Namaste! If you are new to this blog I encourage you to find my first blog in July at www.peacetuesday.blogspot.com. In that first blog I explain that my purpose for creating the blog was a way, one of many, to provide a Peace focus for myself and others. What I know is that what we focus on expands, so having a weekly Peace focus creates the possibility of expanding Peace in the world and in our lives.
Namaste (why does she keep typing that?)! Well, I keep typing and offering "Namaste" to you because it is a Japanese greeting that point us toward Peace. I have several translations for Namaste. It can mean: "I honor the best and highest in you" or " I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells" or "I honor the place in you which is love, integrity, wisdom and Peace. When you are in that place, I am in that place also. We are one!". How completely awesome is that for a greeting? "Hello" or "How are you" just doesn't begin to measure up does it?
Honoring the highest and best in you, and because we are one, can be access to Peace.
However, like most things, simply saying it doesn't always get us to that place of truly honoring deep in our being. It is possible to simply keep saying it as a practice, say it as if you meant it (even when you don't) and eventually you can own fully the notion that you can honor the other, any other, and honor yourself in the same breath. I highly recommend this practice because it focuses you on Peace.
Often fear and anger are in between us and honoring the best and highest in others, seeing that we are one. So, here is an even more powerful practice to bring Peace into your life, remembering that it becomes a struggle to bring Peace to others when it isn't present for you. In coaching we refer to this practice as getting or being Complete, Present and Responsible or CPR! This is not my own creation, but was one of many practices I learned in the Accomplishment Coaching Coach and Leadership Training Program (yes, this is a shameless plug for an amazing program).
Recently another coach referred a client to me because the client "wanted what I have", which is Peace in my life. I told her the most critical practice I took on was to get complete with everyone in my life who I was not at Peace with. These were people for whom I was holding some anger, resentment or sadness. I began by first writing a letter (one you never send!) to my mother. I started with her because she was clearly the person I was most angry with in my life. In the letter I ranted and raved for a long paragraph about how she had never honored my sensitive nature, but had ridiculed my bookishness, my love of music, my spirituality, my idealism. By the end of the paragraph I was as livid with her as I was when I was 15!
Next, I forgave her, realizing that her upbringing by a sweet and loving mother who "died young of a broken heart", but a brutal and alcoholic father, had her afraid that anyone she loved would be weak and victimized, like her mother. She was so afraid for herself and for us she became determined that she and we would be strong (and safe) in a dangerous world.
I wrote next how I could be responsible for "taking on" my mother's fear for me, making it my own, so that I became wary of my sensitive side, working hard to avoid it, to cover it up, to pretend I was something other than who I was. I wrote how I could be responsible for creating a wall of anger between the two of us, blaming her for my lack of courage in the face of mostly invented fears. Notice please that there is no blame in this letter. I am not blaming her or me, but simply being responsible for what was or for what occurs to me to be so right now.
Lastly, I wrote that I was committed to healing my relationship with her, telling her how much I appreciated all she had done (a ginormous amount) for me and for countless others. I wrote that
I was committed to living a life from love rather than fear, determined to find a way to do that, as determined as she was to keep us safe in a world where safety is really an illusion.
I wrote and rewrote that letter until there was no more anger to express AND, more importantly, I no longer blamed her for anything that had happened in my life. Not only was I able to forgive her, I was able to see that there was NOTHING TO FORGIVE. And at the end of that I noticed that fear began to slip from my life gradually, then faster and faster. And what replaced it was sweet and spacious Peace. I got complete with my mom, and so many others. I got present to what was in the way of me loving more fully, and I got responsible for choosing a life of Peace.
My invitation to you this Peace Tuesday is to practice Peace for some time today. If following the "Angry Letter" format above to get complete, present and responsible works for you that's fabulous. The most powerful access to Peace I know is not merely forgiveness, but seeing that there is nothing to forgive. My mother was not awake to the depth of her desperate need for safety for us, for herself. Quite the contrary, had you asked her if she was afraid, she would have declared, "Not of anyone or anything!" and meant it. Her fear was deeply buried beneath her actions, her anger seeping out when she was tired, scared or frusterated and getting all over her children on regular basis.
