“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” ~ John Kennedy ~
on this day, may we come together standing in love for love to invoke peace…
Peace to all beings Whether near or far Known or unknown Real or imaginary Visible or invisible Born or yet to be born. May all beings Be well and happy And filled with lovingkindness Peace to all beings
Within and beyond the imagination In the world of ideas In the world of memories And in the world of dreams. May all beings Be well and happy And filled with lovingkindness
Peace in all elements Of earth, air, fire and water Fulfilled in space, time and consciousness Peace
Peace in all universes From the smallest cells in our bodies To the greatest galaxies in space Peace And light rising
Peace to all beings Within each being here To those beings that have been in the past And to those beings that are yet to be in the future May all beings Within each being here Be well and happy And filled with lovingkindness…
may we listen deeply for gaia’s call connecting with the wisdom of the ancestors on whose shoulders we stand celebrating those who have stewarded earth mother for ten thousand years…
“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
after a freakish afternoon on the internet when some hackers tried to take advantage, i must cleanse by taking this moment of eternity to conspire, to breathe together in gratitude gathering the quintessence re-membering who we truly are… loving sparks of light…
we are not these eyes and what they see, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
settle more deeply into spacious awareness saying… we are not these ears and what they hear, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
breathing in and out simply being and saying… we are not this mouth and what it tastes, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially… we are not these hands and what they touch, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially… we are not this nose and what it smells, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
now, noticing thoughts and memories arising, let’s say… we are not these thoughts, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially… we are not these memories, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
now, seeing the whole body and feeling the body from within the body saying… we are not this body, we are the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
breathing in and simply feeling loving awareness… breathing out letting go of everything except resting in the soul of loving awareness quintessentially…
thank you for filling us with lovingkindness
thank you for supporting us in everything
thank you for holding us in peace and ease
shanti, shanti, shantihi…
now, feel healing light flooding every cell of our being dissolving all rigid, inflexible, habitual ways of being into patterns resonant with quintessential soular-lunar consciousness…
let’s pass this gift forward sending the divine light of love through our raised hands… feel the light emanating from your hands and feel this energy of light attracting more and more light, more and more love with every pulse we transmit into ever widening circles… boundless love…
in the midst of these unprecedented times of instantaneous awareness of so much planetary suffering as we are all thrown into the whirlwind of mutation, a soul song of joy quietly sings me and breathes me on this day of the Jupiter and Neptune Conjunction in Pisces whispering of our dying to what doesn’t serve, to what has been corrupted and to open space for innocence, the inner sense of joy to rise again, to see through the fresh eyes of a child beholding the world as a wilder-ness of wonder… this moment of eternity is a resting in the river of joy, a reprieve, a coming together to chant the ancient Ho’oponopono mantra bringing us into harmony with all that is…
how joyous it is to celebrate this act of revolutionary spirit, of being reborn, of being in the world but not of the world, of being in this great turning together and awakening more and more into the crown chakra of Jupiter and the high heart chakra of Neptune knowing that we are beloved community, we interbe…
in this moment, this beautiful moment of eternity where we can choose to dwell no matter what is happening in the outer world, let us attune to, get in tune with the river of joy always flowing through us to the tune of may our hearts be softened, may our minds be purified, may our words be more tenderly spoken, may our thoughts extend love to every living thing, may our actions be a blessing unto the world, may our souls shine and may we be continually humbled, grounded in and saturated with wave after wave of transforming love and grace bringing greater comfort and understanding to every sentient being who desires it… may we move more deeply into beloved’s embrace now so that we may be consouled as one… let us seal this re-joy-sing in the revolutionary energy of joy, love and peace passing all understanding landing us in the sheltering energy of great mystery…
loving our resting in the river, viewing life from the mountaintop and serving in joy together…
six moons ago, we celebrated Thay’s 95th continuation day and nine days ago, the international Plum Village community released A Cloud Never Dies, a documentary about Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) which i have watched many times in the last week and a half in this critical moment of eternity when we must commit to truly being peace; to followthis call, listen generously to some of the sage words from the Plum Village community’s Open Letter for Peace:
“Our community’s own roots lie in the tradition of Engaged Buddhism in Vietnam, where more than three million people died in a war that lasted nearly 20 years and some two million fled as refugees. We know from our teacher that war is never a solution. It leads only to division and hatred that can last for generations.
