Peace is only found in yes!

This morning's rain scattered diamonds in the bare trees. Water drops suspend on tiny branches, thousands glittering in the day's new light! The rain, the trees, the light all say "yes" to life, to me, to you.

"Peace is only found in yes". A. de Mello SJ

Love,

Darlene

Peace Connections

Did you know............that for every 6 neurons in your brain there are 32,768 connection configurations possible? It boggles the mind. This variability in the way the brain can form connections is what makes it the most powerful computer ever.

Now then, for every group of 6 people on the planet there are 32,768 connection configurations. It seems to me that these many and varied ways to connect are the basis for something amazing and powerful. So, the next time you hear yourself or someone else say that Peace is not possible, remember this number. Humans and the GINORMOUS number of ways we can connect makes anything possible. Especially Peace!

Love,

Darlene

Perceptual Completion for Peace

Read the book "This is Your Brain on Music"! It explains why humans love music and what we love about it.

It also sheds light on the amazing ability of our brain to do something powerful called "perceptual completion" where we fill in information missing from what we see or hear. Perception is a process more of inference than seeing precisely what is happening. Which is why no two people perceive exactly the same thing. Each of us is making up some of what we see!

So, the question becomes, how are you filling in the blanks? Do you choose to fill them with love and Peace or with fear, guilt, blame, sadness and anger? You get to choose you know. Please choose to fill the space with Peace today.

Love,

Darlene

Just enough light

Do you know why you have "just enough light to see the next step"? According to Henri Nouwen it is because that is all you need! You don't have to see far or have it all figured out to create Peace in your life. Simply look in the light for the next step.

When you choose the next step and trust yourself, trust others and trust the sacred mystery, you can move Peacefully forward, confident that you will arrive. Cool runnings! Peace be the journey.

Love,

Darlene

Peace Filled Holidays

Are you settling this holiday season for traditions that don't honor what you desire and are committed to? This year I chose to disregard and discard the parts that don't support love and being or Peace. As options presented themselves, parties, gift ideas, time use, I simply asked myself, "Self! Does this support love and being and Peace?"

If it didn't I said, "No, thank you very much!" And let it go.

The Peace practice this Tuesday is: let go of whatever does not support your commitment to Peace and love and being. For some of you it may mean letting go of a lot. For those of you who have already lightened your load, how's the weather up there?

Love,

Darlene

Inspirational leaders risk making bold requests of others: to be in integrity in the face of their fear, to be generous in the face of scarcity, to let go of the "sure thing" in service of creating the new or the impossible. Making a bold and principled request is simply another way of declaring what we stand for in the world. We stand solidly in it enough to be a demand that others stand in it too!

My bold request this holiday season is that YOU be an inspirational leader!

One way you can do this is to give to causes that make a difference in the world. I honor the people I love this holiday by giving money in their names to Kiva, Oxfam and other organizations that create new possibility (loans, learning, mentoring) for others. This is both meaningful for me and those I honor as well as transformative for those who receive the gift. And that's a "three-fer" which of course is waaaaaay more valuable than a "two-fer" or a "one-fer".

Love,

Darlene

Give Peace!

The best gift you can give someone this holiday coincidentally also happens to be the best gift you can give yourself: Peace! That's a two-fer.

And you will know that you have created it when you are no longer compulsively filling the empty spaces in your life buying gifts people do not need and attending gatherings that don't delight you. Imagine the space you create as filled with Peace. And if you must buy something, donate to a nonprofit in someone's name. Give to people who truly need your gift.

Peace is the reason for this season. Be Peace and give it away with love.


Love,

Darlene

Doing the Truth in Love!

Happiness can be fleeting, hinged to the temporal, to circumstances, to getting. It is often conflated with joy. Michael Hines says that joy is something quite different. It is "doing the truth in love....a profound conviction that (this) is a good way to live life and spend one's energies and talents." This may be why joy is found in giving, particularly in giving the gift of our authentic self.

I say joy is access to sustained Peace.

How might you "do the truth in love" today, and for a stretch do it all day?

Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Be the Beloved for Peace

Henri Nouwen invites us to "honor the deepest current in our lives, the deepest truth" which is THAT YOU ARE THE BELOVED! I put this in bold so you can really, really hear it. The greatest joy and PEACE comes from fully claiming that truth and resisting it is a source of great suffering.

