“May there be peace within and without. May it begin with you and spread by your healing touch and laughter. May you know deep in your heart that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now as you receive my gratitude for all you mean to me. May you be reminded by each morning’s light of the possibilities that grow out of love for yourself. May the natural gifts you were born with, and the skills and virtues you developed by your persistence, be seen by others so they are uplifted by your uniqueness. May you be fulfilled just knowing you are loved by me, and loved by so so many others, who delight in seeing your smile and hearing your voice. May you take the freedom to be your full, glorious self to an extreme art form today because I know if you do you will make a huge difference in someone’s life just like you have done in mine.”

Evolution is evolving from unconscious chance to conscious choice. We are entering the first Age of Conscious Evolution. Why? Because we obviously affect our own evolution by all the choices we make – from the food we eat, the number of babies we have, the cars we drive, and the weapons we build.

Humans have no experience at being responsible for global change at this level. We are facing the possibility of the collapse of our life support system. Or, I believe, the emergence of something new, something better than we have ever known before. This shift in evolution began overtly in 1945 when the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan. The signal went out to the world: We now have the power to destroy life on Earth. I was 15 years old.

I could see at that time that self-conscious humans, in top-down competitive structures such as nation states, organized religion and global corporations, could not handle this degree of power. We had suddenly gained capacities we used to attribute to our gods. We can blow up worlds, and we can build new worlds in space. We can travel with the speed of light by image. We can create new life forms or destroy our life. We can tap into immense energy or run out of energy.

I began to ask a great question: What is the meaning of our new powers in science and technology that are good and what are positive images of the future that are equal to our new powers? I read religion and philosophy as a young girl and found that no one knew the answer. The powers were so New. I went to Bryn Mawr College and found I could not even ask the question there. There were no subjects on it. My father used to say to me: “Barbara, you are the best in the field…but there is no field!”

ABSURDITY OF LIFE
I went to Paris in 1947 to study at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques. Despair and a sense of the absurdity of life were rampant in Paris after two world wars and the bomb. One day I was having lunch on the Left Bank, and a handsome American walked in and sat down next to me. I asked him my question “What do you think is the meaning of this new power that is good?” and he responded, “I am an artist, and I am seeking a new image of man commensurate with our powers to shape the future.”

The idea crossed my mind, “I’m going to marry you!” And I did. He told me that when a culture loses its story and its image of the future, it declines. We had clearly lost our story of progress, and the image of humans now portrayed in the arts and theater was of a disintegrating destructive force. Yet, I had innate hope and had to find out what I was hopeful about.

I went to see President Eisenhower in 1952, just after he became president. My father was an old colleague of the president. I was taken into the Oval Office. He greeted me kindly: “What can I do for you young lady?”

“Mr. President,” I said, “I have a question: What do you think is the meaning of all our new power that is good?”

He looked startled, shook his head and said, “I have no idea.”

So it flashed in my mind,” Well, we better find out!”

This has been my life quest, and I believe just now we are discovering the proper response.

THE UNIVERSE STORY
We do have a new story. It is the Universe Story. When we place ourselves in this 13.7 billion-universe story, we discover the pattern and an evolutionary process of action we can do.

We see that our crises are comparable to past evolutionary shift points. The only difference is now we are conscious that we are causing our own extinction. This is what I call “conscious evolution”– the greatest wake up call we have ever had for the human species to grow up!

Here are some lessons we can learn and apply to our own situation.

• Problems are evolutionary drivers.
• Crises precede transformation.
• Evolution takes jumps through greater synergy: separate parts coming together to form a new whole greater than and different from the sum of its parts.
• Evolution creates radical newness. Once there was no Earth, then Earth appeared. Once there was no life, and life appeared.

Evolution raises consciousness and freedom through more complex order. According to Teilhard de Chardin, the great philosopher, the “noosphere,” the mind sphere or the thinking layer of Earth, with all our Internet and global intelligence, is about “to get its collective eyes.” We are about to connect center with center and heart with heart.

Empathy is rising. Spirituality is growing. Healings are happening. The Internet is connecting us everywhere. A “Wheel of Co-creation” is forming in every field and function – innovations in Health, Education, Energy, Conscious Business and Environmental awareness are accelerating and beginning to connect – a whole system breakthrough out of the whole system breakdown.

We need one more conscious effort to connect the positive to make the shift in time — to midwife our own birth toward the next stage of our evolution. We may be one fraction of an evolutionary second from either connecting what is creative and loving and innovative…or devolution and extinction. This situation is dangerous…yet natural.

WHAT IS WORKING
What do we need to do right now?

I believe it is time to rapidly connect what is working in every field and function, and communicate through all media as fast as we can our creativity, innovations and capacities to make it through together. We should be calling upon each other — everyone on Earth to know that they have a part in this “birth.” Each of us is given an impulse of evolution within, a heart’s desire to realize our greater potential. Wherever we are, whatever our situation, we are capable of “giving a gift to the shift,” from one phase of evolution to the next.

In 1984, I ran an idea campaign for a “Positive Future” for the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket. I proposed a “Peace Room” as sophisticated as a war room in the office of the VP to scan for, map, connect and communicate what is working. I was actually the other woman along with Geraldine Ferraro whose name was placed in nomination. In my speech I shared, “It is now in our capacity to destroy civilization as we know it or to build a world of unprecedented opportunity for all people.” [View her nomination speech at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1FWXm-8FGs].

What we need now is a “Peace Room” or a “Synergy Center,” a new social function to connect the positive in time. Dec. 22, 2012, has been selected as Day One to consciously contribute to this process. It is our first Planetary Birth Day to celebrate the coming of the next era of evolution based on what works.

Birth 2012 has been initiated and will be produced by The Shift Network as a convergence of what is working; we will celebrate human creativity and call for the greatest experience of mass coherence and compassion the world has ever known. We will connect with positive innovations, projects, people, artists, musicians – every way we can to converge and emerge together as a newly-born planetary species. Won’t you join us? Visit www.Birth2012.com.

Happy Science’s “Fourfold Path to Enlightenment”– Love, Wisdom, Self-Reflection and Progress — has come to the United States through a program of guided meditations, fellowship discussions and more, in New York City, and in centers based in Atlanta, Tampa, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

Based on the Buddhist principles of Enlightenment, Happy Science’s new model is designed for the unique challenges in our modern world, with the goal of helping to achieve greater world peace, one happier and more fulfilled person at a time. It seeks to unite people from all spiritual and religious backgrounds. Established in 1986 as a spiritual movement with 12 million followers in 75 countries, Happy Science only recently arrived on U.S. shores. Master Ryuho Okawa, an inspirational spiritual leader who often fills 50,000 seat auditoriums and has published countless best-selling books, founded the organization.

“Our intention is to help end wars, conflict and suffering, and replace them with greater joy, peace and prosperity,” says the U.S. Chief Ambassador and Head Minister Yuki Oikawa. “It may sound idealistic and simplistic; nonetheless, the fact is, never before in the course of history has there been such an opportunity to spread our important message, living as we do in this great information age. The message of course, is how we need to, and can, turn hate to love.” Yuki is charged with reaching U.S. audiences with this timeless but urgent message.

Book sales are increasing for The Laws of the Sun, The Golden Laws, The Essence of Buddha, The Laws of Eternity, The Laws of Happiness, and Master Okawa’s latest book, The Next Great Awakening: A Spiritual Renaissance.

One follower, Noke Nikhomvan, 38, a Healthcare IT consultant in Atlanta, says that guided meditations led by Yuki Oikawa “help us cope with the inherent stress in our lives, provide us with greater clarity on what is happening in the world at large, and allow us to open our minds and hearts to others.  The teachings, meditations, and the community connection help us reach solutions in our own lives that could benefit everyone.”

For more information on Happy Science, visit www.happyscience-usa.org.

“We are infants before each other, are we not, so vulnerable to each other’s words and movements. A school I sat in cured me of hurting others.” — Rabia, the female Sufi poet who inspired Rumi

My interest in Arab cultures started about 15 years ago. It led to my living and teaching in Egypt and Morocco, making two documentaries there, and to my current teaching of Arab film and literature at the University of St. Thomas.