Our teacher worked tirelessly for peace in Vietnam by never choosing sides. Instead, he appealed to adversaries to look deeply into each other’s pain, anxiety, and existential fear, and to consider the war’s horrific toll on all victims. Forced into exile, he became a spiritual leader of a global movement for peace, reconciliation, and disarmament. We believe our teacher’s universal message of peace can offer hope at this pivotal time…
The Buddha tells us that our true enemy is not to be found in others but in our own fear, anxiety, and sorrow, our anger, greed, ignorance, and hatred. War is made possible by dualistic and discriminative thinking, and by the idea that only by eliminating our so-called enemy can we have peace and security. But as the Buddha said, hatred cannot resolve hatred. Only understanding and love can transform hatred.
As our teacher has said, when there is peace in ourselves, there will be peace in the world… We pray, too, that precious global resources can be redirected from war to where they are most needed, namely, to tackle disease, poverty, hunger and malnutrition, human trafficking – including exploitation of vulnerable children – environmental stress, and climate change.
Our world needs a culture of peace. Our human family needs to accelerate to a higher stage of evolution; to a “cosmic” spirituality and ethic that can unite all peoples and nations, removing separation and discrimination. In this spirit, as a community of Engaged Buddhism, we renewed our commitment on New Year’s Eve 2021 to practice mindfulness for peace on earth. Below, we share with our love this solemn vow.
The work of peace is the work of great and noble beings… our most urgent task is to invest all our energy and skills in exploring every viable option for peace at this time of great danger for humanity.
All our ancestors and descendants are counting on us.”
let us rise to the call by being peace with every breath…
“When dwelling on union with the cosmos . . . you discover that there is a possibility of losing your ground, losing the whole union completely, losing your identity as yourself, and dissolving into an utterly and completely harmonious situation, which is, of course, the experience of luminosity…”
~The Tibetan Book of the Dead~
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and then the day came when they finally stopped looking for the divine elsewhere—in the books, theories, systems, steps; in later, bigger, better; they stopped turning their back to the miracle of their warm breathing body and the intimate, subtle ways the Goddess was guiding them from within…
the body is a portal opening into a luminous tapestry vibrating through time and space, through every atom, cell, forest, mountain and star; with every breath one feels the goddess weaving the divine story of the be longing field of peace; every heartbeat is the Mother drumming us home to knowing, dignity and the sacred space of interconnection…
let us commit in every breath to co-create a cosmic field of harmony…
yesterday, i began to feel quite ill suddenly and so have been resting in the deep song, el canto hondo which is so easy now that i live on the river… join me in sacred flowing space lulled by the words of Thay, beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh…
Resting in the River Meditation
“My dear friends, suppose someone is holding a pebble and throws it in the air and the pebble begins to fall down into a river. After the pebble touches the surface of the water, it allows itself to sink slowly into the river.
It will reach the bed of the river without any effort. Once the pebble is at the bottom of the river, it continues to rest. It allows the water to pass by.
I think the pebble reaches the bed of the river by the shortest path because it allows itself to fall without making any effort. During our sitting meditation we can allow ourselves to rest like a pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally without effort to the position of sitting, the position of resting.
The Buddha said, “My practice is the practice of non-practice.” That means a lot. Give up all struggle. Allow yourself to be, to rest.
Let us visualize the waves on the ocean, several waves appearing on the surface of the ocean. Some waves are big, there are those that are small, and each wave seems to have its own life.
…if the wave is able to bend down and touch the water within herself, it will realize that while it is a wave, it is at the same time water. Water is the foundation of the wave. While waves can be high and low, more and less beautiful, the water is free from all these notions. That is why if we are able to touch the foundation of our being, we can release our fear and our suffering.
Touching the foundation of our being means touching nirvana. Our foundation is not subjected to birth and death, being and non-being. A wave can live the life of a wave, but a wave can do much better than that. While living the life of a wave, a wave can live a life of the water. The more our solidity and our freedom grows, the deeper we touch the ground of our own being. That is the door for emancipation, for the greatest relief.”