Your Peace practice today is to be the Beloved in the concreteness of your daily life. And if you have difficulty with this PRETEND you are a 3 year old. Why? Have you noticed that young ones haven't yet forgotten that they are the Beloved!

Have fun. Have Peace.


Love,

Darlene

A U.S. Department of Peace?

What do you think would happen if our government had a Peace Department? I suspect having a federal focus for Peace might expand our awareness of the real price we pay when Peace is abandoned. It could counterbalance our tendency to see force as an effective solution. This falls under the heading of "if you build it they will come" or "what you focus on expands". A Peace Department could make both the moral and economic case for Peace at the highest level of government. Justice, commerce, education, health and war all have federal emphasis. It's about time Peace had the same.

This Saturday 11/21 at the Corte Madera, CA Town Center Lorrie Norby will talk about her intention to create a U.S. Department of Peace! If you would like to lend support or attend the meeting contact Lorrie at 415 381-2157 or lnorby@post.harvard.edu.

Our hearts speak in the silence!

I just saw The Chosen, a play about faith and spirit, in which a young rabbinical student confesses that his father's seeming cruel silent treatment has been a blessing; that he learned with time to "hear the silence".....that it is wonderful and the only place he can truly hear his heart speak!

Most of our days we are immersed in noise, the external busyness of the world or the more intrusive cacophony of our streaming judgments. It is challenging to hear our wisdom in the din.

This Peace Tuesday practice being silent and thoughtless so you may hear the soft voice of your wise heart in the stillness inviting you to Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Peace....... from Rainer Maria Rilke

"Be ahead of all parting, as if it had already happened........
Be. And know as well the need to not be.
Let that endless ground of all that changes
bring you to completion now.

To all that has run it's course, and to the vast unsayable
numbers of beings abounding in Nature,
add yourself gladly, and cancel the cost."

Be in awe. Be grateful. Be complete. Simply be. For Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Peace Consciousness, Peace Being!

Vaclav Havel, a playwright and dissident who became President of the Czech Republic after the fall of the Soviet Union, said "Consciousness precedes Being.....the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect.....and in human responsibility." He was addressing the need for all of us to become authentic leaders, self reflective, responsible and compassionate in service of Peace, the only thing that will save "this human world".

I would dare to add that Commitment precedes Consciousness; that when we are committed to being awake and aware, to resting in our hearts even when scared, we tend to stay that way! And commitment requires practice, hourly, daily, weekly, forever!

So, Commitment and Practice precede Consciousness. Consciousness precedes Being. Being precedes Peace. Viola! Now you have the recipe. Make something with it please!

Love,

Darlene

Peace Lessons from Nature

Nature is a great source of Peace.

Parker Palmer in Let Your Life Speak says,"From nature's profligate seeding (in fall) to the great spring giveaway, nature teaches us a steady lesson; if we want to save our lives, we cannot cling to them but must spend them with abandon."

"Profligate", "great giveaway"and "abandon"! Nature's greatest lesson for us may be EFFORTLESS, UNATTACHED GENEROSITY. Not to mention the ability to move gracefully from season to season, holding each as a gift and part of a whole.

Are you enjoying this season? Oh, and I highly recommend Parker Palmer's book.

Love,

Darlene

Me is We for Peace!

I love that there is only a letter difference between 'me' and 'we'. Not only that, if I flip the 'm' over it becomes a 'w'; 'me' becomes 'we'! I think I saw this in one of those cutesy little wisdom pamphlets; a demonstration that just because it's cutesy, doesn't mean it isn't useful.

Wouldn't if be lovely if we could get from 'me' to 'we' that simply in daily life?

Well, I say we can. It might even be easy! It requires us to transform our idea of who 'we' are. It requires a commitment to the notion that we are one and were designed or evolved to be one (try evolving alone!). I was created to be part of a 'we'; a history of WE's, a community of WE's. And the more committed I get to seeing this AND LOVING IT, the more Peace there is for me! And of course for we!

Happiest of Peace Tuesday. Think We. Think Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Let Peace Embrace You

It is one good thing to embrace Peace.
But will you allow it to embrace you?

Will you walk gracefully holding it's arm?
Will you let it cover you with silence?
Will you dance slowly with it?
Will you sing its song?

How would that be?
To be held and loved so completely by Peace.
Could you return the love?

Imagine this today, all day. Please.

Love,

Darlene

Peace Steps

Hindus say "there are many paths to Nirvana". For Gandhi, a Hindu and the master of Peaceful revolution (he got the British to leave India by loving them), each step along the path was as important as the destination; the process as important as the result.

