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War or Peace All of my life I have considered myself a peacemaker. The other night I tuned into the Oprah Winfrey show. Several of her quests presented some convincing arguments for going to war with Iraq. This was disturbing for me. If we go to war does this mean that as a collective we at some level consciously want war? How has war ever been the "right" choice for humanity? I am a therapist and work with people who have been damaged, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The road back to wholeness for them is long and difficult. Some may never heal, but only go on to offend. I have seen the damage that fear and anger has played in the lives of my patients. I have also seen the miraculous healing power of love, which is ever lasting, unlike war, which only produces fear and death. Frank Ostaseski says, "Death is the great clarifier. It shows us what's important. It shows us that change is the nature of our life. This kind of change is always occurring. We always want to make things solid, so we pile up things around us, hoping that we'll feel some sense of security. But death takes all these things. So what is it that death doesn't take? One of the things is doesn't take is our capacity to love." I believe that the capacity to love starts with the self. Over the years I have watched as my patients struggle to learn for the first time to love themselves. In order to do this they must face the shadow side of themselves where their repressed memories, fears, pain and hatred are stored. Every time I see a patient make a breakthrough I know in my heart that they have not only freed themselves but have freed humanity for all time. One person's willingness to be break the chain of violence and terror raises consciousness for all of us. Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the Soul, says. "I know for sure that the universe is wise and compassionate. The question then becomes, how can there be such brutality, such pain and such suffering in our world? The reason is, we put it there. We create it, and it is up to us to stop creating it. If we continue to look for the root of violence in other people, then there will be more violence. We cannot eliminate terror by eliminating a few people. No bomb, no bullet, no navy or air force or army will eradicate terror. The belief system that safety comes in isolation, in separation has brought us to this collective experience of terror." I believe we stop creating terror and war when we are willing to release anger and hatred and heal the wounds of our past. As children many have had experiences of being a victim, but at some point in adulthood we have to become accountable for our actions and release hatred. Elie Wiese, says, "Hatred devours the hater, as well as the hated. Hatred is a cancer. It grows from cell to cell, from limb to limb, from group to group. Terrorism is the enemy, because it does not discern friend from foe, young from old. It simply kills, and it could kill and kill and kill. It must be stopped. I believe that education is the best remedy that we possess to fight evil, to fight terrorism, to fight indifference." I also believe that knowledge is power. Our willingness to look at our own lives and examine our belief systems helps us make it through difficult times and define who we are. Cheryl Richardson offers us the following steps to help us identify our beliefs and determine if we are living a life that reflects those beliefs. 1.Recall a difficult past experience. Most people have been through a challenging event - illness, divorce, loss of job, death of a loved one or dealing with the recent terrorist attacks - and we've all survived it. What is a specific challenge you've faced in your life? 2.Identify a belief that helped you heal from that experience. What belief did you adopt as a result of the experience? Did it get you through the difficult time? What did the experience teach you about coping with life changes? If you don't know what your beliefs are, turn to the people in your life that have strong belief systems. Adopt their beliefs if they work for you. What belief do they use to help them cope with difficult times? 3.What daily actions will you take to reinforce your beliefs? How will you integrate these beliefs into your life? What steps will you take to incorporate them into your every day experiences? With people? Your career? Your family life? 4.Are you living and behaving in a way that is consistent with your beliefs? Be honest with yourself. Are you practicing these beliefs with integrity? Having integrity means to live your life with honesty, to honor your word and your beliefs, and to take responsibility for all of your actions. If you are not living with integrity, your goals become hard to reach, you attract people that make you feel bad and you lose your trust in yourself. I would like to share with you how I addressed Cheryl's questions to one memorable time of my life. For one year I did a walk about in Australia, which was challenging and at times frightening. Out of that experience I deepened my belief in God/Infinite Intelligence. I learned the true meaning of surrender, and about living in the present. I became aware that the survival instincts within me created an ability to be very resourceful in getting my needs met. I learned that without the help of the people I met along the way my journey would have been much more difficult, if not impossible. Out of this experience I live a life of gratitude, and rest assured that God has a great plan for all of us. Not some plan that was imposed upon us, but a contract that we jointly created before we came into this lifetime. My prayer for myself and all of humanity is that the "greater plan" for all of us is that of peace, love and joy. Nameste~ In Light, Charlene | |||
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Copyright 2000-2009 - Charlene Ryan | |||
