May peace be unto you this holiday season

This week, we light the advent candle of peace. Most people think of peace as meaning a mental calmness, free from stress, anxiety, fear or depression. In classes when I worked with kids, I asked them if they wanted to live a life of peace, and they’d say, “Not really. It would be too boring.”

I would attempt to share that peace is a state of mind one could be experiencing while one is in a marching band, or running that football over the end line. It is a sense that “All’s well with me and the world.” It’s been my experience that few of us look at our world and feel that anymore. Most of us are war and stupid-politics weary while wondering if our beloved planet can survive its human child’s mistakes.

On top of that, people worry that they’re not good or attractive enough, that they won’t have the financial resources to live the life they see for themselves, or ever find someone who will truly love them as they are, including God with many names.

Breathe deeply four times. On the inhale, stop thinking. I mean it. Stop your mind for a little while. You and the world will be fine. Now, feel the love of your Creator pouring into your heart which you receive joyously. Why would you have been created if you weren’t to be loved? And since most of the major world religions believe that God IS love, and we’re His kids, then we are also love at our core.

On the exhale, love God and all of His creations who were created equally with you. God didn’t put more of His loving spirit into any one soul than another. Do it till you feel better. It always makes me happy and I feel peaceful. It is a way of sharing connection and energy with all of life. It will energize you and put your priorities where you really want them.

The world that we experience with our five senses is not all there is. We know that because we dream at night and have major experiences with eyes closed all safe in our beds, and because we’ve experienced miracles whether we care to acknowledge them or not.

We know that because people are returning from being clinically dead with wonderful inspiring stories of another life where they feel at peace and loved unconditionally. They had the experiences in the higher mind, not the calculating brain mind which is basically filled with facts and the deductions and constructions from facts and perceptions which have occurred on Earth plane time. They could experience being several places at once, and much more.

How does that help us feel peace now? If we begin to look at life more as a side trip, a vacation from our true reality of being peaceful love to learn something about ourselves and others, but one that cannot destroy any part of our true spiritual selves, we could have more peace about what is going on.

The politicians who crave power and get it but have no love, would learn how valuable love was. The greedy who have overkill money at the expense of others will learn that money can’t buy love. Remember Bernie Madoff, and the corrupt bankers who committed suicide? Lesson learned.

Conversely, those three American servicemen in France who stopped a terrorist on a French train in August learned the power of courage, and joining with others. Kauai has a huge crop of locals who are heroes in my book for rescuing drowning people.

There are stories all over the internet and in our paper of folks who do selfless and kind acts. They discover that it feels good to do so. And these stories are increasing. Kauai’s own Bill Porter was warm and approachable. He shared so much of his resources with this island, and he passed away a very loved man. I imagine he was at peace.

I have been approached by many who have lost a good part of their peace because of a fear of terrorism, specifically by Muslims. I have friends who are Muslims. It is a very loving, merciful religion. I share with you now a letter from U.S. soldier David Swan that was posted on Facebook:

“I am an American, a Christian, and a US Army Soldier. I’m white, I grew up in the South, and I love Jesus, as well as the life of freedom and prosperity that my country has enabled me to have. I have fought in Iraq and lost several really good friends there.

“I don’t hate you. I don’t fear you. I don’t want you to leave this country. I want to know you, your heart, your struggles, and your joys. I want to have you over to my house for barbecues. I want our children to be friends and play in the back yard together …

“We share a common enemy in the radical Islamist. They want to drive us apart and to fear each other. They want your children to grow up hating my children. They want you to believe our way of life is evil and that we must be punished for it. They produce a barrage of internet propaganda aimed at isolating your children from those not like them in an attempt to recruit them to do evil on their behalf. Every terrorist attack against innocent people in this world is an attack against peace and normalcy. It’s designed to stir a violent response from those attacked and create more hatred between “us and them.”

“Sadly, it’s working. It is producing the full range of human fear responses toward Arab-looking people — from a subtle sense of suspicion and unease communicated with sideways glances at each other on the street, to full-scale Islamophobia and racism. I want to believe that we, as Christians, could follow the example of Christ and show love to you as well as your people suffering through this refugee crisis in Syria by opening our homes and communities to you. We are failing at this because of the fear and distrust our enemies are willfully creating. This growing divide between our cultures makes recruiting more disaffected Muslim youth even easier for them.

“To anyone reading this letter… Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheist, or whatever. We simply cannot let them win. We can’t allow them to make us hate each other.

“Let’s have a joint Church/Mosque cookout in a park where our kids can chase each other around and argue over who gets to be Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Prince Hans. We need to learn about each other’s lives and differences. I believe we will find that there aren’t as many differences as one might think. We all want to make a living, raise our families in a safe place, and live in peace.”

There is a big difference between the Islam religion which Muslims practice, and the Islamic State group which radical Islamists serve. The Ku Klux Klan considers itself a Christian religion. Do we toss out the Christian religion because of that extremist group? Planned Parenthood clinics have been targeted by extremist Christians, but we don’t judge Christianity by their actions.

I met Ishaq Mohammed at the National Day of Prayer sponsored by the Interfaith Roundtable. He prayed for peace as did others of the many different faiths on the island. He converted from Christianity which wasn’t difficult for him because Jesus is considered one of Islam’s prophets, as are Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and many other Old Testament prophets.

It is a more structured religion, which was helpful for Ishaq, yet also believes in the One God concept. I am aware that Muslim imams, teachers are speaking out against the radicals. I asked him to give me some websites to help my readers understand and not generalize the radicals’ behavior with all Muslims. I specifically asked for a website that would show how the true Muslim community was speaking out against the extremists.

He referred me to a Belief.net article entitled “Think Muslims Haven’t Condemned ISIS? Think Again” by Hesham A. Hassaballa. There are several different quotations and news bits from various Muslim leaders including the Secretary General for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which represents 1.4 billion Muslims in 57 countries around the world who said, “They have nothing to do with Islam and its principles that call for justice, kindness, fairness, freedom of faith and coexistence.”

100 Sunni and Shiite U.K. Imams stated, “The Islamic State is an ‘Illegitimate, Vicious Group.” Saudi Arabia’s Grand mufti, the top religious authority said that “tyerrorism is anti-Islamic and that groups like the Islamic State which practice violence are the “number one enemy of Islam.” etc. etc.

He also gave me a small book entitle “The Prophet of Islam Muhammad.” There are quotations from the Qu’ran on women’s and human rights, which Muhammad received from Allah, which ISIS has completely abolished.

Maybe this will assuage your fear that 1.4 billion people want us dead, and that their own religion is actively involved in trying to stop the carnage. But what can we do individually over here so far away? Remember the exercise at the beginning of this article? We send love to everyone. Love is the medium of miracles and God can work miracles with it. He needs people to receive and extend it in this earth, and we can be that.

So let’s light a candle of peace as our Jewish brothers and sisters are doing all week during their eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. When their temple was destroyed during a war, there was only enough oil to keep the lamp lit for one day, but it lasted for eight days until new oil arrived! The Jewish religion is the third religion that began with Adam, and also believed in one God. Islam followed the root of Ishmael, Abraham’s first born son by Hagar, his wife’s hand maiden. Christianity split off with Jesus’s teachings as taught by Paul and the apostles.

Interestingly, Ishaq told me that this year Muhammad’s birthday will be Dec. 24. And Kwanzaa begins Dec. 26. It’s a secular festival observed by many African Americans from Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 as a celebration of their cultural heritage and traditional values.

Creating peace is an inside job. If you are not feeling peaceful. Get clear about what is troubling you and take a step to make it right, to get your needs met in a way that helps others as well as yourself. Ask for help from your Creator who sees far beyond your vision of what is good for you. If it comes after you’ve done what you can, great. If it doesn’t, try something else. So many people can tell you stories about how they thought they wanted something, but if it had come, they wouldn’t have been able to experience what came later that was truly a joy and meant to be in their lives. Peace!

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Questions?

Hale `Opio Kaua’i convened a support group of adults in our Kaua’i community to “step into the corner” for our teens, to answer questions and give support to youth and their families on a wide variety of issues. Please email your questions or concerns facing our youth and families today to Annaleah Atkinson at aatkinson@haleopio.org