So, too there are many paths to Peace.

What does your Peace process look like? Are you focusing on this step, trusting that each step moves you in the right direction? How could your steps be a dance?

Step, shuffle, step. Step, hop, step!

Love,

Darlene

Peace: poetry and music!

Hello all you poets out there. I'm challenging you to write a Peace poem to share with the blogosphere. Imagine putting your poem to music like Adam Wegener did with his song titled Peace!

Peace by Adam Wegener

I find peace in the noises I'm not hearing.
I find comfort in the buildings I don't see.
I'm at home with all the lights that aren't shining tonight.
It's just the moon, the stars and me.

I find peace in the cars that aren't driving.
I sit back and watch the planes not flying high.
I find home in these four walls that don't surround me.
Know you're there when I look to the sky.

I find silence in the phone that isn't ringing.
I find company though apart from all the rest.
I find quiet when the sirens aren't singing.
Out here it's plain to see that we've been blessed.

You can hear Adam sing his poem by going to www.adamwegener.com

Poetry and music create Peace. Thanks Adam for creating some for us.

Love,

Darlene

Peace is Attractive

Have you ever noticed that when you show up as Peace, others do too? I think it's because Peace is one of those timeless ways of being which, when you embody it, works like the best cosmetic never invented. You radiate love, gratitude and trust.....from the inside out. As Peace you invite others to show up the same way. Eat your heart out Revlon!

So, today on Peace Tuesday show off your Peace glow and see what you attract!

Love,

Darlene

Peaceful Differences

How can the current health care debate in this country be Peaceful? Big changes like the ones proposed scare people. Scared people scare others by doing and saying scary things, forgetting that human beings are on both sides of the debate. Pretty soon everyone is scared and a conversation about what's real or fact is impossible.

The path to Peace during change is to allow and acknowledge the humanity of those who don't agree with you; we can differ, but I can refuse to see you as different! I think this falls under the heading of "love one another"!

Love,

Darlene

God, Jews and History!

Whoa! Just read "God, Jews and History". Read this book. It's the bomb.

What struck me was the author's point: that Jews have for thousands of years operated from the context "we are chosen by God" and this single idea allowed them to survive the holocaust, slavery, massive displacements, religious discrimination and antisemitism. This context of "I am chosen" led them to look for the opportunity in every challenge they faced. 'Cause if you're chosen, clear you have a purpose, then everything that happens must have some gift in it, EVEN WHEN IT'S CLEAR TO EVERYONE ELSE THERE IS NO GIFT.

So, what if YOU thought of yourself as "chosen". What if you practiced knowing that you are here for a reason, chosen as it were, for a purpose? Hmmmm? It makes sense to say you are here because you are chosen, or that YOU chose to be, even if you aren't clear who did the choosing. Makes just as much sense as saying your are here by accident, except that's not nearly as much fun.

If you are here on purpose, you are probably here for a purpose! To say you are empowers you to create meaning and possibility in your life. I suspect it's also access to Peace. Ta Da!

I'm betting you are here for a reason, a purpose! Wouldn't you like to find out what it is?

Love,

Darlene

Psssst! Guess what? You get to decide what your purpose is! Thought I was going to leave you hanging there, didn't you.

Waxing Poetic for Peace

Hey you wanna be poets out there. I'm challenging you all to write a Peace poem as a way to get your heart and head into this game we are playing here. For those of you who wanna be left alone right now, this is an invitation to show up for Peace. Imagine your poem put to music and you'll become a ROCK STAR! Or imagine it inspiring one person. Either way; Peace.

So, here goes.

Let me sing 'til I am nothing but a song
Live now and other moments disappear
Love 'til I can love whatever happens
Be Peace 'til Peace abounds and time stands still

Your turn!

Love,

Darlene

Creating a Peace Plan

A financial planner on television had some VERY wise words regarding creating a financial plan that apply soooooooo well to planning Peace. He said, "The past is not a good predictor of the future." Notice he didn't say you can't learn from the past, because clearly you can. He said YOU CANNOT PREDICT THE FUTURE BY LOOKING BACKWARDS.

The future, and Peace, is something we create by IMAGINING FORWARD. And just because Peace has been missing from chunks of history, doesn't mean you and I can't create it more reliably and consistently in the future!

So, this Peace Tuesday, please imagine one thing you can do for Peace, yours and ours. Then forward this imagining by doing one thing to create it; one really big thing or one tiny thing. Either way, Peace wins.

