The possibility for creating peace must begin within each one of us as we become peaceful within ourselves. We are part of the whole. Our task is to heal separation, isolation, and defense of “us” as opposed to “them” within ourselves first; then we can bring that conscious awareness to all sentient beings in the world. Becoming whole in oneself and in one’s consciousness is the same as becoming whole in one’s family, community, society and the greater collective of the world we live in.

Surrender to the natural longing within your own heart to give and to love; surrender to the love that knows no separation. In this state of love, all division and separation cease. A holistic practice of meditation, prayer, and self-reflection can bring us into direct connection with the Soul and allow us to feel the sweetness of life and to tread the path of Love. The Soul is the point of power and the power is Now, in this moment.

Creating Peace

The spiritual practices remain the same whether we are in the midst of calm or chaos. The challenge feels greater, of course, when chaos reigns. The Center can be maintained at all times and in all circumstances through the regular practice of meditation, resonance movement, and prayer, as well as through the conscious relationship with one’s own feelings.

The feeling center is the entry point to inner knowing, or intuition. Intuition is the one-on-one relationship between you and God. These accelerated times demand that we dwell in the center of our intuitive awareness. Only our intuition can guide us moment by moment. Intuitive awareness is not acquired from some place outside of oneself; it is within each and every one of us, and it can be developed. It is fully present in your subtle body or feeling center. It is you, connecting with God.

We access the feeling center by slowing down, breathing deeply, and becoming still within. In the stillness lies everything we need. It is already there. Let go of the busy mind and distracting thoughts. In that open space, is simple being. Watch and observe, be attentive to what is happening within you and around you. Empty your mind and become a silent observer.

This is a meditative practice you can develop and learn. You can shift into this awareness either with your eyes closed in a quiet setting, or you can practice it as you witness the violence and fear swirling around us.

The emptiness creates space. That space creates the possibility for the unknown to be made known.

Letting Go of the Past

To see anything new, the mind must let go of the past which repeats itself in today’s agenda. Release the conditioned agenda you hold. Be fearless enough to let go of personal obsessions, addictions, attachments, and even preferences. Touch the unknown. The effortless stream of life is flowing within you. Truth lies within you.

This emptiness holds everything you need. From this space, your life opens and is revealed to you.

The space is infinite. In this infinite space, lies the possibility to reach out beyond the self to others. We need each other. Our essential nature is to give. Giving becomes possible when we are not preoccupied with self.

There Is So Much We Can Give

In this time of unrest, we are challenged to learn how to move out of separation and darkness. We can grow and develop a direct connection to the sweetness of life and to the Source of light. Connect with the Source of light. Breathe it in deeply and share its radiance with others. When you hold no opinion and no position, all can be revealed. In this Center of space and light you become simple and stable, and this stabilizes everything else.

When confusion, chaos, and disruption are all around, dwell in the eye of the storm. The Center is even and calm. The forces of conflict and separation are at work in the world, and we are suffering from the illusion that there is self and other, or self and opponent.

The self in relationship to the soul is the entry point to healing. On the path of love, we begin very simply with ourselves. The first step is to bring the body, emotions, and thoughts into balance through spiritual practice. These practices help us to ground ourselves in a simple, clear, and honest way, whether we are in the midst of calm or chaos. When we realize balance and harmony within ourselves, this energy can be extended out to others.

The second step is to carry that harmony to our primary relationships with family, relatives, and friends in a simple, clear and honest way. The third step is to extend the harmony even further into community, society and the greater collective. This creates the anchoring of wholeness and harmony. Transformation starts with each individual and ripples out from the Center to reach the collective. If the realization of harmony, balance, and peace is possible for one, it is possible for all. We are all one heart.

Staying on Point

Staying on point is staying in the present moment of now. It is not trying to be anywhere else but where you are; it is not wanting anything other than what you are given. It is being grateful, peaceful, and generous, no matter what. Good, bad, rich, poor, indifferent—the outer circumstances never take us off point.

These times, which are filled with one crisis after another, are reaching an apex. But it is a universal law that everything rises and everything falls. As warriors on the path, we learn how to ride those waves and do it while everything is groundless. Do not try to stabilize anything because you cannot do it. What is stable is your inner ability to flex and move from moment to moment, so that you meet each moment with awareness.

And in each moment, everything is given. We have a perpetual feast before us, and it has nothing to do with being entertained or with anything that is outer. It has to do with our inner ability to attract the mirror of light.

The Mirror of Light and of Self

As you face yourself on this path, and you see people in this world who are doing what you do not like, realize that they are a mirror for the aspects of your own self that you do not want to face, feel, or sit with. You want to do anything but meditate and sit with those aspects of self.

We live in this dimension, in the world of opposites. We came in from the one vibration, whether you call it heaven, whether you call it God or Shambhala or whatever you want to call it, the one vibration of infinite universal energy. It splits and bifurcates in this dimension and creates the poles of good and bad, right and wrong, night and day, and do and don’t. All of it exists here.

