Excerpt from LLewellyn Vaughan-Lee's book: "The Light of Oneness"

The light of peace

Peace is born from a place beyond the opposites, where peace is always present. Peace is a dynamic force that we can learn how to use. It has a simplicity that belongs to the energy of the soul. It is a way of being rather than something to be achieved. Once we step outside of the paradigm of the warring opposites, we will find that the sun is shining. We do not need to fight for our living. We have been given the sustenance we need.

The peace is present but we are not using it. In our struggle for peace we create discord: this is one of the effects of working on the level of opposites. Real peace cannot be imposed, nor is it the result of reconciliation. In our culture of conflict, peace achieved by these means may be the only vestige of peace that is accessible, just as the ego's right to choose is the only concept of freedom our limited understanding allows us. Real peace is a force of life to be lived, to be enjoyed, to be celebrated. It is a gift that belongs to us.

Yet people are frightened of such peace. It cannot be manipulated or attached to power dynamics. In the clash of opposites we fight to win, to impose ourself. Even our image of world peace is a balance of power. What would happen if these power dynamics were removed? How would we know who is in control? The structures of our culture are based upon power dynamics and an adversarial attitude. The drama of power needs adversaries. A life of peace functions in a different way. It does not belong to patterns of control. Peace and freedom belong together.

To be open to peace is to leave behind many of the ways that we define our life. To work with peace would mean that we work with an energy that is free from the constellation of opposites. This energy is part of our divine nature.

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee is a Sufi Teacher in the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order. His book THE LIGHT OF ONENESS is edited by The golden Sufi Center.

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