are you traveling north or south?

It all boils down to war OR peace two simple concepts that play out over and over again in our world

But here’s the thing …. There can only be one or the other There is no such thing as war AND peace

And that’s the way it is in our hearts

A feeling of war means we feel separate from the person we are with

Do you want to take from that person?

Do you want to hurt that person?

Do you want to see that person suffer?

In the book, Quest of a Teenage Mystic, this feeling of being separate from the other person is called traveling north (into a cold and barren blizzard)

A feeling of peace means we feel connected to the person we are with

You want to give to that person

You want to make them feel good and cared for

You want to stop their suffering

In the book, Quest of a Teenage Mystic, this feeling of being connected with the other person is called traveling south (into the warmth and light of the sun)

What does traveling north and south look like in everyday life?

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North

You’re having an argument and you know you’re right and you want to win

South

You’re having an argument and you want to figure out exactly what the other person is trying to say to you

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North

Someone hurt you on Facebook and you want to hurt them back

South

Someone hurt you on Facebook, and you choose not to hurt them back. Just because that person is choosing to travel north in their life doesn’t mean you have to make that choice in your life

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North

You want to be accepted and well-liked

South

You get outside of thinking about yourself, and recognize that others want to be accepted and well-liked, and your actions come from wanting to understand and give

The power that lies in traveling south is immense! As is the power of moving north! The choices you make to travel north or south, may seem small, but the results are massive

Remember I said you can only have war OR peace in your life?

It’s like you’re standing on one mountain or another

The mountain of peace and oneness

or

The mountain of war and separation

The sun is shining on the mountain of peace so action taken from this mountain results in warmth and love

The mountain of war has only a cold, northern wind blowing with lots of snow and ice, so any choice made from that mountain can only bring pain and suffering.

You see, if you keep making choices from oneness instead of separation, eventually that is all you will experience with those around you. People in your life will begin treating you with kindness, gentleness, and understanding.

It’s like a boomerang. A boomerang can’t come back to you if you’re not the person who sent it. And it has to come back to you if you’re the one who did send it. So ……. If your action is based on a feeling of being separate from a person and wanting to hurt them that will be the experience that comes back to you

If your action is based on a feeling of oneness – of being connected to a person,

that will be the experience that comes back to you

Now …….. This boomerang experience will not be immediate, because you are sending out war and peace in your heart everyday Some days you are sending out lots of love to those around you And some days you are sending out some pretty angry energy If you feel like your life is all chaos and makes no sense perhaps you are sending out all sorts of varied and different thought and emotion boomerangs so that is what has to come back to you

So what to do …….. Because you live in a world of time and space, very little happens immediately. You have to be consistent in this action of traveling south for a period of time, before the boomerang of oneness will come back to you. Begin by observing yourself – watch what emotion and action you are sending out each day Make your life a living laboratory and you are the scientist who is doing an experiment The first step you take is just to watch yourself as if there was a separate ‘you’ observing you Do this lightly and in a spirit of play When you see yourself send out something that is not good Love yourself and say ‘oops I’ll chose better next time’ This has to be done in a light spirit of love for yourself Or it won’t work Eventually, instead of realizing you sent out thoughts or actions of separation You will catch yourself before you do it That’s when you hold incredible power because now you can choose what you send out You can choose to create an experience of oneness and connectedness