What can we do for peace?
We have war. The opposite of peace. And that creates fear, bewilderment, anger. The atrocities we see are shocking, make us concerned, stunned, sad. And that is good. Because it raises questions that we were not aware of before. Many ask, how something like this can happen. Those who work energetically and meditate ask what they can do to stop the war and for peace.
When I was thinking about what contribution I can make to outer peace, the impulse came to meditate on inner peace. This made me realize a few things.
The violence and atrocities we see on the outside do not come out of nowhere. It takes inner aggression. And that builds up over time. We all have our emotional hurts from childhood. When we grow up, more are added. Again and again we are disappointed, ignored, feel unfairly treated, rejected, disadvantaged. Thus, inner discord grows if we do not reduce it. The negative experiences of the past influence our state of mind. The emotional injuries lead to tension, to restlessness and stress, in some people also to aggression, hatred and striving for dominance: I want this and I'm going to enforce it, no matter if it hurts you. The more tense we are, the faster we react aggressively and unjustly ourselves, thus hurting others - who may then strike back again. A cycle.
Of course, we "normal people" are far from starting a war and hurting or killing other people. But I realize again and again that there are also inner conflicts in me and that I also have conflicts with other people. I could call them the "little war."
But a more peaceful coexistence does not come about by saying yes and amen to everything, by swallowing everything, by putting up with everything without resistance. A more peaceful coexistence is also not created by not setting any limits and letting others go beyond my limits. If I swallow everything and do not set any limits, this creates in me - at first without me noticing it - an increasing tension. An image came to me about this: When rainwater runs into a pit, it doesn't help to empty the pit by pouring the water from the pit into our barrel. The pit does get empty. But our barrel gets fuller and the pressure in the barrel increases. When the barrel is full, a few drops are enough for it to overflow or even burst.
The fuller our inner barrel is, the faster we react aggressively in stressful or crisis situations. We are no longer able to remain calm and tolerant. Therefore, it is important to empty the "inner barrel" in order to achieve true inner peace.
If the inner pressure is very high, a therapeutic accompaniment or suitable seminars are recommended to "empty the barrel". We can release the "normal" inner tension energetically. There are many techniques for this. For me, the most powerful is tonglen meditation, described below. It is a Tibetan technique that has been around for about a thousand years. Over that time, meditators have built up an energetic field from which we receive immediate support when we begin this meditation. And there is another aspect: when we do something to alleviate or transform human suffering, we do not freeze in impotence.
For tonglen meditation, you don't need any tools. It can be practiced anywhere. Even while waiting at the checkout counter or taking a walk. Breathing into the heart, compassion, white light or awareness out - this changes something in me and also in my surroundings.
Some spiritual teachers say that when we strengthen our inner peace, it also changes the collective field. But even if it doesn't, inner peace changes ourselves, our sense of well-being, and our actions. We react more calmly and are more tolerant. We no longer let ourselves be provoked so quickly, say without reproach when something doesn't suit us, draw boundaries. This also has an effect on our environment.
I asked myself what would happen if a quarter of humanity, or perhaps even half, were to strengthen inner peace within themselves. Could individuals then still become despotic autocrats? And would despots then still succeed in starting a war? We probably won't get the answer to that. But we can start to become one of the peaceful people.
The tonglen meditation:
Focus your attention on your breathing.
First step: With the inhale, breathe all disturbances, stressful feelings, all suffering from your own body energy field into the heart area. The heart transforms and with the exhale flows compassion / pure light / awareness back into your body.
Second step: Breathe all suffering, disturbances and dissonances of your environment / the world into your heart area, where they are transformed. With the exhale, compassion / pure light / awareness flows into the world.
A spoken variation of this meditation in german language is on youtube.
If you wish, you can amplify this technique with the LichtWesen energy sprays: For transformation the violet ray of the Elohim or No. 8 Angelica is recommended. To strengthen inner peace the blue ray of the Elohim or No. 2 Lao Tse.
