A Change in Direction
Dear friends of Healing Singing,
The first year of new millennium is over. A year that had so much potential in the hearts and minds of many Americans and people around the world. This is the year that the spiritual revolution, the "inner revolution" on our planet should have taken humanity to its next phase of greater stability and peace throughout the world. Instead we're reeling from one of the worst tragedies in the history of mankind. We're at war...again... and we're wondering when and where the next terrorist attack will come from. Part of our beloved city that we now call "ground zero" looks like a war zone that resembles London after the Nazi blitzkrieg and we have National Guardsmen posted in our train stations. The year of the millennium has turned into one of the most tragic years in the history of New York and of our nation.
As individuals we feel powerless because we cannot control events. The president has advised us to go on with our "normal" day to day activities to prove our resolve as a nation but... life, right now, is anything but "normal". Many New Yorkers are grieving for lost loved ones and others are faced with bleak financial circumstances. Are we as individuals, powerless to affect change in the world? Where do we begin to "pick up the pieces".
I know that for myself that a "change in direction" might be advisable. The words of J. R. Krishnamurti come to mind in which he declares "You...are...the world"! He explains that individuals affect the world like a pebble thrown into a still pond. Concentric circles radiate out affecting the entire pond. In truth we affect all those around us, and all those around us affect others, and so on and so on. This is a very important concept. What Krishnamurti is saying is that you and I as individuals always affect the world because we are the world. Just like one isolated ray of sunlight is still the sun. From a spiritual standpoint one individual is the world. Nothing exemplifies the deep connection we all share, as strongly the events of September 11th. Millions of people all over the world were grieving although not directly affected by the attack. Our connection to each other runs very deep. Sometimes we forget.
I may be powerless to change world events. But I am not powerless to change myself and my understanding of the world. It is at this primary level that all change begins. The world changes from within not from without. It changes within the hearts and minds of individuals first, and then moves outward to the society at large. It starts with one person, with an idea, and eventually radiates out "like ripples on a pond". The "change in direction" that I speak of is from the outer to the inner.
Krishnamurti's concept has given me hope in this most difficult time, and has helped me to realize that my responsibility to the world, is to change myself so that I reflect those qualities that I would like to see reflected in society. I know now, that if I want peace in the world, I must first find it within myself. However difficult, the concept gives me hope. It helps me feel that I can make a contribution to this world as I pass through it.
Inner peace is no easy task! Just turn on the television or read a newspaper for a few minutes and see what that does for your inner peace. We are bombarded every day with tragedy, death and destruction through the media. Those wise folks in the media know what "turns people on" and what will keep us watching and reading. They know exactly what will peak the ratings...our addiction to crisis! Make me afraid and I will keep reading and watching! When you think of the number of criminals in the world as compared to the number of decent law abiding citizens it is obvious that the good far outweighs the bad. But "good" does not sell ratings and violence does. This weeks education from a "learning" channel tells me that either a tsunami, volcano, asteroid, tornado, flood, lightning, or killer bee could be the cause of the next disaster. The media claims that it is only reflecting what actually happens in society. The truth is that the media magnifies, dramatizes and then repeats events over and over mesmerizing us. Even though the message of an evil world may not be deliberate or conscious, it is there. I've heard it said that "error uncovered is two thirds gone". The fact that I am aware of the mass media manipulation, means that it no longer has power sway me. Because... I don't believe the message, and more importantly, I won't listen to it anymore!
How do I find peace when the world is at war? How do I find my peace? How do I change my world? I change direction! I turn from the outer to the inner. I know in my heart and soul that there is a "force for good" in the world, in spite of war, terrorism, and anything else that threatens my existence. I know that I am connected to that force, as I am connected to all living beings.
The following passage from "A Course in Miracles" has helped me to realize that "my peace" is not something that I have to find or search for. All I need do is to accept that it is already there... waiting for me within, and then journey towards it. The journey requires that I "stand still" even if for only an instant... to begin the process.
I want the peace of God...
to say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything. If you could but mean them for just an instant, there would be no further sorrow possible for you in any form; in any place or time. Heaven would be completely given back to full awareness, the memory of God entirely restored, the resurrection of all creation fully recognized. No one who truly seeks the peace of God can fail to find it. For he merely asks that he deceive himself no longer by denying to himself what is Gods Will.
A Course in Miracles
Within these words is the promise that if I change direction I might find the hope that I have been looking for. That as one individual, I can change the world in a small but meaningful way because I am the world. Whereas the importance of my day to day life is relative, the importance of the task ahead is meaningful beyond words. My change in direction has begun!
Robert Oliver