peace and prosperity :: is it possible

presented at the Philosophy Dialogue Series
Texas State University
3.5.08

** introduction ** when i look around at this world - the world i share with all of you - i see escalating conflict - i see proliferation of war and the means of war - i see the struggle for control of dwindling resources amidst a burgeoning population and ofcourse i see that the nation who is considered to be the leader of the world is infact the one who has set the standard for weapons of mass destruction so that any nation who wants to gain power and influence and climb the ladder necessarily does so by acquiring their own weapons whether it’s a truck load of AK-47’s or a nuclear bomb

i also sense a feeling of unease and anxiety about where this is all going

  > models of the world

what i would like to suggest is this :: that the world which i have described is something we have constructed that this is a projection of our beliefs and values and ideas and that if we don’t like the direction it’s taking us we can change the model - we are the choosers we are the conscious deciders we are the ones projecting this film on the screen ** major point ** and we are the ones who can change the film

maybe for example you grew up in a family with lot’s of siblings and one day mom baked a pie and set it on the window sill to cool and you saw it and you wanted a piece - you were hungry but so were your siblings - they saw the pie too - so what did you do ?? you exerted control and domination techniques and made sure you got your piece of the pie - this is a learned response and like many of the responses we learn once they are repeated over and over they become patterns or models

we have adopted a model of the world today that says - ‘struggle and strife are endemic to the human condition’ it says ‘there’s not enough for everybody so i have to make sure i get mine’ and this model is not new by the way - it goes back thousands of years - the roman proverb ‘if you want peace, prepare for war’ is an example so if we are the projectors and this film that is playing against the screen of the world is rolling thru our heads how do we change that film - how do we play a film that we enjoy - that doesn’t have the dire consequences that we see unfolding before us ?? 

  > how do we change the model ??

first of all maybe we need to be aware that we have chosen a model - whether consciously or by default ** major point ** and that we are projecting these ideas onto the screen of this world and maybe we need to be aware that there are many models we could choose

our distant ancestors the hunter/gatherers lived for many thousands of generations on this earth relatively successfully (and still exist today) with a model of the world that saw nature as their provider they didn’t seek domination or control - it was a mother force mother nature - they didn’t see the world thru scientific explanations as we do today they saw gods and nature spirits and strove to be on friendly terms with them so all could be in balance - god knows they could be angry - they saw a world filled with natural phenomenon that they identified with human qualities so they could find a place amongst them - so they could find meaning - they didn’t see stars as massive far off objects fueled by nuclear fission they saw celestial beings exerting their influence over earthly affairs

today ofcourse we know that’s baloney - we know about gravity and the orbits of planets and that our sun is not a god but a very nearby star and this is all very obvious right ?? we have agreed to see the world this way because this is how science explains it to us and our model today is very different from theirs

  > empowerment

a football field is lit up from many bulbs
a shirt is woven from many threads
we are the bulbs
we are the threads
sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between one’s conditioning and that which we know innately to be true - between innate knowing and opinion - between certainty and belief - maybe conscious choice is actually about knowing ourselves so we can make the distinction ** major point ** maybe the focus should first be within maybe self-knowledge is the platform which we can stand on with our own two feet with our own understanding and be who we are and express what we have to say and do what we can do maybe then we can create a model of the world based in harmony with our own nature - maybe we could create a world based on the idea that the universe is bountiful maybe mom is baking more pies maybe there’s an endless amount of pies coming out of the oven maybe we can create a model of the world based on the idea that cooperation is more beneficial to individuals than exercising techniques of control and domination as the hunters/gatherers learned - they knew this and that’s how they survived living in their small tribes in the wild world for so long - by close cooperation and common vision
so what is our nature ??

  > what is the nature of a human being ??

look at a new born baby - just born - it’s first day on earth - there it is a living human being totally helpless but it possesses an incredible power and do you know what that power is ??  this baby can smile a smile so brilliant so innocent so compelling that it can melt the heart of the coldest meanest person in the world - especially if that person happens to be the child’s father or mother - and this person may be ironclad - impenetrable nothing can touch them nothing can influence them - armies can be arrayed against them and they will remain unmoved - but this little creature with a simple smile can melt their heart without even trying - that’s powerful !!

let’s look at someone on the other end of the journey
this person is lying on their bed and they’re breathing their final breaths and they know it - this person will be going thru a process called ‘dying’ and they will find themselves in the peculiar situation where everything that has meant everything to them now means nothing - they are not interested in money they are not interested in their relationships they are not interested in politics they in fact are interested in only one thing and do you know what that is ?? this is documented there is a whole process that goes on from denial - ‘no i’m going to be ok' to anger ‘why me god ??!! it isn’t fair !!’ to negotiation ‘can we make a deal here - i’ll go to church more - i’ll be nicer to my friends - i’ll whatever whatever’ to the next phase which is called acceptance - finding peace - making peace with everyone and everything and this is all that’s on the agenda ultimately - this becomes not simply a nice thing to do not a pleasant option not something for later it becomes infact an urgent necessity

what is the similarity between these two scenes ??
the child has not yet been conditioned by society it’s 'preconditioned' - it doesn’t even have an identity - if you wanted to inform the child about some important matter the child would not understand - it is as close to it’s original authentic nature as it can be and yet when it feels content it will smile a smile so brilliant !! and nobody has taught it that 
the dying person has gone thru their entire life with all their goals and ambitions and achievements and now cares nothing about them - this person could be described as 'post conditioned' and what remains ?? a simple and overwhelming desire to be in peace

** major point ** i would like to offer these two examples as evidence that our true nature - something that we are born with and carry within inside of us all our lives has something to do with a deep appreciation of contentment and an indomitable longing for peace

  > peace and prosperity :: is it possible ??

and so to answer the question- 'peace and prosperity :: is it possible?'  in my opinion yes - it is possible because these qualities of peace and contentment are inherent within us ** main major point ** and if we choose to create a world in harmony with our true nature then the standard set by all civilizations throughout history ‘peace and prosperity’ can also be attained because this is the foundation - us - we are the projectors - we are the bulbs lighting up the field of play - we are the threads that make up the warp and woof of this cloth called the world and the fundamental tool for establishing peace and prosperity is being in touch with one's own nature - self-knowledge - being conscious - being aware of the peace within

addendum ::

to view a short movie that presents the idea of self-knowldege as expressed throughout history click on this website http://www.whour.org/ - the website also introduces the message of prem rawat or maharaji who is considered by many to be a master on the subject of self knowledge - the movie is called 'new dawn' - it can be accessed by clicking on 'visual' and 'new dawn'

examples of recent projects started from a vision of openness sharing cooperation and trust

> the internet (google that !!)
> One Laptop per Child Project - Nicholas Negroponte
> Grameen Bank - Dr. Yunus Noble Prize winning economist from Bangladesh

interesting link >
http://www.yesmagazine.org/other/pop_print_article.asp?ID=1463

The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community

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Is possible

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Is possible