Making cross-cultural documentaries is a way of searching, and it is daunting in its challenges. But I have always learned many important things about the other culture, my own, and myself through this process. My films are an attempt to listen in order to understand. I hope that my films can be used to better understand Arab cultures, to see their diversity so we are less able to stereotype them. It is most challenging when we hear something we don’t want to hear. That’s when our peacemaking skills come into play, as we reflect on the perspective of the “Other.”

My Egyptian and Moroccan friends have taught me other ways of thinking and feeling about daily life, religion and politics. I have met so many Arab women who defy our stereotypes of Arab and Muslim women, by being leaders in their communities, working for economic development or practicing their arts (filmmaking, singing, painting) with originality and gusto. I was proud to see Egyptian women — Muslim and Christian, from all walks of life — participating freely in the Egyptian revolution.

Political repression and instability have been part of the Arab World since colonization, and I learned that developing trust was key in being able to delve into the cultural understanding I was seeking. As someone who has lived in the Arab world, I find the revolutions occurring in the Arab world fascinating. For the first time in recent history, Arab populations are transforming their societies by challenging the political oppression and corruption which has subdued them. They are demanding a voice in their governments and transparency in its processes. Those of us who want peaceful interactions between the U.S. and Arab countries will welcome these indigenous movements and seek to connect with them. We will be seeing many films coming out of these uprisings, just as we have seen the creative use of social media to promote and organize them.

Media can both separate us and unite us.  I hope my films will contribute in a small way to a deeper understanding between our cultures.

Minnesota filmmaker and theater director Pamela Nice will host a summer peace event entitled “Peace through Filmmaking.” Dr. Nice will speak to some of the revolutions occurring in the Arab world. Participants will examine their understandings of their our own culture, see excerpts from some of Dr. Nice’s documentaries, learn about her process of making films, take part in a group discussion and close with a peace meditation.

The event is from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday June 18,  at the Center for Harmonious Living, 12201 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, MN. The cost is $15.

Dr. Nice, recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships, has lived in Morocco and Egypt, and traveled to Turkey and Syria. She has made three documentaries that focus on increasing understanding between Americans and Arabs. Her most recent documentary, Desert in the Coffeehouse, aired on channel TPT this year.

For more information visit Meetup.com/SpiritUnlimited/ or call 612.270.3312. Contact the Center for Harmonious Living at 952.938.1929.

The public is invited this summer solstice to the 2011 International World Peace and Prayer Day (WPPD), hosted by the Dakota / Lakota / Nakota communities, on June 21 at Fort Snelling State Park in the Twin Cities — Bdote, the spot believed by the Dakota to be the Center of the World and the equivalent of the Garden of Eden for their people.

The event’s intention is to promote a mass awareness of “All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer” to encourage everyone to take time on June 21 and join in the united prayer/meditation to heal relationships with each other and also with Grandmother Earth. Spiritual leaders from around the world will be joined by Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish spiritual leaders for the first time at Bdote, “The Gathering Place.”

“For the past 15 years,” organizers say, “we have been humbled beyond words by those who have chosen to help make this multi-level event possible. Could the 2011 World Peace and Prayer Day be the fulfillment of Dakota prophecy that after the White Buffalo is born, the four colors of people from the Four Directions will come together at Bdote to mend the Sacred Hoop of All Nations?”

The birth of the Sacred White Buffalo, “Miracle,” in Wisconsin in 1994 served as a signal to the Dakota / Lakota / Nakota communities as they remembered prophecies that were spoken generations ago about a time when the earth would be changing and the hope of mending the Hoop of All Nations. Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader and Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, was directed to begin a spiritual journey and he committed to organize World Peace and Prayer Day in the Four Directions that would be held annually on the summer solstice, June 21.

The event has taken place at Devils Tower, WY, Costa Rica, the Black Hills, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Alaska, Mexico City, New Zealand, Oakland, CA and Palmer, MA.

The meeting of the Mississippi River and Minnesota River is called Bdote or Mdote (pronounced Bdoh-tay) in the Dakota language. After the United States government created Fort Snelling in the 1800s on the bluff overlooking this river confluence, Europeans began to pour into the region. Settlements soon became cities as new permanent structures began to dot the landscape and new names were given to the homeland of these First Nations. Current maps acknowledge the name of the area with a French mispronunciation of the name Bdote (Mendota, Mendota Heights, Mendota Bridge).

Bdote has always been and remains a place of importance in the Dakota belief system, central to Dakota culture. It is the cultural equivalent of the Garden of Eden. This is also a place where many important events in the past 200 years of Dakota written and oral history have occurred. This is the “Gathering Place” where leaders of multiple tribes would negotiate and make critical decisions. Likewise, this site was used for meetings between indigenous leaders and United States government officials and was used for the signing of treaties.

“Whether intentional or not, Fort Snelling, the nearby Indian agency, and other manifestations of this reservation were built where the Dakota believe some of the most powerful spirits are said to reside,” organizers say. “In this setting Dakota people carried on ceremonies crucial to their existence as a people. It is appropriate that all nations are invited to “The Gathering Place” at the Center to pray together and to discuss topics that are crucial to the existence of all people.

This year’s event begins June 5-6 with a Sacred Horse Peace Ride from Pickerel Lake, SD, to Bdote. Events at Fort Snelling State Park begin Saturday, June 18, through Tuesday, June 21. Among the key speakers are:

• Chief Arvol Looking Horse, a spiritual leader among the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people who travels and speaks extensively on peace, environmental and native rights issues.
• Isaac James Bishra of the Maori Nation, New Zealand, organizer of WPPD 2008 in New Zealand, who will speak about the Earth changes.
• Claudette Commanda of Canada, executive director for the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centers, Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada.
• Swami Nityamuktananga Saraswati (Dr. Christa-Maria Herrmann), who has worked with several great Zen Masters, great Siddhas and Tibetan lamas and was recognized in 1997 by the United Nations for contributions to World Peace.
• Shri Natha Devi Premananda, affectionately known as Mataji, of Los Angeles, a spiritual Mother dedicated to the upliftment of World Peace and the spiritual teachings of Oneness, Compassion, Universal Wisdom and the Holy Scriptures.
• Yoshie Ebihara, organizer of WPPD 2004 in Japan, who is active with Environmental Rights and with the recent Japan Earth Quake and Tsunami, speaking on Japan’s recent ordeal and how humanity can be more responsible in decisions for not only the country as a whole, but for their own family circles.
• Dawid Hermanus Kruiper of South Africa, a traditional and spiritual leader of the Khomani San People, who together with his late father Regopstaan Kruiper approached the South African government in the early 1900s to gain back their ancestral land, which was the first successful land restitution within South Africa. He is known as “Oom Dawid” and is referred to as the “Mandela of the Kalahari.”
• Rabbi Bob Carroll of Israel, an Orthodox Rabbi and student of the Kabbalistic/Mystical tradition of Judaism who serves on the board of directors for Interfaith Encounter, which uses religion to build a grassroots movement for peace in the Mideast by seeking common values, re-humanizing “the other” and building a true community of believers who refuse to be each others’ enemies.

For the schedule of events and other information, please visit Worldpeaceandprayerday2011.org.

From the editor

Minnesotans have pride in their state, and a new statistical index backs up their instinctual love for the place they call home.

The inaugural U.S. Peace Index, created by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), ranks the Gopher State the fourth most peaceful in the nation. Did you know Minnesota leads the nation in the percentage of its population engaged in the workforce and having access to basic services? It has the lowest percentage of the population with diabetes and boasts the highest life expectancy, at 80 years. It also scores notably high in percentage of people with at least a high school diploma and in high school graduation rate.

North Dakota is the fifth most peaceful state, though it is now ranked lower than it would have been at any time since 1991. Data used for the U.S. Peace Index shows that North Dakota would have ranked the most peaceful state from 1991-1999.

The aim of the U.S. Peace Index is “to further the understanding of the types of environments that are associated with peace and to help quantify the economic benefits that could result from increases in peace.”

“Peace translates into dollars and cents,” says IEP founder Steve Killelea.

The most peaceful state in the nation is Maine, and the Northeast is the most peaceful region. The least peaceful state is Louisiana, and the South is the least peaceful region, according to the index. The nation as a whole has become 8% more peaceful from 1995 to 2009 due to fewer homicides and less violent crime.

Visit VisionofHumanity.org to read more about the new study.

