I'm thinking of doing things differently

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

I've been reading Glenda Green's book "Jeshua's Keys to the Kingdom", a series of spiritual practices based on the teachings of Jesus as He appeared and talked to her (her first book, "Love Without End" gives more details), and see in it a way of changing thinking and thought, especially one's perspective on the world. These practices, along with my Sufi practices, have led to a new feeling of peace and unity within my being.

So I'm thinking of doing things inside out. I don't pretend to understand how finding peace within and maintaining it is going to help with the world situation, but somehow I think-no, I know-it will. Others on the Path, find your way to Peace. We shall be together in unity, and as the Real unfolds within our being, darkness will disappear, and all illusions be shattered.

[wildflower]

1. I'm not sure what you mean...

What do you mean by doing things inside out? I'm not familiar with Jeshua's Keys to the Kingdom; can you describe some of the practices?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I'll try

Let's take peace, for example, something everyone here on this board wishes to happen. The contention of the Jeshua books by Glenda Green (which basically same the same thing as many of the mystical paths I've I've touched upon) is to first find peace within yourself. If you think about it, this makes sense; if you are in an argument with someone, one so intense it might come to blows, you know you are in a better position to settle everything if you keep your head and don't give in to blind anger.

Let's say, then, that to have peace is a collective effort, to which, I think, again, everyone on this board would also agree to. So it makes sense that one person, then another, and another, find that place within them that can get around or above (whatever term you wish to use) the usual knee-jerk reaction to apparent threats and to anger. This will lead to greater and greater peace.

The Keys and her earlier book, Love Without End, give a very practical approach to getting past the stimulus-response that so many of us have to stressful situations. To summarize it-when confronted with something that makes you feel uncomfortable, angry, sad-realize that the reason you are having these feelings is your perception of the situation, and that that perception might not necessarily be right. So tell yourself you forgive yourself your misperceptions. Notice you are not asking God to forgive you, but yourself. Oftentimes, at least in my case, I am the worst stumbling block to my spiritual progress.

I'm not saying that asking yourself forgiveness is easy, nor am I saying that you only have to do it once and all your negative emotions disappear. What I am saying is that if one does this practice, one finds one can feel a shift inside when that forgiveness comes-in my case, it was like I relaxed inside and said "Ah" in a sigh. I have been in the presence of people who have been doing this practice for years, and their serenity and peace exudes from their atmosphere. Personally, I've found that paying attention to those things that have upset me and to my reaction to those things have unearthed patterns of behavior, patterns that I have started to break. But it takes paying attention to your inner feelings.

This is not the only thing you do. You thank God for the chance to experience these feelings, and to learn and grow from the experience of forgiving. You send out love and trust that all will be as it should be.

One other thing, and the most important: realize that you are Love. Affirm this with "I AM". I can feel a change within me when I do this.

This is what I have experienced using these practices, and this is what I mean by "inside-out".

[Maat]

3. This must be a wise teaching ... I see it in the teachings of ..

Church of Religious Science (New Thought teachings - www.rsintl.org ).

I'm UU and CRS.

We sing a song at the CRS church: "Yes, there is peace on Earth, and it has begun with me. Yes, there is peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be ..." The gist of the song is that we feel peace within ourselves, building the consciousness.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I know the song well

they sing it at Unity as well. And you are right - the teachings are the teachings are the teachings, and we get them in whatever way moves our heart.

[wildflower]

5. I think you would like Peace Pilgrim's writings...

She talks about finding peace within yourself first.

You also wrote:

To summarize it - when confronted with something that makes you feel uncomfortable, angry, sad - realize that the reason you are having these feelings is your perception of the situation, and that that perception might not necessarily be right. So tell yourself you forgive yourself your misperceptions. Notice you are not asking God to forgive you, but yourself. Oftentimes, at least in my case, I am the worst stumbling block to my spiritual progress.

I hadn't heard of this method before, it is interesting.

I agree that forgiveness of self and others is the main way to inner peace.

I have my own view about how to arrive at self- and other-forgiveness, which (I think) differs from some voices on this subject that I've read.

I feel that the key to inner peace is recognizing that all that is human is within us all.

So when we see something we judge in another person, we need to find that quality within ourselves, and learn to accept that it is there, and why, even if our primary being is quite different. Then we can gradually attain a state where we have peace toward ourselves and others. We can understand their point of view while still working toward change.

Some - for lack of a better word, I'll call them New Age luminaries - seem to believe that one can simply force negativity (or other beliefs/instincts) away, and I don't think that's possible. I think doing that often pushes it underground where it grows to a point where one is unable to control it. We can think of many examples of this phenomenon we've seen in the news lately.

So that is what I try to do: learn to accept that each quality of human nature is a part of all of us, without any one part *being* us. I have to work at it, but growth and becoming whole is an ongoing process.

By the way, I would love to talk about Peace Pilgrim's writings here. Her entire book is on-line (see my sig) if anyone would like to read it and discuss it.

-wildflower

[Ranec]

6. Inner Peace versus outer peace.

I have heard many people before saying that we have to first find peace within ourselves before we can find peace in the world. In what sense do you think this is true?