The task is not whether or not you see these things in the world or people who create atrocities, it is whether or not you can see them and maintain your own basic goodness in the light of them.

If you focus on their injustice or atrocity, you vibrate with their injustice and atrocity. If you witness their injustice and atrocity and stay neutral, you will maintain your own basic goodness and light, and that will help stabilize the other. But if you get discouraged and really judgmental and harsh, then the same energy is cycling back and forth, maybe not to the same degree, but certainly on the same frequency.

Doing Something About It

You can do something about it. You can learn how to keep yourself beautiful, clear, flexible and fluid in the midst of it all. Meeting yourself in meditation and spiritual practice can change the world. Meet your own demons first. Do not worry about the demons in the world; worry about the demons that drag you around everyday, the ones that keep you from being liberated and free. You can do something about it.

We humans have been fighting and overpowering each other since the beginning of time. This is not new. The group mind wants to polarize on opposite ends of the spectrum, and when we do that, we create an equal energy for the fight. The kind of warrior you want to be is a spiritual warrior. That is where you want to direct your attention. Be vigilant over your own obscurations of light.

The mirrors we see in the world are aspects of self, but where we address the heart of the mirror we are seeing is through our own heart of self-reflection. It is easy to see other people and judge them. It is much harder to see ourselves in the mirror and to self-reflect.

We know that we are flawed, but we do not use the flaws to hurt ourselves. We see them from the light of our basic goodness so that we never hurt ourselves. When we look into the mirror, we remember that basic goodness is the foundation of our humanness, and the flaws that we see are but our own obscurations of the infinite light and love that pulsate everywhere. With a warrior’s eye, we can self-reflect and see our shortcomings and not be put off by this at all; in fact, it gives us the key to where we are going and what we are doing here.

The Dark Aspects of Self

That which is reflected back to you is influenced by the lens you choose. Do you choose the lens of the emotional body? Do you choose the lens of the mental body? Do you choose the lens of the higher mind and higher consciousness? We, as Souls, get to choose, and as Souls we get to exercise our choice.

The Soul sets out to dissolve those obscurations, one at a time, and whether you are on a conscious path or an unconscious path does not really matter. Just being alive and learning the lessons of being a human being and interacting with other human beings, teaches us. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it is hard, and sometimes it is dark. And sometimes the door opens and the light floods in, and there is union and harmony.

It is all part of the process of the Soul, and the Soul knows its own nature, and its own nature is the nature of God consciousness. It is harmonious, it is light, it is love, it is all of the higher things that open our hearts and bring us peace.

All human beings have seen dark aspects of self, and all human beings have realized lightness of being through humor, communion, and joy in life. When we concentrate our Soul efforts, we can merge with that light and we can use that lens.

Right now we have arrived at the time of consequences for humanity upon this earth. We are having to face the consequences of our greed and grasping. We have reached a critical point which we could call crisis.

But all over the world there are many who are working to stabilize, to remember, to do good, and to balance those forces of karma that we are all experiencing together. We have the choice to join these light workers and bring light and stability to this dimension. In that way, we are not overwhelmed by the darkness that we see.

That which I am searching for is me.
That which acts as an enemy is me, and that which is attempting to get rid of the self-destructive me is also me.
I am the obstruction and I am the way.
That which obstructs is my own creation in unconsciousness.
The ‘I’ that is the light of consciousness that removes the darkness of unconsciousness and ignorance is hiding behind unconsciousness.
That which I am searching for is hidden behind all the false images I hold of myself.
That which remains, and cannot be removed after getting rid of all that I have acquired, is the real me.
      -- Yogi Amrit Desai

©2017 by Maresha Donna Ducharme.
All Rights Reserved.

Article Source

The Way Home to Love: A Guide to Peace in Turbulent Times
by Maresha Donna Ducharme.

The talks and spiritual teachings in this book were given at gatherings and retreats for spiritual students and seekers at Snow Dragon Sanctuary. Each one is an inspiration, reminding us how to live a conscious life. Each one helps us to remember the true nature of love and the guiding principles of spiritual living: how to be peaceful, beautiful, and more deeply connected to God and how to sustain and nurture our faith.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book.

About the Author

Maresha Donna Ducharme has been inspiring people to realize the sources of healing and peace, which exist within each one of us for over 35 years. Maresha holds degrees in Teaching, Education, Wholistic and Macrobiotic Counseling, and Energy Medicine. Her background and experience in spiritual and theological training is diverse. She has held a teaching ministry for the last 30 years. Maresha is a keeper of the sweat lodge, has trained extensively in Eastern Medicine, and in 1984 she was initiated into the Kundalini Shaktipat tradition. In 2000, she established The Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is ecumenical and open to all faiths and traditions and which finds the common bond of universal truths held at the heart of all faiths, and traditions. For more info, visit SnowDragonSanctuary.com