We all want peace, if the truth be told. Every one of us. What would it take? Perhaps being more kind to each other. Perhaps being willing to compromise with each other. Perhaps realizing that the most important things in life have everything to do our connection to each other.

James O’Dea has a unique perspective on stress and consciousness and the way forward out of the perceived chaos of the world. The immediate past president of The Institute of Noetic Sciences, O’Dea (pronounced o-DEE) champions what he calls “Creative Stress,” and as he writes in his book of the same title, it is about not resisting that which confronts us, but dancing with the energy to create opportunity and possibility as opposed to crisis and suffering.

He will speak at the annual conference of the National Qigong Association (NQA) in the Twin Cities this month [read more] on “Luminous Being: The Nature and Quality of the Luminosity which Pervades our Universe,” reminding those who attend that everything is made of universal, luminous energy, and our consciousness has the power to re-integrate each of our lives back into the flow of life. “We are in essence luminous beings who can tap into the very core of existence in remarkably creative ways,” he says. “The story of our collective evolution, as well as of personal enlightenment, is the story of an unfolding relationship to this luminous core. Even when we think we have been shattered into a million pieces, the core is there.”

O’Dea also will present a workshop at the NQA Conference on “Dancing with the Energy They Call Stress: The Physics of Personal and Collective Transformation,” helping participants learn how they regularly obstruct, interrupt and even fight off the primary energy of the universe – often with damaging consequences – and how to dance with this energy as our teacher. “(It) can challenge us to stretch and grow and take us to the higher reaches of consciousness,” he says. “Our personal and collective transformation is non-linear, and may in fact be a part of the collective field. How you learn to dance with this energy could influence the tidal currents of evolutionary change and collective learning. Change will come as a quantum shift that is truly transformative.”

Once director of the Washington, D.C., office of Amnesty International, and executive director of the Seva Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to international health & development issues in Latin America, Asia, and on American Indian reservations, O’Dea is now co-director of The Social Healing Project funded by the Kalliopeia Foundation. He is a member of the Evolutionary Leaders group founded by Deepak Chopra and Diane Williams and lectures widely on emerging worldviews, and integral approaches to social transformation. He has been a part of dialogue initiated with the Obama Administration on systems work and policy making. He and Dr. Judith Thompson co-led a series of international dialogues called Compassion and Social Healing. His book, Creative Stress: A Path For Evolving Souls Living Through Personal and Planetary Upheaval (CreateSpace) is highly praised, and his latest essay, “Creative Atonement in a Time of Peril,” will be published with other leading authors and practitioners later this year.

He spoke with The Edge about creative stress and how we can collectively dance with the luminous energy of the universal.

Your keynote at the National Qigong Association’s annual conference is on luminosity. Why did you choose that particular topic.
James O’Dea: I think luminosity is the essence of who we are and I’m concerned, at one level, that we live in an age of babble, fantasy and seduction, and that we sometimes need a little more guidance as to how to reach into our own luminous core. I’m a great believer that in each of us there is this luminosity that gets covered over.

All of us, even my grandmother, the so-called average person, has this luminous core and can tap into it. Remember that old expression, “God is a circle whose center is everywhere, whose circumference can never be found.” That’s a little of luminous. It connects with luminous wisdom, of course.

How can we, as individuals, increase our luminosity?
O’Dea: One of the things we have to do is change our relationships to this primary energy in the universe as it comes towards us and develop a capacity to be able to transform any energy that comes at us. When one pushes any of the energy that comes towards one aside – saying, “Not now, not ever” – I call that the physics of negative stress. You could say negative stress is energy on hold, delayed, not dealt with, whose meaning has not been explored and which hasn’t been refined.

What consciousness does is it meets this energy, and it has the capacity to either block it or to transmute it and to transform it and to make it more subtle. I believe that we can, in a very fundamental way, learn not just the physical dimension of energy work, but the psychophysical dimension of physical work that helps lift it, and as it does, it really is meeting and engaging.

One of the things I say is that very first step is what I call the direct encounter with the energy or the stress that is coming at you, with that consciousness that says, “What can I learn from this experience? What can this energy teach me?” Rather than saying, “I’ve got to get out of town. I’ve got to get away from this. I can’t handle this. I’m so stressed.”

As I mention in my book, there are three basic ways that we respond. The first is absorbing the energy in what I call the victim approach – storing the energy up and to occasionally look into it and say, in its trapped form, “I am victimized by what is happening to me. The universe is alien. The universe is antagonistic. The universe is against me and I’m a victim, and I’ve been betrayed, and I’ve been lied to,” and so on.

The second form is to deny. That is close to the first form, but it’s a different approach. It’s just denial. I send out a decoy and I say to the world, “Yeah, how are you doing? Oh, I’m doing great. I’m doing wonderfully,” when in fact you’re not. I call it the false positive – and there’s a lot of false positive.

The third form is to bounce the energy back as attack. As it’s coming at me, I send it back to its source at twice the velocity and make sure “that will get rid of it,” and, of course, it doesn’t. It just compounds the problem.

Of course, there is another way. The primary way is to transmute that energy from negative to creative.

So, in a real simplistic way, what you’re talking about is looking at stress as an opportunity in our lives?
O’Dea: Yes. It would be interesting to do a study as to when this word “stress” turned negative. The word stress now does not even get delivered to us as a neutral word. The poet loves stress. He says, “I must stress the language and use stress in order to bring forth the qualities in language.” The musician, the composer, deals with the stress in music. At one point, stress was more neutral. Now if you say the word “stress,” everybody goes, “Yes, I know what you’re talking out. I’m stressed, too.”

I think people even respond to the word “stress” as victims, as deniers and as attackers, the three reactions that you talk about.
O’Dea: Yes. Creative stress is an attempt at being a meaning changer, and I believe, as in the subtitle of the book, “A path for your soul’s living through personal and planetary upheaval,” that it’s not only an issue at the personal level. When we look into the great collective mirror of the things that we’re not dealing with, they’re speaking louder and louder to us, aren’t they? Something has not been really dealt with here. I love Tom Stoppard’s witty expression, “The skeleton in the closet is coming home to roost.”

At the qigong conference you also are going to be presenting a workshop on dancing with the energy we call stress. What can people expect to experience during that workshop?
O’Dea: I like to make the workshop part interactive, to really look at not only how we learn those phases of direct encounter, but how we move all the way through, to deeply shaking the hand of stress to embracing it. There are exercises and practices, and it is important to just tell each other stories of those who have demonstrated to us the transformational power of stress.

In the book, I talk about some of those people, like the woman I met in Northern Ireland last year. Frances, who was shot in the violence between Catholics and Protestants and lost 17 pints of blood, was taken to the hospital and the doctor had called her family. When she came to, they were preparing her to die, and they said, “Frances, we have taken out the most of the bullets, but one of the bullets is lodged right next to your heart. We cannot operate. That would be way too dangerous.” And then six weeks later they came to her and said, “Frances, you’re going to have to get on with your life.” And so she said, “I’m the woman who walks around with a bullet lodged next to her heart.” Now she does peacemaking work between Catholics and Protestants.

And so I say, let’s tell each other the stories of those exemplars and models who are really capacitated human beings, capacitated to forgive, capacitated to make peace, capacitated to transform the velocity of negative hatred and hostility, even when it’s lodged next to your heart. Transform that energy into creative action in the world at a time when the planet is experiencing deep trauma.

You can read the paper from any angle, but the latest news from West Africa is that millions, maybe up to 10 million people, are facing hunger or facing starvation, and that’s just one of the crises. I was with the Obama administration a few months back looking at failing states, water shortages, nuclear proliferation, climate imbalance – the multiple problems that are on our horizon.

I love the relationship of the Qigong work, which is moving and dancing with that energy of the universe, and taking it all the way in from merely being a house practice to being a practice that says of all of the energy as it comes: “We can transform as human beings, the hatred of the world.”

Tomorrow I leave for a trip to Israel and Palestine. I will be meeting with bereaved families on either side of the conflict who have said to the other side, “If you’re in as much pain as we are, let’s try to end this.” I will then be going on to Rwanda, where extraordinary examples of healing are in process. When I come to give the talk at the National Qigong Association conference, I will be freshly back from places in the world where deep healing is being attempted in the cauldron of conflict.

