Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me…

This weekend many people celebrated the life and legacy of Peace Pilgrim, so it is fitting that we look at peace today. Most of us are not called to model peace in as drastic a fashion as Peace Pilgrim did. And most of us think “Peace? With my frantic lifestyle – job, kids and all their activities, house, spouse – and all the horrible news I see in the papers, on TV (and radio), on the Internet, how can I possibly have peace, let alone model it for others?”

Well, I have some pointers for you, but before we get to those, let me tell you a bit about how I came to learn them.

A number of years ago I was in Glastonbury, England. During the time of King Henry VIII, the abbey was sacked and the roof was taken off the church. But the lovely grounds are now a park around the ruins of the abbey. The church walls still stand, but the floor at ground level is gone, so although you can go into the church, you immediately go down to a below-ground level, with the church walls soaring above you.

Because it is no longer consecrated, you could get close to the altar, which in those days was usually kept separate from the congregation by an altar-rail. So I was close to the altar, but off to one side a bit, just standing there, when I got this feeling of power, this knowing – I don’t know how else to put it – that whatever I asked for in that place would be granted, but to be careful what I asked for as there would be no judgment of good or bad attached, it would merely be granted.

At that point in my life, as for most young people, money was an issue, so that was my first thought: I want to be rich! But then the inner dialog took over. What good would money be if I wasn’t healthy enough to enjoy it? So then I thought Well, then, I want to be wonderfully healthy. But, believing in reincarnation, I realized that if in this lifetime I was supposed to have some dreadful disease as part of expiating my karma and I sidestepped it, I’d only have to come back and do it again, which made me realize I want to fulfill my life’s purpose!

At which point I got a totally intangible confirmation Done! Now, relaxed and happy, I continued to wander the abbey grounds and eventually headed back to my hotel. As I walked back to the hotel, I realized that it would be easier to fulfill my life’s purpose if I actually knew what it was. I had done some hypnotherapy where the therapist guided me to my “answer place” based on Native American practices and thought I would go there and ask.

Well! I got totally petrified! If you’ve been brought up in a Christian tradition (and perhaps even Jewish: look at Abraham and Isaac!) you KNOW God can ask you to do some really horrific things! But I calmed myself by deciding that if it were truly horrific, I could still back out and anyway, it would be better to know than not to know. So I went ahead and what I got was that my life’s purpose was to spread peace. Not ban-the-bomb, demonstrate against war, kind of peace, but peace between individuals. Whew! What a relief. But how to do it. I’ve spent the intervening years working on that question and working out some answers.

One thing I learned is that the easiest way to restore your sense of peace is to breathe deeply. There’s a reason why one of the oldest pieces of folk wisdom for when you are tense and angry is to take a deep breath! It works. When you breathe shallowly – as we tend to do when upset – you are activating the fight or flight nerve receptors in your lungs. But, when you breathe deeply, you access the peaceful receptors which are located in the bottom parts of your lungs.

This deep breathing is also contagious! You will find if you are breathing slowly and deeply when others around you are frantic, it will slow them down. Especially if on the out-breath you “breath” peace “at” them. I don’t know how else to describe this. You have to test it out for yourself. The best way to observe the results is to do it when other people are arguing but you are not part of the argument. Doing it around children who are squabbling is particularly good as they are much more open to the “vibrations” around them. I have watched during business meeting when two people are getting heated up about their opposing positions. I breath peace at them for a while and watch them settle back a bit in their seats and slow their animosity. Then I stop and watch them heat up again. It’s wonderful practice to start and stop and observe the results! Have fun with it!

I have also turned off my TV. I don’t listen to or watch or read about “the news.” It’s all about things I cannot fix or change, in places I cannot access. If something major happens, I can be sure that my friends will tell me about it and then I can donate funds or goods or prayers to support the cause, but I myself get the news second-hand and not in constant barrages. So from my place of peace, I can act without stressing myself.

So I wish you a week of peace! And I’d love to hear if these techniques work for you!