Life, Truth and the Peace of Love

My journey around Australia is to test myself. I felt it important to travel alone as I am not going on a holiday but continuing my work in peace.

For years I’ve been reflecting on ‘what is peace’. I see today it is the removal of all negative thoughts. That doesn’t mean the removal of choice it means accepting life as it shows up. I am seeing this as reality, rather than what I think it should be. That doesn’t mean I don’t go and teach peace education, anti-bullying, conflict resolution or clowning, for me, that is the work I love to do. However, it is not for me to tell the world how it should be. I have become aware that the perfect world is the one that turns up.

I am also becoming more deeply attuned to my own thoughts and consciousness. How am I feeling from moment to moment? I am checking myself for judgements, negative thoughts or ‘shoulds or shouldn’ts’. The work as I see it is to purge myself from negativity and see the real beauty. It is not unlike lifting the veil on life to see what it really is rather than the projection I have created over many years based on social norms.

The media is a case in point with projection, 30 second image bytes which influence the way we think. I no longer watch the news or television for extended periods as I wish to formulate my own truth. I look into it to see what the prevailing thinking is and I’ve seen on many occasions it is the same as it has always been. Unquestioned world views, the same focus on murders, politics, business and drama. As an analyst I know this is not representative of the news that is happening, it is selective, creates impressions and shapes the way people see society and each other. It is illusionary and in my view heightens untruth and fear. This disempowers people and leads them to lives that are risk adverse, rather than discovering the incredible possibility of life before them.

Truth is another matter. If you are seeking truth you will begin by questioning yourself and the life around you. The way you can determine if you are on the right track is by your inner feeling. Negative feelings are out of order in truth and they reflect fear on some level and limits on other levels. To remove fear you have to face what you fear and question for the truth of the matter. What I am understanding is that I don’t know anything. They call that the ‘I don’t know mind’. I had a partner years ago from Afghanistan, I always remember him saying in response to ‘what are you thinking’, he would say ‘nothing’ with passion. I would smile at this joy, whereas I loved thinking. He was a person that let go very easily and didn’t hold onto grudges. He was a compassionate man unafraid of change, he had seen much murder in his own country and traveled into the mountains with mujahadeen but never shot anyone. He saw their mothers faces in their faces. I wonder if all soldiers saw this, what a world of peace we would have. He was a spiritual person but not religious. He spoke his truth to anyone but never imposed it. He was gently spoken and a wonderful surrealist artist. Today I am getting closer to understanding the idea of not thinking or being freed by ‘don’t know’. How conclusive is ‘I know’. How sure can we be of being right, we just believe that if everyone thinks it, it must be true. In literature we have to have published references to compile and reference an argument, yet who is to say the published work is right. Someone said it can be published, doesn’t make it true. That in itself is an unchallenged belief we hold to as societies and civilisations. In fact, when we have many unquestioned beliefs psychologically we build a scaffolding of security around ourselves which we identify with as our own identity. The truth is if we were to truly know our identity I am sure the scaffolding would disappear. Many would view that as their world crumbling. I think if that world is not real, then it is wise to allow it to crumble. That can fill people with fear as this is the known world, they feel it is familiar even if it is unhealthy.

Yet what if there are other worlds that we are unaware of? For example, I live in a world where I tend to see life as a metaphor, I travel through the countryside and I can see the poetry of my own life. I can see the expanse of freedom to the horizon, I can see the unlimitedness, the ability to create whatever I like. As I travel I am deciding who I am in relationship to the context I find myself in. I am constantly questioning myself these days. I see that there is little I know so it is better to observe and preferably, without judgement. As soon as judgement is there distance between people emerges as the carved mantras of right and wrong are there. When we divide we are unable to bridge that gap as we have coloured it with ‘right and wrong’. The notion of right and wrong I would perceive as a sacred cow that is not challenged. Yet it changes cross-culturally, it changes by gender, occupation, experience etc. We think we can decide what is right in the world, life or behaviour and what is wrong. Some would say to hit a person is wrong. In the new way of thinking it is not to negatively focus on what is wrong, but to build up empathy to find other pathways, to explore why it happened and to explore how we want the future to be. Yet to acknowledge the reality as ‘it did happen’ there are no should’s or shouldn’ts, the reality is it did. So what have we learned from the experience. How can we help the people involved. I no longer believe in courts, prisons or punitive punishment. I believe in support, encouragement and modeling what feels good and is positive, helping people to explore themselves without judgement.

My interest is to help people see themselves, more importantly, to help me see myself. From my own understanding I can share it but not make it an ultimate truth. We all have to make choices and decide who we are, that is our job. A teacher or person who is seen as knowing more, is simply a contrast. You can resonate with the person or not. Life will show you where to go by how you feel, but my understanding now is to not project onto them ‘wrong’. They are doing what they are doing, and in truth, it is none of my business. I can’t say their way is the wrong way. I know from my own experience that many insights come from what we perceive as mistakes. I am no longer seeing mistakes as such. I see what happens more like stepping stones to greater awareness. I see life as deliberate and conscious.

So awareness is becoming for me, the key. To expand it, to break off limiting ideas, to explore and drop negativity and to expand inner peace. I know I am on my path as my positive feelings become more intense. Certainly I am feeling enormous senses of joy and freedom. I spend a lot of time on my own, and I don’t feel lonely. I love writing and I love exploring the possibilities. I love to travel and I meet people all the time. I feel like I am riding on the wind or a wave that is fresh and dynamic. I am worrying less about money and finding I am fascinated about what will come next, I love the uncertainty. I have no interest in controlling circumstances. I don’t see haphazard anymore, but meant to be, is becoming my mantra. So what that creates is less resistance to life itself. When you are not in resistance you feel relaxed and allow yourself to not be in control. I love that it is like swimming in a river that is flowing in a direction. All you do is swim, it comes naturally, or you can sink, I am choosing to swim and allow this current of love to take me. I don’t care where it takes me, I don’t care if I am not seen as successful, I do not care if I have money, a partner, things or whatever. I am just being in this moment and realizing the true beauty of such a wonderful life. I feel it as a blessing everyday.

Let go and let life. You will survive no matter what happens. You will make it, you cannot fail, it is just a question of getting out of your head and into your heart. That is where the real life and the real love is. In that ocean you can never sink.

I love my life. I am in love with my life. That is truer. Do I need love? I am it.

I feel deeply happy and felt to share with you this.

Peace to you and the earth.