Hello everybody and a happy, warm welcome back ! 💛
Life's been busy - lots of action, and consequently, less time for reflection and writing. I am happy to be back here and share these lines with you today. I hope you're well, friends.
You know how sometimes we do something, and it just feels so right, that we ask ourselves "Why haven't we started this earlier? And when are we doing it again?"
This is what happened last weekend, when together with José from Visiotherapia, we decided to organize an action for peace. The idea was to just be together in silence in some emblematic place in the city and photograph the moment. We finally sat and stood around the train station, where there's always some frenetic movement going on, even on Sundays.
With everything that is currently happening in our world now - yes, I'm talking all the conflicts and wars, all the destruction and darkness - we are of those who are feeling the call to do something about it. So are many other humans, here and all over the world 🙏🌍
The other day, I came across with this idea on social media "If you've ever wondered what you'd do during slavery, the holocaust or civil rights movement: You're doing it now".
And one thing is for sure:
I don't want to be indifferent to what is happening - indifference is the opposite of love.
So the question is, how can we do it beautifully and joyfully?
How can we contribute and join this much needed revolution without falling in the traps of anger, sadness, anxiety or despair?
Increasing Peace in Society: Meditation as a Path for Social Revolution
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.", said Martin Luther King.
Every time we meditate, we're offering ourselves the chance to come home and be more at peace with ourselves. And when we are at peace with ourselves, extraordinary things happen in the outside world.
Various experiments and studies have been made in the past that suggest that group meditation can be truly effective to reduce violent crime, decrease war-related fatalities and injuries, and help dropping levels of conflict among war antagonists.
This is not at all surprising, considering the fact that meditation can serve as a powerful and effective tool to help us deal with:
💗 Trauma Healing: Most human wars today are the result of collective past traumas, whether experienced directly or inherited from previous generations. The shared experience of meditation may help break the cycle of collective trauma by generating feelings of peace, empathy, forgiveness and unity among us humans.
💗 Conflict Resolution: Research suggests that long-term meditators often exhibit traits associated with increased tolerance, respect, and improved conflict resolution skills. Also, the experiment Lebanon Peace Project, conducted in the Middle East, showed that when 1% of a population engages in meditation during war, the levels of violence and attacks tend to decrease.
💗 Community Building: Group meditation creates a shared authentic human experience, where everyone feels part of a bigger whole. Sitting in silence next to people who are working on becoming better human beings, encourages trust and willingness to share and build more experiences with them in constructive ways.
💗 Reduced Aggression: Studies suggest that regular meditation can reduce aggressive behavior by lowering negative emotions such as anger, frustration or envy. Thus, implementing group meditation initiatives may contribute to a decrease in overall aggression within war-torn communities, but also within society at large.
💗 Cultural Sensitivity: Group meditation, when tailored to respect cultural and religious sensitivities, can serve as a neutral and inclusive activity that transcends division, stimulating a sense of shared humanity. When we come to realize that there is some profound inherent human essence we all share beyond personalities, races or cultures, we open the door to truly accepting our differences.
Developing our interconnectedness in healthy ways is crucial to manifest a better world. When we think of ourselves connected to all of humanity, which the experience of meditation encourages us to do, we naturally become concerned with our collective co-creation of reality.
What's happening in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, many of the African countries, and so many other places on Earth does affect our lives, both in the short and long-term. And what we are, feel, think and do, also affects the lives of all the human beings who are now going through unacceptable levels of suffering all over the world.
We are all deeply connected. We might not feel the connections on the physical level, but at the quantum level, we are all one. As more humans are coming to realize this, (and I believe many more will come to embrace this understanding of reality in years to come) we might actually start moving from war to peace. We might actually elevate our collective consciousness and truly honour life on Earth, thus co-creating a better reality for all.
Now... isn't it wonderful that everytime YOU breathe, you have the opportunity to send peace out to the world and positively influence the destiny of our shared humanity?
Peace In, Peace Out.
And stay tuned for more action - come join us next time, if you wish 🙂
(A special thanks to José Obonaga for the photography; to Andrea R. Esmeraldino, Noor Gerritsma and Deirdre Perreault-Sidjanski for joining the peaceful collective action. And to all the random people who showed up to help. Together we're stronger).
Love,
💗
Tati
Kommentare