October 1997 (Vol. X, No. 9)

BLESSINGS and every good wish, friends. Peace be with you! Peace comes within our souls when we realize our oneness with the universe. And the world will become more peaceful when we have the same capacity to be silent as we have to speak. Blessed are all who practice silence!

Making peace with ourselves

Making peace with ourselves means accessing inner peace that can be cultivated and extended to others. Authentic inner peace does not mean living in isolation, but discovering our own true nature and living in harmony with other people and the environment.

~ from SHADOWS OF THE SACRED by Frances Vaughan

Coming to peace in ourselves

Each of us contributes to tomorrow by our thoughts, word and deed. Coming to peace in ourselves, forgiving our relatives and ourselves for what should have been, what could have been, and accepting who we are -- this is a primary step upon the Beauty Path. Casting our patterns of attachment and expectation enables us to act in the now. Once we make that step, we ever walk in the way of beauty.

~ from VOICES OF OUR ANCESTORS by Dhyani Ywahoo

Becoming that which is desired

The highest form of intervention that an individual may offer within a given situation, is not to ask for something to be, rather to become that which is desired. If peace is THE DESIRED REALITY within the global matrix, peace must BECOME THE REALITY within the local matrix of your experience. You must BECOME THAT PEACE.

~ from AWAKENING TO ZERO POINT by Gregg Braden

Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace,

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust,
Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace,
Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.

~ Peace Prayer at St. John the Divine Cathedral

The first peace

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

~ Black Elk

Peace is not the absence of war

"Peace is not the absence of war." Spinoza said it, but it is mindlessly quoted out of context, for he added, "It is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."

~ from A LITTLE COMPENDIUM ON THAT WHICH MATTERS by Frederick Franck

Peace in the present moment

Enlightenment, peace, and joy will not be granted by someone else. The well is within us, and if we dig deeply enough in the present moment, the water will spring forth. We must go back to the present moment in order to be really alive... You will be able to make a breakthrough and discover joy and peace right in the present moment, inside of yourself and all around you.

~ from PEACE IS EVERY STEP by Thich Nhat Hanh

We need a deep mystical awakening

We need a deep mystical awakening the likes of which the planet has never witnessed before -- a mystical awakening that is truly planetary, that draws out the wisdom and the mystic, the player and the justice maker from the wisdom traditions of all religions and cultures. Such a mystical awakening would surely birth that "peace on earth" for which creation longs. ... Peace ON earth cannot happen without peace WITH the earth and peace among all earth creatures.

~ Matthew Fox

Peace is all around us

Peace is all around us -- in the world, in nature and within us -- in our bodies and our spirits. Once we learn to touch this peace, we will be healed and transformed.

~ Brian J. Piere

In allowing ourselves to heal, we become the healers of the world

Every loving thought we think is a powerful key to the kingdom. Through prayer, meditation, and the silence of a profound holiness, we focus our dispersed and irresponsible thought forms. We thus take up the challenge to redirect world history. We must relinquish our passive observation of the world outside; we can open the door to the world we really want. In understanding ourselves, we come to understand the world. In allowing ourselves to heal, we become the healers of the world. In praying for peace, we become bringers of peace. Thus we actualize the power within us to remedy the soul wounds of humanity.

~ from ILLUMINATA by Marianne Williamson

The great task for human beings is to repair the ancient vessels

A legend: In the beginning of the world the divine light was held in primeval vessels. But somehow no one knows how the vessels were shattered, and discord and confusion spread everywhere. The great task for human beings is to repair the ancient vessels, to gather together the sacred light, to call home all those who have been lost or in exile, to heal the separation and bring peace to the world.

~ from THE FEMININE FACE OF GOD by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins

If you give your life as a prayer

If you give your life as a prayer, you intensify the prayer beyond all measure. To attain inner peace you must actually give your life, not just your possessions. When you at last give your life bringing into alignment your beliefs and the way you live, then, and only then, can you begin to find inner peace.

~ Peace Pilgrim

Drop They still dews of quietness

Drop They still dews of quietness
Til all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of Thy peace.

~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Silence is our deepest nature

Silence is our deepest nature,
our home, our common ground,
our peace.
Silence reveals.
Silence heals.

~ from SHARING SILENCE by Gunilla Norris

There is no way to peace

There is no way to peace, PEACE IS THE WAY.
~ A.J. Muste

I weave silence on my lips

I weave a silence on my lips
I weave a silence into my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me, O God, as You stilled the storm
Still me, O God, keep me from harm
Let all tumult within me cease
Enfold me, O God, in your peace.

~ a Celtic prayer