WORKBOOK

Questions – Is there a solution to end all wars forever?

Suggested reading – Chapter 11

1. What is peace? What is war? Can fighting bring peace? Is there a solution to end all wars? If so, how do we implement it?
2. How does non-violent resistance contribute to peace? Are peaceful demonstrations helpful? Is there a non-violent solution to every uprising? Give examples. Why are non-violent stands effective?
3. Do you think Biblical history has any bearing on the conflict in the Middle East today? Might the Adam and Eve story have any bearing on the dynamics between males and females today? Why is it good to include a historical perspective when resolving conflict?
4. What's the underlying cause of all conflict? Is ego your only enemy? How do we vanquish our only enemy?
5. Where there is conflict, does God take sides? Does God defend the righteous? How can we elicit God's hand of intervention?
6. How can you recognize ego's voice? God's voice?
7. What's the difference between force and power?
8. How is peace attained? What gets in the way?
9. What is meant by not compromising integrity to keep the peace? Are you willing to disturb the peace for the sake of true peace?
10. What does it mean to be miracle-minded when there is conflict? How can you arrive at a solution where there is conflict?
11. Why is there so much resistance to admitting error? If you make a mistake, how do you feed it, make it real? How do you heal it?   If you say you are sorry, are you admitting guilt? If you take responsibility for your error, are you admitting guilt?
12. Is it possible for your peace to be disturbed by anyone or anything outside of you? How does knowing there is nothing outside of you help resolve conflict?
13. How would knowing that we are all equal help resolve conflict? Is peace for all humanity possible? How do we bring it about?
14. List the obstacles to peace, why they are obstacles and how they are overcome.
15. Is it enough to have peace for yourself while there is conflict or war anywhere in the world?
    

