The MOST Important thing YOU can do to manifest World Peace

Here it is, it’s very simple...The most important thing YOU can do to manifest World Peace is… BELIEVE PEACE.

What? What does that mean, BELIEVE PEACE? “You mean to tell me that all I have to do is Believe Peace and Peace will be my reality? You mean I don’t have to do anything like write my Representatives, participate in a Peace Rally, etc?”

If you choose to do those things, fine. But those things are not needed to manifest World Peace. In fact, sometimes, some of these activities perpetuate the “problem.” Anytime, anyone gets into attack/defense or support/non-support mode that creates separation instead of Unity. Peace is about Unity. Peace is about acknowledging our Oneness, our Connection. Mother Teresa said, “If there is no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another.” (More on this concept later.)

Peace is an inner stillness, quietness, or love that is NOT dependent on outer circumstances. Before we get into the details of this concept, we must start at the beginning, which is a very core concept.

All motivational/success materials claim that you must have an “END” result in mind, in order to achieve anything. If we think about it now, anything that is in the physical form, began with an idea; a clear vision. So it is with peace.

Most people do not even have a concept of what peace is. What is Peace? Is it having no weapons or bombs, it is having no gangs, is it being in a supportive work environment, is it not having an argument with a spouse, is it a moment in nature?

We must have a clear vision of what “peace” means to us. I would encourage each and every one of us to clarify that vision. It is the starting point for BELIEVING PEACE.

(At the website www.peacefulearth.org, there is a section titled “What is Peace?” It is a poem about the reflections of peace. I would encourage you to listen to it and meditate on it, and then print the one page word document titled “What is Peace?” and write down your vision of peace.)

Now that we have a vision of peace, we are able to move to the next step of actually BELIEVING PEACE.

To understand this concept fully, we must start with some basic information. Do you believe that your “inner” thoughts or beliefs create your “outer” experience?

If you said, “no”, let’s explore this concept. In Physics there is the concept that there is no difference between observer and observed. Meaning that the “observed” changes, depending on the perception, stance, orientation of the “observer.” Another way of saying this is that, what we “see” is reflected back to us. If we “see” peace in the world, peace will be reflected back to us. Our inner thoughts and perceptions are reflected back to us.

It reminds me of this wonderful story I heard about a Hall of Mirrors. There was this hall of mirrors. It was covered with mirrors. There were mirrors on all the walls, on the ceiling, and on the floor. One day a dog, entered this Hall of mirrors, and immediately became defensive and angry when he saw himself surrounded by all these other dogs. The dog started to growl and bark. As he barked and snarled, all the other dogs barked and snarled back. The dog barked louder and louder, and became more viscous. The other dogs became just as viscous. The dog eventually died of exhaustion trying to fend off the other dogs.

Then there was this monk, who entered the hall. He noticed all the other peaceful looking monks around him. He smiled, and all the other monks smiled back at him. He was so ecstatic to see himself surrounded by all these wonderful beings that he at that point in time reached enlightenment.

What do you see in the world? If you choose to “see” peace, you will create the world you see.

Some of you may still ask, how can I really “see” peace in the world, when I turn on the television and see war and violence, or when I read the paper about pending war? This is a good question.

I would like to address this question from different perspectives. The process of “seeing” and “believing” peace is available to us through acknowledging a Presence of peace through Prayer or Faith.

Presence is Beingness, God, Buddha, Allah, the Divine, Mother, Father, Energy, Consciousness, Infinite, Power, or whatever you choose to call “it” that makes up the Universe, and is inherent in each and every one of us. We are all beings of “energy,” that same “energy” that created the Universe. Wayne Dyer said it best when he said, “we are spiritual beings, having a human experience.” We are spiritual beings, housed in a human shell. But we are more than the human shell we live in. We are eternal. As spiritual beings, our essence is love.

Prayer, as it is referred to here, is an acknowledgement of the Truth of who we are, beyond outer experiences. And Faith, is a belief in the inherent goodness or desired outcome, no matter what the appearance. I like the saying that “prayer doesn’t change God, prayer changes YOU.” Prayer is just focused attention on God, and God qualities, (or the Ultimate Truth.)

Situations such as war, violence, hatred, illness are human manifestations. They are situations that occur in this human form. But they are not who we are. There is an “essence” of us that is good, that is love, that is at the very core of our “experience.”

The way we change our “experience” is by bringing our attention back to our true “essence.” By focusing on that which is True. That which is never changing.

Einstein said that, “you can’t solve a problem from the same level of thinking that created the problem.” Again, war and violence are problems that arise at the human level of form. Meeting them at the level of human form will not solve the problem; only a shift in consciousness, or awareness of our Essence, will transform the situation.

Again this takes us back to believing Peace. Trusting and knowing the Truth for each and every one of us.

No matter what is going on externally, there is still a potential, a Truth, at the core of your Being that IS peace. It cannot be touched or changed by any outer circumstance. And that is the Truth of Who you Are.

Instead of “fighting” a situation or trying to “make” something happen. Shine the light of Truth into that situation. I do this through Prayer, but many do this through Faith.

Alan Cohen, in my book Peaceful Earth: Spiritual Perspectives on Inner Peace and World Peace, shares a powerful story about the role of the Faithkeeper. In Native American tradition, one person is assigned the role of Faithkeeper. The Faithkeeper basically keeps the “faith” for the entire village no matter what is going on externally. So basically, during times of illness, drought, poverty, famine, and disease, it is the Faithkeeper’s job to keep the “faith” that the crops are flourishing, that the rains are coming, that the village is healthy. The Faithkeeper silently prays and “knows” the good for the entire village. The Faithkeeper keeps the “high watch.” This is what we are being called to do NOW.

To be Faithkeepers in Peace. So that no matter what is going on on the outside like threats of war, we are keeping the “faith” in the inherent goodness and peace of all people.

I would like to offer some food for thought. James Twyman, a PeaceMaker, has taken a group of individuals and is teaching them how to bend spoons with their minds! I have participated in a fire walk, and walked across 2000 degree Fahrenheit hot coals! There have been countless documented cases of supposed medical “miracles” where people healed themselves, by the belief that they were healed. If things like this are possible by focusing our attention on the desired outcome, why wouldn’t we believe that peace is possible by focusing our attention on it, and believing it to be so?

In the Bible it says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” Mathew 21:22

Another important aspect of BELIEVING peace, is “Being” peace. All of what we have talked about to this point has been about manifesting peace, by shifting YOUR awareness to the Presence of peace.

It is important to understand that World peace begins with YOUR Peace! Everything we have mentioned up until now, has been about shifting your attention to Peace, through Prayer or Faith, to that of BELIEVING peace.

It’s been about your individual expression of peace, having a collective effect. But, do we really believe that an individual can affect change at a global level?

We’ve all heard the story about the 100th monkey, where monkeys on an island in Japan started washing their sweet potatoes in the stream, then once a critical amount of monkeys who were doing this, was reached, scientists observed that monkeys on other islands, were doing the same thing. There was no communication between the monkeys on the other islands. How can this be explained?

There has been documented scientific and medical data about the affects of one person on a group or groups of people. (Power vs. Force, by David Hawkins, MD, and Energy Medicine by Donna Eden to name a few.)

But we don’t necessarily need to read the data to see the results. We witness the energetic effects of individuals on others everyday. For example, have you ever known a coworker that was really high strung and over-stressed? Maybe they talked 50 miles an hour, were constantly running, doing one hundred things at once, were very fast paced, etc. Have you ever noticed that after being around them or in their presence that when you left, you had to tell yourself, “wait a minute, slow down?” You got into that energy.

Or have you ever known someone who was so peaceful, so fully present that you just wanted to be around them. And after leaving their presence, you felt more peaceful and centered?

These are examples of the energetic effects we have on other people, by our Presence. Sometimes, when we hear someone on television talking about the fear of war, we get in that energy and become fearful ourselves. These are all energetic effects.

I believe that the most important thing that we can do to manifest World Peace is to believe Peace. We can only believe Peace if we have a concept of peace. And it’s about bringing MY awareness back to that of peace. Now this is often a PRACTICE. Sometimes it’s not easy, living in this human body, with this human experience to see or believe peace.

Sometimes there are things that I may need to DO to BE peace. Ultimately, the goal is to “Be” peace, but there are often things I need to Do in order to “Be” peace.

Therefore I have created a TOP 10 list of things each and every one of us can “DO” to bring peace, our true essence to every situation in our lives. This list contains the results of responses from people all over via the Internet, book-signings and speaking engagements.

I know that I needed to bring peace to relationships in my life that didn’t FEEL too peaceful. I believe the Ultimate goal is to be at peace, so that no one, no “thing” can affect that which is YOU. NO outer experience can affect that peace. Gandhi said that “Peace, to be real, must be unaffected by outer circumstances.”

One simple technique that I have used and developed to consciously FOCUS on peace is the Peace Prize. It is a TOOL that keeps me FOCUSED on peace. If you haven’t gotten your FREE peace prize, please do so now by going to www.peacefulearth.org.

It is a spiritual truth that what we LOOK for EXPANDS.

The Peace Prize is an award given to people who are kind or peaceful. It is a way to provide positive feedback and encourage kind acts. But more importantly, it has become a tool to “Look” for peace! It is easy to focus on war or violence, when we listen to the media. Yet it is also just as easy to shift our attention or focus to peace! Let’s train our minds to focus on the peace, and therefore increase the Presence of Peace in the world!

One last suggestion: In my prayers I use visualizations and affirmations. I like to see our President and representatives surrounded by love and peace. I like to affirm the Truth that they are guided to and make decisions from a place of Peace and love. I like to see our “perceived” enemies as feeling and knowing the love. I like to visualize sending love to them, and that they are transformed by the power of love. I see all my relationships in my life as opportunities to express love. I remind myself what a Course in Miracles says, “everything is Love or a call for Love.” I also affirm that I know the Truth, that regardless of what something “appears” to be, I claim the Truth. Sometimes if I can’t see it or feel it, I still affirm that even though “such and such” is happening, I know that there is peace at the center of it. There is love at the very core.

Let’s take on the Role of Faithkeeper right now and shift our energy and consciousness to that of absolutely KNOWING and BELIEVING Peace, which is the Truth of each and every one of us!!!