Our Peaceful Planet

Healing Ourselves and Our World for a Sustainable Future

Morgan James Publishing

Contents

HEALING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Given the opportunity, most of us would welcome the chance to live happier and more meaningful lives. It naturally follows that if we want the world to be a happier place and for people to live in peace, then each of us needs to be happier and more at peace within ourselves. This is because we project everything we have inside of us out into the world. Both pain and happiness ripple out from us in direct proportion to the amounts of each that we carry inside. This is why change starts with each of us first, even though it may seem that changes in others, or at a national or international level, are more important.

It's easy to blame others — our parents, our partner, our boss, the government, or people from another country or group — for things that seem outside of our control. We sometimes overlook the part we play in our everyday interactions. We forget how much power each of us has in shaping our own lives, the lives of those around us, and the world in which we live. The way we react to situations, the roles we play, the choices we make, and whether we take responsibility for these things, all directly shape our world.

Change in the world can only happen when each of us takes responsibility for our impact on the world. It is up to each of us to heal our internal pain and the negative beliefs behind that pain, so that more peace and happiness ripple out from within. In this way, we can then live in greater harmony with ourselves and those around us. The increased happiness in the world provides a stronger foundation to make the changes that are required in our global society, as shown in Figure 1.

The exercises in the first three chapters of this book are designed to help you heal and be the best person you can be. Please take this opportunity to do them so you can begin creating a happier and more meaningful life for yourself. They are designed to help you quickly and easily identify your core negative beliefs and heal them.

Even if you do not feel you have major issues in your life that need resolving, it is useful to run through each of the exercises at least once to get a feel for them, and to understand how they work by doing them. You will find that some of your hurt has gone, and you have discovered new things about yourself. Once you are familiar with the exercises, you can return to do the ones that you feel will best help you in your life. Being familiar with the exercises on a personal level also helps those working in group reconciliation to achieve the best results.

We don't need to wait until we have healed all of our pain and negative beliefs before we start working on the changes that are outlined in Part 2 of this book. But the more we heal, the more we realize how amazing we are, and the more we can achieve together. Let's start.

The Impact of Pain

Most of us have some level of unresolved pain within us. The more we have, the more likely we are to create a series of negative experiences and to do things that cause other people to feel pain too. In this way, each of us projects our pain out into the world. As we heal, we reduce the need to hurt others to get what we want, or to feel better about ourselves. This in turn reduces the amount of pain being spread across the earth, and increases the flow of happiness.

Most unresolved pain and anger is linked to traumatic events in our lives. Most of us have been affected in some way by dysfunctional families, relationship breakups, divorce, peer rejection, serious illness, or the death of loved ones. Some of us have lived through abuse, others through war. There is no denying that these events are painful. Many of us have not had the tools or support to process our pain, so we repress these experiences and the accompanying feelings inside of ourselves.

The pain inside you increases every time you have a negative experience and decreases when you heal from one. Some people hold the repressed pain from only one or two experiences inside themselves. Others hold the repressed pain from everything that has ever happened to them. Some people's pain is so overwhelming they develop addictive behaviors to try to block it out.

Some people believe they can control their pain by keeping it pushed down inside of them. We like to fool ourselves into thinking that everything is okay to avoid dealing with pain. But the truth is that our pain increases and boils over whenever we hit a new bump in life. It is amplified in new situations and inhibits our ability to manage those situations rationally. Our pain also boils over when our ability to stay in control is compromised — like when we are angry, under pressure, or have had alcohol or drugs. We then project our pain onto other people in our lives — whether or not we intend for that to happen — hurting them and giving us cause to regret our actions. This of course, only increases the amount of pain we hold inside. The only way to truly be in control of your pain is to heal it.

Let's look at one example of how pain affects your life. Imagine your partner cheated on you. You would feel very hurt and question whether you can ever trust them or anyone else again. If you don't heal and move to a place of forgiveness, then at least one of four things is likely to happen. The first is that you develop addictive behaviors to dull the pain. You may drink more than you used to, or overeat, or any number of other harmful behaviors. The second is that you are too scared to enter into a new relationship, thereby denying yourself the chance of happiness with another person. The third is that you carry your pain into your next relationship and project it onto your new partner. Because you are viewing your new partner through the lens of your pain, you may not see them for the trustworthy person they are, and wrongfully accuse them of infidelity. The fourth is that you attract a new partner who cheats on you too. The more pain you hold inside, the less likely you are to handle these situations well, and you may find yourself adding to your pain.

Why do these things happen?

We feel pain every time we go through a negative experience, and we attract negative experiences as a result of the negative beliefs we hold about ourselves and our world. Most of our beliefs are formed during childhood, usually by the time we are four years old. Negative beliefs are also formed during traumatic experiences. In the example, the experience of being cheated on has created negative beliefs about yourself and what it means to be in a relationship. You then negatively shape the world around you and create more pain with these beliefs. It is therefore critical that we understand what beliefs we hold so we can heal our pain and shape our world in positive ways.

Understanding Beliefs

Let's start with a definition. What is a belief? It is an idea that you hold to be true. Many people do not think they shape the world around them through the beliefs they hold. They have difficulty comprehending that they have such an impact on their lives, their futures, and their world. An alternate and commonly held view is that your experiences in your world form your beliefs (not the other way around), or "you believe it when you see it." This is a limiting approach, making you a passive victim of circumstance. Rather than shaping the world around you, you are allowing yourself to be shaped by it. Some people deny that their beliefs shape the world around them because otherwise they would have to take responsibility for everything in their life, both good and bad. No one is perfect, and we have all had times when we've looked back on our lives and become despondent about the negative things we have created.

Taking responsibility for your beliefs and your subsequent actions is the most important step in the healing process. Deny this, and you deny yourself the ability to bring good things into your life. This is because your ability to create both good and bad in your life is one and the same — it is the belief that you hold that determines the outcome.

Remember that a belief is an idea that you hold to be true. Acknowledging that your beliefs form the world around you puts you in a powerful position, because you have the ability to change what you hold to be true, and transform your life in positive and loving ways. This transformation affects your life and the people around you, demonstrating your individual power to create change in the world.

Before we heal our negative beliefs, it's important to understand what our beliefs are based on and how this affects us. Positive beliefs are based on three important principles: inclusion, deservedness, and abundance:

• Inclusion means that you belong and are connected to a greater whole.

• Deservedness means that you are worthy.

• Abundance means that there is plenty of something to go around.

People who are successful in one or more areas of their life — with a loving family, financial good fortune, or thriving careers — have created this for themselves by believing that they belong in the world and deserve to have these good things which are available to everyone through the abundance of the universe. Importantly, they haven't placed fear-based limits on themselves or the way in which their success comes to them. They have merely allowed it to manifest in their lives.

Negative beliefs are based on the opposite principles: separateness, undeservedness, and lack:

• Separateness means that you are disconnected from others and a greater whole.

• Undeservedness means that you are not worthy.

• Lack means that there is not enough of something to go around.

People who are unsuccessful in one or more areas of their lives have created this by believing that they are separate from or different than everyone else, they don't deserve to have good things, and there are not enough good things to go around for everyone anyway. You may know some people whose negative beliefs completely rule every aspect of their lives. Most of us, however, struggle with just one or two aspects of our lives like our career, health, or our love life.

Holding negative beliefs about ourselves leads alternatively to aggression and victimhood. Regardless of the outcome, we all lose because we struggle and separate ourselves from the universal flow of life. The reality is that there is no separateness, undeservedness, or lack. It is only our belief in these things that causes the world to appear so.

You, me, and that group of people over there; the plants, animals, and minerals; everything on earth and throughout the universe — we are all one. We are all made up of the same basic matter and energy which we exchange freely with each other and the rest of the universe. Each of us has divine life force flowing through us and all of the abundance of the universe is readily available for us to create all of the wonderful things that we desire. Each one of us is a beautiful soul who deserves to have peace, love, and prosperity in our lives.

When we approach our life with this foundation of inclusion, deservedness, and abundance, our beliefs about ourselves and our relationships change. We want the best for ourselves and those around us, because with the abundance of the universe this is possible. Our relationships improve because we exercise greater compassion for ourselves and others. We joyfully create peace and happiness in our lives. We no longer need to be externally validated, because we understand our innate perfection and that of everyone and everything else. Inner peace replaces inner struggle.

Let's consider our individual beliefs and the impact they have on our lives, so we can start healing, and get to this place of inner peace. An easy way to recognize the beliefs you hold is to look for repeating patterns in your life. Consider first the good things that you have. It may be loving relationships, good friends, and work you enjoy. You can probably remember your success in something, like a sport, artistic talent, or your work. Some common beliefs you may hold to create this success include:

• My family and friends love me and treat me with respect.

• I have everything I need.

• I am good at a particular thing, for example: soccer, or singing, or trivia, or bricklaying, or finance, or surgery.

• I can succeed at whatever task I attempt.

Try identifying the positive things you have in your life, and the beliefs you hold which have created these positive things. Consider how these things are based on inclusion, deservedness, and abundance. A loving relationship, for example, is based on belonging with someone else, believing that you deserve to be loved, and that there is romantic love for you in the world. A successful career is based on finding the best way for you to contribute to the world, and believing that you deserve to be successful, your contribution is important, and that success is available to everyone.

Now let's turn to the more painful repeating patterns in your life. They may be broken relationships, conflict with family members or colleagues, or problems managing your finances. Some beliefs you may hold which create conflict in your life include:

• It's always someone else's fault, not mine.

• Good things never happen to me.

• I am not loved or treated with respect.

• There isn't enough to go around.

Consider how these beliefs are based on separateness, undeservedness, and lack, and how they impact our lives. For example, people who always blame others hold themselves separate from others and frequently don't have many friends. Those who believe that good things never happen to them perpetuate this belief by choosing the worst available options. They do so because they don't believe they deserve better for themselves. People who repeatedly choose partners who control them or conversely neglect them don't believe they deserve to be loved and treated with respect. Those who believe that there isn't enough to go around manifest this by frittering away their money, because they don't believe they deserve to participate in the abundance of the universe. You can easily recognize these behaviors in both yourself and those around you, because these are beliefs we all hold to some extent. Because we believe these negative beliefs are true, we repeatedly undertake destructive actions.

Consider the impact that holding negative beliefs has on your life. The pain you hold inside you dims your inner light. You hurt yourself and others over and over again. Healing your negative beliefs is easier than lugging all that pain around for the rest of your life. There doesn't have to be a place inside of you that always hurts or that you avoid. You can have a happier life, and let your inner light shine.

Healing Negative Beliefs

Everyone has within them life force, that inexplicable energy that keeps us alive. This life force flows through the universe, through our planet, and through each of us. It is pure and powerful. Regardless of what you may think of yourself, or how much you may doubt yourself, this pure, strong, and unchanging force flows through you until the moment you die.

Close your eyes, be still for a moment, and feel your life force flowing through you. Imagine your life force as a light and see this light flowing through every cell of your body. We are going to use this force and the wisdom of our bodies to heal our pain and negative beliefs. Earlier, we discussed how we repress painful experiences and emotions inside ourselves. As we do this, they become locked as a memory in the cells of our body. Nothing is forgotten. Our body has its own intelligence. It is amazing — we breathe, digest food, grow hair, and replenish our cells without ever having to think about it. This same intelligence helps us access our cellular memories and heal.

Healing can be done on your own or with a trusted partner to guide you through the steps. Some of you have experienced abuse, and while you know it has had an incredibly negative impact on your life and the way you view yourself, you may be scared to face it. You do not need to be. Trust your body's innate wisdom. Know that with that powerful life force flowing through you, you are stronger than you think. You deserve to be free, happy, and whole.

You may find that your fear exhibits itself through a reluctance to admit you are holding negative beliefs. You get the best results from this exercise when you are very honest with yourself and willing to go to the core of your painful, negative experiences. Don't judge or beat yourself up. Just allow what comes up to come up, and follow the steps to heal it:

1. Sit in a quiet space where you are unlikely to be distracted. You need to concentrate for the duration of the exercise. Identify a painful situation in your life where you struggle or have struggled, and which may have occurred repeatedly. It may be a problem with relationships, your health, your finances, or your career.

2. Allow yourself to feel the emotional response associated with this situation. You may feel pain in your heart or stomach area. Some people have blocked their pain for so long that they don't feel anything. If this is the case for you, deliberately shift your awareness to your heart or stomach area — whichever you think is best — and lift the lid off your pain. Then allow yourself to drop into the pain so you can feel it.

3. Don't get caught up in the story of the situation that caused the pain. Just picture or feel this pain as a black ball, and surround it with the light of your life force. Your life force creates a sacred space within you where only truth is told.