Commentary –

Inner Peace And World Peace; We All Can Be Peacemakers

By Janaki Pierson

What can we do, to overcome fear, to bring about world peace, to end terrorism? As individuals, we may feel powerless and ineffective, without the influence held by world leaders and their advisors. There is a role, however, we each may play in bringing peace to our world. We already have the tools in our hands and hearts for building a world free of fear and terrorism.

The whole is made up of the sum total of its parts. There is a global consciousness, which is made up of the sum total of each individual consciousness on this planet. The nature of our daily thoughts and emotions contribute to this whole. Therefore, when we allow ourselves to indulge in anger, even for brief periods, it contributes in a negative way to our world. We can ask ourselves, the next time we engage in self-righteous (is there any other kind?) anger, toward a family member, friend, co-worker or stranger: Is it worth it? Is whatever I’m upset about, in my small little world of today, worth the global expressions of anger we are now, as a planet, experiencing? Can I set aside my anger in this moment for an immediate, peaceful resolution to this interpersonal conflict? As Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.”

If we want peace in the world, we must start by finding peace within ourselves. Regardless of race, culture, or religion, whether we are city dwellers or country dwellers, we can each discover the inherent peace within ourselves, which is the essence of our being. Who we are, already, is naturally peaceful, calm, and joyful. We have each experienced this state, usually only momentarily: working in the garden, listening to beautiful music, in communion with the divine at odd moments in our lives.

Then the customary rush of thoughts, fears, worries, regrets, plans, and anxieties again clouds our awareness, and we forget who we are. We think we are that bundle of nerves that can’t sleep nights for all the planning and worrying invading our minds. That is not who we are. It is who we will continue to think we are, however, until we make a conscious choice to discover who we really are, until we enter into a conscious practice of choosing to identify with the calm, peaceful, and joyful aspect hidden just below the stressed-out surface of our awareness.

How can we do this? How can we become fully established in peace, compassion, and joy? Each according to our own culture, religion, and beliefs, it is possible to seek out the essence, the root, of our tradition, and allow it to lead us back to the quiet, peaceful, center within ourselves. Secular meditation, for those with no religious, or a nonreligious, orientation can bring about a deep, ever-present sense of calm, peace, and interconnectedness with the world at large.     

Regardless of whether we choose to engage in a daily practice of meditation, we can each engage in daily self-reflection and self-analysis leading to greater self-awareness. In this way, we can begin to reduce our angry deposits in the world bank of global consciousness, and begin to establish larger revenues of peace, compassion, and harmony.

 Perhaps a silver lining to the September 11 attacks is that they awakened many of us to this potential for higher consciousness within ourselves. Based on accounts I’ve heard or read about, including one from a Connecticut rescue worker, it seems that more of us are putting greater value on these qualities in our lives: compassion, unconditional love, kindness. It was as though it happened instantaneously. The profound shock shifted us abruptly to a much less selfish place, where suddenly the glitter of the gold we used to value paled next to the opportunity to help or comfort a stranger.

Personally, I remember thinking on that day that suddenly, all of those old hurts, upsets, and righteous accounts I needed to settle, were nothing, meaningless.

While meditation is the most efficient tool for establishing us, and our world, in peace, it has other benefits for the current time as well. People who have trouble sleeping and begin meditating daily find themselves sleeping peacefully. Studies show significant reductions in anxiety and normalized blood pressure in regular mediators. People of all faiths find a renewed and deepened connection to their chosen aspect of the divine.

Inner peace is world peace. It behooves each of us to take responsibility for discovering and radiating to the world the profound and lasting peace that is already within us. We each must be vigilant with our thoughts, we can no longer selfishly indulge in fits of anger, hoarding our resentments and planning revenge. We can turn to meditation, prayer, community, and scriptures from religious traditions of our choice for guidance and support. We must develop within ourselves the qualities we want in our world.

 A lasting peace can and will prevail.

(Janaki Pierson is co-founder and director of the Woodbury Yoga Center. After a year sabbatical with the Tibetan Buddhist monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery, she is resuming teaching meditation, yoga, and stress management in medical, educational, corporate, and community settings.)