at your disposal, your time is one thing money can't buy back.
In the next 24 hours you have 1440 minutes to spend... how will you do it? Who on? Where? Why? Ah, the big questions...
(The 35 minutes it took me to write that was my gift to YOU! With love)
Tweet
IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:
"I hate my job"
Finding joy in each day
.
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