To what degree is forgiveness a part of the process in these locations?
O’Dea: Forgiveness is a very central part of the process. As past president of The Institute of Noetic Sciences and currently extended faculty of that institute, one of the things that we’ve studied is the science of forgiveness. We know that the body is an instrument of our consciousness and intelligence. We have cardiovascular constriction when we think about those we have not forgiven, so the body itself says, “Release it. Let it go.” Your own health depends on it. Our societal health depends upon it.

Forgiveness work is not automatic or easy. It has relationships, as Bishop Tutu reminds us. He wrote a book called, No Future Without Forgiveness. He reminds us that there is a deep relationship between forgiveness and truth. He says we have to know this: “The truth washes the wound, then you can apply the sweet balm of forgiveness.”

In your recent Prayer to the Gulf, which we sent out to our readership, you ask for help in returning to deep community. Share with those who are unfamiliar with that term why that’s important and how we can return that.
O’Dea: There are three words that are related: communing, communication, and community. They all are very interrelated. We know from contemporary science that those who are in nurturing relationships – in community, serving community – live longer and have healthier lives. Communing requires that integrity of communication, shared communication processes. When we come to community, it is a place where we can share a deep, inner ecology of sustaining our heart, mind, our inner lives in connection, in relationship, and the forms we use can also be sustainable in the systemic perspective.

It is a very amazing time to live. There is some branch of science that has colluded with pharmacopeia, militarism and other excesses. But there is a branch of new science that is deeply reinforcing the health and well-being of relationship, of conscious community development. We can, in fact, create models. I live in such a model, a place called Crestone, CO.

Crestone is in a very ecological setting, and the community is very watchful on the ecological level, even down to noise. The military was doing practice fly-overs and this community got the military to move off because they said human beings need more serenity and peace. Crestone also has land that has been given to many of the world’s spiritual traditions. There is a Carmelite monastery, an ashram, Buddhist temple, Sufi groups and yoga groups. There is spiritual nurturance, you have the ecological work, and you have a community that is caring. The nearest mall is 50 miles away. So it is possible to recreate communities that are slower, deeper and more nourished, healthier and spiritually diverse, honoring our diversity of beliefs. Nature itself always mirrors unity in diversity.

For people who are stuck in the concrete jungle, the urban setting near shopping malls, what advice do you have for them in connecting with nature?
O’Dea: I think it begins with looking for community wherever you can build it. Am I dealing with stuff myself? Am I taking responsibility? In my Prayer for the Gulf – and I’ve been hearing from people as far away as South Africa, so that message has really spread – taking personal responsibility is at the core.

In the Prayer for the Gulf, I confess that I am a part of the problem. Then, how do you take it from there, wherever you are situated, wherever you are living? We need to see how we are colluding with the problem and not just simply say that the catastrophic deluge of oil in the Gulf is just 1 of 10,000 forms of pollution. Nigeria has experienced an Exxon Valdez every year for 25 years. Are you aware of that? Oil is just one of the forms of pollution.

I like to help focus people on where we are in time. I wrote an essay and a book called, The Mystery of 2012, saying, “You were born for such a time as this. You are living in a time when, in fact, the hyper-acceleration that you are experiencing is the final death throes of a system that is so out of balance, so based on consumption and greed, so lacking in core-nurturing values, that it’s going to collapse. How it collapses, to what degree, how we reconstitute it: These are the questions that conscious and aware people must be living, not just thinking about.” The philosopher, Whitehead, said in the 20th century that “the merest abstractions are now used to control people’s thoughts.” You hear a lot of people talking about the crises in the world without convening the energy, the creative energy needed for it.

What single message would you want to leave with all of humanity at this moment, if you had the opportunity to do so?
O’Dea: Our crisis, as Barbara Marx Hubbard put it even 40 years ago, is a birth. We are being invited into the great synthesis of human process, where we can restore our relationship to the holy order of Nature and the justice within Nature and the restorative justice, that we can heal. My message is the human story is fundamentally a healing story, and that this word “healing” is the heart of the word “wholeness.” That we can find wholeness in a whole new expression of global community.

What allows you to remain optimistic that we collectively can do this?
O’Dea: I have experienced the worst. I’m someone who comes from Hell and says, “You know, it’s not the end of the story.” I was in Beirut during the bombing, during the massacre of the Palestinians. I spent 10 years as director of Amnesty International’s office in Washington, daily looking at the genocides, the confusion, the horror in the world, and always seeing the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

I’m a place-holder for the part in the story where it gets very, very dark and grim and it looks like the bitter end, and I say, “Look at the prisoners of conscience. Look at the great spiritual leaders. Look at the communities coming. Look at Rwanda.” People are talking about Rwanda now as the Switzerland of Africa. It’s a healing story beyond belief.

I’m able to say this because I live with that consciousness that engages, that doesn’t look away, that doesn’t go into the false positive or the pretend reality that all I need to do is affirm nice things and the world will be beautiful. No, we actually need to go through the witnessing of our own fall – and we’re all a part of that – to realize our resurrection as a species.

Growing up, as a child of the ’60s, peace, love and harmony were the words being chanted by the hippies, flower children and all who questioned authority and were against the Vietnam War. I remember thinking how I couldn’t wait to grow up. I knew in my young mind, it was only a matter of time before these youthful rebels would age and mature and eventually be able to take their place in the world of politics and public opinion. With it, they would be able to change all the things they saw wrong with the “establishment” from a place of power and influence and not from the streets.

I recall my excitement, thinking what a wonderful world it will be, knowing that these brave crusaders were blazing a trail before me, their radical new views and opinions becoming a reality. And at that young age, I recognized I would be the first generation to reap the benefits of their efforts. I felt blessed to be born in such an historic time.

Wow, was I wrong.

Often I ask myself, where have all the flower children gone? Where are the young men and women who fought for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Where are the people who burned flags, bras and draft cards, who marched on college campuses and on Washington, D.C., so their voices could be heard? I find it hard to believe the thoughts and values they fought so valiantly for have disappeared and are only a fond memory of a golden age gone by.

Over the past few months, this point has become painfully obvious. As I work with clients and talk with friends, I hear the sound of hopelessness in their voices. They watch as gas and food prices soar. They gaze in disbelief as senseless violence escalates. They stand by helplessly as their jobs are moved overseas and their personal freedoms are taken away one by one. In the end, they are left feeling impotent, because they are unable to control the path their lives are taking and feel powerless to change it.

It’s interesting, because on an individual basis, all we want is to be happy, healthy and live our lives in integrity. We want to know that we will have a job to go to on Monday. We want to be able to feed our children, breathe the air around us, drink the water and step outside our homes. Instead we have become increasingly alienated by the harsh reality of our world, a reality that creates conflicts between how things are and how we would like them to be. We end up feeling dissatisfied and give up all hope of a better, simpler life.

Hopelessness is a hard emotion to experience – one we have embraced at some point in our lives. It seems to happen just before we hit rock bottom, when we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel or when life seems futile and we just want to give up. It is a natural part of the human condition.

Over the last six months, the feeling of hopelessness has become overwhelming for many of us. Every time we turn around, there’s a crisis. Someone we love dies, we lose our job or our child falls ill. After the situation we are facing is handled, it isn’t long before another challenge steps into our lives and once more the drama begins anew. With this unrelenting pressure, we are left feeling tired and disillusioned – transforming the most optimistic person into a pessimist.

Today, the pressures being experienced are not only coming from our personal lives, but also from a much larger community – the world of big business and the political arena. As we watch what is going on in the world, we may think, “What can I do to change or affect what is going on?” Unfortunately, in our state of hopelessness, the answer we receive is “nothing.”

Because we believe our lone voice will never be heard, we end up conceding to the futility of fighting the establishment. And in our sea of inner disquiet, we realize that we are being coerced into accepting a system that does not support us and the greater good of society. It is from this perspective that we surrender our power and feel we are unable to bring about change.

It is said that it is always the darkest before the dawn. For many of us, the truth is that we cannot even see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are living in the midst of darkness, hoping and praying for even the faintest glimmer of light to emerge. And while this period in human history may not be fun, there are many blessings that will come from it.

The good news is that hopelessness causes us to go within. It forces us to reflect and evaluate our lives. It provides us the opportunity to uncover steps necessary to alter our life course. As a result, we find a strength which helps to build our inner resolve and restore our faith.

