Mapping Our Shared Conflict
It’s important for us to be very honest that our ability to handle conflict as a human species is absolutely abysmal. This ineptitude WILL lead to the destruction of the human species if we simply continue as is. When we aren’t able to integrate with the perspectives of our adversaries and enemies, and we are…
In some of my anonymous activist work, I’ve been privy to institutions’ front side and backside. There’s an image presented to the outside world and a very different activity behind the scenes. I’m sure we can all relate to these two sides in the institutions, organizations, communities, and circles we’ve been part of. And of…
There are many ways the world validates our value. These include ranks, grades, scores during our education, dollars, awards, titles in our career, and likes, comments, and forwards on social media. And of course, this includes compliments, praise, prizes, rewards of various kinds, and sentiments including warmth, kindness, and inclusion. On the surface, we might…
We seem to get greater mileage in our dialog by integrating another’s perspective, rather than simply arguing, challenging, finding holes or trying to persuade our perspective over theirs. Next time we are in an argument with someone, try pausing for a second and allow your motivation to be one of trying to develop a broader…
We can come out of life calamities, such as great sickness, disability, prejudice, abuse, or loss, with powerful wisdom. What’s going on? We often aren’t sensitive to more profound wisdom when things are working out as usual. There’s no need. We’re meeting our needs and finding ways to eke out a modicum of pleasure in…
Ranks, scores, and grades have a place. But they can also be very much injurious to our Soul. How? They can lead to comparison to others vs. tuning into what’s within. They can lead to striving to get something vs. naturally expressing what’s within. They can lead to fixation on a number vs. cherishing what…
“Arise awake and stop not until the goal is reached.” Swami Vivekananda There’s a certain magic that happens when we keep going. A beautiful, wondrous magic when we keep going on our trajectory, persistently, doggedly, in the face of adversity, hardship, setback, lack of support, lack of validation, emotional upheavel… and even lack of consistency….
Our focus needs remain steadfast on Source / God / Truth alone. There is only one master. There is only one guide. There is only one salvation. The limitation with fixation on anything else (i.e., objects and goals of this world) is that they don’t last (anicca). Whether the object of our focus is temporary…
One will find conflict embedded in each context in our life. In school, work, home, family, community, state. In our relationship with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, bosses, strangers, loved ones, adversaries, enemies. In the morning, afternoon, evening, night. In our direct experience, topics we talk about, stories we share, news we listen to. In every…
Spirit includes it all. Everything is within Spirit. Everything has a place. Everything has a purpose. Everyone has a path. Every perspective has a point. There’s nothing that is ignored. Nothing that is neglected. Nothing that is shortchanged. Thus, the entire work can safely be about Spirit. And tuning into Spirit, and expressing from there,…
Conflict stems from pain. If we can understand that conflict is sourced in suffering, far beyond an arbitrary decision by another party to be bad, evil or malicious, we will go along long way towards understanding where to focus our efforts in dealing with conflict in our lives…. and on our planet. There’s pain on…
On the glorious holiday remembering the birth of Christ, let us bring into our prayers those who Christ asked us to include. Who might they be? 🙂 It be each human being, including the least of our brethren (see Matthew 25:40-45). And for those of us who might not look at the Bible for reference,…
What comes to your mind when we say the word “conflict”? We often see conflict in a negative light. It has a very unappealing connotation. Yet, the conflict we have in our life does NOT have to be perceived as wrong. Conflict is helpful, even needed, for our growth. Initially, conflict might feel like a…
For many on this planet, God is a belief or a concept to bow down and follow. For others, including myself, God is primarily experienced — an experience of a Higher Truth within us that resides at the deepest level of our being. God is that higher guide, entity, intelligence, power, and/or perfect energy. God…
During my 20+ years of spiritual inquiry, I’ve had 1000’s of beautiful conversations with people about meditation and its transformative role in our lives. In addition, I’ve come across many distorted presumptions and misconceptions about meditation, including reasons why people aren’t able to meditate. People often perceive meditation as too daunting, demanding they to be…
Essential in reconciling conflict is being in touch with and fully owning what we’re feeling on the inside. When we abstract our resolutions, policies, and actions from the pain and trauma within us, we end up making decisions out-of-line with our very humanity. But when we give space to feel, we’re tapping into the heart…
Our world sells us the premise that war is essential at times. That there is no other option for us. That we have no choice. That there is only one ultimate solution to conflict, and that’s to physically destroy our enemy. But is it really so? Or are there options that we have that we…
(Article by Ranjeeth Thunga)(Photo by Jonathan Harrison / Unsplash) When we think of conflict, an image of confrontation might pop into our minds. This could be a vision of a husband shouting at their wife, a mother beating their children, a manager sabotaging their employee’s work, or protestors causing mayhem on the streets. It could…
The next 10-24 years arguably entail the most profound shifts in our collective consciousness since the dawn of humanity – some call this a prelude to Singularity. The exponential rate of development of new technology, along with the clash of all our worldviews from across cultures, traditions, and societies, puts us in a position where…
Every human being on the planet shares the same two primordial desires: 1) The desire to connect with what is Eternal, Infinite, and Real.2) The desire to alleviate confusion, uncertainty, and insecurity. If we can realize that we all share these two desires, we’ll come a long way in bridging the gap that separates us…