XII. Answers – Is there a solution to end all wars forever? YES

1. What is peace? Contentment, harmony, calmness, oneness, … What is war? Conflict, struggle, opposition, separation, miscommunication… Can fighting bring peace? No, engaging conflict breeds conflict. Is there a solution to end all wars? Yes. If so, how do we implement it? Peace in the world begins with peace in the home and can be attained through a grassroots movement where we each take responsibility for peace in our own lives. When enough of us do that, we will influence peace in the world at large. We must want peace above all else. We must elicit God's hand of intervention where there is conflict by being willing to lead lives of goodness, willing to be wrong, willing to hear another's point of view, willing to see all as our perfect equals. We must find the underlying cause of conflict. We can facilitate conflict resolution by sending pink light to all involved, for all in conflict are victims of ego and need the light of love to pierce through their misperceptions and restore sanity. We made ego without love, therefore it does not love us, and tries constantly to block our experience of love.
2. How does non-violent resistance contribute to peace? Goodness overcomes evil. We must resist evil but not on its terms, in other words we don't meet it in kind. We must meet evil with goodness, and wish the best for our perpetrators, having compassion for them. Are peaceful demonstrations helpful? They can be, however if we are not taking responsibility for a lack of peace in our personal lives they cannot be truly effective. More effective will be leading lives of purity and goodness, becoming enlightened, praying for peace in the world, being miracle-minded. Is there a non-violent solution to every uprising? Yes, when we trust God to guide our lives toward peace. Give examples. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were true examples of non-violent resistance to injustice. Why are non-violent stands effective? Because they create awareness instead of avoiding or ignoring problems/issues/conflict. When looked at, conflict can be healed. When enough people make a shift in consciousness toward miracle-mindedness, conflict can be laid to rest forever for all humanity. After Nazi Germany, there was silence about the atrocities. There was guilt and shame on both sides of the fence. It was too painful to look at, but as long as you avoid the past, it cannot be healed. It is ego that wants the past ignored so that we don't learn from our mistakes, so that we repeat mistakes over and over again.
3. Do you think Biblical history has any bearing on the conflict in the Middle East today? Yes, the past is not past until it is healed as all of time is going on all the time, so the banishment of Ishmael directly relates to the hatred the Muslims feel toward the Jews today. It is healed through self-responsibility. Might the Adam and Eve story have any bearing on the dynamics between male/female relations today? Yes, I think that when we look at that story we are looking at the origin of the problem between men and women, and can finally hope to discover a real solution. Displaced guilt is healed through self-responsibility. Why is it good to include a historical perspective when resolving conflict? To get at the underlying cause of our problems. When the past is seen with clarity it can be healed, learned from and forgiven; thereby time is collapsed immeasurably.
4. What is the underlying cause of all conflict? Ego, for ego thrives on conflict and wants us to be at war. Its survival depends on conflict. Is ego your only enemy? Yes, our brother is never our enemy. Both the victims and the victimizers are victims of ego's treachery, however we are always each responsible for our own actions. How do we vanquish our only enemy? All we have to do is look at ego and we see it is nothing and then we are free of it. However this looking is not something we can do on our own, due to ego's ingenuity. We must ask God to reveal to us the truth of ego. When we pull the plug on ego, we will have pulled the plug on war, faction, hatred, violence…
5. Where there is conflict, does God take sides? No, God loves all equally and where there is conflict, there is ego, and God is absent. Does God defend the righteous? Yes, when they call on Him and respond to injustice with non-violent resistance, for that invites His participation. How can we elicit God's hand of intervention? Through goodness, trust in God, wanting a solution where everyone wins…
6. How can you recognize ego's voice? Ego always speaks loudest and first and creates separation in our minds in relation to others. Ego's voice is harsh, strident, aggressive, hateful, divisive, does not wait to be invited and always tries to create conflict, miscommunication, misperception... God's voice? Patient, calm, speaks of peace, waits for an invitation, counts on us to be who He created us to be, honors our freedom to choose.
7. What's the difference between force and power? Force is used by those who do not believe they are powerful - to manipulate, coerce, manhandle.... Force is used by the fearful to instill fear, tyrannize, conquer, victimize... Power is of God and is used to heal, bless and unite. It always honors another's freewill.
8. How is peace attained? By wanting it, being selfless, needing nothing, being content with what one has, having a divine discontent in relation to the suffering in the world, being miracle-minded. What gets in the way? Worldly desires, selfish interests...
9. What is meant by not compromising integrity to keep the peace? Don't do what your heart tells you not to do just to keep the peace. Once I was in a situation where a friend and I were taking a workshop. To my perception, the teacher was not in integrity so I felt that staying was compromising my integrity. My friend wanted to stay. We had come in the same vehicle. I told her I would be waiting in the car. Are you willing to disturb the peace for the sake of true peace? If I don't do what's right in my heart, I sell my soul, for the sake of peace between my friend and me. This cannot bring true peace. We must be willing to face uncomfortable situations rather than avoid them. And at the same time not sweat the small stuff.
10. What does it mean to be miracle-minded when there is conflict? To trust there is a solution that will satisfy all involved so everyone wins. How can you arrive at a solution where there is conflict? Be willing to be wrong, willing to hear other points of view, willing to ask Spirit for help in healing conflict.
11. Why is there so much resistance to admitting error? Because ego's survival depends on your not admitting your errors, for ego is an error and if you admit other errors, it's existence is threatened. If you make a mistake, how do you feed it, make it real? By feeling guilty, denying it, hiding it, refusing to apologize, refusing to do what you can to fix it. How do you heal it? Apologize, do what you can to correct it, learn from it, ask Spirit what to do, ask the person you offended what to do… If you say you are sorry, are you admitting guilt? No, only error. You demonstrate that you feel guilt in refusing to apologize. If you take responsibility for your error, are you admitting guilt? No, you would only be admitting error; refusing to take responsibility comes from feeling guilty.
12. Is it possible for your peace to be disturbed by anyone or anything outside of you? No, because there is no one more powerful than me, thus how I respond to any situation is purely and solely up to me. When I choose for God there will be a peaceful solution to every problem for God is peace. How does knowing there is nothing outside of you help resolve conflict? We will take responsibility for everything that happens to us and will solve problems without blame, judgment or fault finding, but rather by looking calmly, trusting Spirit to bring clarity and resolution.
13. How would knowing that we are all equal help resolve conflict? With perfect equality there would be no jealousy, anger or power struggles. Is peace for all humanity possible? Yes. How do we bring it about? When enough people become truly miracle-minded, then like the 100 th monkey idea, peace will be the desired choice for all. All we have to do is change our minds about who we are and inspire others to change theirs, to restore the whole world to peace. All we have to do is be willing to shed our egos, for ego is the cause of all conflict. As soon as ego is gone, conflict is gone and peace is restored.
14. List the obstacles to peace, why they are obstacles and how they are overcome. 1) the desire to get rid of it keeps peace away. We think we do not want peace because ego depends on conflict and as long as we ally with ego we will find ourselves doing what ego directs instead of following our heart's yearning. We overcome the desire to get rid of peace by replacing it with the desire to get rid of ego. 2) Body consciousness keeps peace away. As long as we think we are bodies we will not be able to attain peace. As soon as we are willing to trade in our false identity for a true one as Spirit, we will be at peace. 3) The attraction of death is an obstacle to peace because death is an escape and as long as we are escaping our problems we will not find peace. If we think death inevitable we are attracted to death. The solution is to see that death is not a solution. Then we will meet our problems and be at peace.   To lay the body gently down after we have finished our purpose for being here is perfectly natural and will restore peace. 4) Fear of God keeps peace away because only in God is peace possible. As long as we do not know who we are, we will not know that God is love, so the way to overcome fear of God is to discover who we are, then we will rediscover our naturally joyous and loving relationship with God.
15. Is it enough to have peace for yourself while there is conflict or war anywhere in the world? No, the world is a projection of our minds, and until there is peace in the world, we cannot really claim to have peace. At the same time, until there is peace in our hearts and lives, we cannot contribute to peace in the world.