So, Peace is possible when there is nothing to forgive. And you have access to that by getting Complete, Present and Responsible. Pema Chodron writes about reaching this Peaceful place of "nothing to forgive" in several of her books. When Things Fall Apart is one of hers that I keep on my bookshelf.
Lastly, I have a recommendation for you as a place to bring Peace to the planet. Go to kiva.org and you will find requests for loans from individuals in third world countries. You can INVEST in any one of hundreds of entrepreneurs, and their track record for paying back the money is 100% because it becomes a community responsibility and the loan requests are "approved" by the requesters community before they are listed on the Kiva site! You will get your investment back with a small amount of interest which you can turn around and reinvest. Kiva is one of thousands of small organizations that Paul Hawken, in his book Blessed Unrest, refers to as part of the planet's immune system, mobilizing with others to combat the viruses of greed, war and pollution that threatens the earth body. Imagine giving kiva investments to everyone on your holiday gift list year. It's like giving twice - once to the third world entrepreneur who receives the gift of business capital and twice for your friend or family member, who receives the gift of making a difference.
Namaste again!
Love,
Darlene
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Eating Peace!
Blessings to you this Peace Tuesday. Today you can choose to take a moment, a minute or more to focus on Peace. Since all things are interconnected, the possibility exists that your moments' focus on Peace will affect your life, the lives of others, who will in turn affect others. When I take a moment to meditate, pray, sit quietly, envision or imagine that Peace is possible, I get a warm, squishy, excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. I leave my moment's focus and I smile at whoever I see, even if it's only my dog! My smile usually elicits a return smile, (yes, my dog smiles at me!) which warms me again because I know that the smile will travel throughout the day, moving from face to face. Someone will remember smiling back at a stranger, feel lighter during the day and return to work with a smile for a coworker who desperately needs one. One smile, one unexpected act of kindness yields unimagined benefits down the line. You never know where your smile will end up or the difference it will make!
How is that eating Peace? Well, it began as a random thought, eating Peace. And probably came from the Hunger Project's slogan "Visualize World Peace" which folks with a sense of humor morphed into "Visualize Whirled Peas". I know I've eaten some of those.
However, it occurs to me that you can eat Peace. You can eat Peace in the sense that you can choose to eat things that contribute to Peace on the planet. You can eat peacefully (as in no T.V. and no politics at mealtime!) and contribute to Peace in your life. You can also eat Peace by choosing to purchase food that is grown locally, organically or sustainably. You can choose to purchase foods that are whole or foods that don't involve a lot of packaging. You could choose to avoid eating meat one day a week or one meal a week or avoid meat entirely, as a way to eat Peacefully. You can grow one tomato plant, which you nurture in your garden. You can share the bounty with friends and neighbors and contribute to Peace in that way. You can nurture and love the plant, watering it each day, appreciating the gift of its fruit. Your nurturing and your gratitude contribute to Peace on the planet. I invite those of you who are already doing any of these things to celebrate your contribution to the planet. Acknowledge yourself for the difference you make.
Eating Peace is not such a ridiculous idea. It's another way to think about making a small difference, which, when added to the many small differences everyone else is making, adds up to a ginormous (Jim Carey's word) difference.
Along those lines I have been reading Paul Hawken's book Blessed Unrest. Paul writes about how millions of people on the planet are working daily to create social justice, environmental sustainability and Peace. He writes about how the work seems to be invisible because it is being done by so many individuals and groups, most of whom are not connected to each other, but that it actually constitutes a movement! The book is full of inspiring examples of people working in their communities or traveling to other countries to help and heal. Paul speaks about these millions of people as akin to the earth's immune system, working diligently and intentionally to mend the planet's wounds and prevent further damage. It's still too early to say if this "immune system" will prevail, but I love thinking of you and me as part of a larger system designed to repair and protect the earth. And we don't even have to know each other or know about each other to do our individual work! Cool beans!
So, I assert that anything small thing you do to move toward Peace will have an additive effect. And, what's even better, is that if you think of your additive effect, you are more likely to be inspired to keep doing that something you do. Or keep being that someone who contributes to Peace on the planet. Wahoo!
Paul Hawken speaks around the world and in his book he describes his audiences as full of the sort of people described by the poet, Adrienne Rich who wrote, "My heart is moved by all I cannot save. So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world". And another quote he includes by Barry Lopez,"There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light."
