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Conflict, Harmony and Peace
There seems to be a belief circulating that there is undesirable conflict within our community, and that something should be done about it.
Conflict does not bother me; it can be quite creative if not overdone.
In fact, conflict is the essential shadow side of harmony and peace, and in duality you cannot have one without the other.
If you want to reduce conflict in our community, then the approach of wanting to reduce conflict will have the opposite effect of that intended, because:
- Energy follows thought
- What we pay attention to expands
Therefore, if we talk about "the problem of conflict within our community", "conflict resolution" or some variant of that, guess what happens? Conflict manifests! Actually there are two concerns here. Working to reduce conflict would:
- direct time, energy and resources away from existing priorities, without due consideration.
- in practical terms achieve the opposite of what is intended.
If we are concerned about conflict, then we can instead celebrate the harmony and peace that exists within our community (in the present tense) and so it shall be (is already).
And we would still have to be willing to accept responsibility for an equal resultant increase in shadow conflict, possibly somewhere else.
Oh dear!
Perhaps it is sufficient to aspire to live lives of compassion and harmlessness, without trying to change the world?
Still, we have chosen to live in a spiritual community, and for me that choice includes preferring harmony and peace to conflict, pending the Grace of enlightenment or awakening!
So let’s go about it in a more effective way?
(c) John Wragg,5th August 2009
