Simple Wisdom
You can create a peaceful and sustainable world simply by carrying out the practices described below:
• Transform Yourself. Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." You can only create change in the world by transforming yourself. Your love and your joy, for example, are contagious. When you practice kindness and compassion, the world becomes a kinder and more compassionate place--not only through the direct effects of your actions but also by setting off a chain of events that touches the lives of countless others.
• Jump into your path. At this moment, you have the opportunity to serve the world in lasting and profound ways. This is your path. You have specific, unique gifts to offer in the healing transformation that is now taking place on this planet. But it takes courage and passion to make the transformation happen. The knock on your door has arrived; this is your Call to Inspiration. You are being summoned to participate in a great undertaking. Why hesitate or hold back? Here is the chance of a lifetime. All you have to do is jump.
• Rely on your intuition. The most profound wisdom you will ever find is coming from inside of you. It is time to tune out any distractions or resistance and to tune into the signals that your intuitive sense is receiving each day. Your effectiveness as a creator, healer, and protector of the planet depends on your ability not just to take in this wisdom but to act on it.
• Get out of your own way. Einstein said, “Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from mediocre mind.” The great spirit and the mediocre mind exist in all of us. Your creative power comes from your ability to access the flow of love and joy that the great spirit in you generates and that permeates all things. But the only way to open yourself to that flow is by shutting off the barrage of judgment and negativity that the mediocre mind generates to distract you. If you can break free of the prison created by the mediocre mind, you will find how easy it is to align yourself with the great spirit.
•Act in accordance with the Seven Keys:
1. Detachment. If there is anything you value so much that you cannot live without it, that thing will become an obstacle on your path. Your aim is to let go of such attachments. This does not mean that you have to jettison everything and everyone you love. To be detached is to love without expectation or dependence. That is when you transcend the role of lover and become love itself. In doing so, you transform yourself into the most potent creative force imaginable.
2. Compassion. If you want to alleviate the suffering of others, it helps to be able to feel it in your own heart. Your happiness derives from the awareness that you are connected to all things. There is no way to have that awareness without feeling the suffering of other beings. As long as you do not hold onto the suffering of other beings, you can transform it into something very pure.
3. Serenity. Unproductive emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness can interfere with your power to create peace and sustainability. These emotions arise from a lack of detachment. To be serene, it helps to accept whatever comes into your life gratefully, knowing that everything that happens is an opportunity to learn, grow, and serve. Gratitude is the key to serenity. You can choose to be happy with whatever life brings you, with no investment in a particular outcome.
4. Unconditional Love. The transformation we seek to create requires us to be able to love everyone without judging anyone. The only way to eliminate the tendency to judge is a little bit at a time. Try taking a “judgment fast,” going a day—or perhaps even a week—without allowing negative judgments to enter your mind. Any time that you start to label or criticize someone or that your mind becomes preoccupied with complaints and negativity, you can just focus on something inspiring instead. For instance, you can use a chant, prayer, or mantra—even a simple one like OM or AH will work. This helps to block out the judgment.
5. Humility. Everything that we have and experience in this life is a gift. The origin of all things is mysterious and ultimately outside of our control. Even when we consider ourselves to be active participants in creating change, we are nothing more than an instrument through which that change occurs. By emptying ourseves, we can become a conduit for the flow of love and joy. But we cannot impose our will on the direction or extent of the flow. It is not for us to say who benefits or in what way. We are just a link in the chain of events through which transformation may happen.
6. Forgiveness. It is helpful to try rewriting your story. This means finding the true significance of all that has transpired in your life—even the suffering that has resulted from the words and actions of others. Everything happens for a reason and is a gift. Even someone who hurts you is a teacher; that individual creates the opportunity for you to learn and grow. By forgiving even those who have committed the worst transgressions, you create a new pattern of interaction that fosters love, kindness, respect, and compassion.
7. Selfless Service. One of the most important ideals to which you can aspire is to give your life in service to others. As it is, your life is not yours to keep. At best, it is a “loaner.” So, it makes sense to devote it to something of value. And if you are committed to creating peace and sustainability on this planet, there is nothing more valuable you can do than to give your time and energy to others, even if it means sacrificing yourself.
• Do it 24/7. Creating change in the world is not a hobby or a career choice. It is something to which you will want to devote yourself completely. This kind of dedication begins by aligning all of your actions with your intentions, including the way you eat, sleep, work, and interact with others.
• Create a circle. You can access much more creative power in a group than you can individually. When you come together with others who share the same intentions, your effectiveness grows exponentially. In the context of a circle, you can create even the most improbable changes, as long as you and the other members of your circle practice the Seven Keys with a pure heart and open mind.
• Share your happiness. The love and joy that you feel in your hart are more contagious than any disease. They also happen to be the most profound creative forces in the universe. Why not share them?
• Practice Love and Joy. Love unites us with all of creation and with the source of that creation. Joy creates new possibiltiies and new ways of integrating wholeness and balance into our lives.
All of the changes you seek to create begin with love and joy. When you fill yourself with love, you leave no room inside of yourself for anything else.
Once you have done that, you can radiate joy into the world. You know where your joy lies. Nobody has to tell you. There have been many, many moments in your life of pure joy, inspired by the people, activities, places, and things that you love. Now is the time to radiate joy, sending it out in all directions. Combined with love, joy is the creative force that gives rise to new possibilities.
So, as you seek to spread peace and sustainability throughout the world, your practice can be as simple as this: