The Wars Within

As individuals far removed from the geopolitical decision-making process, there is little most of us can do to stop today’s wars. But we can stop the wars within ourselves. We can become aware of our thoughts and feelings. We can become alert to what we are saying and doing. We do not have to give in to negative emotions.

We do so because it is easy and because we are lazy. Thus, we fall back into the negative habits of countless lifetimes. We may not be able to stop one country bombing another today. But, we can change the way we think, the way we react, and in this way we can gradually bring about changes throughout our world for tomorrow.

Our lives today are the direct results of what we did in the past. What we do today will create our futures. This is causality. If we helped someone today, we have planted the seeds for being helped in the future. But if we hurt someone, we have planted seeds for more suffering. When we understand this, we can resolve that we will make a difference, for us, for those we love, for all beings.

How can we do this? Our thoughts are sensed by others. All of us know people who on entering a room cheer everyone up. Unfortunately, we also know those whose very presence dampens the atmosphere while others radiate tension and unease. We can sense their thoughts and emotions.

Actually, thoughts go much further than just one room. We are all one. Throughout the universe, there is only one being. A thought arising from us is instantly sensed throughout the universe. If we are happy and calm, others will sense that. If we become agitated and irritable, those are the thoughts we are emitting.

By consciously choosing the happy and calm thought and brushing away the negative ones, we will gradually stop the wars within ourselves.

~ Excerpt from Let Us Not be Blinded by ‘An Eye for an Eye’