And then there is a commandment I would add to Dr. Kent M. Keith's Paradoxical Commandments. These are the commandments that are often presented as being created by Mother Theresa but are not. My 11th Commandment is: If you work for and support Peace people will call you naive and idealistic. Work for Peace anyway!
And here is a practice for doing this. It is a practice that has you work from your heart, where you know that Peace is possible, instead of from your head, where you've stored all of the arguments you've ever heard for why it is not! So, the practice is to take 5 minutes and imagine that your heart is where your brain normally resides. It is big, powerful, pumping loving life force to all of your body......from your head cavity! Then imagine that your overworked, over-worrying, overstimulated brain has shrunk to the size of an orange and that it resides where your heart normally sits. Sit with this image until it sticks. Then ask your "Heart brain" what it wants to do for Peace today. Listen for the answer. And if you're feeling really frisky, practice walking around as long as you can with your heart in your head. And notice what happens to your normal internal dialogue-diet of of judging and assessing.
So, join me today. Lean into the light. Do one thing to "reconstitute the world"!
Love,
Darlene
P.S. If you want to be removed from my mailing please leave a message in the comments section. I promise I will love you anyway! And if you have a comment or question about the blog please leave that in the comment section as well. Peace Out!
How is that eating Peace? Well, it began as a random thought, eating Peace. And probably came from the Hunger Project's slogan "Visualize World Peace" which folks with a sense of humor morphed into "Visualize Whirled Peas". I know I've eaten some of those.
However, it occurs to me that you can eat Peace. You can eat Peace in the sense that you can choose to eat things that contribute to Peace on the planet. You can eat peacefully (as in no T.V. and no politics at mealtime!) and contribute to Peace in your life. You can also eat Peace by choosing to purchase food that is grown locally, organically or sustainably. You can choose to purchase foods that are whole or foods that don't involve a lot of packaging. You could choose to avoid eating meat one day a week or one meal a week or avoid meat entirely, as a way to eat Peacefully. You can grow one tomato plant, which you nurture in your garden. You can share the bounty with friends and neighbors and contribute to Peace in that way. You can nurture and love the plant, watering it each day, appreciating the gift of its fruit. Your nurturing and your gratitude contribute to Peace on the planet. I invite those of you who are already doing any of these things to celebrate your contribution to the planet. Acknowledge yourself for the difference you make.
Eating Peace is not such a ridiculous idea. It's another way to think about making a small difference, which, when added to the many small differences everyone else is making, adds up to a ginormous (Jim Carey's word) difference.
Along those lines I have been reading Paul Hawken's book Blessed Unrest. Paul writes about how millions of people on the planet are working daily to create social justice, environmental sustainability and Peace. He writes about how the work seems to be invisible because it is being done by so many individuals and groups, most of whom are not connected to each other, but that it actually constitutes a movement! The book is full of inspiring examples of people working in their communities or traveling to other countries to help and heal. Paul speaks about these millions of people as akin to the earth's immune system, working diligently and intentionally to mend the planet's wounds and prevent further damage. It's still too early to say if this "immune system" will prevail, but I love thinking of you and me as part of a larger system designed to repair and protect the earth. And we don't even have to know each other or know about each other to do our individual work! Cool beans!
So, I assert that anything small thing you do to move toward Peace will have an additive effect. And, what's even better, is that if you think of your additive effect, you are more likely to be inspired to keep doing that something you do. Or keep being that someone who contributes to Peace on the planet. Wahoo!
Paul Hawken speaks around the world and in his book he describes his audiences as full of the sort of people described by the poet, Adrienne Rich who wrote, "My heart is moved by all I cannot save. So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world". And another quote he includes by Barry Lopez,"There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light."
And then there is a commandment I would add to Dr. Kent M. Keith's Paradoxical Commandments. These are the commandments that are often presented as being created by Mother Theresa but are not. My 11th Commandment is: If you work for and support Peace people will call you naive and idealistic. Work for Peace anyway!
