Prince of Peace

Happy New Year! While there is nothing magical about turning the page of a calendar from December 2015 to January 2016, the beginning of each New Year holds the promise and potential for a new beginning. It is up to us to take advantage of this opportunity by making new choices moment by moment. When we set a clear intention to make positive changes in our lives powerful and surprising demonstrations can, and often do occur.

In my Sunday lesson on October 18 (listen here) I shared that while we are not in control of everything that happens in our lives, we are in authority over it. Our authority lies in our freedom and ability to choose our thoughts, thus shift our perspective and determine how we will respond.

We claim our authority first by becoming consciously aware of our mental activity, which includes our thoughts and feelings. Only by becoming consciously aware of them can we choose something different. As long as we allow them to remain unconscious, we give them power to determine our experience by default.

It is vitally important that we understand the power of the mind (thoughts and feeling) to determine how we experience life, and to realize the power that we have to affect it. We are not in control of everything that happens, but we are in control of what we think. I encourage us to claim our authority and begin 2016 with a renewed commitment to own the power within us to determine our present and our future.

As I was reviewing files on my computer this week, I rediscovered a story I wrote several years ago as a final project for a class. It speaks directly to the authority each of us has to determine our life experience and to remember our truth.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Land of Peace^©

I invite you to come with me to a place that is beyond what we know as space and time. It truly is no place at all and exists only as the Eternal Now. Come with me to this mystical realm where abundance abounds and there is no thought of lack. Here, everyone has enough to eat, and no one takes more than is needed to sustain them. Everyone has a home, and not one more elaborate than the other. Each one is clothed and warm. The land is revered. All living things are honored for the expression of life that they are. Creativity is celebrated, but there are no celebrities. There are no laws here, except the one Law of Love.

This is not a realm that is ruled by a king or a queen, yet each of its citizens is a prince or a princess. And, like any prince or princess, each one inherits all the abundant riches of realm as a birthright to use in any way they choose. Each is heir to all the wonders he or she can behold. From birth, everyone is encouraged to know that he or she is born into a royal heritage and possess all the knowledge to choose his or her own path in each and every moment of each and every day. All who abide here know that they have the power to command of this realm anything they desire, because, after all, they are all princes and princesses. They are not told what to do or not to do, what is right and wrong, good or bad. In this realm, everyone lives from his or her own guidance and inspiration. No one struggles to be or to do anything other than what they are called to do in the moment. There is nowhere to go or nowhere to be, other than here. 

You may be asking, “So, where is this place that is no place?  What is this magical realm beyond time?”

It is an oft forgotten, yet ever present realm known simply to all who live there as Peace. 

In this land, there once lived a young man, himself a Prince of Peace, who was a born explorer. Always curious, he questioned everything. He was always asking his mother or father, “Who? What? Why? When? To which they would always reply, “You have the answer. You only need listen to your own wisdom.”

To which he would always reply, “But, I want to know now!”

One day as he was sitting beneath the shade of an ancient live oak tree, his treasured spot to sit and ponder, he had a thought, “I wonder if there is something beyond this land of Peace, some other realm different, unique, and exciting – just waiting for me to discover it.” As was his practice, he immediately ran to ask his parents. Who, much to his dismay, said to him, “You have the answer. You only need listen to your own wisdom.”

 To which he replied, “But, I want to know now!”

So off he went asking others in the realm if they knew. No one claimed to have any personal knowledge of such a place. There were some who said they had heard rumors of a far away realm, but as far as anyone knew no one had ever left the serenity of Peace. Not one person could tell the young prince anything that would satisfy his curiosity. Everyone he asked said virtually the same thing, yet no one discounted the possibility that there might be another realm, for in Peace, all potentiality exists. They were all content to abide in Peace and enjoy the comfort and prosperity of the realm. Although they provided no useful information, no one tried to convince the young prince of Peace not to explore, for in Peace each one is supportive of the other’s unique expression. Even though no one in Peace shared his curiosity, because the prince had always been encouraged to trust himself and follow his own guidance, he could not discount his thought that such a place must exist. 

Knowing as he did that all possibility exists in the field of pure potential, he decided that he was going to venture out and indeed discover if there was another realm beyond his home land. As he pondered the possibility, he realized that he had no means of travel, after all no one in Peace had ever left, so of course no one had need of transportation. Being a Prince of Peace, he did not let this stand in his way. As he had heard many times from his parents, he knew that the solution would arise from his innate creativity and inspiration as he allowed it. 

So, one day as he once again sat in quiet reflection beneath the ancient live oak, an idea came. He leapt up in excitement and immediately began to sketch the vision that he had received. Once the plan was firmly envisioned and set down on paper, he began the process of constructing his transport vehicle, which he called the Modular Inter-Dimensional Navigational Device or M.I.N.D. for short. It was revealed to him in his vision that with this device he would be able to travel anywhere with just a thought. Of course the manifestation of the device progressed without delay or interference because in Peace there is nothing that impedes the fulfillment of an inspired vision.

When the device was finished, he ran through the realm announcing to his friends and family that he was leaving on a new venture. They all cheered and wished him well without any thought of concern, because in the land of Peace there is no judgment. Everyone knows that freedom abounds and all choice is allowed.

So, the young prince entered his M.I.N.D., closed his eyes, and voila – with one thought he was transported. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he was a bit perplexed. He saw the same landscape, the same houses, and the same people. His surroundings appeared to be unchanged. In that moment, he began to doubt himself. He thought, “Oh, I must have done something wrong. I must have misinterpreted the vision. Maybe I’m not smart after all. Maybe I just can’t do it right. Maybe I’m too young to try this anyway.” And, the thoughts continued in a similar spiral.

As he began to observe through his M.I.N.D., he saw that the houses were worn and old and ugly. As he encountered his neighbors and family, he saw that some were skinny, some were fat, some were old, some were white, and some were black. In his M.I.N.D., labels and judgments began to appear where before only acceptance and love had been. While they looked the same, something was different. In that moment, he realized that he was no longer in Peace. 

Never before had it occurred to him that he was different from all others, but in his M.I.N.D. he began to think thoughts of a separate self. People were talking to him, and he heard words that sounded like criticism and blame. For the first time in his life, he saw himself alone and felt lonely.

He felt something odd happening. His body began to ache and feel heavy. His heart raced. His head pounded. He thought “I just want to run away and hide.” These feelings and thoughts were unknown to him; he did not know what to do. He ran to get away from them, but no matter how hard or fast he ran, he kept meeting his own thoughts, the thoughts that separated him from all that he encountered. He thought, “What could be happening to me?” “Where am I?” “It all seems so familiar, yet so foreign.”

As he continued to wander around, his body began to get tired and weary from all the discomfort he was experiencing. Navigating in his M.I.N.D. was beginning to feel heavy and weigh him down. In the moment that he was about to collapse, he came upon the tall live oak tree, so he decided to walk over and sit in its shade for a bit. As he rested, he soon fell asleep and began to dream. 

In the dream, he saw a light in the distance. The light intrigued him, and he began to stare at it. As he focused, the light seemed to grow larger and move nearer. Being the curious explorer that he was, he arose and walked toward the light. He wanted to know what it was. As he grew closer he noticed that the light was not just a light, but that it seemed to have form. He experienced no hesitation, only a sense of wonder and awe. As the light became more clearly visible, it began to look familiar. When he was nearly face to face with the light, he stopped. He was amazed to realize that the light looked exactly like him. Surprised by the vision, he asked “Who are you, and why are you here?” 

The light replied, “I am you, my friend, and I am here to remind you of your truth and show you the way home.”

“What do you mean you are me? How can you remind me of my truth?” asked the young prince.

The light replied.

“I am the light that is your true nature. I am that part of you that speaks in the silence whenever you stop to listen. I am always with you to remind of who you really are. You see, you have been exploring a realm where false evidence appears to be real. It’s called FEAR. In this realm the limiting thoughts you have of another or of yourself seem to be real, but they are just illusions that appear when your M.I.N.D. takes you to FEAR. Because the light does not shine as brightly there, FEAR is often a dark, dreary place. It’s difficult to see clearly, so things appear to be what they are not. The heaviness you felt also happens in FEAR. It is how the body reacts to the atmosphere. When you are in this heavy, dark place, it can be difficult, if not impossible to remember that you are a prince of Peace. If you stay there long enough, it can become challenging to find your way back home. There are some who have been there so long that Peace seems to be only a distant dream.”

“You created this device you call your M.I.N.D. so that you can explore other realms. You created it so well that every thought takes you precisely where you choose to go. It is indeed an amazing creation and very powerful. It can be used for wondrous things if you do not allow it to become heavy and burdensome. Always remember that you created it, and it is yours to use. Remember, too, that it does not have to be used to take you from Peace; it can be used in Peace as well. I am here to remind you that you had the power to choose the thoughts you think in your M.I.N.D. and to control where it takes you. It is entirely up to you.”

With that, the light was gone and the young prince awoke. 

When he awoke the prince remembered the dream vividly. He immediately closed his eyes, and thought of his family and friends and all the love that surrounds him in Peace. Then he shook his head, and when he opened his eyes, he instantly began to feel lighter. As he looked around, he was aware of the same trees, the same houses, the same people, yet something was different yet again. Now, instead of old, ugly, fat, thin, white or black, he saw only the beauty and the perfection of everything, and he felt warm and safe and joyous. He thought of what the light had told him in his dream and realized that his light was now shining so brightly that he was able to see everything in its true nature. That’s when he realized that he was back in Peace.

He ran home as fast as he could and began telling his parents all about his adventure. They celebrated with him for a time, and when the excitement subsided, his mother asked him, “Would you be willing to share with me the wisdom that came to you through this wondrous time of exploration?”

The young prince stopped for a moment in wonder.  He was delighted that he was being asked to share his wisdom, and was pleased to be able to give his mother this gift.

After a few moments of contemplation he said, “Well Mother, I have learned that you and Father were right, I do indeed have the power to go anywhere and do anything I choose. I can even choose to explore the realm of FEAR for a time if that’s what I want to do, but I also learned that FEAR can be a pretty scary place. Most importantly, I learned that even if I visit FEAR, I know that I can return home to Peace with just one thought.”

As he was about to run out the door to join his playmates, he turned to his Mother and said, “If you really want to go there, I’m pretty sure your light will show up to remind you how to get home. In case you forget, just remember to listen. Remember who you are. We all have that choice.”

And with that, the prince of Peace was off on yet another exciting adventure.