Peace On Earth
by William Lee Rand

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one. -John Lennon

Is our planet becoming a safer place to live? The events of September 11 and those that followed may not make it seem like it is. But, if we take a broader look at world events, it can be easily seen that the planet is getting safer.

Those who grew up in the 60's and also those who experienced the 70's and 80's can recall a time when we lived with the fact that the destruction of most of the planet could have taken place in half an hour or so. During the cold war tens of thousands of nuclear warheads were aimed at all the major cities in the US, the Soviet Union and many other countries around the world. They were ready to be fired at a moments notice and either a real or imagined threat or a glitch in the system could have triggered them.

People everywhere, both young and old had nightmares concerning the horrors a global nuclear war would bring. The rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union was so great and the arms race advancing so quickly that it was difficult to see how we would ever solve the problem. Many wondered if the planet had a future and the fear of such an unimaginable horror affected everything we did.

And yet, we survived. The planet was not destroyed. Things changed. The Soviet government came to an end and the countries that took its place are now our friends and getting friendlier all the time. This is an amazing and tremendously positive shift in the global situation.

Uniting global spiritual consciousness is the next step in creating world peace.

Since that time, there have been other crisis situation but all have been less serious than the cold war. Most have been dealt with quickly and while some have led to other difficulties, most of the challenges they presented were either resolved or reduced in a significant way.

We can see how this happened with the Gulf war and the problems in Kosovo and other areas. And now we are in the midst of another threat to global security. The issue of international terrorism was brought into sharp focus by the events of September 11 and this developed quickly into a war on terrorism that could have far reaching effects. This is indeed a very difficult problem of global proportions and yet, as we can see, more difficult problems than this have been solved in the past.

The current challenges to world peace are really more like healing crisis situations. The energies and issues that drive them have always been present, but are only now coming to the surface and demanding attention. If we are to have a real and lasting peace, we must be willing to acknowledge them and heal the political and religious rivalries they represent. Rather than being challenges to peace, they are actually part of the process that can bring peace.

There is a Chinese character for crisis called Wei Ji. The first part of the character means danger, and the second part means opportunity. So it is with every crisis there is also opportunity, the opportunity to learn, to heal and to grow. There have been many opportunities from the events of September 11 that have already created benefits. One of the most important is the fact that as soon as spiritual people heard of the events, they immediately began sending healing and praying. This united the largest group of spiritual people in history to join together and work as one to bring healing to the planet. Any boundaries that may have existed in the past were blown away allowing our hearts to open completely. This oneness of consciousness, acting like a magnet, attracted Reiki energy and other healing energies far stronger and of a far higher vibration than has ever been experienced on the planet before. This uniting of global spiritual consciousness is actually the beginning of an important next step for world peace. It is making possible personal as well as global healing on a level never previously experienced.

The effects this increase in healing energy is having can already be seen. The US and the Russians as well as many other nations, are become better partners. The fact that the Taliban have been removed from power in Afghanistan has made it much safer for women and children there. This is raising the consciousness of people in other countries where woman have been abused, increasing the likelihood that woman's rights will be promoted more successfully all over the planet.

On a global scale, awareness of ourselves, our potential and what we need to survive and prosper is increasing.
As the pace of events on the planet increases, not only does it create an increasing number of new and unique challenges for us to solve, it also increases the speed at which we are able to learn about how the world works. In other words, on a global scale, awareness of ourselves, our potential and what we need to survive and prosper is increasing. This is allowing a greater number of people to understand on an ever-deeper level what our ultimate purpose is and is also motivating us to achieve it.

Buckminster Fuller, a practical futurist popular in the 60's and 70's, came up with an idea that is especially meaningful for us now. He took systems theory and mathematics and applied it to the global situation. He came to the conclusion that as the pace of life on earth quickens, it can lead to only one of two conclusions. It will bring about our total destruction or it will lead to a world of complete peace and harmony.

This principle can be seen in the flywheel. When a flywheel is rotating slowly, any imbalances it may have are not noticed. As it increases in speed, the imbalances become more and more obvious and will begin to create vibrations. These vibrations will become stronger and place greater and greater stress on the flywheel as it increases in speed. If it continues to increase in speed, at some point the vibrations will be come so destructive that the flywheel will explode. On the other hand, if the flywheel can be progressively balanced as it's speed increases, it can reach a very high rate of speed and provide all the benefits it was designed to provide in an efficient and harmonious way.

The same is true for our planet. As the pace of life increases on our planet, new issues come up. As we work to balance them, not only does it help the people affected by the issues, but also, because of our interconnectedness it contributes to the harmony between people everywhere.

Looking at world conditions from the 60's to the present, we see that the threat of total global destruction has passed and we are now faced with smaller challenges and while they are more numerous, we are also dealing with them more quickly. This is creating a learning curve that appears to be increasing faster than the challenges that would destroy us. From this we see that a world of peace and harmony is within our reach.
While the basis for world peace is a strong possibility and there are many conscious and unconscious forces at work to create it, it will not happen on its own. If we are to achieve it, we must focus on aligning with global peace in an ever-increasing way.

The global economy has been a reality for some time. This has worked to create a greater level of friendly cooperation between nations. The next step toward world peace must take place on a spiritual level. What we need now is a global spiritual community. If this is to take place, then all religious and spiritual groups need to honor and respect each other. This needs to be done with wisdom and be based on the idea that each person has the right to practice the religious or spiritual path of their choice or none at all as long as it does not interfere with the right of others to do the same. Once this awareness has reached global proportions, the spiritual consciousness of the planet will have achieved an amazing new level. The prayers and spiritual practices of all groups will have a synergistic effect on each other. The spiritual power this produces will activate the awareness in each person that all are one and world peace will soon follow.

People from all spiritual and religious backgrounds practice Reiki in every country on the planet. Because of this, the practice of Reiki is providing a meaningful contribution to the creation of a global spiritual community. Now more than ever it is important to send Reiki to heal global situations. The synergy created by doing this is greatly multiplying the good it does and will bring world peace much more quickly.

On January 24, 2002 an important meeting will take place that is a clear indication that consciousness is moving in the direction of a global spiritual community.

Representatives from all religions have been invited by Pope John Paul II to come to Assisi to pray for world peace. This extraordinary event will help ground in a practical way what has been developing spiritually. Also, on this day, people all over the planet from all religious and spiritual backgrounds are being asked to pray for world peace. I encourage you to mark your calendars and set aside time on this day to send as much Reiki as you can for world peace. This will be a great blessing for the planet and for everyone who takes part.