And here is a practice for doing this. It is a practice that has you work from your heart, where you know that Peace is possible, instead of from your head, where you've stored all of the arguments you've ever heard for why it is not! So, the practice is to take 5 minutes and imagine that your heart is where your brain normally resides. It is big, powerful, pumping loving life force to all of your body......from your head cavity! Then imagine that your overworked, over-worrying, overstimulated brain has shrunk to the size of an orange and that it resides where your heart normally sits. Sit with this image until it sticks. Then ask your "Heart brain" what it wants to do for Peace today. Listen for the answer. And if you're feeling really frisky, practice walking around as long as you can with your heart in your head. And notice what happens to your normal internal dialogue-diet of of judging and assessing.
So, join me today. Lean into the light. Do one thing to "reconstitute the world"!
Love,
Darlene
P.S. If you want to be removed from my mailing please leave a message in the comments section. I promise I will love you anyway! And if you have a comment or question about the blog please leave that in the comment section as well. Peace Out!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Pace!
Pace is the Latin and Italian word for Peace. So, Pace to you on this Peace Tuesday, August 12, 2008.
Today is an opportunity to focus on Peace in some way because what we focus on expands. Appreciate Peace today wherever you create it, see or notice it, because what you appreciate grows or appreciates. Be Peace today and be amazed at how Peace shows up everywhere. That's how powerful you are!
I have been reading an informative book titled Wisdom for a Livable Planet by Carl McDaniel. I've been reading this book for six weeks! This is because each chapter focuses on a someone who has made a major contribution to current understanding of what it takes to live peacefully and sustainably, noting that the two are inextricably linked. And each chapter is loaded with references to several other notable books. So, I keep getting sidetracked by reading those books instead of finishing this one! I highly recommend this book as a great single source of information about what's happening on our planet regarding the economics and social advantages of sustainable living.
I'm currently "stuck" in chapter 7, reading about Herman Daly who is an economist who has bucked current economic thinking, and makes the case that local economies must be sustainable locally to be viable long term. Infinite economic growth is not sustainable. There are limits to what the planet and what societies can support, just as there are limits to what the human body can tolerate (think drugs, toxins, fat). People need to be able to grow their own food and supply most of their needs for the earth to sustain populations long term. I couldn't begin to paraphrase or represent his logic here so I recommend Herman Daly's book Beyond Growth or Chapter 7 of Wisdom for a Livable Planet to get the details.
Daly makes the point that war or social upheaval is most related to large scale poverty or large disparities between rich and poor. So, a way to work for Peace or ensure Peace in the future would be to do what many NGOs are focused on, which is to provide poor people across the globe the skills, knowledge and capital, through microfinance to create sustainable local economies.
Which brings me to a controversial notion I've hesitated to raise before. Call me chicken! The notion is that war is not the opposite of Peace and, stay with me here, war may be good for something - besides lining the pockets of Haliburton and Blackstone, I mean. Another way of looking at this is to ask the question we never ask, which is, "What is perfect about war"?
There, I've said it, or asked it! It strikes me that war, like anger and fist fighting among individuals, is an expensive though generally ineffective strategy for settling disagreements. So, what's perfect about it is that each time we have a war, it is a reminder that we need to develop other, less expensive, more effective and less destructive strategies for resolving disputes. In short we will keep having wars until human beings finally get the message that wars, as a rule, don't work. There is a case to be made that even World War II was avoidable, had we not punished the Germans and driven their people to look desperately for inspiration to the diseased mind of an anti semitic nutcase.
As humans we apparently need to keep seeing pictures of destroyed homes and families in order to work up the resolve to change the way we operate in the world. We didn't need to go to war in South Africa to end apartheid and we didn't need to fight a war with the Soviets to bring about some change in that country (I realize that Russia is a work in progress). War is not inevitable. Thinking war is inevitable makes war inevitable, a self fulfilling prophecy. And that thinking pushes countries to prepare for what they believe is inevitable, spending billions or more creating war tools. As we like to say in the coaching world, when all you have is a hammer (read war machine) everything looks like a nail (read international situation that needs fixing). Or, what we focus on expands. If our focus is the need to protect ourselves with a large military industrial complex, we are likely to find excuses to use it. President Eisenhower warned us about this!
On a lighter note, I just ordered myself a Peace flag, which I will fly on all national holidays and every Peace Tuesday. It's not that I'm not patriotic, I am. As a former member of the U.S. military I love this country, and I especially appreciate all of the Peaceful things it has done in the world. It's that I can no longer afford, and the planet can no longer afford, for me to be apathetic in the face of a growing need for Peace. And I believe that Peace in my life, my community, my country and the world better supports this country that war does. So, one small thing I can do is fly the world Peace flag. It is a beautiful rainbow flag (though the Wikipedia description is that it is different from the Gay pride flag because it includes an extra turquoise stripe!) and it has the word Peace, Pace or the word for Peace in any language.
