Let it Begin With Me

Every Sunday at Unity Center of Davis, we conclude our service by standing together and singing the Peace song.  The first and last lines proclaim, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.  There is a variation of this refrain, that our ego sings many more times during the week that goes like this: Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with: her, him, that situation, this dilemma, this preference, that shift, this resolution, that outcome, and on and on it goes. The false self that sings this refrain is not connected to the whole of life, and clamors to reclaim the fragments of happiness that it believes are in the world of outer conditions and other people.  When I am identified with my false self, I feel separated, and frustrated, and it is easy to blame my inner turmoil on what someone or something is withholding from me. It may take two to tango, or reach accord, but only one can only find peace inside oneself. Real and lasting contentment, the peace that Jesus referred to as passing human understanding, is not an effect of getting what we want in life, nor a negotiated agreement, nor the laying down of arms.  A Course in Miracles says, Nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. Ultimately, peace is the recognition of a deep sense of well-being in which this moment is acceptable just as it is. Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is the presence of a reality beyond the duality of your way or my way.  Rumi referred to this as a place beyond right or wrong, and a place where we could meet each other. The conflicts, which disturb our peace, are always some version of unskillful attempts to get our needs met.  When we drop below the surface mind that thrashes and lashes out we can see more clearly what is really true. This is spiritual insight that first takes us inward, opens our eyes to seeing in a new way, and brings us back to the world with a more holistic, compassionate perspective. The field beyond right and wrong is the unified field of our essential oneness, the great web in which we are united with every form of life. Once glimpsed, the ramifications of lashing out, or polluting, or blaming in order to redress some inner dissatisfaction, are seen more plainly as self-defeating. While we are evolving toward this enlightened perspective, we need constant reminders of the way to peace.  I know of no better technique to correct my perception than calling upon Spirit to help me see rightly.  Even when judgments are railing in my head and I am at war with everything and everyone one, there is the voice of Truth, that sees through the appearances and remains undisturbed.  This voice can lead me beyond the field of right and wrong, to the still waters of peace.  If nothing else we can sing the familiar refrain whenever we need to remember the way to peace, Let there be peace, and let it begin with me.