Love,

Darlene

Peace Needs More Than Hope!

I used to say "Hope is crap"! Not too Peaceful.

What's really true is that hope alone is not a reliable route to Peace. Here's why. Hope can be an excuse for people to rationalize inaction. And Peace needs all the action we can muster.

Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darvish says "We suffer from an incurable malady: hope". Hope implies that it alone is necessary and sufficient to produce a result. It locates responsibility for what is possible outside ourselves, allowing us to escape responsibility for choosing ways to create what we "hope" for. The Buddhists say that hope is the source of suffering because folks hope for what is not, as a way to resist or avoid responsibility for what is.

Peace requires commitment, intention, action, meditation, prayer, miracles and lots of other things. You can hope for Peace. Please also be willing to be responsible and choose to do something to create it!

Love,

Darlene

Peace Bonds!

Do you remember the Bonds sold during WWI to finance our war effort? Well, now we can buy Peace Bonds! Yes, we can INVEST IN PEACE! Yay!

Two organizations, Nonviolent Peaceforce at www.buypeacebonds.com and Christian Peacemaker Teams at www.cpt.org, use the money to support Peace efforts in militarized areas, non violent intervention, public witness (a most effective way to promote Peace), reporting and advocacy.

So, if you are looking for a gift to honor someone's birthday, or, dare I say it in August, the holidays (only 136 shopping days 'til Christmas), buying a Peace bond is in sync with the true spirit of the season and a great way to invest in a Peaceful future.

Remember, Peace needs you! Buy a Peace Bond today!

Love,

Darlene

Stuff and Peace: An hommage to George Carlin!

When humans lose meaning they often fill the empty space with stuff. Then they attach meaning to the stuff; "my stuff is proof that I am successful". Unfortunately, keeping stuff can be a burden, preventing us from engaging deeply with the world.

If having a lot of stuff points to a lack of meaning in life, I risk losing my meaning when my stuff disappears. Yikes! AND many people celebrated for making a big difference in the world have very little stuff. Fascinating!

Peace and meaning is available with or without stuff. The question is will you find deep meaning in simply being and in being with other beings? How can you have stuff and not make your life about your stuff?

A Peace practice today is to look at the meaning you attach to your stuff. Who are you without it? Do you suffer because of the stuff you do or don't have?

How can you be Peace with or without stuff?

Love,

Darlene

A Peace Perscription from "Dr." Anne LaMott

O.K. She's not a real doctor, but here is a Peace prescription, from Anne La Mott's book "Grace Eventually". "The best way to change the world is to change your mind, which often requires FEEDING YOURSELF. It makes for biochemical Peace........You find energy to do something you hadn't expected to do."

Where in your life do you need feeding, spiritually, emotionally, physically? And if you had that much needed meal, how could you create Peace?

Mangia my friend. Mangia!

Love,

Darlene

A Peaceful Tiger Koan

A monk was hurrying to the Tranquility Temple. It was getting dark. Impatient, he took a short cut through the jungle where he ran smack, dab into a rather large tiger! "Ah! Thank you teacher.", said the monk bowing deeply. The tiger, being tiger and very hungry, as tigers often are, gobbled up the monk and fell Peacefully asleep!

There are many paths to tranquility. None of them include short cuts or hurrying!

Love,

Darlene

"Play what's not there!"

Miles Davis, an extraordinary jazz artist, said, "Don't play what's there. Play what's not there". He risked dancing in a zone beyond the obvious and the comfortable, listening intently, inwardly and outwardly, trusting and discerning a path to an original, joyful place.

He knew that possibility and Peace is found in going to the "not there" places; in the places found when we venture outside the ordinary. There we discover a whole new music. Like wow!

Crazy!

Love,

Darlene

A Peace Practice

What would happen if you said "I love you" at the beginning of every sentence?
What would happen if you thought "I love you" at the beginning of every thought?

Willing to find out?

Love,

Darlene

A Candle for Peace!

The ancient Celts believed that each of us has an "inner light"!

Imagine today that your inner light is a candle warming you inside and flickering when you move too quickly. Imagine it providing that extra luminosity others need to see their way through the day.

Your light is for you. It's for others. And it's also for Peace.

Move at "candle speed" and glow today!

