World peace is a lofty universal goal, one that seems impossible. Surely it would require an insurmountable level of effort. Complete protection of environmental resources? Banning all firearms? Giving everyone a firearm? Changing our financial systems?
What if I told you that you can take an effective step towards a more peaceful world right now?
As within, so without. Our inner world shapes the external reality. To change the world, we must start with changing how we view ourselves. Only by resolving internal conflict and achieving inner peace can we manifest the same results in the external world.
If we only applied external fixes, even if they were a total overhaul of our current system, our world will always regress back to the state of the collective mind. For example, it would be absolutely amazing if we ended world hunger, and had nutritious food available to everyone all the time. However, if we are still carrying pain, fear, and stress internally, we will find something else to start wars over. If we are holding tension within, we have to find a way to release it, and that results in external conflict and suffering. Therefore, the only way to truly create world peace is to first cultivate peace and relaxation within ourselves.
Consider this: if we can’t even resolve conflicts between the different parts of us- for example, between our thoughts, emotions, body, spirit- how can we resolve conflict between our partner, our family members, our community, let alone between countries? As long as we are judging, condemning, and repressing parts of ourselves (especially the parts that we don’t like, e.g. anger) instead of understanding, accepting, and creating space for, we will not be able to do it for others.
Why might we want to accept “bad” parts? There are many reasons for this.
1. “Bad” is a subjective term, an illusion that inhibits us from gaining a deep understanding and appreciation of what this part is trying achieve. When we go deep enough, we find that all humans just want to love and be loved.
2. Inner conflict and resisting parts of ourselves consumes huge amounts of energy. When we re-integrate and become whole, this energy is liberated to create even more benefit for the world.
3. As spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says "Acceptance is the starting point of any transformation". What we resist persists. As long as we are repressing or conflicting with a part, we won’t be able to transform it into a more helpful vibration.
4. We feel more whole and less stressed about not being “good enough” (another illusion we will discuss in future posts), which in turn gives us more patience, generosity, and kindness with others, kicking off a virtuous cycle.
World peace starts with embracing and integrating all parts of ourselves – even the parts we dislike. During these turbulent times, it has never been more imperative to cultivate inner harmony. Building self-acceptance may seem small, but it will create a ripple effect that results in a tidal wave of transformation. Next time you feel overwhelmed or hopeless at the direction our world may be heading in, remember this- the power is in your hands! As within, so without.
Stay tuned for how to achieve inner unity!
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