SENTIENT TIMES Feb/Mar 2003

The Spiritual Art of Peacemaking

By James F. Twyman

Mother Teresa was once asked why she never participated in any of the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960’s. Considered one of the most impor-tant women in the world, she was a penniless nun living in the slums of Calcutta and the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. It was a big question, but her answer was even bigger. “I will never join an anti-war demonstration, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.”

Understanding the difference between the two is the essence of what I like to call “The Spiritual Art of Peacemaking.” The differences are so subtle, and yet they can make all the difference. Let me begin by describing my own experience with both.

Twelve years ago I was asked to join four hundred physically handicapped men and women on a march through Orlando, Florida protesting the government’s policies on assisted care programs. Their goal was to have twenty-five percent of federal money that is given to nursing homes redirected to home care programs to enable handicapped people to stay in their own homes. The group, called Adapt, had been massively successful at making public buses become wheel chair accessible. This was their latest issue, and they weren’t afraid to push hard for it. Many of the members I met bragged about the number of times they had been arrested in the last few years. One man had been arrested over seventeen times, three time in one day. He wore the number like a badge of honor, and I have to admit I was impressed by the commitment and courage they all demonstrated.

When the day of the rally arrived, I found myself fully immersed in the drama. I had always bemoaned the fact that I was a child during the Vietnam era and could only watch as my older friends marched through the streets carrying signs and chanting anti-war slogans. It was my big chance, and I wasn’t going to miss it this time. Eighty people were arrested that day, and I was the very first one. I was the loud mouth holding the megaphone, and the policeman who finally caught up with me didn’t appreciate the hundred yard dash I made him endure. The three days in jail was more like a party that smelled bad than an incarceration. We were all so proud of ourselves, and the story was on the front page of every newspaper in Florida.

After that I attended the meetings of several other activists and peace groups, but one thing always stood out in my mind. No one seemed peaceful. They were all so angry, and they believed that they had the answer no one else was brave enough to embrace. I ultimately gave the whole thing up, deciding that no one knew anything at all. I didn’t realize I was very close to understanding the choice we can make.

A few years later I was commissioned “The Peace Troubadour” and began traveling around the world singing the prayers of peace from the major religions of the world. I have been invited to countries like Iraq, Israel, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Mexico at times of great war or conflict to sing and pray. It was clear to me from the very beginning that the average person would think it was nonsense, but I felt that there was something happening that no one, including me, could perceive with their senses. People were changing from the inside out, and it was a transformation more permanent than any angry chant could inspire.

In 1998 I was presenting the Peace Concert at a refugee camp at the border of Kosovo and Macedonia that was the temporary home for more than thirty five thousand people. Every day I saw desperate families stream across the border, some without fathers and sons who had already been killed by the Serbian Army. Their eyes were filled with uncertainty and fear, and my righteous moral platform suddenly felt vain. I came to the camp a pacifist, surely convinced that war is never a real solution. And though I will hold to that ideal my whole life, something changed that day. I realized that I didn’t have the answer, as much as I wished I did. Thousands of people were being killed in Kosovo, and it had to be stopped. At home my friends were chanting the old familiar slogans hoping NATO would stay away. I, on the other hand, didn’t know what to think.

That was when I learned the first and most important lesson in being a Spiritual Peacemaker: “I don’t have the answer, but God does.” Who am I to think that I know what needs to happen? What makes me think that I am so wise as to understand the intricate motivations that caused the terrible tremor, and devise a solution that would stop the violence and bring lasting peace? I didn’t know. But then the Prayer of St. Francis came to me. “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” It was as if a light went off in my heart. I realized that it is impossible for me to know, and I don’t have to. But if I can step back and be used by God, however that looks and feels, then it is not me who is acting, but God who is acting through me. Then I will be in the perfect position, can say the perfect words, touch the people with the hands of compassion and grace. As long as I’m under the illusion that I am the one who knows best, then I am no better than the political leaders so many of us disagree with.

I suddenly realized the deep, unexplainable freedom in not-knowing. I think this is what Mother Teresa meant, and it’s how she lived her life. She didn’t perceive herself living in Calcutta holding the poorest of the poor. She knew she was in Heaven holding Jesus, and it made all the difference. She wasn’t trying to figure it out in her head, but in her heart. When we do that solutions present themselves. Then we experience the joy of being used by the Divine, of being an instrument of peace, and it is the greatest feeling in the world.

I am not “anti” anything. I am pro-peace and will continue to commit to achieving it in my own life. Peace in the world will never happen until enough of us choose it for ourselves first, and then let it expand outward. Peace does not come from the outside-in, but from the inside-out. I wish I had the ability to explain this in a way that would make sense to everyone. That probably will never happen. But then, what difference does it make what I say? I would rather live it, and not have to say a word.

James Twyman is an internationally renowned author and “Peace Troubadour” who has drawn millions of people together in prayer to influence events of world crisis. His six books have been translated into over a dozen languages, and his CD’s are distributed around the world. For information regarding James Twyman’s eight week online class, “The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking,” and other Beloved Community Foundation activities, visit www.emissaryoflight.com.

Join James Twyman, Doreen Virtue and Gregg Braden in “Living and Praying Peace” on February 9th (9AM Pacific / 5PM London) when millions of people around the world will focus their prayers of peace, sending a wave of healing energy to the governments of both the US and Iraq. The vigil, called The Great Experiment III, follows on other experiments in recent years.

Mother Teresa once wrote a prayer, an adaptation of the Prayer of St. Francis, that clearly shows the path to peace:
“When I am hungry, give me someone that I can feed.
And when I am thirsty, give me someone who needs a drink.
When I’m cold, give me someone to keep warm.
And when I grieve, give me someone to console.”
If we want something, the only way to truly have it is to give it to someone else. We are seeking the experience of oneness, for only then does the Peace of God flow into our lives.

Therefore, we’re asking you to join the millions of people who’ll spend February 9th giving peace and compassion to everyone they meet. Let it be an active prayer you live all day long, enjoying your peaceful and compassionate actions and interactions with others. Go out of your way to bring smiles to others, and set the intention of the energy of this living prayer. It’s that simple. Join us at 9:00 AM (PST) as we focus our prayers of peace, sending healing light to dissolve the hatred and suspicion that could lead to war.

Some will think it naive and simplistic, but we believe that our loving actions are what will heal the world, and that our prayers of peace are the most powerful force in the Universe. This is the Spiritual Art of Peacemaking. We believe that we have the power to create a world of peace rather than violence, but we need your help. Together we can heal the planet and make the dream of peace a reality. We hope that this is only the beginning.

SENTIENT TIMES
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