peace – Dr. Bairavee Balasubramaniam PhD: The Sky Priestess

Silence can be a powerful tool of protest through disengagement, but it can also be a sign of apathy, or of having been subjugated, your voice lost.

Despite having a PhD in the subject, I rarely speak about politics unless it’s in an article I write, or at a conference. I find it to be a subject that tends to polarize rather than unify. That being said, politics is woven into the world, and our personal lives in ways and levels that make it impossible to avoid.

Right now feels like one of those times where remaining silent would be apathetic.

On my page The Goddess, The Serpent and The Sea: Building Pathways of Light, I posted a meme that essentially condemned the situation in Gaza – asserting that standing in solidarity with the lives lost was not the same as hating either side. I liked it as it was a statement of empathy and solidarity without judgment. (We have enough of the latter in this world, and too little of the former).

I got two interesting responses to it: One, was a lady whom I’d never heard being aggressive, telling me that the extremists on the Palestinian side would kill me (us, the collective ‘you’) after they’d killed all the Jews. The second, was someone who’d posted a video of an son of a general in the Israeli army speaking out against the killings.

I was grateful for the second comment as it was a sign that not all Jews supported the conflict – many others are making similar efforts to put the word out there. This knowledge helps one de-link the actions of a particular military and/or government from the faith and ethnicity they are associated with. It also slows the growth and prevalence of insidious generalizations that equate people of a certain faith with aggression and war. (And it’s not just about the Judaism, I take that stance when any faith, religion and spiritual path is involved).

Equally, I was grateful for the first comment, as it was a reminder for me to get out of my silence and speak. This was my reply:

Hate manifests hate. Basic spiritual principle. By hating them, you do not change or help the situation.

I should add – By refusing to hate, you do not condone or support unjust actions. Too many people believe they must hate one side or another to support the opposite party.

If we are truly honest in our spiritual paths – we have to ask ourselves – can the Path of Peace be forged by Hatred?

I say this as a priestess, political scholar and as a Tamil woman – I am the daughter of a race that was raped and slaughtered in Sri Lanka in an act of genocide in its own right that has yet to be fully acknowledged.

Blessings to all,
Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD
www.bairaveebalasubramaniam.com

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Image: Artist Unknown. Originally on: http://mepeace(dot)org/profiles/blogs/palestine-post

Update: It has come to my attention that the video of the son of the general may be a hoax. The idea that not all Israelis and Jews support military action on Gaza is, however, a valid one. 5,000 attended this rally in Tel Aviv, protesting for peace between Israel and Paleston: http://972mag.com/no-more-deaths-israelis-protest-the-gaza-war/94380/

Peace and Joy and Love are, at the end of the day words which we use to communicate a certain feeling to others. But the experience of that feeling is different for all, and whilst so many of us speak about peace – how often have we felt it in our lives? And in some cases, if at all?

A SUGGESTION:

Find a quiet space. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. As you inhale let your rib cage rise up, as you exhale, back down. Your stomach/belly appears to go in when you inhale and out when you exhale. Let that happen on its own, don’t force it.

So when you’re in a natural rhythm of deep breath – and your mind is focused on your breath, allow yourself to remember and experience what you need to – know that you are safe throughout the process.

For those who use protective techniques, you might want to visualize a bubble of white, impenetrable light around you (or the violet flame, or the Golden Ray). You might also want to try grounding with the Earth, visualizing roots from the base of your Feet, connecting with the Heart and Core of the Planet – so you’re connected at both ends.

You may want to visualize a flow of white light from above, filling you, and the nourishing red energies from the fiery core of the Earth and Her Love, filling your through your roots, into the base of your feet and into you.

(If you’re not comfortable or not experienced with this, do whatever makes you feel safe and comfortable).

As you feel safe and able to experience whatever you need to, and know that you are protected and loved, Ask Yourself: What Is Peace? Or, What makes me feel peaceful?

Let the memory or emotion or sensation fill you with a sense of being at One with Everything. Calm, Aware, Awake – knowing that you are Divinely guided, and protected. Knowing that you are One with All.

It’s okay if things come up, let them just pass through. Once you find that state of calm, connected awareness, let it permeate through your entire body. Let yourself stay in that center of Peace.

You are flowing, you are connected, you are in tune with the Divine – in the Universe and in yourself.

Perhaps it’s a memory, or a song, or an image, or a knowing of some kind that makes you feel peaceful.

Find what that is. If nothing comes up, don’t get frustrated. If the opposite comes up, perhaps parts of you are trying to tell you something.

Once you are ready (in case any of you have astral traveled in the process), tell yourself, at the count of 3, I will be back in my body, whole, blessed, grounded and connected to my essence.

Then count, 1, 2, 3.

Keep your eyes closed, move slowly, rub your eyelids, and allow yourself to emerge from your meditate state.

Slowly. There’s no rush.

When it feels right – record your experience in some way, if you feel moved to do so. Whether it’s a written, spoken, or crystalline record (holding a piece of clear quartz can help it ‘remember’ vibrations).

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If this sounds good to you – go right ahead and do it. If not, leave it it be.

Do it when it feels right for you to do so x

Blessings to all,
Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam

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Image: Meditation Harmony Peace Crystal
By Cornelia Kopp (Flickr: meditation) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons