Now that we have checked in and shared some important things about our lives, let's keep this going with the goal of taking it out into the world when the workshop is done.

Thank you for for writing about the things that are peaceful and the things that are not peace. I do not see how we can ever contribute to peace unless we have peace within. Each person has the ability to decide to be peaceful, to be at peace, or to be peace. Peace is something we had until we were born into this world. Peace is lurking inside of us and can be brought to life simply by meditating on the essence of peace.

When we are at peace or become peace, we can then open our eyes and ears to the disturbing world about us. We can choose how we will participate in the world built by humans. We notice that some people react negatively and some respond positively to the problems around them. 

Close your eyes and head off to a quiet corner of your home and prepare to meditate on the peace that you want to be, or become. Stay in meditation as long as you like. Learn to know your inner self. The first time I did this many years ago, I cried and wondered where I had been all those years. I had finally come home to me. It was sheer joy to feel at one with God and the universe and to accept myself just as I was at that moment. It is a quiet place in your mind and yet it is full of a fabulous array of visions. By spending a little time everyday just being quiet and getting to know ourselves, we become whole again, integrated and calm.

After you have experienced the peak pleasure of just accepting and knowing yourself, you will never want to go backwards to being unsure about yourself. You will cross a line and nothing less than peace and love and joy will ever again be acceptable.

Our little motto for the PeaceClinic is very simple. We have come to believe that World Peace Begins At Home.  It came about quite naturally. It had been waiting in a dark closet in my mind for 50 years. I have learned that we really only have one day, one day at a time to live and learn. We never know if one day is going to be our last.

Let's talk about peaceful meditation tonight and tomorrow and see where it leads us. It is a little like praying. You might begin by saying a prayer for a meaningful meditation session.

Sit comfortably in a quiet place when no other people are around. Think about relaxing every part of your body as you sit, not reclining. We need to be conscious for this process and not get sleepy. Such practice does help some people to sleep restfully and feel refreshed when they wake.

Imagine that all the negative things in your mind are somehow bundled up and ready to be taken out with the other trash in our daily lives. Be creative.  Imagine collecting all negativity in a jar or box or perhaps a huge plastice garbage bag. See yourself actually walking out of your house and depositing your bundle of negativity in the trash bin.

Imagine that your higher power is going to bring you nothing but positive thoughts and positive energy. See this energy in the form you like best. I like to imagine the warm sunlight flooding every cell in my brain, organs, and limbs. I see so much positive energy glowing and shining from my finger tips. 

As you complete such exercise over days, weeks, months, and years, you will become stronger and you will radiate the peace that has always been within you. You will have rediscovered the real you. You will be calmer yet enabled to express yourself in any situtation. This is because you will have crossed that line where anything less than peace and joy will no longer be acceptable. That alone will influence your decisions and life choices.

What I am doing right now is synthesizing all of the wisdom that has been given to me by giants who befriended me. I am befriending you, not as a giant but as a humble grasshopper, the eternal student. I have alway looked for people who knew more about life and the universe than I did. When I do not feel well it is usually because I am holding on to negativity.  Whenever I let go of negativity, peace arrives. When I am at peace, I can live and love and play and work with a sence of joy. All I want to do is share it with the people around me!

One thing that I am trying to give you is a sense that you are already okay just the way you are. Do give yourself a break. Do love yourself as I love you. Find your joy and bliss during those times when you go into yourself and come out your own hero!

Self knowledge and self love are gifts from God or your higher power. I cannot imagine living one more day without knowing that I am okay. I am on this journey with you. Remember, I told you that I will learn more from you than you could learn from me.

It is true that I have borrowed much from a very highly successful system or program known as AA. Alcoholics Anonymous was started by two victims of the disease of alcoholism. One man was a physician and the other was an ordinary salesman. They discovered that by talking about their alcoholism and the effects it had on their lives, they were able to help each other recover. Guess what. It has been so successful that other groups for diseases of addiction have copied their steps and traditions.

Assignment: Research AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Alanon (codependancy group), NA (Narcotics Anonymous), OA (Overeaters Anonymous), and EA (Emotions Anonymous). They all have websites and they all work for victims of dis-ease.

I am leading you this way because I am absolutely sure that learning how to live one day at a time will give more peace, more energy and more joy in you everyday life.

Through meditation on peace and through realization of the fact that we cannot really survive alone, I hope we can work together to explore peace in our families and extended communities. World peace "over there" is the same as it is here. People, families, communities everywhere need to be practicing peace. The entire planet and perhaps the galaxy suffers from the greed and waste that unenlighted humans have dumped on us.

We seem small by ourselves. When two or more are gathered together in the name of peace, there is hope for our future. We as peace practitioners can lead the way. We can teach best by example. Soon we will be thinking about how to extend our personal influence so that others can and will learn about the peace that is hiding within each person. 

I realize that this portion of our workshop is by its very nature going to seem very personal.  I hope each of you will continue to share feelings about how we are approaching peace in this workshop. As I perceive my job here as a friend and facilitator more than a teacher or instructor, I respect your feelings. The thing I want you to know is that peace is within each of you. Your job is to reach inside yourselves and discover the knowledge of peace that has been there for all eternity. Only you can give it a voice. Only you can practice peace, and only you can project a vision of peace onto the greater consciousness of the world.  Believe it. You can.