"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."
To bring peace to the world, to resolve conflicts, and stop wars an internal revolution is a must. Peace is a choice, a habit. A habit of choosing peace and responding to that peace can be a way to design peace. Just like a healthy habit of choosing an apple over a cookie more often has a bigger possibility towards health. Similarly choosing to make a U-turn and choosing peace and love when you could easily yell and lash out in anger and frustration has a greater possibility of giving rise to more peace. One key tool necessary in choosing peace is the time to experience peace by simply pausing - pausing to breathe mindfully and deeply. This could be a formal practice of meditation or a simple self-connection in the middle of every hour. What’s important is not how long you meditate but how often.
Meditation is about an internal experience and not all about process, posture or method. These regular pauses will give you the habit of being a human versus rushing through the day and doing a human. These pauses will soon reflect in your relationships and interactions. Your ability to listen will have a sacred quality of care and compassion instead of reaction and anger, the ability to respond with thoughtfulness and love. Like many, we can, each of, create a little ripple of peace right where we are. If you think that's too easy, try it for a day! Practice: It takes attention and discipline to design peace. Make a little peace-by-design notebook and keep track of the times when you consciously chose peace over the innumerable moments of not-peace.
Dr. Hemlata Pokharna is a long-time supporter of Play for Peace. She teaches courses on spirituality and Medicine at the University of Chicago. Independently she is the director of Journeys of Life. She trains people to develop skills to connect with self through Meditation and Focusing and connect with others through Nonviolent communication. We are honored that Dr. Pokharna has agreed to be a regular writer for our Guest Blog Series!