We also have to realize that we are not alone. There are countless millions who are feeling trapped, hopeless and at the end of their rope. What the “Powers That Be” don’t realize is that it is only a matter of time before they push us far enough into a corner that we will have no choice but to take a stand. When that happens, it won’t matter what they say or want us to do. When we determine enough is enough the strength of our unity as a whole will make a difference and a change will begin on all levels.

So for all of us, the sick, the tired, the forlorn, remember: It’s just a matter of time. Things can’t keep going the way they are. Change is inevitable. Whether today, tomorrow or next year, we must let the light shine into our darkened tunnels to lift the veil of hopelessness and despair. With this newfound sense of hope, we will be able to walk peacefully through the darkest of night. We will find through our renewed courage, fortitude and sense of self that we will be able to create a world of change.

Dr. Rita Louise will present “Tapping Into Your Intuition” at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 27, and “Ghosts, Spirits & All That Goes Bump In The Night” at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 28, as a keynote speaker at Spirit Spectacular Show at Crowne Plaza Minneapolis North Hotel, 2200 Freeway Blvd., Brooklyn Center, MN. Visit www.spiritspectacularshows.com or tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com. Call 1.800.838.3006.

This is the third in a series of eight articles based on The Eight Principles of Inner Peace as channeled by the Light Collective through renowned intuitive Kathryn Harwig. These principles are simple, yet profound, and apply to all beings in the cosmos. The essence of all eight principles is inner peace, and personal empowerment – the powerful ability of humans to create the world of their choosing.

The third principle is: Time is an illusion. The Light Collective explains that time is merely a measuring device created by humans as a way of ordering our lives. It’s not linear, but rather like a porous structure. There are a multitude of dimensions, making a multi-layered world. It’s entirely possible to reincarnate into the future, or to reincarnate into the past. In between your lives on this planet, you may choose to go to other planets or other dimensions and become different entities.

When you go back to spirit you are not just a personality, but you are all the selves that you have been, all the selves that you will be, and all the selves that you can be.

If you ask the Light Collective what will happen, they can predict based only on your personality as of that date, for you have total and complete control, and you cannot only change your future, you can change your past. Because the future can’t be fully predicted, it is best to ask “What is my best course of action in this particular time?”

While we are living here on earth, these concepts are difficult to grasp. One concept we can understand is that the present is all we have. The past is gone and the future will never be here. What we do now determines our lives – we create our lives in the now. Grieving over past events, or worrying about possible future events, brings fear into our lives and keeps us from living and creating our lives now.

The Light Collective gives us the following practical advice concerning time:

“If you remember that time is an illusion, then you also remember that it is your tool – and if you desire, you have control of your time. Your language dictates to you much of what you do. When you say things like “I am running out of time” or “I don’t have time for this” or “Time is going too fast” that makes it so. It would be wise for you, if you were feeling that way, to say “I have plenty of time” or “Time is of no meaning to me” or “Whatever I need to do will be done in the time I wish to give it.”

The Light Collective also gives us some startling news concerning our use of the concept of time as it relates to our life span:

“As your physicists would tell you, time is of no consequence. However, you belong to a group of humanity, and humanity has defined certain things as time. For example, humanity has defined that you will look a certain way at 10 or 20. What is happening is your definition of aging has changed. Because time is an illusion, it is not that time is changing – it is your belief system.

“Once a core group defines age in a different fashion, then your body will understand and respond to that. A thousand years ago, you did not believe you would live until you were 40.

“In your current age that you now reside, you will start to believe that you will live to 100 to 120. Your body will figure out where you are and you will become younger. If you are 50, you will realize you are halfway through your life, and then your body will say, “What does halfway through our lifetime look like?” So your bodies could become younger.”

This news means that as a retired teacher, I am only halfway through my life! It will be interesting to see how our longer life spans will affect us as individuals and as a society.

This is the first in a series of eight articles based on The Eight Principles of Inner Peace as channeled by the Light Collective through Kathryn Harwig. These principles are simple, yet profound, and they apply to all beings in the cosmos. The essence of all eight principles is inner peace and personal empowerment – the powerful ability of humans to create the world of their choosing.

The Light Collective is a group of light beings from another dimension. Because they have the ability to travel to many dimensions, aren’t constrained by time or space and can tune into multiple dimensions at one time, they have access to a great deal of information from the universe. They recognize that at this time we are in need of their knowledge and state, “At this time in your history it has become important that you cease, or at least attempt to cease, some of your ways for it is being disruptive of other dimensions including ours.”

If we follow the eight principles, in the words of the Light Collective, we will live “joyous, free, and abundant lives.” Joyous, meaning you will always feel joy regardless of what is happening around you. Because Earth is such a challenging place to live, it isn’t possible to be happy all of the time, but it is possible to be joyous all of the time. Free, meaning you will no longer be haunted by fear. You will release yourself from fear and take control of your life. Abundant, meaning you will create the life you desire.

The first and most important principle is: We are all one. This includes all beings, animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, beings in other dimensions – all beings in the universe. We are all made of energy, and this energy is interconnected to a universal energy field. We are able to tap into this energy field to access the knowledge of the universe and communicate with each other through intuition, meditation, channeling, etc.

Because we are all interconnected, we affect one another with our personal vibration – healing or harming at some level. What we do affects all other beings. One current example of this is the world economy, where the greed of a few has affected the economic lives of many.

The Light Collective says: “You are all one with one another. If you believed that and knew that in the depth of your heart, it would be rather hard to kill each other. It is part of our goal to teach you that you are all one, for that is the only way that you will attain peace upon your planet.”

God is a being in and of God self, but God is also the collection of all beings and is connected to all beings. It is a loving collection. There is no fear in this divinity. There is no reason for you to ever fear God, for God is a loving God, not a judgmental, condemning, punishing God.

The Divine has the knowledge of all beings. Anything that would happen to any one being in any one cosmos would be in the awareness of the Divine. When you pray to the Divine, you are always answered because the Divine is responding to itself. The Divine has provided enough of everything we need on earth to live in peace, harmony and joy.

Your hurt is the Divine’s hurt, and your joy is the Divine’s joy. Some ask, “How could the Divine allow pain?” The Divine does not allow pain, but it feels pain. On this planet the Divine has given us the power to experience and to have free will to experience. The Divine will aid as it can. The Divine seldom takes sides, for it is like fighting a war within itself. It desires peace and wishes its beings to be in peace.

“Your security will come in knowing
That the universe always supports you.” – The Light Collective

When I was in Sedona, AZ, about a year ago, I was reminded of an interview I read with travel journalist and chef Anthony Bourdain. He said that he no longer takes photographs when he travels, as he is inevitably disappointed by how poorly they capture his experience. I had been treated to a stay at an incredible spa nestled in the floor of a spectacular, red rock canyon, surrounded by parkland. In a freak meteorological event, it had turned cold and damp and rainy in late May and we’d been tucked into the relaxed loveliness of the spa. I was really dying to get out and walk the canyon though, and finally we woke to brilliant, clear weather.

I grabbed my boots and my camera and wandered down the center of the canyon, entranced with the color and light of the desert morning. I constantly stopped to look around, breathless with the power of rocks towering over my head, and each time I lifted my camera to my face in an attempt to capture the view. I’d move a bit further on and stop to catch the next angle, the next formation. Every part of me was so full of amazement at this place; I could easily see these rocks as beneficent gods, standing watch over my puny humanness. I needed to catch this place, and bring it back with me.

All of a sudden I realized I was spending so much of my time and attention trying to put this place in my pocket that I was not permitting myself to fully BE there – right now – and to develop the kind of complete, rich and intimate relationship with the experience that would be more useful in remembering the experience than any photograph I might take would be.

This leads me to another story of being in a beautiful and deeply moving place. I was going to British Columbia for the first time to begin my instructor training. It was a bit of a Planes, Trains & Automobiles sort of trip; two plane trips, a tram and a taxi ride had gotten me to the ferry landing within a barely comfortable window to get on the boat. Once on the boat, I headed right for the dining area to eat my first meal in many, many hours.

Emerging from the interior, I stepped into the most profoundly beautiful panorama I could never have imagined. There we were, crossing this spectacularly beautiful bay of crystal blue water, from which mountains sprang, covered in richest green. The sea air blew gently across my face; waves lapped the boat. What did I do? Burst into tears. Why? Because I was already anticipating having to leave.

