I’ve been wondering what to write about next on this blog, and it all came together this morning. The pieces have been floating around, and then my husband showed me something that crystallized all of it.
He received a message from a dear client whose grandson was a young US serviceman. The message stated that her grandson took his life. Both of us felt deflated, saddened beyond description, and I think had a fleeting moment of hopelessness.
The issue with our young people in the military is a very disturbing one given that the statistics show that more of them come home and commit suicide, than are killed in actual combat. The conflict between Israel and Palestine can give rise to those same hopeless, deeply discouraged feelings about the future of humanity no matter whose “side” you take.
We sit in isolation and wonder… what is happening in the world? We sit in isolation and wonder… what can I do about it? I don’t have answers, but I do have thoughts about it.
This morning on Facebook, in response to all of this and my feelings and thoughts about it, I shared a link to a book I wrote several years ago. It’s called“WHAT IF…? Questions to Transform Your Conflict” I was inspired to write it during a time of very painful conflict in my own family as a way to find some peace for myself and hopefully some resolution. I have most definitely found peace. Resolution is out of my hands. I hope you might check it out and grab a copy of it with this link Those WHAT IF Books and experience the “quantum spiritual questions” in the book as a way to expand your mind and your heart around issues of conflict.
We are not here on this planet for a very long time, personally….or even collectively. And while it’s true that we are wired for love, unconditional love, we’re also apparently wired very deeply for aggression against one another when we feel threatened. The pain that this causes on personal, national, and global levels is far beyond measure. Hatred, killing, all manner of suffering, blaming, vilifying, etc. can only happen when we have closed our hearts to the other. And if we think that closing our hearts to the other has no net effect on ourselves, then we are fooling ourselves in a lethal manner.
As I have taught my clients for 35 years, you cannot push down, reject, ignore one feeling or human experience without that affecting the way that your emotional energy flows about everything in your life. To think about this any other way is folly and very costly. So the more that we indulge division, separation, blame, the further we distance ourselves from our own humanity and our connection with Spirit.
I don’t have any easy answers, but what I do know is that those answers lie in the Here and Now. Those answers lie in our moment-to-moment choices regarding the ones that we find ourselves with on a daily basis. The answer lies in whether we choose unconditional love and peaceful hearts, or whether we choose to continue the cycle of blame, rejection and hatred that will ultimately sicken us with bitterness…and if not physical illness, then most certainly an illness of the soul.
Regarding the conflict in my own family, my resolve has been to keep my heart open no matter what others choose to do. My heart, my business, my choice. Do I wish things were different? Of course. Do I hope that they will be one day? Most certainly. But in the meantime, I choose to love, not blame, I choose to embrace, not shun, Basically I choose to walk with an open heart. I know how good this is for me personally…and what kind of Shaman Mama would I be if I didn’t admit that I know that vibrationally, this affects the other people involved as well? And I know that no matter what things look like externally, the energies right now are supporting our rapid evolution into the choice for more unconditional love. We are certainly wired for this too. And now is the time. I also know that Soul Agreements are being enacted in our lives for our learning and growing…and that peaceful resolution will not always be attained… and some of our lessons are about accepting that with an increasingly peaceful heart.
So whether you are thinking and feeling about the young serviceman I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, or something much closer to home and heart for you, you get to choose what to think and feel. You get to choose what kind of energy to flow toward the conflict of the moment. We ARE all connected and we do have the absolute ability to affect one another on the very deepest levels, negatively or positively. Our choice. And our choices shape not only our up-close-and-personal lives, but the world. We get to hurt or heal. Which do you choose?
I would love for you to comment below. Let me know what you’re thinking about this and what your experience has been, and what you are willing to commit to for the sake of your own peace of mind and peace in the world.
I love you.
Janice Masters, The Shaman Mama
www.JaniceMasters.com
I love your reflections on this topic. The hero of my trilogy, Kyr, has shown me that a key ingredient for inner peace, and often for external peace as well, is forgiveness. When we can forgive others and ourselves, we are free of the past and can keep our hearts open.
Thank you Rahima! Such a vital piece that you offer from your hero, Kyr….forgiveness. Without this, peace of heart is unattainable. With it, we are once again embracing ourselves as fully human!
Wonderful insight into the way we all should live. Openness, forgiveness and positive strengths create health in mind and body. So glad that you have found the path to peace within.
Thanks Sheila, anyone can find this path if they are willing so keep setting ego aside. xxoo