Q: I am wondering is The Presence Process will help me find peace. It feels like the world is becoming more and more chaotic. I feel hopeless. How are we ever going to live in peace? Is this book going to help me?
A: One of our greatest misconceptions is the notion that if we seek peace, we have to “make it”. This assumes peace does not exist unless manufactured. This misunderstand arises from being mentally and physically transfixed. It stems from the belief we are to rearrange the physical and mental aspect of our experience to moderate its quality. We only have to observe how we behave when we claim we seek peace to realize our approach is a misconception. We even say, “Let’s make peace”. Because of our misconception about what peace is, when intending the experience of peace, we predictably take one of two approaches: Attempting to rearrange our circumstances physically, or mentally. Observing our world and community leaders demonstrates these two ineffectual [in effect you all] approaches.
Our leaders demand that, for there to be peace, people must be moved, removed, borders re-drawn, and population behaviors controlled. This is born out of a belief that peace is established through rearranging physical circumstance. This approach never accomplishes peace – and any apparent appearance of peace gained from rearranging physical circumstance is always short-lived because it is born of control and sedation. Peace may be expressed physically - however, its existence is not determined by physical circumstance.
Our leaders also insist on approaches such as “peace talks” – in which governments and peace organizations present treatise – make compromises with each other – and declare after long discussion and debate that peace is accomplished. This approach mistakenly believes peace is something mental. This approach has never also accomplished the realization of authentic peace – and any apparent appearance of peace gained from mental discussion and debate – from agreement between opposing parties - is always short-lived, because it is also born of control and sedation. Just as peace is not a physical circumstance, it is also not a mental agreement.
Peace is a vibration recognized through felt-perception. We don’t “do peace” or “think peace” – we feel peace. Peace is – it does not require manufacture. Peace is everywhere, whether we are aware of it or not. The entire planet is blanketed in peace. It is easy to experientially realize this: We may enter any war-torn environment – any experience of conflict - remove all human beings – and what becomes immediately self-evident is the resonance of peace. Peace is in the midst of all chaos and conflict. Nothing we do or think ads or takes away from this actuality.
In each moment of our individual experience we are immersed in the vibrational resonance called peace. However, due to our imprinted charged emotions and their emanations of fear, anger, and grief – and the mental stories told by these emotional states – and the physical activities born of believing these stories – we remain unaware of the peace already given to us all.
We are therefore not required to “make peace”, but to realize it – to real eyes it – to perceive it with the eyes of the heart. By sedating and controlling our current states of imprinted felt-discomfort, we simultaneously shut down the perceptual mechanism required to realize peace – our feeling capacity. We are all personally responsible for whether we experience peace or not. No other can feel on our behalf, and therefore no other has the capacity to grant us the experience we call peace. Peace is available to us right now through a choice to feel peaceful.
When we are unable to feel peaceful it because our experience of peace is obscured by our emotional, mental, and physical reactions to our discomfort. The road into realizing peace is therefore the intent to integrate imprinted emotional charge. We are all personally in charge of our capacity for peacefulness. Once we authentically feel the vibrational resonance called peace – this resonance automatically radiates into our mentality and physicality. Peace therefore begins with us, individually. Realizing peace individually is a prerequisite to realizing it collectively. Hence the saying, “Peace be with you”. In this light, The Presence Process and its intent to assist us in integrating our imprinted emotional charges is a tool for realizing peace. But, it begins with us. Peace has nothing to do with the other.
