Peace and forgiveness work in one direction only -- towards life.

[NikolaiI]

Peace and forgiveness work in one direction only -- towards life.

The open heart leads eventually to the infinitely pure, strong, and healthy life which can accept all in friendship, peace, and truth --


There is not anyone in the world I would not forgive and start anew with, if they asked for my friendship. Such is the strength of one who has attained self-mastery - strength and healing.

When you hurt anyone, you hurt everyone. This is the infinite truth of this universe. And when you help anyone -- you help everyone -- the corollary. When you shut someone out of your life, and you say, "I will hear no apology. There can never be forgiveness for you," you are essentially saying, "I would not care if you didn't exist." And this essentially fractures the universe. The open heart is the one that grows higher and stronger, that eventually sees the infinite -- eventually will experience pure and infinite love. For when we close the heart it only grows cold; when we try to remake others into smaller, sadder images than they truly are. To say to someone, "You are weak, or "You make me sad," is the one harmful thing (and ridiculously stupid) we can ever say to anyone. Tell all they are strong, and they will become strong. Teach the strength that is wtihin them. All good comes of this. It is the open heart that grows strong, infinitely sound, kind, and one day, infinitely wise.

All good comes from saying to others, "You are strong," and all ill comes from saying to them, "You are weak."

Thus forever teach strength and share strength with all you meet. Never bow down to fear or inability to come to one's senses - to be calm, fearless in the face of anything.

Nature loves courage, and will forever lift you up if you make the decision to be fearless.

All good in the world comes from strength, from fearlessness, from peace, wisdom, health, and good sense - and all ill comes from fear, weakness. Those who have not ever stepped foot on the earth (the infinite, kind, loving, beautiful and bountiful earth, that restores all health, powers, beauty, love, strength, kindness, peace and wisdom, when one surrenders to Her) -- they never know the peace that is infinite, they never reach the place from which they will never again falter or fail -- at least, not for many lifetimes.

All heroes teach that all strength, wisdom, beauty is within all beings -- Emerson, all the others, teach all genius is within you; as long as you are human, you have it in you to become your true and powerful self.

It is not from avoidance that this occurs -

"All life is an experiment; the more we make, the better" -- Emerson,

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom," -- Blake,

But naturally - to preserve one's health, integrity, strength, mind heart and body -- all along the way; these are fairly ideal ideals. . to experience everything in the universe, without weakening oneself one whit -- to taste all, without losing one iota of one's pure and boundles health, strength, peace and natural courage.

Jaya.

[YesNo]

I was going through the practices recommended by Lee Jampolsky in his "Walking Through Walls" earlier this year. The basic meditation was to "observe, think, and choose" as a thought became conscious and ask oneself, "Does this thought bring me happiness?" Some do; some don't.

Thoughts of "peace and forgiveness" do seem like thoughts that should bring happiness.

[NikolaiI]

Yes, the trick is to remain faithful to oneself and to life's beauty, even in the face of those who try to take it away from you. Thoughts, words, patterns of speech, actions, behaviors - posture - all of it passes from one person to another, just by contact and association. . . we affect each other by our presence; and we're all so interconnected - the whole world, and indeed, the whole universe. . .but the world is enough to think of for now. But the point is - since we are interconnected, by taking care of myself, I take care of others; and by taking care of others, I take care of myself. When I am strong, healthy, happy, kind, patient, etc. - then that echoes out throughout the world and affects all beings in a positive way; while if I go in the opposite direction - well the same. . . but that's why every culture teaches to seek the infinite peace as the primary goal of life, and then to share it. Chinese, Japanese, African, Jamaican, Greece, American, every culture's ancient wisdom says the same thing -- infinite peace is possible, and it's possible in this lifetime; and the nature of things is that peace -- nonduality -- is higher than any desire. . . so therefore, the #1 goal in life is to seek that peace, and then --once it's found-- to share it with others.

It's necessary to find the peace before we try to share it -- if we try to work for peace from non-peaceful means, that doesn't work. And - whatever energy we find, create, maintain and preserve in our lives, that is the energy that we send out.

The very most important thing to know is that peace is possible -- that we, as individuals, and as a collective society -- can regain our innate, natural clarity and wisdom, and our sovereignty, and can maintain that in the face of all attempts at persuasion away from our natural, healthy and peaceful state.

[YesNo]

I had not thought of "posture" being included with thoughts, words and actions before, but it is a sort of "action".

[NikolaiI]

Yes, we learn words, speech-patterns, and behaviors, including posture, from those around us. . we absorb them just by being around people - more as a child, but this continues throughout life. This is why we're so interconnected, why when one person attains peace, they are able to share great peace throughout the world. It means that when I am kind, strong, healthy, and happy, I share those qualities with all of those around me; and why all cultures say that to seak peace, and then to share it, is the highest goal of life.

I wrote this out a little differently this morning but I wasn't able to post it.

[Pike Bishop]

but that's why every culture teaches to seek the infinite peace as the primary goal of life, and then to share it. Chinese, Japanese, African, Jamaican, Greece, American, every culture's ancient wisdom says the same thing -- infinite peace is possible, and it's possible in this lifetime; and the nature of things is that peace -- nonduality -- is higher than any desire. . . so therefore, the #1 goal in life is to seek that peace, and then --once it's found-- to share it with others.

Does every culture teach this? Capitalist America certainly doesn't advocate "infinite peace" as its highest end. Also, I'm not sure all African or Native American tribal cultures privilege such timeless abstractions as their highest goals either. I, of course, am willing to stand corrected.