I have often quoted Mother Teresa when she was asked to march against the war in Vietnam. She replied, “I will not march against anything. When you have a march for peace let me know.” Here was a woman who knew how she worked. We see so many people fighting for causes these days – and this can be a real point of contention for some people. Who doesn’t want to support the fight against cancer, or Aids, or fight for our freedom and our rights?

We are not all here on this planet to do the same things. We each are on our own paths. It is not my place to judge anyone for his or her beliefs and I don’t. But it is clear to me we all are dealing with energy and it seems quite certain that the energy we put out is the energy that comes back to us. I have proven this for myself and have seen it in my clients over and over again.

If one has an intention of stopping a cycle of abuse, hurt or uncertainty, it seems as if that would be a good idea, doesn’t it? The misunderstanding here is, if we try to stop it from a place of anger or resistance the cycle will simply repeat because that is what is coming from within us. Unless a change happens within us first, where we are working from alignment and peace we will not see things change on the outside.

The mistake made by many well-intentioned people is that in the name of a good cause, they ‘fight’ against something or someone, making them bad or wrong. This simple little perception of putting out angry and confronting energy will just create more of what they don’t want – anger and confrontation

The most extreme example is war. It is very clear that we will never end war with war. It is absurd to think we could! Force begets force – it is just basic physics. Please understand that I am not saying our forefathers who fought in the name of democracy were bad people doing a bad thing; this is not a political judgment or forum. We are looking strictly of the viewpoint of energy and what is working and what is not. We have examples like the Vietnam war and the war in Afghanistan that show us violence will not – cannot end violence. When I interviewed James O’Dea, former Director of the Washington DC Amnesty International, he told me that when they were in talks with the U.S. army about the war in Afghanistan, the army, those on the ground who had experienced combat made it clear to him the futility of fighting. It was their experience that the only way that violence could end was by creating a relationship with Afghani civilians; and by educating the women.

The other side of that coin is how Mahatma Gandhi made a complete and lasting change of a country through non-violent action. Addressing the oppressive British Colonial rule over India through strictly peaceful means was an incredible display of the use of energy in a positive and unrestricted way. Energy was put toward peace. Had the energy been put toward fighting it would have created more of what was not wanted – further oppression and more violence.

Be the change you wish to see ~ Mahatma Gandhi

So are we to drop all means of physical defense or resistance or fight and focus solely on good intentions? It is an interesting concept, but I don’t think that is the way it is going to go. It has begun, we are evolving, but it will take time to shift human consciousness. It is happening, one mind and one soul at a time …that’s where you come in.

We are creators whether we like it or not. What is going on inside of us is what is expressed outside of us and into our world. Therefore where is our work? Where is our world? Right here where we are right now, inside of us. If you want to experience peace in your world then start right where you are. and change any angry, fearful, mistrusting feelings going on inside of you and you will see your outer experience in your life mirror that change. There is only one place real and lasting change takes place and that is inside of you; when you change your energy, you are changing your world – the world.

When your inner world comes into order,

Your outer world will come into order. ~ I Ching

Quit fighting and start creating the inner harmony that makes your life an absolute joy to live. Start the wave rolling one peaceful heart, one peaceful mind at a time; starting with yours.

One candle lit lights another.

Do your part, our world will be all the better for it.

 Dane Stevens