Recovering Yourself in Peace

Thich Nhat Hanh says, "breathing mindfully in any position at any time can help you recover yourself". In the Peace of mindfullness, breathing in and out as we move through our day, or as we sit to meditate or pray, we come back to who we really are, we "recover" ourselves, retrieving our Essence from the noise and distractions of the moment. Our essence is Peace and joy RIGHT NOW and it is available in the present moment when we are still and breathe.

"If we do not have Peace and joy right now, when will we have it?" asks Nhat Hanh. How long will we wait for our external circumstances to change before we begin? Will it be tommorrow, the next day, next year?

Why wait? Peace is available right now!

Love,

Darlene

Get tangled up for Peace!

Do you want to create Peace in your intimate relationships? Then send the one you love Peaceful thoughts through prayer or meditation!

A recent, thoroughly scientific double blind study showed that partners can physically affect each other by focusing their thoughts on them. See www.npr.org for a story by Barbara Bradly Haggerty called Can Positive Thoughts Help Another Person? The scientific explanation is something called quantum entanglement, which says "once two particles have interacted (as in people in intimate relationships), if you separate them, EVEN BY MILES, they behave as if they are still connected"! Does this not blow you completely away?

If you want some simple, delightful instruction on the benefits of mindfullness and meditation, read Thich Nhat Hanh's book Peace is Every Step. If you would like to read about powerful prayer I recommend Brother David Steindl-Rast's book, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer.


Entangled and sending you Peaceful thoughts,

Darlene

Peace Agents

Remember Inspector Gadget? He was a silly, fearless cartoon secret agent who bungled everything and still managed, with hidden help from those who loved him, to solve the case! What he had was a very strong intention to create a good result.

Human beings are a lot like Inspector Gadget in our pursuit of Peace and other good results. We keep designing new, complicated, fancy tools, thinking they will do the trick. And behind the scenes, what gets us there is our strong intention, our fearlessness and, of course, hidden help from those who love us!

Peace out Peace Agent! Doodle doo, Inspector Gadget, doodle doodle doo doot doo!

Moving Peace forward by standing still!

How do you move Peace forward by standing still? Well, there is a great little book titled "The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering" by Sharon Mehdi about just that. It is written for children (aren't we all?) and it describes a spontaneous gathering of grandmothers who simply stood in their town square day after day, silently, no signs and no shouting, for Peace.

Read the book and find out what moves forward when you simply stand still. Better yet read it to a child so they will know.

Love,

Darlene

Scruples and Peace!

The original meaning of the word scruple is: a small, sharp stone.
The modern meaning: principles.

Sue Monk Kidd, in her book First Light, tells a story about scruples, that it is akin to having a small, sharp stone in your shoe. It bothers you and you stand anyway. So, you stand firmly on principle, but you stand fast "with tender skin", with compassion for those who can't stand as you do, holding the gentle "balance between love and principle".

You can bring Peace this week by standing for your principles, for what you feel is right and just, while you simultaneously practice compassion for those who will not or cannot stand with you. Both, and!

Peace: Something worth standing for!

Love,

Darlene

The Cost of Anger

"I am angry. I have been wronged." said the young man.

"What is your anger costing you?" asked the crone.

"Nothing. Anger is free!" he proclaimed.

"Are your thoughts loving? Are your dreams colorful and ripe with possibility? Are you compassionate with yourself and others? Are you excited and delighted and do you walk lightly on the earth? Do you wake each morning knowing you are loved and trusted? asked the crone.

"No?" he puzzled.

"Then" she smiled, "that is what it's costing you. Anger is expensive and its price is your aliveness."

Love,

Darlene

You could be dancing, Yeah!

Here's a path to Peace: Eliminate "should" from your thoughts and speaking today!

When you "should" yourself, others, the world, you operate inside a context of entitlement - entitled to things being a certain way, your way (imagine that)! From this place it is impossible to appreciate how you are already blessed. Focus instead on what you are grateful for right now, for air to breathe, for your ability to love, for the Peace that already exists.

Said another way: Always wear your dancing shoes! Then dance with abandon to the music that is being played. Hey, hey, hey! That's what I say! Yip, yip! Boogie on!

Wild flowers for Peace!

My neighbors planted a hill surrounding their property with native wild flowers. Now the rest of the neighbors and visitors have the great gift of turning a corner to be surprised and breathless at the sight of a hill vibrating with color: poppies, larkspur, lupine, tidy tips, brodiaea, clarkia and purple owls clover! Creating, nurturing and sharing beauty, inviting gratitude: That's Peace.