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may we all rest in the deep river of peace living the life of water flowing easefully around the obstacles and conflicts in the devocean of interbeing real-eye-sing we all belong to each other…
today, i am still in the glow of the prophet Martin and his call for peace which moves me right into the prophet, John who was also assassinated while serving the causes of peace and nuclear disarmament… as a child, i was impacted very personally by this being who was calling us into a new consciousness many were not ready for and amazingly, almost sixty years later we still hear so much of last century’s jingoistic, xenophobic cold war rhetoric; to raise my spirits and keep centered on what peace really sounds like, i listen over and over to what i consider his most profound speech… posted below are some of the stirring words of his that are taken from a 1961 address to the United Nations and still ring so true today:
“Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. It is therefore our intention to challenge the Soviet Union, not to an arms race, but to a peace race – to advance together step by step, stage by stage, until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.”
in June of 1963, five months before he was shot, he continued in the same vein in a Commencement Address at American University, where JFK delivered A Strategy for Peace (this speech is sooo important and i will stretch my abilities and try to give a link so you can listen as well):
“…I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived–yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children–not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women–not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all of the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
…I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war–and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament-and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must re-examine our own attitude–as individuals and as a Nation–for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward–by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable–that mankind is doomed–that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are man made – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable – and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of universal peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace–based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions–on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace–no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process–a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor–it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it…”
yes, let us persevere and move irresistibly toward peace…
while still in the glow of a season of peace and having spent many hours of the last weeks contemplating a peace movement founded on truth and justice, i’ll celebrate once more one of the great human rights leaders of all time who called for a radical re-imagining of society calling forth our better angels to go deeply into the valley of the shadow of militarism, materialism and racism and to act boldly to end these pestilences…
what a holy synchronicity celebratory moment is today that bends toward justice as MLK said with Ketanji Brown Jackson being confirmed as a Justice of the US Supreme Court… not only is she eminently qualified, she is also the 6th woman ever to serve on this court since it was founded in 1789 and of the now 116 Justices, she is the first ever black woman on this court which now begins to reflect the backbone of the USA… how fortunate KBJ comes aboard in this critical moment as the court weighs in on vital issues of gun violence, reproductive and voting rights and more… we are one step closer to fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all.
there is no turning back now for now is the moment for us to do as Brother Martin asked…
‘Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.’
here is the MLK Pledge… thank you for joining me in this call to peace and action and for making every moment a moment of peace and justice…
“ ‘Know Justice, Know Peace’ is our rallying cry.
On this day, we, in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. call for peace. A peace that is more than the absence of war. We call for a just peace. A peace where all humans have the rights of security, prosperity, good and free education, accessible and plentiful food, clean water and a planet free from disastrous pollution to calamitous climate change.
We call for a just peace. A peace where people are able to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. A peace committed to understanding, celebrating and learning from difference. A peace grounded in what Dr. King called the Beloved Community.
It takes more than words to bring about peace. It takes action. Action that decreases hostility between people and actions that promote trust so that our words have meaning. Action, must occur within a vision.
We call on ALL people to imagine a world without poverty, hunger and homelessness. Imagine a world where we reject racist ideologies and replace them with an all-inclusive spirit of love for ALL people. Imagine a world where we resolve disputes by peaceful conflict-resolution and true reconciliation. Imagine a world, where love and justice triumph.
‘…Know Justice, Know Peace’ is our rallying cry.
But, it will take more than vision to bring peace. We must face the injustices of the past and acknowledge the injustices of the present no matter how painful. This means we must find a way to talk WITH each other instead of AT each other. It will take all of us searching deep within our own souls, taking what some call the ‘inward journey of self-reflection.’
It will take all of us to name those things we would rather hide-those things that stop us from being our better selves. We must not only name them, but also begin the process of purging those things that stifle our growth and the growth of others. This will lead us to form and develop communities of understanding that will walk, talk and stand with us. It is in this spirit-with humility and mutuality-that we will come together with one another and build a community of peace and goodwill for all humankind.
‘…Know Justice, Know Peace’ is our rallying cry.”
Contributed by: Assistant Professor Andre E. Johnson, Department of Communications, University of Memphis
may we all stand hand in hand in love for love filled with the light of divine grace to peacefully serve the world…may we know justice and peace and build communities of understanding real-eye-sing we belong to each other…
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.”
