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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am new to this list but had to respond to this
one...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I wholeheartedly agree with Paul's thoughts at the
end of his message. I do not think peace is possible
(realistically). Whenver there are humans involved, there will be
personality differences and when those differences become so vastly opposite,
war breaks out. I believe that with a deeper understanding of our
personality differences and acknowledging that no 'personality type' is truly
'right' will move us towards peacefulness. I completely agree with Paul's
statement - "we'd best be focusing on raising our own individual consciousness,
tolerance level and inner beingness and forget about peace as a target."
If/when everyone begins focusing on their own choices in life instead of looking
to blame others, we might get somewhere........but unfortunately, I doubt that
will ever happen.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Judy Spady</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Experiential Learning for Impact</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bayfield, Colorado</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=EVERETT813@aol.com
href="mailto:EVERETT813@aol.com">EVERETT813@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, December 05, 2004 12:09
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Practice of Peace in
Sweden--A reflection on the Issue</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000
size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Thomas: is anyone dealing with the question "If war
and violence are so horrible and are what we </FONT><FONT face=Geneva
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><I>don't want</I></FONT><FONT
face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">, why are we not
</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><I>already</I></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"> peaceful?" Who wants violence? Who wants
war? Why do we have war when few people want it?<BR><BR>Joelle and I
have been noodling that question around for a while. We think it comes
down to an inability to agree on whose 'story' is going to be told and lived
and our inability to allow someone else to live their story their way and for
them to allow us the same freedom. We seem to have to have forced
agreements, codified into laws, which further entangle us (great article
recently in NY Times about how laws are strangling education in the US) in
disputes. Lawyers abound. Lawsuits follow.<BR><BR>Ex: North
Ireland. Whose story will be the dominant paradigm. Protestant or
Catholic? To which country do those counties owe allegiance? Why
is that a question? What laws and rules will be put in place that
reflect the different world views? What is the fighting </FONT><FONT
face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><I>about</I></FONT><FONT
face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">?<BR><BR>Ex:
Palestine. We could ask many questions of the same order. In fact,
wherever there is conflict, we can ask the question: whose story is
striving to be told, agreed on, and lived? Who is resisting the story
and why?<BR><BR>The issue might become: what does it take for a group of
human beings to allow and create enough space for freedom of choice (that
doesn't compromise someone else's freedom of choice) in how they live their
lives? What is the mental, emotional, spiritual construct
necessary? Is it even possible?<BR><BR>Ex: the dispute between religious
fundamentalists and others on what will be taught about evolution in the
United States. Is Darwin's theory a fantasy or do we have scientific
proof? (I think we do). What to do then about the slippery
argument of "Intelligent design" and what will be taught in our
schools?<BR><BR>That brings me back to the issue of consciousness, (the role
of the ego, shadow, etc.), the concepts of selfhood and a mass of other
considerations which roil our human relationships. <BR><BR>Which leads
me to the despairing question: Is peace even possible?? Are we
wasting our time talking about it or even trying to practice it?
If so, what should we be practicing instead? Maybe tolerance with
majority power, the rule of law, legal structures, prisons for lawbreakers,
etc., is the best we can do in our current state of conscious evolution and
we'd best be focusing on raising our own individual consciousness, tolerance
level and inner beingness and forget about peace as a target. Peace will
emerge when we emerge into a different state of being. Radical
thought.<BR><BR>These would be my reflections if I were there.<BR><BR>Paul
Everett</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT> * *
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