The Way of the Tao

There is a Force, a great power that drives the universe. It is responsible for all that we see, and all that we experience. It is the Ultimate Reality upon which everything in existence rests. Men and women have called it God, Yahweh, Allah, Yehovah, the Tao, the One, the All, Brahman, Olodumare...the names are many.

Yet it is not so important what we call as it is that we remember that this Force loves us and lives within us. It is the light that enlightens all who come into the world, once they've opened their hearts and minds to its gentle voice. It does not beg, it does not cajole, intimidate or threaten. It merely waits patiently to be heard. And when we do open ourselves to it, it flows into us with the joy of the father who welcomes home the prodigal son.

Any discussion of peace, whether it be between nations or the warring parts of the self, must include a discussion of God, because it is in God that peace has its foundation. Peace is the natural harmony within the self that occurs when one is given over to the Divine.

Man-made laws may dictate peaceful behavior, but they are a temporary solution at best, because they depend on the threat of violence (imprisonment, taxation, or execution) in order to be effective. As long as the State relies on tactics of fear to create peace among its citizens, it will continue to teach its citizens that peace and fear are inseparable. And its citizens will use those same tactics in dealing with one another.

From the Tao Te Ching:

"The more prohibitions there are,

the poorer everyone will be.

The more weapons are used,

the greater the chaos will be in society.

The more that people seek "knowledge" for its own sake,

the stranger the world will become.

The more laws that are made,

the greater the number of criminals."

To paraphrase Gandhi, in order to see change, we have to become changed men and women. A huge part of that change comes about by reconnecting to the natural peace that is our inheritance as children of God.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He shall direct your path." ---- Psalm 3:5