Collective Mind of Peace

featured image | Photo by Christian Wiediger

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We don’t often think of Peace as a presence. And yet, we can tell when we are in the presence of Peace.

If you have ever entered a home where a family is “at war”, you pick up immediately on the energy – the tension and fear. Some of us grew up in families like that. Maybe you have also experienced households that exude harmony and peace. There is a feeling of joy and openness. People, and even other species, find relief and refuge there.

What if Peace is not just an absence of conflict but an actual entity that shapes and is shaped by our collective consciousness? In this way, Peace is not just a personal experience or an agreement among people, but a broader, more universal condition that manifests through the collective consciousness of a family, community or society.

An important paper by Otto Scharmer and Eva Pomeroy explores a similar concept. It introduces “fourth-person knowing” as a new form of epistemology distinct from first-, second-, and third-person perspectives, “knowing that comes through me but is not of me.” This form of knowing, they suggest, can unlock new potentials and possibilities that were previously out of reach, leading to significant and transformative impacts.

Can this recognition that flows through us, yet originates beyond us, lead to a synchronization of actions and attitudes that support the emergence of Peace? Arkan Lushwala, an Andean ceremonial leader hints at this potential in his book, The Spirit of the Glacier Speaks, when he explains how we are creators of spirits:

…every living being in nature has a spirit, and there are spirits that are much older than humanity. The spirits that humans create are born from strong beliefs, grand ideas, visions, prayers and collective devotional practices that make us constantly invoke their names. That spirit offers us many advantages since it enables us to have a dialogue…

If the spirit of Peace could speak, what would she say right now?

Kosmos explores this theme in various contexts, from the collective memory of resistance in Haiti to kinship among whales; from the enduring presence of the Nile River amid the crisis in Sudan, to the ways karma aligns our actions with collective consciousness.

News and social media bring the horrors of war much closer to us. We must use the constant reminders of war to help us cultivate a flower in the sea of flames, to evoke, inhabit and enact the collective Mind of Peace.

R. Fabian, for Kosmos

Kosmos Journal Volume 24 Issue 4

Sense-Making

Inner Dimensions of Systems Transformation

By Earth4All

At both individual and societal levels, it’s possible to develop the cognitive, emotional, and relational capacities to better comprehend and navigate complexity. Wisdom traditions have long advocated the societal benefits of cultivating heart and mind, and contemporary research is beginning to catch up. Science shows that adults develop psychologically throughout life, that practice can dramatically alter brain structure and activity, and that inner development programs for individuals and teams can have profound positive effects on inner capacities.

Advocacy

Understanding Sudan through the Eyes of a Mother and Novelist

By Reem Gaafar

"Decades of conflict have left Sudan in a state of crisis, with millions displaced and facing starvation. The global community's indifference allows the war to persist. It impacts everything. Every waking moment of our lives is now just about this. There is a contrast between North and South Sudan. It’s not just about what happened during colonial times, or what happened during independence. It is this and more."

Nature

Reestablishing Kinship with All Life in a Time of Chaos

By Leah Rampy

"This powerful being, so seldom seen by most of us, leaves us breathless. I look at the faces, each one with huge smiles of pure joy. “Did you see that? Did you see that?” The sky, the sea, the birds, the humpbacks, all create a symphony of beauty and connection that captures us fully and completely. Everything exists only in this time, this place."

Keynote

Karma, Wholeness and the Quest for a World at Peace

By Rev. Deborah Moldow

As institutions and nations face challenges, we must honestly assess our creations—both miraculous and disastrous...This journey toward peace on Earth requires everyone's commitment: those clearing their personal karma, those feeling the evolutionary call, and the new generations being born. We must embrace this rising spirit of oneness and commit at a soul level to healing the past and co-creating a shining new culture of peace.

Presencing

‘Fourth Person’ | Collective Sensing

By C. Otto Scharmer and Eva Pomeroy

The number one problem facing humanity today is our sense that we are powerless to change any of it. The old ways of knowing and acting in our world are no longer sufficient. Our systems are collapsing. If we are going to serve societal transformation in the face of this collapse, as we believe is fully possible, we need to draw on a new form of knowing—knowing for transformative action.

Decolonization

Haiti’s ‘Sin’ of Resistance

By Rann Miller

"Numerous reports and pictures of what’s happening in Haiti would have one believe that the Haitian people are incapable of running their own country and that an intervention from the “international community” is necessary. However, clarity comes by way of understanding history; history explains why, as Frederick Douglass said, Haiti has not yet been forgiven."