Twenty years ago, in the fall of 1987, our first newsletter offered these “Symptoms of Inner Peace” garnered from an unidentified author. When Saskia Davis contacted us a few months ago, we were delighted to learn about the source of that early article. We find it as insightful and refreshing today as we did in 1987 and can now offer it to you again with an update and some background by the author.
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging other people.
A loss of interest in judging self.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of interest in conflict.
A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
WARNING:
If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.
INNER PEACE UPDATE: October 2007
The epidemic predicted in 1984 in THE SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE, continues to spread exponentially! It has crossed international borders and can be found thriving on every continent. When the desire for peace strikes human hearts, its victims find themselves craving more and more. And, as its infectious stage seems to be indefinite, it is increasingly being spread quietly from heart to heart, continuing to threaten the international status quo of conflict.
HISTORY
I wrote THE SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE in 1984, when I was the executive director of the Northwest Center For Attitudinal Healing. Our center was founded on principles of Inner Peace as described in the book Love is Letting Go of Fear by Dr. Gerald Jampolski, and modeled after the Center For Attitudinal Healing which he had founded in Tiburon, California.
As a result of a promise to myself, made many years earlier, to ”follow my passion,” I found myself in the role of executive director. The promise predated but was similar to the admonition by social anthropologist Joseph Campbell, to “follow your bliss.” “Following my passion” meant listening carefully for an inner spark of excitement, then deliberately honoring whatever it pertained to, and allowing myself to be surprised by where it would lead. This process had taken me on a journey which had prepared me quite uniquely and exactly for my role at the Center.
In 1984, as a nurse, and representing the Center, I attended a conference that focused on Inner Peace from a healthcare point of view. I found it incredibly exciting to be in the company of Inner Peace-minded healthcare professionals; and I came away from that event with the hopes expressed in THE SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE.
Upon publication, it became immediately apparent that “SYMPTOMS” would go far and I soon was being approached by others wanting permission to republish it. As time went on, I received fewer and fewer requests, but occasionally heard of “sightings” from the far corners of the earth. As the years went by, I seldom thought about it anymore. So, when I decided to Google the title a few months ago, it was quite a thrill to find it posted on hundreds, possibly thousands of websites.
Since that time, it has been a truly enriching and heartwarming experience to visit the range of websites and to be in correspondence with many of their owners. That the desire for Inner Peace has infected so many has re-ignited my initial optimism for transformation of the world through transformation of the hearts of individuals. I have begun to perceive us all as a spontaneous, grassroots movement for Inner Peace.