So, Pace to you this Peace Tuesday. Take a moment or several moments to notice what you can do to make your life or even the world more Peaceful. As Mother Theresa might say, Peace may seem impossible, be Peace anyway.
Love,
Darlene
Today is an opportunity to focus on Peace in some way because what we focus on expands. Appreciate Peace today wherever you create it, see or notice it, because what you appreciate grows or appreciates. Be Peace today and be amazed at how Peace shows up everywhere. That's how powerful you are!
I have been reading an informative book titled Wisdom for a Livable Planet by Carl McDaniel. I've been reading this book for six weeks! This is because each chapter focuses on a someone who has made a major contribution to current understanding of what it takes to live peacefully and sustainably, noting that the two are inextricably linked. And each chapter is loaded with references to several other notable books. So, I keep getting sidetracked by reading those books instead of finishing this one! I highly recommend this book as a great single source of information about what's happening on our planet regarding the economics and social advantages of sustainable living.
I'm currently "stuck" in chapter 7, reading about Herman Daly who is an economist who has bucked current economic thinking, and makes the case that local economies must be sustainable locally to be viable long term. Infinite economic growth is not sustainable. There are limits to what the planet and what societies can support, just as there are limits to what the human body can tolerate (think drugs, toxins, fat). People need to be able to grow their own food and supply most of their needs for the earth to sustain populations long term. I couldn't begin to paraphrase or represent his logic here so I recommend Herman Daly's book Beyond Growth or Chapter 7 of Wisdom for a Livable Planet to get the details.
Daly makes the point that war or social upheaval is most related to large scale poverty or large disparities between rich and poor. So, a way to work for Peace or ensure Peace in the future would be to do what many NGOs are focused on, which is to provide poor people across the globe the skills, knowledge and capital, through microfinance to create sustainable local economies.
Which brings me to a controversial notion I've hesitated to raise before. Call me chicken! The notion is that war is not the opposite of Peace and, stay with me here, war may be good for something - besides lining the pockets of Haliburton and Blackstone, I mean. Another way of looking at this is to ask the question we never ask, which is, "What is perfect about war"?
There, I've said it, or asked it! It strikes me that war, like anger and fist fighting among individuals, is an expensive though generally ineffective strategy for settling disagreements. So, what's perfect about it is that each time we have a war, it is a reminder that we need to develop other, less expensive, more effective and less destructive strategies for resolving disputes. In short we will keep having wars until human beings finally get the message that wars, as a rule, don't work. There is a case to be made that even World War II was avoidable, had we not punished the Germans and driven their people to look desperately for inspiration to the diseased mind of an anti semitic nutcase.
As humans we apparently need to keep seeing pictures of destroyed homes and families in order to work up the resolve to change the way we operate in the world. We didn't need to go to war in South Africa to end apartheid and we didn't need to fight a war with the Soviets to bring about some change in that country (I realize that Russia is a work in progress). War is not inevitable. Thinking war is inevitable makes war inevitable, a self fulfilling prophecy. And that thinking pushes countries to prepare for what they believe is inevitable, spending billions or more creating war tools. As we like to say in the coaching world, when all you have is a hammer (read war machine) everything looks like a nail (read international situation that needs fixing). Or, what we focus on expands. If our focus is the need to protect ourselves with a large military industrial complex, we are likely to find excuses to use it. President Eisenhower warned us about this!
On a lighter note, I just ordered myself a Peace flag, which I will fly on all national holidays and every Peace Tuesday. It's not that I'm not patriotic, I am. As a former member of the U.S. military I love this country, and I especially appreciate all of the Peaceful things it has done in the world. It's that I can no longer afford, and the planet can no longer afford, for me to be apathetic in the face of a growing need for Peace. And I believe that Peace in my life, my community, my country and the world better supports this country that war does. So, one small thing I can do is fly the world Peace flag. It is a beautiful rainbow flag (though the Wikipedia description is that it is different from the Gay pride flag because it includes an extra turquoise stripe!) and it has the word Peace, Pace or the word for Peace in any language.