Now, you must understand; I was going to be there close to two weeks. I was not going home the next day. Still, I was overcome with a sense of loss. I soon snapped to, breathed and enjoyed the rest of the ferry ride.

The common thread in these stories is how we create stress, or dukkha, for ourselves in even the most fortunate of situations. Stressful situations – anger, fear, annoyance, sadness – all can threaten our state of equanimity, our ability to be present, and our responses of aversion and attachment. These situations are quite readily recognized, as their general lack of social appropriateness and the sense of discomfort they produce are reminders to return to a more balanced state of mind.

It is equally possible to become unbalanced when caught up in a moment of joy, elation or delight, but the euphoria of the moment screens us from the imbalance and suffering it creates. Being so enthralled by our circumstances that we fear their loss evokes an attachment to them, and an aversion to losing them, that brings distress. Trying to hold on to what we have in the moment, takes us into a state of worry, preventing us from being present.

Failing to be mindfully present due to anticipation of future events prevents us from enjoying what is right in front of us. Being right there with your experience as entirely as possible, understanding, but not fearing, its transient nature is a path to peace.

There is a human instinct, some call it a divine nudge, which leads a person to interrupt the unforgiving daily grind with some gentle time away. Most often the call begins, “I’m not sure why I’m calling, but I’m looking for some quiet.”

I’m the associate director of the Benedictine Retreat Center in Maplewood, MN, and I’m the person who answers many of these calls. We’re a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, and people see this place as a source of answers, guidance, spirituality, retreat and peace. It is a service we joyfully provide.

Whether they seek just a few hours while the kids are in school or a couple nights in the prayer-filled atmosphere of a monastery, these first-time callers are relieved to hear they are not alone in their initial uncertainty. When we tell them, “You are welcome here,” we affirm their inclination to seek renewal and rest.

The conversation continues as they ask for details related to arrival and departure times and wonder about cost and arrangements; but the next question betrays the great hurdle they seem to face: “What will I do when I get there?”

Even exhausted by doing too much with too little time, the temptation is to seek out more activity. Doubts will persist about “using the time wisely” until they learn how, in their own way, to slow down for the sake of life.

Esther de Waal, an author and Benedictine scholar, makes a helpful distinction about the retreat experience. A retreat, she says, is not fundamentally an oasis, as if it is a place to escape the world and be with God. Instead, a retreat is preparation for life. According to de Waal, we listen to God in prayer before immersing ourselves in the world.

Each person’s listening to God takes a unique shape. For some it involves painting, journaling, or a long walk on a sunny day. Others use this time to tie trout flies or sit with a spiritual director. But for all of them there is a sense of letting go and entering a rhythm that is larger than one’s self.

The rhythm of Benedictine monasteries often provides a helpful framework for anyone making their first retreat: they will experience work, prayer, learning and leisure. Practices of study and work are punctuated with times for communal prayer in the morning, midday and evening. Time reading the scriptures enriches the day with a sensitivity to God’s voice and an appreciation for leisure as a healthy part of wholeness.

Monasteries have been a resource for spiritual seekers over the centuries, but it may be helpful to paint a modern day picture. The words our guests utter most often when they enter the door at St. Paul’s Monastery are these: “It’s so peaceful here.”

If you’re making a retreat at the Monastery, the following is how we help you experience that peace.

Upon arrival, you enter a space filled with works of art and glowing with natural light. One of the sisters greets you and helps you settle into the bedroom, and find your way to the dining room, chapel and other key locations. Most guests begin their retreat with a nap and are surprised at their body’s need for permission to rest.

After a meal in silence or in conversation, you can browse the current art exhibit or check out the latest titles in the monastic library, perhaps taking a cup of tea and a book to read for the evening. After a solid night’s rest – maybe one of the few you’ve experienced lately – you can take a walk in the morning before breakfast and prayer.

The day continues as you are led. Given a little freedom to live without a to-do list or schedule, you may find that the environment helps you listen more closely to how you would ‘like’ to be in the moment rather than how you ‘should’ spend your time.

Noticing your own habits might help you relax into the retreat experience. Each of the following are reasonable and common responses to being on retreat. Perhaps you will find yourself relating to one or more:

• If you find yourself wanting to do everything at once, choose one book that may nourish you and stay with it during your retreat. Consider staying with one section that moves you and take the remainder home.
• If you find yourself thinking about stretching out for a bit of a nap, give in to sleep. It may be just what your body needs.
• If you find yourself longing to spend your time in nearly complete silence, allow yourself the freedom to offer another person a “Good morning” without feeling guilty.
• If you choose a private exercise, remain open to time with others if you sense God’s invitation.
• If you find yourself not having a clue what to do first, unpack your bags and go for a walk. Go outside if you need to wind down or take a tour if the weather is poor. Without being rigid, see if you can explore something life-giving while on retreat.
• If you find yourself returning for a repeat visit, do what you need to get settled into your pattern at the monastery. When you find yourself doing something “just because,” take a deep breath and ask yourself, “What would I like to do?”

Retreat centers are usually flexible in meeting the needs of busy people. If you must, for example, you can schedule a retreat at the last minute when a window opens in your schedule. Better yet, set the time aside and make a reservation well in advance and then savor the ways you look forward to your retreat; see how it shapes your approach to the daily grind until then.

A retreat is not escape from the world, it is preparation for living life well. In the quiet we learn to listen and to embrace our identity in God. The classic retreat formula is simple: Slow it down. Repeat as necessary.

As I write this I feel like I am standing in a doorway, swaying back and forth between the old habitual sensations and a new clarity that is so clear I don’t even know it is there. There is the violence and chaos, but there is also this stillness. The stillness is so pristine that if my antenna is listening to the outer chaos I would easily trample upon it, clueless to its existence. This new clarity makes forward motion available to me, as long as I notice and release the patterns of emotions and thoughts that are still audible from the old way of being. Even a small action based on the old way of being causes discomfort.

My guides were giving me a similar metaphor about the transition process the USA is in right now, and how much I’m looking forward to the new era that awaits us politically. And yet, this road to change is so darn bumpy! When the focus of power moves from one point to another stuff gets chaotic for a bit in the shift.

In this case, on a personal level, it is like jumping on a trampoline, without having emptied your pockets first! Everything comes flying out and it lands all over the place. My sense is that the bumps and jumps we are experiencing serve to loosen those behaviors, patterns and energies that our soul has targeted for release. These are energies that our soul must shed, in order to walk through the doorway into the new era. "And it is our new era," my guides add.

Not surprisingly, this is what I’ve been doing in private sessions for other people also. Right now I’m often being directed to assist clients to address issues that lie several feet away from the physical body. This is so hard to see from inside your own aura. But it is fairly easy to see from outside. And once I point out what I’m seeing, most people can feel or see it in their own way.

These energies are much easier to remove sooner rather than later. Sort of like trying to wedge yourself through a doorway with a gigantic backpack on. It is so much easier to take it off before you get stuck in the doorway!

So often in "new age" terms we speak of illnesses as dis-ease. And it is true, there is usually a sense of discomfort, not always in the exact location of where the physical disease may eventually manifest, but it may be a discomfort or imbalance in the life or lifestyle or emotions.

Very often the physical body registers discomfort at a subtle level. This happens long before the disease has manifested into the body. The physical body registers sensations kinesthetically of what is going on all around us – two, three, four, five or six feet away from us. Oftentimes when something begins to molest us and to manifest as illness or noticeable discomfort, we look at the body itself. We forget to look outside of the body, to where it is probably coming from; the subtle energy field two feet, three feet or more outside of our physical body.

In these spaces farther away from our bodies we intersect with other people. We intersect our energies with those groups of people we have agreements with, such as those who live in our neighborhood or city, our biological family, those people we work with, people at the school we are attending or a sport we participate in. Most people have easily a dozen primary agreements between themselves and a group of people in their life.

For example: Each person’s soul has an agreement with their own national consciousness. The soul has decided upon a quality of energy that reflects its agreement with the larger national consciousness. Therefore, whether they live in Canada or the USA or China, each person’s physical body resonates with some aspect of their country’s national consciousness. And, each person impacts that national consciousness. In this fashion, each of us, no matter where we live, is playing our part in that larger agreement that our soul has to the national consciousness.

Likewise, within the world there are those who have agreements to hold certain qualities of energies. Simply by being in a human body, you carry an agreement of the quality of energy that you will manifest. As long as you are in that human body, the quality of energy that you have agreed to manifest here on Earth is present. That quality of energy resonates out, and is audible to everyone.

While there are moments when it seems rather odd to simply sit still and do nothing, in that doing nothing you have the opportunity to turn within, and find that vibration that your soul has agreed to bring into the Earth plane, on behalf of humanity.

Your stillness draws forth the remembrance of stillness from those involved in the conflicts, the wars and the battles. It draws through them that remembrance of home…and of the communion they share with you as humans here upon the Earth.

In this manner we do not aim to inflict Peace, nor to inflict an artificial straight line of resolution to conflict, but to offer that service of remembrance, that each might be nourished, might be fed, simply because there are those who sit in silence, and sit in alignment, which is true peace.

Understand that everyone experiences stress to some degree. For each of us, it is different. What triggers my stress certainly doesn’t trigger my child in the same way. The stresses of my parents are not the same as mine. The best part is that we have this beautiful built-in warning system when there is too much stress in our body. That mechanism is our emotional system. If it is out of balance, our emotional system acts like a circuit breaker. When something happens, we experience emotion. This is the guidance that a release of some kind is necessary to restore balance.

Stress exists as a way to provide balance to our lives, like a warning signal giving us an indication something is not quite right. We can be thankful it exists, because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to flex our emotional systems in the first place and would be walking zombies. It protects us from danger, helps get the adrenaline going when we’re about to talk in front of a group of people, helps us win games and keeps us on our toes to meet deadlines. Success stress, as I like to call it, shifts the body’s chemical system so those nerve-bending situations don’t pummel us into oblivion. So after you win the race, give the best speech of your career and meet the proposal deadline with flying colors, you can restore your more balanced state of being naturally.

The opposite of stress is peace. Avoiding stress altogether is not the key to a peaceful existence. Being in the stress and managing the emotional responses is the key to peace. I’m not talking about wearing a smile and being unresponsive. However, what happens when the stressors of life cause intense emotion and that intense emotion is acted out on others is where the lack of peace exists.

How we choose to react in any given situation causes or delays our stress response. For example, I have a 5-year-old son. He is the light of my world. However, he can challenge me. When he bounces his basketball in the house and destroys my favorite vase, rather than allowing the reaction to create stress, I instead choose to stop and breathe deeply. This shifts my perspective that no vase is that important to send my child all sorts of negative energy. That doesn’t mean that he is free of dealing with the consequences of the house rules. However, I am skipping the step of allowing my anger and emotion to control the scene of the crime. No sense in causing others stress just because I am unhappy about a situation.

Reacting to emotional responses creates a snowball effect that compounds stress for everyone around you. A large part of the peace you are craving begins with you. Peace within creates peace in your environment.

The following are simple ways of building this shield to reacting in those moments of stress:

• Live in the moment. You can deal with situations much more effectively than when you are not thinking about what’s next.

• Breathe. Whether yogic or some other meditative breathing practice, you will find your emotional responses gradually slowing down, your circuit breaker growing stronger with each breath.

• Exercise. Those wonderful chemicals in the body that maintain emotional balance are released naturally through rigorous aerobic exercise.

• Establish a support team. Talking about your life and having others to process it with is a great way to keep the body free of negative thinking.

• Laughter. Experiencing joy through laughter is a great habit. Settle in with a good movie and bowl of popcorn, see a play or share a joke.

Building your shield so you can handle moments of stress is a great way to spend your time and energy. Recognizing stress as something that is a part of life, rather than trying in desperation to make it go away, will save you…a lot of stress.

You may have heard the saying, "world peace begins at home," but what does that mean to you personally? To me, this means first looking within ourselves for answers.

Leo Tolstoy wrote, many years ago, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." People tend to look furthest away from themselves for fault: at different countries, different religions, different political parties or even just different personal habits. We can all see what is "wrong" with the other guy. If only they would change to be more like us, we think the world would be a more loving place.

To make real change, we need to reverse that thinking. We need to search deep into our own actions, behaviors, beliefs and start to do the only work we really can control – within ourselves.

In his books Deep Change, and Building the Bridge as You Walk on It, author Robert E. Quinn writes about addressing our own hypocrisy. What is it we are doing that perpetuates our unhappiness or a lack of peace in our lives? What kinds of self-abuse are we engaging in? Overeating? Not exercising? Chronically late or missing deadlines? Over indulging in alcohol or smoking cigarettes? What about the negative self-talk so many of us listen to? There are many questions we can ask ourselves to begin to better understand the power that we hold for creating peace within.

This is something we all need to do for ourselves – not for someone else to tell you what they think is "wrong" with you, but for you to examine what self-abuse you are engaging in. World peace begins within.

Then we need to begin to slowly move towards peace without. In our families, raising our children to be empowered, showing them what a healthy, loving relationship looks like. Treating our partners with friendship and respect. Caring for our aging parents in whatever way we are able.

When Gloria Steinem presented at UW-Eau Claire in 2007, I asked for her ideas on working to end domestic violence. Part of her profound response was that domestic violence should be called "original violence," because historically tyrants of the world have backgrounds of family violence and were abused or abandoned as children. World peace begins at home.

Moving out into our communities and our jobs. Do you engage in gossip around the water cooler? Passive-aggressive behavior, eye rolling and constant complaining are forms of abusive workplace behaviors. How about driving in anger? World peace begins in our community.

Then we can move forward into the world. World peace ripples like water, and we are the stone.

Several years ago I was studying for a Politics degree at university. Spirituality was not a topic of concern for me. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I had completely lost touch with any spiritual side to myself that may have existed prior to that point. I was too busy trying to convince myself that I was enjoying the excesses of a student lifestyle. Happiness was not something I aspired to, because I wasn’t convinced that I could realistically achieve it.

Alongside the excess I was simultaneously a fitness fanatic, utterly obsessed with my physical appearance. Dieting was a friend and foe, both keeping my weight down and covertly compromising my health a little at a time. Exercise was my passion, and when it became too easy to run six miles, I weighted a rucksack down and launched myself up many a hill in a bid to maintain peak fitness. Injuries were building up, but I resolutely ignored them. Desperately I clung to the philosophy, "you only live once," as a proverbial comfort blanket. If I was only going to live once, I was going to push my body to the extreme.

In 2003 I completed my degree, miraculously, considering my lack of attendance, but I was still directionless and intentionally oblivious to the internal damage I was inflicting upon my body. A temporary job continued to fuel my indecision about which path to take in life. Lackluster, I plodded through my work, wondering how everyone else could tolerate a life that I couldn’t. Each day was a chore until the weekend arrived, a time when I felt I could let my hair down with binge drinking, which was later accompanied by a few lines of cocaine, because consuming alcohol was no longer making the evening entertaining enough.

Eventually I came to a point where my body was refusing to be exercised, despite my incredible willpower. Pain overtook my body, my emotions and my soul. Doctors and therapists offered no conclusive or even correlating answers, and when turning the handle on the office filing room brought me to tears because of the excruciating pain in my joints, I knew it was time to try something else. A work colleague mentioned that she had undertaken a Reiki course and suggested that it might offer me some solace. Reiki sounded fascinating to me, although I was drawn to the mystical, rather than the spiritual element that would later govern my life.

Two Reiki treatments later with my body feeling slightly healthier, I decided to learn Reiki. The treatments were unlike anything I had previously experienced in life. I lay on a massage table while the Reiki practitioner channeled energy into various parts of my body, suspending her hands above me. This caused a range of sensations, from bright colors floating in the line of my vision to my back cracking to involuntary spasms in my legs. My research led me to a Reiki teacher who was a member of a recognized Reiki association. On the train journey to the course, I saw a sign out of the window saying "Prepare to meet thy God," and I knew at that moment that my life would be irrevocably changed.

The Reiki course was magnificent, bringing me insights that I had never ever dreamed of possessing. There seemed to be something so much more than what I had experienced in my life and for the first time I felt a sense of immovable hope.

Through a series of what are known as "attunements," the Reiki teacher raises your vibrational frequency, enabling you to channel energy to heal yourself and others. The attunement also develops your spiritual side and enables you to attain enlightenment, provided you devote enough time to regularly healing yourself.

The weight of the world I had bore upon my shoulders, and all the self-obsession, guilt and lack of direction, dissipated. I spent hours a day self-healing. It wasn’t easy, I had to confront myself completely and some days I would spend hours in tears, but I knew that what lay beyond this was worth the temporary pain. This left me realizing that I had the potential to help those around me with this gift, as well as healing all the events from my past that had so dramatically halted my self-development. My awareness grew rapidly. I felt enlivened and positively peaceful.

This incredible experience set me on the road to recovery. I stopped doing all the things that were damaging my mind, body and soul. Drink, alcohol and constant partying became a thing of the past, and achieving optimum health and conscious living became my new regimen. Reiki had taught me the real value of taking responsibility for myself and boosted my self-esteem and self-respect.

Reiki helped me to choose a fulfilling path, to truly live rather than just existing, and to find true inner peace, something everyone secretly craves for whether they realize it or not. The road to serenity is not always easy. Understanding the truth about yourself and others is hard, but it is the most worthwhile journey anyone can ever take. I am more confident, focused, healthy and able to have a more positive, healthy attitude to life. Helping others to develop in the same way is truly rewarding.

I practice and teach Reiki with my partner (who incidentally is the guy who taught me Reiki!) and I can honestly say that I couldn’t have wished for a better life. We aren’t rich and don’t lead a lavish lifestyle, because we prefer not to. We have ups and downs as anyone would, but the most consequential thing is that our happiness is derived from so much more than satisfying our physical needs, it comes from satisfying our souls, the real source of inner peace and tranquillity.

Inner peace is the result of the choices we make in our perceptions, thoughts,
beliefs, feelings and actions. It’s completely within our control. As we work
to be in harmony with the following eight aspects of our lives and being, inner
peace emerges. Contemplate and reflect on your status with each of these eight
components, and enjoy doing the activity presented with each one.

Peace with Self

This happens when we do what we know is right in every situation, large or small. Integrity and ethical behavior are prerequisites for inner peace.

Activity – Write down three situations when you didn’t do what was right. Can you still make corrections? What weakness in self prevented you? List two ways you can strengthen or change yourself so that it won’t happen again. Forgive yourself and completely let go of these three incidents. You have learned, and they are part of your development. We have the right to learn and make mistakes as we grow. Move on, period.

Peace with Others

As we consciously choose to transform judgment of others into understanding, we move toward harmony within. And, when we act with clear boundaries, we stop blaming, feeling sorry for ourselves and greatly reduce our inner turmoil in relationships.

Activity – Think of a recent situation in which someone behaved negatively to you or in your presence. What was she feeling at the time? What was she afraid of? What was she in pain about? Why didn’t she have the strength to act more positively? What is she in the process of learning? How is she like you? Whenever you feel yourself judging or thinking negatively about another, ask yourself these questions. You will feel more peaceful. Many times during your day, affirm the following words: "I am a blessing to all I meet; and all I meet are a blessing to me." This simple phrase brings change.

Peace with our Soul/Spirit

By systematically developing our innate spiritual qualities – love, harmony, generosity, confidence, oneness, joy, faith/belief, illumination, forgiveness, service and courage – we grow in peace. Our dedication to act in ways that cultivate the highest in ourselves brings true fulfillment. Peace follows.

Activity - Which spiritual quality do you need most right now? Write about it, study others who exhibit it, contemplate it, draw it, dance it and practice it today in every situation you encounter. Keep a journal of your experiences with this quality as it grows and develops within you. When you feel solid with it, move on to the next quality that you desire.

Peace with our Thoughts

Choosing to let your thoughts run wild will take away your peace. Thought is a creative energy that is proven to engineer and cause events and experiences in our lives.

Activity – Each time you find yourself in a negative stream of thought, deliberately begin to think the opposite. If you’re thinking that an upcoming meeting will be a struggle, do an about-face and think about how it will go smoothly. Even if you don’t believe your new thought at first, persist! With consistent practice, you will quickly see profound changes in your level of peace and be delighted to realize that it can make a big difference in many situations.

Peace with our Feelings

What we feel acts like a magnet; its energy goes out into the world and returns to us similar situations and experiences, like a boomerang. Practice not identifying with your emotions. When we let negative emotions take us over and get lost in them, we lose our balance. By expressing and then releasing them without harming others, we’re free to choose a better feeling. Peace comes when we take control and decide what we’re going to choose to feel.

Activity – On a blank sheet of paper (using crayons, markers or colored pastels) express your upset feelings. Get them out on the paper, as you draw. Release all of them. Take a second sheet of paper and, this time, deliberately change your outlook, as well as your feelings. Choose a new perspective and a new feeling. Now draw! Enjoy and feel renewed peace. This brings peace whenever you feel upset. It only takes 10 minutes, as opposed to stewing over feelings for hours or days!

Peace with our Contribution/Service

Research shows that people who are happiest are those who have found a way to make a contribution, a way to serve others by using their gifts and talents.

Activity - Close your eyes and relax deeply. Focus on the beating of your heart. Now imagine a doorway made of multi-colored light in your heart and walk through it onto a pathway inside. Feel pure love in your heart, love for yourself, for others and for life. Continue walking this heart path until you come to an open area. Here you find a hand-carved table with two objects on it. Notice the crystalline light that is pouring down on them from above. Look at them up closely now. As you pick up the first object, you become aware that it is especially beautiful. This object represents a way that you will add real beauty to the world. Examine the object and it’s message to you. Your heart is speaking clearly, guiding you. What is it saying? What are you feeling? Pick up the second object, which symbolizes another major contribution that is important for you to make. What is it? What does it signify? Feel how your spirit will soar as you make this contribution!

Peace with our Intuition

Intuition is an innate gift we all possess. It comes from a level of our minds, which is beyond rational thought. We simply know the truth or correct answer about something without knowing how we know. Analytical thought is not involved. We receive intuitive information through our right brain modalities, including inner pictures in our mind’s eye, strong feelings, hunches, our inner voice and pure knowing. Studies show that we’re biologically wired for this higher intelligence that connects us to direct truth, through many sense receptors beyond our normal five. Physicist David Bohm and physiologist Carl Pribram provide evidence that the experiences and consciousness of all life forms are recorded in the quantum energy field that underlies all life. Because we are holographically connected to this information (past, present and future included), the correct answer for every question we have is available to us. When we say, "I knew that would happen," we were sensing direct truth. Intuition is pivotal to inner peace, because when we know how to identify it and then act on it, we thrive, succeed, make good decisions and move forward gracefully in life.

Activity – Close your eyes and remember a time you were 100 percent relaxed. Allow your body to duplicate that experience now. Intend and expect that you will receive intuitive information. Feel yourself becoming very still, as quiet and peaceful as the silent stars in outer space. Ask a specific question, or for general assistance in your life, and listen, observe and feel as you quickly become aware of pictures, feelings or the inner voice giving you information and answers. Let insight and understanding of these symbols, words, and feelings fill your mind and heart. Decisions based on intuition are aligned with truth and will bring you success and peace.

Peace with our Dreams and Goals

When we have a dream or goal that’s in our hearts, peace comes only when we fulfill it! Giving up or feeling that we can’t attain it for some reason will destroy our peace. We make progress when we discipline ourselves, especially our thoughts, to believe that we will have it. When we truly believe it will happen, science shows it will. As we work with dedication through each obstacle and requirement for success, believing all the while in our positive outcome, we won’t be disappointed. Then, not only is our dream fulfilled, we become a new person with the positive qualities of inner faith, hard work, persistence and courage.

Activity - For two or three minutes a day, (three times per day) sit quietly and feel yourself happy and thrilled that your goal is accomplished now. You already have it! Maintain that feeling as you experience yourself doing or speaking something that would be natural if your goal were already a reality, now, right this moment. (If you persist in this activity, it will be!) Examples are: Hearing your friend congratulate you on your new job; signing a copy of your newly published book with your favorite pen; sitting on a plane admiring the sky as the captain says you’ll be landing in Sydney, Australia, in one hour; and holding the key of your new house in your hand as you feel its coolness and smoothness on your fingertips. With daily commitment to this exercise, you will succeed, and be at peace.

We grow into inner peace and discover that it’s earned, as we focus on these eight aspects of ourselves. We also find that the fruits of this labor go far beyond peace!