Don't leave your room without being grateful today. If you can't find anything to be deeply grateful for, be grateful for wild flowers!

A Powerful Commitment to Peace

Feeling at Peace or inspired by Peace is an amazing and deeply satisfying experience. And for us humans these feelings are TRANSITORY! They go away. Sometimes very quickly.

So, what might be more powerful and sustainable?

Commitment!

When I am committed to Peace, when I declare my commitment to it each day, each moment, I am likely to move in Peace toward Peace, even when I am uninspired or challenged. I do it anyway, whether I feel like it in the moment or not.

Pssssst! You can substitute love, kindness, generosity, mindfulness, spirit and many other qualities of Essence for Peace in my assertion above AND IT STILL WORKS. Huzzah, Ta Da, and Woo Ha!

Completely at Peace

Are you burdened by guilt or thoughts of work or relationships that seem unfinished?
You aren't neurotic, abnormal or ready for the looney bin! You are merely incomplete!

I heartily recommend the practice of getting complete as a path to Peace. Being complete means that everything that needs to, has been said, accepted, acknowledged, let go of or forgiven.

Here's a way to do it. Make a list of everything that seems incomplete for you. Then look to see what you need to say or do to be complete. Take one item at a time and say, do, accept, acknowledge, let go of or forgive. The key is that you are willing to be complete.

Voila! Peace!

Peace Means Being Fully Alive!

Have you noticed how unsatisfying it is when you hold back in order to avoid failure, how restless you become knowing that something wonderful is possible if you venture out?

We kill Peace when we hold back. To be fully alive and at Peace with ourselves means risking doing and being things that scare us. Paul Tillich, a brilliant 20th Century theologian, describes the great wisdom of an even earlier, less known but equally brilliant 18th Century Romantic philosopher, Friedrich Schleiermacher (say that five times really fast), who said "there is only one alternative to life without failure AND THAT IS LIFELESSNESS without failure."

Lifelessness! Who wants that? So, go create some Peace today; do what old Freddy recommends. Get your Peace game on. Risk some mistakes in service of being truly alive and watch Peace show up. Yeee Haw!

Love,

Darlene

Peace as Art

Nearly every day I forget my commitment to Peace,
when I want to be right more than I want to love what is.

Then, like an artist, I remember that Peace
is a passion and a process; that the creative journey
is as important as the result.

And I take up my brush and begin to paint again.

Love,

Darlene

Embraced by Peace

It is one thing to embrace Peace.
Will you allow it to embrace you?

Will you allow it's silence?
Will you walk with it all day,
gracefully arm in arm,
let it breathe for you, feel for you,
talk for you, and think for you?

Will you dance to the tune it whistles
and laugh at it's jokes?
Will you have a conversation with it about the future
and all of the loving possibilities it sees for you and humankind?

When will you?

Love,

Darlene

Being Fearless for Peace

Montaigne said, "There are so many terrible things in my life, but most of them never happened."; meaning we spend much of our life imagining things to be afraid of! I used to think this was useful, that if I was scared enough I would be sure to avoid those pitfalls. I just had to be constantly vigilant. Fear is exhausting!

Peace happens when individuals (and nations) focus on loving possibilities. Like Gandhi who lovingly and playfully invited the British to leave India, we too can invite the monsters in our imagined lives to leave. We can acknowledge our fear and practice being fearless. We can stop burdening ourselves with fear and find that Peace is light and effortless. Power that had been sucked away by fear is replaced by energy giving love and gratitude!

So, acknowledge and step through (not in!) some fear this Peace Tuesday. Power on dude!

Love,

Darlene

Peace Requires Risk

What risk might you take for Peace today? History is full of examples of people who took personal risks for social Peace; Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa. They are also examples of amazing personal equanimity and grace. When I take personal risks, risk being bold, risk a deeper connection with others, risk seeming foolish, when I stop protecting myself in service of a greater possibility, Peace appears. And I believe it is the Peace of discovering that my fears are illusions!

Would you burst some illusions today to create Peace? I call them "fear bubbles". I believe I hear them popping! Pop, pop, pop, Peace!

My Peace Vision

May I share my Peace Vision with you? My vision is that Peace happens when human beings know, each moment, that they are enough and have enough, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES! That "regardless" part is key, because most humans think that when they do more they will have more and THEN experience Peace and satisfaction. Hence, the relentless drive to do in order to have, which I fondly refer to as "do do"! When I know I am enough I can choose lovingly and powerfully from a Peaceful place what I will do.