So, Pace to you this Peace Tuesday. Take a moment or several moments to notice what you can do to make your life or even the world more Peaceful. As Mother Theresa might say, Peace may seem impossible, be Peace anyway.
Love,
Darlene
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Peace Tuesday - Perspective on World Peace and a Peace practice!
Hello fellow Peace enthusiasts!
I have two things for you this Peace Tuesday. The first is a brief look at systemic Peace in the world or peace trends. The second looks at a simple way to bring Peace into your life!
I found an informative website created by the Center for Systemic Peace. They gather information on war, the nature and location of conflict, and look at trends over time. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that in this blog because the graphs on this site are worth thousands of my words. And you will get the point quickly from looking at the pictures these graphs create.
So, go to http://members.aol.com/cspmgm/conflict.htm and you will see a broader picture of what's been happening in the world since 1950/1960, one that may balance the picture you get from your local newspaper or the evening news (yes, even The News Hour).
And this brings me to the second topic of this weeks blog. And that is how to bring Peace into your life. I am going to give you two practices to take on, practices I give my clients. Consider, as you take them on, that you just saved yourself some bucks by not hiring a coach!
The first practice is to avoid media, newspapers, tv or online news, all of Peace Tuesday! If you're feeling really bodacious you can extend that to days, weeks or months. "What, not read the paper? Are you nuts?" Yes, many people think I've completely lost my mind. And they are right. I've walked away from that portion of my mind that wasn't serving me and made a bee line for my heart, where I now spend as much time as possible! My mind was a jumble of shoulds, and don'ts, and what ifs and the source of great unrest until I stumbled into the Peace that comes from spending time in my heart.
Media is grist for the mill in your mind. You can still stay informed. I dare you to find out how! And I double dare you to take on this practice for as long as you can manage it. Notice what happens in your life when you stay away from media. You might think of yourself as a media-aholic, someone who can't go a day without knowing the details of every last thing President Bush did or Angelina Jolie did! What would your life be like without that?
The second practice is Buddhist based. And it's purpose is to have you let go of your attachment to doing, so that you can begin to experience your being, or who you are separate from what you do!
Sound like fun? The practice is: Go 1/2 speed for an hour, two hours, 1/2 day or all day. You can start with a day off if that seems less confronting. Or you can throw caution to the wind (I highly recommend that) and do it today on Peace Tuesday, or tomorrow, since this blog is going out a bit late (I apologize)! Go 1/2 speed and then notice what happens to your thoughts as you do this. Notice how you seem to automatically return to your previous speed. Catch yourself speeding!
You will need some structures to support you in remembering this practice. I recommend you wear a rubber band on your wrist to snap when you find yourself back at your normal speed. Enroll others in reminding you to go 1/2 speed. Pay them a nickel if they catch you speeding! Or put post it notes around to remind you to "Go 1/2 speed". Or put money in your Peace Pot, money you can donate to an organization promoting Peace!
For me the benefits of slowing down are that I am more in touch with my body, my emotions and my thoughts. And I am more in touch with other people, noticing their facial expressions, their speed, their language, tone, etc. I am simply more present, awake and aware.
"But I won't get stuff done," you cry! Well, give it a go and see. I can tell you that I am more productive now that I was when I took on this practice. I stop myself from doing things quickly and then having to redo them. I get more pleasure from the doing of them also and that's a lovely bonus. And really, that's the point. If we speed through life trying to do as much as possible, we miss the experience of what we do. We miss opportunities to connect with ourselves and with others and to experience events deeply.
So, practice slowing down, noticing if the gradient is too steep and lowering it. Oh, and if you notice that you keep forgetting to do it, that's perfect. It's part of the process of beginning something right? You start by forgetting, then you learn to remember, then you experience the benefits of this new thing and then the behavior begins to reinforce itself. It feels good to slow down. It is Peaceful. And it affects those around you, just as seeing everyone else speeding on the freeway invites you to match their speed. You don't want to be left behind, do you?
Well, slowing down, going half speed (or, if you're really adventurous, try going NO speed!), invites others to notice what you are doing, see that you are peaceful doing this, and want to join you in that lovely space.
