Inner Peace As World PeaceHow Can One Attain This Peace?God As Our True Self WithinGod As An Interconnectedness; Dissolving Our Illusions of SeparatenessGod As An Experience and As The Present MomentBringing It All Together For World PeaceCallie WithersFINAL EDGE PAPER11/28/03CHANGING THE WORLD FROM THE INSIDE OUT:A Look at Creating World Peace From Within, a Placeless Place WhereGod and Inner Peace Naturally DwellThe first World Conference on Religion and World Peace was held at Kyoto International Conference Hall, October 16-21, 1970 (Niwano 106). Thirty-nine countriessent over three hundred delegates and among the religions represented were Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Shinto, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Bahaism (ibid). Despite our continual efforts in attempting to create universal peace, everyday we still bear witness to social, religious, and world intolerance and our world is filled with uncertainty about terrorism and war. Truthfully, we have yet to actually approach this issue of world peace from a different angle: from the inside out, from the place that dwells deep within each of us. Miles we have run to attain answers in religions, countrieswe have fled to seek peace, and world meetings we have organized to discuss the issue ofuniversal tolerance amidst our differences, but we have yet to actually look deep within ourselves for peace and harmony by way of seeking God, our True Self. It is in this placeless place deep inside that we find answers that speak a universal language; we merge with that of the transcendent and feel a true peace with ourselves and all beings, 1one of the great manifestations of God. And ultimately, this inner peace provides a vital foundation for greater world peace. Using various ideas, quotes, and opinions from psychologists, and poets and spiritual mystics from various religions, I will attempt to shed light on the great importance of our own inner peace being essential for world peace to exist. From there, Iwill discuss the pathway to inner peace in explaining our collective need to spiritually alter our perceptions of the world: we must first understand God as a universal truth that lies at the heart of all religions, remaining beyond the divisions they incur. Then by discussing the transcendent nature of God and His various manifestations -- our true self, our deep connection with all beings, and our experience of Him and the present moment --, I will reveal how ultimately all these aspects of God are mere channels for us to commune with an inner peace as we commune with God Himself in the process. It is thisparadigm of understanding that in seeking God within and around in Her universally transcendent nature, we discover an inner peace which spreads like wildflowers, showering a greater peace into this world.Inner Peace As World PeaceThe Dalai Lama, a great spiritual leader in our world today, explains that world peace begins with us: “In the question of real, lasting world peace, the importance of individual responsibility is quite clear; an atmosphere of peace must first be created within ourselves, then gradually expanded to include our families, our communities, and ultimately the whole planet...If you have inner peace, you have world peace.”(qtd. in Kraft 2) 2Moreover, Weil explains in The Art of Living in Peace that in order for us to live inpeace, we must develop it on three levels -- the inner level first so that we are living in peace with ourselves, then the social level so that we are living in peace with others, and then finally the environmental level so that we are living in peace with nature and the world (Weil 40). It is natural that our inner state of being will manifest itself in the external world we live in, so it is essential that we each, as individuals, seek an internal peace. As Weil explains in The Art of Living in Peace, the contents of the preamble to UNESCO’sConstitution state that “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that peace must be constructed” (Weil 29). The seeds of violence and war are born in ourinner state of being with our thoughts and emotions, so in order for us to live in peace as a world, we must first develop it on the inside on the individual level. With a peace in our hearts, we bring a peace to our bodies and minds, contagiously affecting the hearts, bodies, and minds of others and of other entities, countries, and places. Obviously, peace is a cultural, judicial, political, social, and socio-economic phenomenon, but these are secondary to the importance of our inner state of stillness. In addition, Thich Nath Hanh, a great Buddhist Master of our time, describes the powerful effect being at peace has in changing the state of the world rather than using words, arguments, and tireless meetings to attack the issue of world peace:“There are so many peace organizations which do not have the spirit of peace themselves, and they even find it difficult working with other peace organizations. I think that if peace-workers are really peaceful and happy, they will radiate peace themselves. To educate people for peace we have two alternatives: to use words, or to be peaceful ourselves and to speak with our lives and our bodies. I think the second way is more effective.” 3(qtd. in Eppsteiner 37) He reveals the beauty in being at peace rather than just speaking words of peace. It’s almost as if words of peace have empty meanings if they don’t arrive into conversation with a peace in themselves; words that come from a peaceful person ring so much louder and this ring can truly change people. As Dr. Mark Abramson, the teacher of a Meditation Class here at Stanford, explains, “with inner peace, the world can truly be transformed” (interview). When we are in a place of inner love and light, peace naturally flows out of us on a human relationship level. Below, he provides an small-scale example from our everyday lives ofhow being at peace can change the world: “I truly feel that if everyone would instantaneously begin to love themselves, be more at peace, be kind and understanding of themselves, the world would change on a dime. The world would be transformed. How could people be unkind to one another when they themselves are in the state of peace, love, and kindness? Imagine that you’re driving in yourcar and in a state of mind that is internally joyful and peaceful. Your