We have just entered the International Season for Nonviolence which runs January 30 through April 4.
It is a 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 54th and 34th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.
“As above, so below” is a common phrase imparting that there is only One Life. No matter the name you put to it, there is something greater going on of which we are all a part! Many folks today throughout the world have adopted the personal view: “As within, so without,” understanding that we as creations of this Infinite Intelligent Energy have the same desire and ability to create and evolve our expression and experience of life. That being said, what is it we choose to express? Is it an expression of our true nature, being peaceful? Or are we consumed with the illusion that Life does it to us, instead of by means of us?
I want to make a bold statement here: Peace Is.
It already exists everywhere, as it is the nature of Life. Of course you would have to court the belief that we live in a universe of divine order and harmony, rather than a random universe. Presuming you are on board with the former concept, then Peace Is. For the Nature of this Intelligence cannot be divided against Itself, as it is Whole and Complete, leaving this Infinite Intelligence as the Creator of all that we see and do not see in our lives, in our time and space lifetime. There is nothing therefore that can exist outside of this Infinite One, and Its nature as peaceful, loving. That leaves us, as individualized expressions of this Intelligence, choosing to express Its true nature or not!
If we want to live in a peaceful world, the work then is to focus on inner change – not what our neighbors, family or coworkers are doing! Nonviolence begins with self-compassion and picks up momentum when we learn how to think, speak and act with a healthy respect, honor and even reverence for our own being.
Planetary healing will be the natural and orderly outcome as we take responsibility to create inner peace. Self-realization is emerging as the new promise of believing that all that this Intelligence Is, we are.
As I express peace, I experience peace. This is the Law of Cause and Effect, the primary spiritual law of a divine and orderly universe. Aim high; know that the power lies within you for change. As Gandhi’s voice still echoes in our hearts in the statement, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” may we be the peace we want to feel in ours.
Rev. Dr. Nadene Rogers
