THE AWAKENING PATH
Newsletter articles containing great ideas, inspiration, and encouragement to get the life you want!
A New Look at Peace
Let it begin with me
by Barbara Magill
What a challenging time to be on the planet. The events of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 have hopefully moved each of us out of our comfortable (or not so comfortable) lives and insisted that we redefine how we see ourselves and our lives.
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Somehow, we have become quite contented in being the most powerful and advanced people, but, alas, what is true power? A Biologist once told the late Abraham Maslow he had finally figured out the missing link between the anthropoid ape and the fully evolved man. It's Us!
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We have grown up in a culture that teaches power over others is the only true power. I believe authentic power comes from inside - not outside. Jesus certainly had this power to destroy his enemies, and yet he did not. After all these years, we are still trying to apply his teachings and emulate his life. Who had the power?
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In his book "The Power of Now", Eckhart Tolle says "your pain from the past is a negative energy field lodged in your body and mind. It's survival depends on your unconscious identification with it, as well as your unconscious fear of facing the pain what lives in you. But, if you don't face it, you will be forced to relive it again and again".
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The thing we call growth - facing our pain - is not an easy path. Some of us choose to stay as we are - reading an occasional self help or attending a lecture here and there. Have you noticed that behavioral modification techniques may lull you into believing life is different, but somehow, similar circumstances seen to come knocking again and again?
The late Abraham Maslow studied healthy "self-actualized" people for many years. His belief was that man is intrinsically good, and that something not detected by the five senses lies deep inside all of us urging the fragmented pieces of our personality to a sense of wholeness.
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Today, the song "Let There Be People On Earth & Let It Begin With Me" takes on a new meaning. If we are holding onto anger, judgement, or blame for anyone, we are a part of the problem - not a part of the solution.
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If our goal is truly peace on earth, the wake up call has been sounded. Let each of us take personal responsibility for clearing out our own blocks in order to see the world anew. Not only will we feel more joy emanating from the depths of our being, but our world will experience the peacefulness of fully realized lives. Let There Be Peace On Earth - And Let It Begin With Each Of Us.
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Dr. Epps and I are committed to continue in the healing process and to assist others through our pastoral counseling practice. As we free ourselves from bondage, our planet can become a planet of peace. God bless each of you, God bless America, and God bless our planet!
The Awakening Path, under the corporate umbrella of The Church of Spiritual Healing, Inc., and inspired by spiritual teachers from many different traditions - like Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Peace Pilgrim, Sri Ramakrishna and others - aims to bring people, regardless of spiritual orientation, to emotional wholeness and universal spirituality.