~Milan Kundera~
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Happiest of Turns Around the Sun, Ms Radiance!
yes, my precious grandpuppy, this being of excitement i used to get to spend most every day with, this quintessentially exuberant spirit who always greets me so joyously with the most unconditional love and is the embodiment of the female face of Buddha – Tara rolled into this cute furball of invincibility turns five today while another of my favorite beings, Ram Dass, is on his 91st continuation day…
this sweet little furball clown is also such an amazing spiritual teacher of being in the moment, of unconditional love, of joie de vivre and fills me with lovingkindness and compassion moment by moment pulling me into the practice and paradise of puppy consciousness where every moment is an adventurous moment of arrival into the new and fresh, a coming home to this moment of presence of interbeing, every sound and smell a compelling curiosity calling us to engage fully in unfolding mystery…
deep bows and boundless love onederfull beings…
and, holy synchronisiddhi! as i re-member this day of april is often a magical day of awakening and radiance long before nia graced our lives…
yes, on this day seven turns around the sun ago while on sacred pilgrimage to the heart chakra of the earth, i awaken at 4:44 on what was then Easter Monday with everyone of my 70 trillion cells vibrating at the most alive frequency re-membering today we head off for sunrise at stonehenge… arriving in the mists, it looks like our magic bus has pulled into an ET Terminal where we get on a Hogwarts trolley to transport us more of the way… disembarking into pea soup, we walk the last steps to the ancient temple… A proper guard informs us not to touch any of the stone people and one of our sherpas reminds us to find our stone…
as we enter through a holy portal, we are teleported into the great beyond… i walk around the stone people as a labyrinth and drink in the most glorious sunrise ever witnessed as the sun transfigures into rainbow dragonfly weaving a web of luminescent light shimmering more brightly with every breath… if this were my last moment, it would be perfect… to just drink in the sun on this holy ground with our ancestors is pure ecstasy… my cup runneth over and flows into dancing and singing in joyous celebration of all our relations…
as we leave the temple, i begin to feel like Harry Potter with a strange throbbing between my eyes, yes, stonehenge is the gift that keeps on giving as my third eye more fully activates and with this expansion and deepening, the ability to see through the veils of illusion and into the invisible realms of radiance opens more and more unfolding and unfolding into this moment, this wild and precious moment of awakening into the radiance of beingness…
“A GENEROUS HEART IS ALWAYS OPEN, ALWAYS READY TO RECEIVE OUR GOING AND COMING. IN THE MIDST OF SUCH LOVE WE NEED NEVER FEAR ABANDONMENT. THIS IS THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT TRUE LOVE OFFERS – THE EXPERIENCE OF KNOWING WE ALWAYS BELONG.”
– BELL HOOKS –
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well come, well come, well come to the day of the Golden Rule, a day (truly like all days) for all our relatives, beginning with ourselves, to treat each other as we want to be treated… on this day that the UN has formally declared as an international day of conscience when we are all called to shine the astonishing light of our being and on every day, may we live lovingkindness and compassion…
“A century has passed since the end of World War I, as well as seven decades since the end of World War II; the devastation of war deepens people’s aspirations for peace. Humanity’s pursuit of peace has never stopped, yet the world remains tumultuous.
Interdependent and interconnected, all world citizens are encouraged to face international and national crises with compassion, bravery, and genuine wisdom as they actively seek peace and harmony as well as multi-win plans to benefit Mother Earth and all people.
Love and peace advance the well-being of the people of the world, and they are the most important cornerstones of global sustainability. All world citizens are encouraged to nurture love in their hearts to strike a balance in the enhancement of economic, social, cultural, spiritual, technological, and educational development.
Conscience is the wellspring of love; it is essential to awaken world citizens’ conscience to promote love, tolerance, acceptance, and care among people, thus enhancing friendships, family bonds, and international relationships, which facilitates a united world, where all people work together for the common good.
An excellent culture is the foundation of a quality education, which is essential for sustainable economic development. Countries are encouraged to promote a culture of conscience and incorporate the best aspects of other cultures and education systems to improve national economies.
When the majority of people follow their conscience and dedicate themselves to spreading love, fostering coexistence regardless of differences, using wisdom to resolve conflicts, and inspiring others to act similarly, the world can achieve peace.”
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in this moment, this wild precious moment of eternity, may we treat others from the spaciousness of a noble heart re-membering:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
~ 1 Corinthian 13:4-8 ~
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treat each other well for we belong to each other all enfolded in our one cosmic heart…
