Editorial: Creating Peace in the Third Millennium

Our last issue suggested that peace would come from the cooperation between the indigenous and the civilized worlds . . . that ancient wisdom and modern understanding needed each other, if we are to birth a healthy and harmonious new world. Cooperation is necessary because the world is pregnant with a new paradigm to experience Life. This imminent paradigm shift is obvious to those who simply extend their heads above the crowd and see the bigger picture of unfolding events.

In the January Spirit of Ma'at article entitled ''Spirit of the Shuar,'' we learn that a young Shuar, living between the two worlds, believes that war, as taught by his father and his father's father, is a way of keeping balance in the human race. This point of view illuminates the ancient beliefs of the indigenous, headhunting Shuar of the Amazon jungle. And – at least in the Amazon – this way did bring balance for hundreds of years. But will it now?

In the past we have chosen war as a method to solve our differences. Is the solution worth the process? The human pain and misery that war has caused is incalculable. The ancient wisdom that continually pulls man back to war perhaps has now reached its zenith with the conception of weapons that can literally destroy the planet itself.

How will the Earth avoid becoming a victim of its own progeny? In this issue of the Spirit of Ma'at, we will look into the near future to see if answers to this question are germinating in the minds and hearts of men and women.

There are many trends in our societies today that potentially will alter our world from our familiar social, political, economic landscape into something that may include peace as a way of life – if for no other reason than simply out of necessity. As an example of the kind of thinking that sees this possibility, let's listen to what one magazine focused on the future has to say.

THE FUTURIST, which can be seen at wfs.org, expresses the belief that "war may end" in the future – which means that peace would of necessity become a way of life. In its ''Brief Trend Analysis,'' this magazine offers five reasons why peace will prevail, stating, "In the process of selecting the year's most-intriguing forecasts, the editors of THE FUTURIST identified several promising trends that may lead to the end of war." The article goes on to cite the proportionally fewer number of young people, the increased use of non-lethal weapons (computer jamming, for example), the globalization of the economy, the increase of peaceful communication among diversified peoples (mainly via the Internet), and the increased decentralization of government (see complete list.)

The above are ideas that may or may not manifest. But it is clear that, because of the rapid changes in communication, the world is becoming smaller and irrevocably interlinked economically, politically, and socially. We adamantly believe that the World Wide Web is indeed birthing a world brain which will eventually lead to a single spirit directing the course of human activity. We believe that this brain will be a planetary organ, with each human being as an individual cell, and that the database that the World Wide Web comprises will become the memories and knowledge of this global brain.

Is the life of a planet essentially different from the life of a person? Do planets have organs? Where is this experience of ours going? What are we becoming? And – most important for the Earth – will it lead to world peace and cooperation? Will we survive our own brilliance?

What purpose will be served if we reach to the nearby planets, perhaps even to the stars, and in so doing, dream a dream that becomes a nightmare. We are the dreamers of the dream. In our cooperation between ancient wisdom and modern understanding, we must find a way that includes peace. It is we who choose the dream. We are the power that creates this reality.

In love and service,

Drunvalo