May you know that you are enough and have enough today! Peace!

Love,

Darlene

Peace Dance!

A woman dances
and the music loves her.
Knowing, she bends, whirls, turns and leaps
loving the music
as it catches her
and sets her lightly, softly, gently down
to kneel, grateful for the dance.

If you knew that you were loved today, beyond all reason, and that love would catch you when you leaped, could you be Peace? Give it a whirl!

Love,

Darlene

"No self, no problem!"

This quote from Jack Kornfield is a surefire prescription for Peace. He's pointing to that self we think we are: You know, THAT SELF; the one that has to be in control, that has to know how it's going to turn out, that has to be perfect, that judges you and everyone else even when you're asleep, that exhausting, indefatigable source of incessant head clatter? THAT SELF!

The question is, "How do I get THAT SELF out of the way"? The "how" is hidden in Jack's quote. What if you didn't believe, just for today on Peace Tuesday, that THAT SELF was real? What if you pretended that your disempowering thoughts, your judgments and assessments were not the you that matters, not the real you?

Imagine the space that would be left if you emptied out all of the NOT SELF/THAT SELF and simply rested. So Space Cadet, as a practice today, notice your disempowering thoughts and don't believe them! Do this and I promise you Peace.

Love,

Darlene

Peace and reconciliation

Who might you reconcile with this week? We invite Peace into our lives when we are willing to let go of differences or disagreements, when we realize that the cost of holding on to grudges is the loss of tranquility and joy; ours AND theirs. We create Peace for ourselves by giving up our need to be right about being wronged. And we create Peace for those we blame by doing the same thing! And that's a "twofer"! Yowza!

Who will you reconcile with this week?

Love,

Darlene

Peace Promises

Here are several of the Peace promises people made last week. Feel free to adopt some of them if you have not made yours!

"I promise to bring Peace and positive actions to every situation."
"I promise to create more by using less, to go more lightly on this earth."
"I promise to work toward lasting inner Peace; to heal others by showing them their path to Peace."
"I promise to practice Peace in the face of upsets - mine, others and the world's.."
"I promise to let go of my judgments and to focus on the love I have for all people and express that every day."
"I promise to love what is."
"I promise to be less certain and ask more questions."

I love the possibilities each of these declarations create. If you have not made a Peace promise this year, would you be willing to? What possibility might that create? Willing to share your promise?

Peace to you this Peace Tuesday.

Love,

Darlene

A Peace Promise

Would you be willing to make a promise for Peace in 2009?

Our brand new President (yay!) has promised to move toward Peace by ending the war in Iraq, closing Guantanamo Bay and returning this country to a focus on diplomacy.

My Peace Promise to you is that I will continue this blog and continue to discover and share new ways to create Peace in our lives. I will also take on the daily practice of saying silently and out loud "I love this!" to each event that happens, regardless of how confronting. And then I will look to see how I can love it!

What is your promise for Peace this year? Willing to share?

Love,

Darlene

A Clearing for Peace

Imagine you are hiking through a dark forest. There is a sudden break in the trees and you come to a clearing, a sylvan meadow filled with the scent of wild crocus. The sun is shining. It is silent. You hold your breath and are overwhelmed with the sense that anything is possible in this moment. The certainty of it fills you with joy and a deep sense of the Peace and perfection in all things. You leave the meadow a different person, taking that sense of wonder with you as you continue your hike in the dark forest.

Happy hiking today. Oh, and Peace!

Sitting with the question of Peace

Peaceful New Year!

The purpose of this blog is to have us (as many of us as possible) focus on Peace each Tuesday AND to take one action to make Peace (personal, interpersonal,community, national, international) possible.

I hear people everywhere saying that Peace is hopeless, particularly given recent events in Gaza and Israel. They are right! Peace is not about hope. It is about vision, commitment and action. I also hear people asking, "Why can't we have Peace"?
We certainly haven't had sustained, pervasive Peace on this planet since the beginning of recorded history AND no one has ever answered that question to my satisfaction.

That's because they are asking the wrong question. It isn't "why isn't there Peace?" it is instead "How can I/we create Peace".

My invitation today is for you to SIT with the question, "How can I create Peace"?
Look for one thing you can do, or better yet stop doing, that would contribute to your personal sense of Peace. Then notice how that contributes to Peace on this planet.

Sit BooBoo! Sit!

Love you all,

Darlene