Peace Pilgrim

[Guest guest]

>From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim"

walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to

"remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until

given shelter and fasting until given food." In the course of her 28 year

pilgrimage she touched the hearts, minds, and lives of thousands of individuals

all across North America. Her message was both simple and profound. It continues

to inspire people all over the world:

"This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good,and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

Below are some quotes by Peace Pilgrim that go straight to the heart, some of

them have been taken from her book "Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own

Words". I would heartily recommend this book to you - it gave me immense

inspiration and joy.

Quotes and material sourced from: http://www.peacepilgrim.com/index.htm

Sairam,Mangala

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"No one walks so safely as one who walks humbly and harmlessly with great love

and great faith. For such a person gets through to the good in others (and

there is good in everyone), and therefore cannot be harmed. This works between

individuals, it works between groups and it would work between nations if

nations had the courage to try it."

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"No outward thing - nothing, nobody from without - can hurt me inside,

psychologically. I recognized that I could only be hurt psychologically by my

own wrong actions, which I have control over; by my own wrong reactions (they

are tricky, but I have control over them too); or by my own inaction in some

situations, like the present world situation, that need action from me. When I

recognized all this how free I felt! And I just stopped hurting myself."

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"The most important part of it was not the phenomena: the important part of it

was the realization of the oneness of all creation. Not only all human beings -

I knew before that all human beings are one. But now I knew also a oneness with

the rest of creation. The creatures that walk the earth and the growing things

of the earth. The air, the water, the earth itself. And most wonderful of all,

a oneness with that which permeates all and binds all together and gives life

to all. A oneness with that which many would call God."

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"Do you know God? Do you know there is a power greater than ourselves which

manifests itself within us as well as everywhere else in the universe? This I

call God. Do you know what it is to know God, to have God's constant guidance,

a constant awareness of God's presence? To know God is to reflect love toward

all people and all creations. To know God is to feel peace within - a calmness,

a serenity, an unshakeableness which enables you to face any situation. To know

God is to be so filled with joy that it bubbles over and goes forth to bless

the world."

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"Ultimate peace begins within; when we find peace within there will be no more

conflict, no more occasion for war. If this is the peace you seek, purify your

body by sensible living habits, purify your mind by expelling all negative

thoughts, purify your motives by casting out any ideas of greed or

self-striving and by seeking to serve you fellow human beings, purify your

desires by eliminating all wishes for material possessions or

self-glorification and by desiring to know and do God's will for you. Inspire

others to do likewise."

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"For light I go directly to the Source of light, not to any of the reflections.

Also I make it possible for more light to come to me by living up to the

highest light I have. You cannot mistake light coming from the Source, for it

comes with complete understanding so that you can explain it and discuss it. I

recommend that way to all who can take it. And great blessings lie in store for

those who are wise enough to quickly put into practice the highest light that

comes to them."

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"The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent

simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in

one’s life. For me this began with a discovery of the meaninglessness of

possessions beyond my actual and immediate needs. As soon as I had brought

myself down to need level, I began to feel a wonderful harmony in my life

between inner and outer well-being, between spiritual and material well-being."

 

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"For those of you who are seeing the spiritual life, I recommend these four

daily practices: Spend time alone each day in receptive silence. When angry, or

afflicted with any negative emotion, take time to be alone with God. (Do not

talk with people who are angry; they are irrational and cannot be reasoned

with. If you or they are angry, it is best to leave and pray.) Visualize God's

light each day and send it to someone who needs help. Exercise the body, it is

the temple of the soul."

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"Pure love is a willingness to give, without a thought of receiving anything in

return. Love can save the world from nuclear destruction. Love God: turn to God

with receptiveness and responsiveness. Love your fellow human beings: turn to

them with friendliness and givingness. Make yourself fit to be called a child

of God by living the way of love."

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On groups and prayer

"All right prayer has good effect, but if you give your whole life to the prayer

you multiply its power... No one really knows the full power of prayer. Of

course, there is a relationship between prayer and action. Receptive prayer

result in an inner receiving, which motivates to right action."

"You can visualize God's light each day and send it to someone who needs help.

Your divine nature must reach out and touch the divine nature of another.

Within you is the light of the world, it must be shared with the world.

Visualize a golden light within you and spread it out. First to those about you

- your circle of friends and relatives - and then gradually to the world. Keep

on visualizing God's golden light surrounding our earth. "

"Never underestimate the power of a loosely knit group working for a good cause.

All of us who work for peace together, all of us who pray for peace together,

are a small minority, but a powerful spiritual fellowship. Our power is beyond

our numbers."

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On Problems:

"It is through solving problems correctly that we grow spiritually. We are never

given a burden unless we have the capacity to overcome it. If a great problem is

set before you, this merely indicates that you have the great inner strength to

solve a great problem. There is never really anything to be discouraged about,

because difficulties are opportunities for inner growth, and the greater the

difficulty the greater the opportunity for growth."

"Concealed in every new situation we face is a spiritual lesson to be learned

and a spiritual blessing for us if we learn that lesson. It is good to be

tested. We grow and learn through passing tests. I look upon all my tests as

good experiences. Before I was tested, I believed I would act in a loving or

non-fearing way. After I was tested, I knew! Every test turned out to be an

uplifting experience. And it is not important that the outcome be according to

our wishes."

"Difficulties with material things often come to remind us that our

concentration should be on spiritual things instead of material things.

Sometimes difficulties of the body come to show that the body is just a

transient garment, and that the reality is the indestructible essence which

activates the body. But when we can say, 'Thank God for problems which are sent

for our spiritual growth.' They are no longer problems. They then become

opportunities."

"Although others may feel sorry for you, never feel sorry for yourself: it has a

deadly effect on spiritual well-being. Recognize all problems, no matter how

difficult, as opportunities for spiritual growth, and make the most of these

opportunities."

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"Question: Why don't you accept money?

Peace Pilgrim's Answer: Because I talk about spiritual truth, and spiritual

truth should never be sold - those who sell it injure themselves spiritually. I

accept money that comes in through the mail (without being solicited), but I do

not use it for myself: I use it for printing and postage. Those who attempt to

buy spiritual truth are attempting to get it before they are ready. In this

wonderfully well-ordered universe, when they are ready it will be given."

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"It concerns me when I see a small child watching the hero shoot the villain on

television. It is teaching the small child to believe that shooting people is

heroic. The hero just did it and it was effective. It was acceptable and the

hero was well thought of afterward.If enough of us find inner peace to affect

the institution of television, the little child will see the hero transform the

villain and bring him to a good life. He'll see the hero do something

significant to serve fellow human beings. So little children will get the idea

that if you want to be a hero you must help people."

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"If you are free, I recommend a hiking trip on a wilderness footpath. How

inspiring it is to walk all day in the sunshine and sleep all night under the

stars. What a wonderful experience in simple, natural living. Since you carry

your food, sleeping equipment, etc., on your back, you learn quickly that

unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. You soon realize what the

essentials of life are--such as warmth when you are cold, a dry spot on a rainy

day, the simplest food when you are hungry, pure cool water when you are

thirsty. You soon put material things in their proper place, realizing that

they are there for use, but relinquishing them when they are not useful. You

soon experience and learn to appreciate the great freedom of simplicity."

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