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Kino's Yogi Assignment Blog

The Peaceful Solution

by Kino MacGregor

Every argument with your partner, every honk in a traffic jam and every annoying TV host gives you the chance to check in with yourself to see where you really stand on the inner plane of reality. It’s easy to postulate the choice of peace over war, but in the midst of a heated stand-off we are often more interested in being right than in being peaceful. Whenever you care more about the validity of your argument over the connection with the person you’re with, the hard truth of the matter is that you would rather be right than be at peace.

Some of the hardest words to utter in the midst of a disagreement are “You’re right” and “You have a point.” I don’t know what it is about acknowledging someone else’s point of view that is so terrifying to us. It seems like any alternative threatens to unearth the core of our identity. As such it’s hard not to segregate the world into an “us versus them” paradigm that sections off people who are like you from people who are not like you. It’s easy to judge others, blame them and make them wrong, but harder to point the finger at yourself, take responsibility and see the solution. Yet yoga asks you to do just that.

When you begin the path of yoga you begin the path of self-inquiry. In such a field there is no room for the justifications of fear driven emotions. Instead there is only the realization that all spiritual teaching seeks to give, that is, that we are all truly one. It is the experience of oneness that inspires conscious action, compassionate dialogue and mutual understanding. It is this perspective that truly creates peace. A Course in Miracles says that the best defense is to drop all attack and in such a way do we create a bond of unity between all beings.

It takes a great mind to see unity where there is division. It takes a truly enlightened perspective to see peace where there is war. It takes immeasurable courage to see healing where there is hurt. It takes a noble spirit to see hope where there is despair. And it takes limitless power to see love where there is hate. Whatever you see in others reflects clearly what you see most in yourself. The world and its multifarious people are your greatest mirror.