Thank you to all of you who have left comments on the blog. I am inspired by the feedback I am getting and welcome more of it. I also welcome contributions and love giving credit to new thoughts and ideas. And for those of you who don't want to receive my blog mailing, please let me know. I will love you and remove you from my list.
Love,
Darlene
I have two things for you this Peace Tuesday. The first is a brief look at systemic Peace in the world or peace trends. The second looks at a simple way to bring Peace into your life!
I found an informative website created by the Center for Systemic Peace. They gather information on war, the nature and location of conflict, and look at trends over time. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that in this blog because the graphs on this site are worth thousands of my words. And you will get the point quickly from looking at the pictures these graphs create.
So, go to http://members.aol.com/cspmgm/conflict.htm and you will see a broader picture of what's been happening in the world since 1950/1960, one that may balance the picture you get from your local newspaper or the evening news (yes, even The News Hour).
And this brings me to the second topic of this weeks blog. And that is how to bring Peace into your life. I am going to give you two practices to take on, practices I give my clients. Consider, as you take them on, that you just saved yourself some bucks by not hiring a coach!
The first practice is to avoid media, newspapers, tv or online news, all of Peace Tuesday! If you're feeling really bodacious you can extend that to days, weeks or months. "What, not read the paper? Are you nuts?" Yes, many people think I've completely lost my mind. And they are right. I've walked away from that portion of my mind that wasn't serving me and made a bee line for my heart, where I now spend as much time as possible! My mind was a jumble of shoulds, and don'ts, and what ifs and the source of great unrest until I stumbled into the Peace that comes from spending time in my heart.
Media is grist for the mill in your mind. You can still stay informed. I dare you to find out how! And I double dare you to take on this practice for as long as you can manage it. Notice what happens in your life when you stay away from media. You might think of yourself as a media-aholic, someone who can't go a day without knowing the details of every last thing President Bush did or Angelina Jolie did! What would your life be like without that?
The second practice is Buddhist based. And it's purpose is to have you let go of your attachment to doing, so that you can begin to experience your being, or who you are separate from what you do!
Sound like fun? The practice is: Go 1/2 speed for an hour, two hours, 1/2 day or all day. You can start with a day off if that seems less confronting. Or you can throw caution to the wind (I highly recommend that) and do it today on Peace Tuesday, or tomorrow, since this blog is going out a bit late (I apologize)! Go 1/2 speed and then notice what happens to your thoughts as you do this. Notice how you seem to automatically return to your previous speed. Catch yourself speeding!
You will need some structures to support you in remembering this practice. I recommend you wear a rubber band on your wrist to snap when you find yourself back at your normal speed. Enroll others in reminding you to go 1/2 speed. Pay them a nickel if they catch you speeding! Or put post it notes around to remind you to "Go 1/2 speed". Or put money in your Peace Pot, money you can donate to an organization promoting Peace!
For me the benefits of slowing down are that I am more in touch with my body, my emotions and my thoughts. And I am more in touch with other people, noticing their facial expressions, their speed, their language, tone, etc. I am simply more present, awake and aware.
"But I won't get stuff done," you cry! Well, give it a go and see. I can tell you that I am more productive now that I was when I took on this practice. I stop myself from doing things quickly and then having to redo them. I get more pleasure from the doing of them also and that's a lovely bonus. And really, that's the point. If we speed through life trying to do as much as possible, we miss the experience of what we do. We miss opportunities to connect with ourselves and with others and to experience events deeply.
So, practice slowing down, noticing if the gradient is too steep and lowering it. Oh, and if you notice that you keep forgetting to do it, that's perfect. It's part of the process of beginning something right? You start by forgetting, then you learn to remember, then you experience the benefits of this new thing and then the behavior begins to reinforce itself. It feels good to slow down. It is Peaceful. And it affects those around you, just as seeing everyone else speeding on the freeway invites you to match their speed. You don't want to be left behind, do you?
Well, slowing down, going half speed (or, if you're really adventurous, try going NO speed!), invites others to notice what you are doing, see that you are peaceful doing this, and want to join you in that lovely space.
Thank you to all of you who have left comments on the blog. I am inspired by the feedback I am getting and welcome more of it. I also welcome contributions and love giving credit to new thoughts and ideas. And for those of you who don't want to receive my blog mailing, please let me know. I will love you and remove you from my list.
Love,
Darlene
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