UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young

We are, it would seem, a species that continually turns upon itself. It is as though we are cells in a global organism that has an autoimmune disorder. Instead of working harmoniously together for the optimal functioning of the organism, some of the cells begin attacking and destroying others.

Each outbreak of war or terrorism in the world is like a tumor growing in another part of the organism. At what point do the tumors wreak such havoc on the health of the whole that the organism is no longer viable? What is the treatment? Will a nuclear catastrophe be the chemotherapy that wipes out the illness and the patient, in the process?

In wholistic medicine the emphasis is on strengthening the organism, as opposed to chemically or surgically attacking the problem. The world is a living organism, and needs to be healed wholistically. The more healthy cells there are, in relation to diseased ones, the greater the likelihood of healing the whole.

Fortunately, each of us, as a cell within the whole, has complete control over our inner environment. Even if we were surrounded by anger and hatred, we could still hold that place of peace, compassion and love within our being. Further, we have the ability to radiate that energy outwards, and to strengthen its flow by blending it with that of others.

We can envision our connectedness, and practise embracing in our hearts, our fellow humans.

Mother Theresa said that if we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another. Think how often this “forgetting” happens within relationships or families, let alone within larger social or geographical units. When we allow emotions to divide us, we are the warring microcosm mirroring, and perhaps co-creating, our troubled macrocosm.

War is about hatred, power, greed, vengeance, selfishness, intolerance, control, superiority, domination, and ego gratification. Are not those same qualities found in corporations, schools, families and individuals - even perhaps ourselves? Is not every human conflict a mini-war?

We cannot, individually, stop terrorists on the other side of the world from carrying out their next attack. We can, however, eliminate those war-like qualities from our own hearts and minds, and in our dealings with others. At the same time, we can embrace and express the qualities that are the fundamental basis for peace: love, compassion and altruism. It is easy to do this with those we love, and when all is well. The practice is to do it unwaveringly and unconditionally, with all people, in all situations.

Denial is what prevents us from taking this next step, as a species. We can wonder why the countries in the Middle East cannot stop fighting, while being oblivious to the obvious parallels in our own family feuds, or longstanding grudges. The sad truth is that if we do not know how to make peace with our teenagers or in-laws, or mend factions in the workplace - if as individuals, we cannot or will not choose peace - we are contributing to a warring world.

While it may be hard to accept the importance of our individual responsibility in the global picture, we must strive to do so. The Dalai Lama has acknowledged that creating peace in the world through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, but he says it is the only way. If we are saddened or concerned with the state of our world, as any thinking being must be, it is time to turn our gaze away from the news headlines, and into the mirror.

Gwen Randall-Young is a psychotherapist and author of Dancing Soul: The Voice of Spirit Evolving gwendall@shaw.ca, www.gwen.ca