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"Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men."
This past week, with the ever-present sound of holiday carols reverberating around me on radio, in restaurants and shopping malls, I have been thinking about how we relate to that phrase, "Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men."
When you look for yourself, truthfully, does the phrase have any more impact on your life than the statement, "Have a nice day?" Do you find yourself with holiday glass raised, uttering the phrase with a hope mixed with resignation as you observe a world that seems filled with anger, resentment, hate, pain, fear, loathing, fraud, greed, conflict and war?
When these emotions hold sway, we have been seduced by the same thing that generates what we see --- the Myth of Separateness. When we buy into this myth, we experience being cut off from the Divine Light that is our essential nature.
Then, with no clarity about the pathway to fulfill "Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men," we are unable to express and fulfill it. Yet, the pathway has been given to us over and over in the spiritual wisdom traditions of east and west.
"Good Will toward Men," is really a watered down version of "Love your neighbor as Your Self." This sacred principle is found in almost all spiritual traditions in some version. The joke is that we are always acting from it. When we know our true nature as LOVE, when we know that we are all an expression of the ONE, we see ourselves in others, have understanding and compassion for what is shaping them in the moment, and naturally act from that truth with them. When we believe that who we are is a separate ego personality, we see all others as that also, and act with them accordingly out of our own concerns, desires and fears for survival and security.
The choice is always there for each of us in each moment.
"Peace on Earth" begins with Peace Within. The outer world is the acting out of our inner state of Being.
Rather than focusing on what is wrong with them out there (be it member of your family or people of another group or country), I invite you to do an inner inventory. Anyplace within where you are harboring shame, guilt, grief, greed, despair, fear, resentment, anger or pride becomes the source of its projection into the world through your own actions. It is the same with all humanity. Is there someone you resent? Is there someone you have not forgiven? Is there someone (including yourself), that you have withdrawn your love from? Is there someone or some story out there that you blame for your present condition and your inner state of being --- abdicating to them the power to determine who and what you are? Are you allowing your history and past experience to determine who you are NOW?
No outer wars will end without the ending of the inner wars within. All outer wars are a projection of our inner state. We will always dramatize our inner state outwardly, whether we are conscious of it or not. Blame and attack, blame and attack, over and over again, becomes the one strategy. Some do it overtly and some do it covertly. It does no good to you call yourself peaceful, if inside you continue to point your finger, judging, blaming, hating, and resenting the other. Remember, each side in a conflict calls the other "Satan." Each side calls the other "evil." Each side knows that they are right and the other is wrong.
What if instead, we could realize that when we or another experience hatred and fear, we are cut off from our true nature, from our ONENESS with ALL? What if we recognized that what is shaping people's actions is the myth of separateness which blinds us to the Divine Light in ourselves and in others? When we recover the truth, when we awaken to the blindness in ourselves and others, than we can truly SEE. Then forgiveness, compassion, love and power arise naturally to transform the darkness into light.
Do you want a practical example of this in the modern world? Here it is in two words: Nelson Mandela. Twenty-nine years in prison in South Africa, he comes out of prison, not with hatred, bitterness, and revenge in his heart, but with love, compassion and forgiveness that became the foundation for rebuilding South Africa. He not only avoided a predictable bloodbath in his country, but as President, he also demonstrated it was possible to replace history and trauma with love and compassion as the foundation for our actions.
This Holy-day season, can you end the inner conflicts and wars? Will you? When?
We can choose the Myth of Separateness and live our lives as a history laden ego that is driven by the urges of gain and loss --- attempting to gain approval, attention, control and security, and trying not to lose the same. It is a fear based life; fear of losing what we have and fear of not getting what we want.
Or we can recover our true, infinite, I AM nature, and experience each moment as a gift, a blessing of profound inner peace, love and joy. Residing here, you are HOME. Residing here, you are not waiting for love; you know that the gift is in the giving of love. Residing here, you can dissolve the patterns of limitation, fear and hurt. Remember, these are nothing but energy patterns that you have identified with! You can release them back to the infinite. What will remain will be openness, love and the peace that passes understanding..
When you are home, LOVE is who you are. Blame is replaced by COMPASSION. Your actions in the world resonate with your true nature. You become an expression of the Divine Light by which others have the opportunity to get in touch with that same Light within themselves.
NOW, you can begin operating from a commitment to fully transform your inner state to be an expression of Peace Within. Then all the rest will follow.
"Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men," doesn't have to be an empty phrase. It does not have to be a once a year, rote remark. It can be where we live from now on.
May you give Love's Light to all that you meet!
May your Holy-days and New Year be an expression of joy, love, and creativity!
-- Hal Isen
From Core Wisdom On-Line Number 37 - Dec. 23, 2003
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