In a narrow sense, if everyone found inner peace then we wouldn't be at war. For example, I heard Mike Malloy playing a montage last night of how GWB has to foment fear and hatred in order to keep his political power. There has to be an evil other in the world that we can attack and vanquish. That evil is dehumanized so that we can the evil that our nation does in response. A greater sense of our own demons and peace with them would make it impossible for a person to permit the bombing of Bhagdad or Kabul.

But is there a broader way that inner peace leads to outer peace? This is the part I'm not sure about. To be overly simplistic, if I'm at peace but everyone else craves blood, then my inner peace is not going to stop them. Do we have to teach peace? Does inner peace have to spread to the whole population first?

Or is the some way that our inner peace does the preaching for us? Is it that by turning conservatives into "the other", we limit our ability to move all of us towards peace? This is a very difficult question becuase one of the lessons we've learned is that in some ways we have to fight fire with fire. That Democrats need to channel anger in order to have electoral success. Do we have to get angry to achieve peace in a real world? Or is this just falling into a trap that leads to downward spiral of hatred and division?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. I'm not sure how it works,

whether its a law of attraction or what, but I know that how you are feeling inside can effect the area around you. Last week, we took a trip to the Northeast. I had heard that people were-less than friendly, traffic was horrific, and that your nerves could be easily frazzled.

Ok, so my husband and I do spiritual practices on the trip. We focus on peace within, Light, and visualization. Traffic got a bit heavy at times (we're talking Philly, Wilmington, the NJ Turnpike and Garden States Parkway, and I-95 into CT), but no goofy or angry drivers, and we got where we needed to go with a minimum of fuss. EVERYONE we met, from the people at the convenience stores to toll takers to hotel clerks, were friendly and polite. And our nerves were basically fine, even though we aren't used to big cities any more.

When we lived in Ft. Worth TX years ago, we led the Dances of Universal Peace at the Unity Church, and I think we helped with the atmosphere of the neighborhood-I know we did where we lived, as drug houses were abandoned and families moved in, reclaiming the neighborhood.

So if one practices, one can influence and change one's environment. I know one can influence the behavior of others, not by one's actions but by one's atmosphere.

I think if more people practiced finding Peace within, the effect would become larger and larger.

[hvn_nbr_2]

12. Mental Osmosis, Groove in the Noosphere,...?

There is a concept that a small number of people changing their attitudes has a much magnified effect around them. The Transcendental Meditation people used to (probably still do, I just never hear about them any more) claim that if 1% of the population in an area were meditating, then the society there would improve in ways such as falling crime rate and so on.

I just saw "What the bleep do we know?" and in it, John Hagelin talks about an experiment when 4000 meditators spent some time in Washington D.C. and the crime rate apparently fell.

We've probably all known people who can walk into a room and create chaos or create harmony. It would seem to make sense that something similar might happen on a larger scale, just from calm loving people being out and about.

Shortly after I learned to meditate, I had an experience driving some friends on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Every toll taker gave us a friendly greeting, and my friends were completely amazed by it, because the toll-takers had a reputation as a rather unfriendly lot. I still regularly notice that when I'm driving in a relaxed friendly attitude, far fewer crazy nutcase drivers show up in my vicinity.

[mandyky]

8. In AA they have this saying "pray for the bitch/bastard"

when it comes to grudges and such. We do not have to like what is happening we must make peace inside so we can pray for people in power (yes, that includes GWB) to gain wisdom or whatever. Obviously, when praying one doesn't adress the opponent as a bitch or bastard, but in meetings it always gets a good laugh. Usually it is about people's bosses, parents, landlords, etc.

In A Course In Miracles one is urged to come from a point of spirit rather than ego.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. that is true

every once in a while, I can get my ego aside and address a situation with pure love. Rather amazing when that happens.

In meditation, I've realized that even GW Bush has his place in the world-maybe dharma must really decay badly in order for us to progress spiritually. I do know that hating Bush or his cronies doesn't help the situation, but rather adds to their delusion of power. Being able to remain calm and at peace, generating the love that you are, bursts aside all barriers of time, space, and concepts. I'm convinced that as more people practice being the Love that they are, the entire world will change.

[Tux]

10. Keep it up

Good thoughts, feelings, and intentions may help if enough people do it. We need more spiritual people in the media to represent liberals when it comes to religion. If a conservative like John Paul 2 can bless a Koran, say other religions are paths to God, and hold to his beliefs, the better the world will be.

On Memorial Day, hug a veteran.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. Thanks for your kind words,

There may be more people on the Path than one realizes. I know I just found and made a friend who one wouldn't, at first glance, think was into this sort of thing at all. And I do know our own atmosphere and thoughts do, indeed, influence others.

[LWolf]

13. A timely reminder for me. Thanks!

I've always "known" that we create our reality from the inside out. Knowing this, I still sometimes succumb to reacting to the outer, rather than focusing on, and shaping, the inner.

Most recently, while undergoing some major life shifts. I started out with the inner vision and understanding of where I was going. The outer eventually began to shift to reflect that inner certainty. Friends and family were "amazed." Then an obstacle fell across the path. I stepped out of that "knowing" to engage the obstacle, and was buried under an avalanche of new obstacles, doubt, and fear. Some of those obstacles remain; I'm now retreating back to work on the "inner," and believe the outer will sift as I recenter myself.

That's a mundane example, but I believe it works like that on all levels. Do the inner work, and the outer will follow.