The Adventures of Peacefull

28-30 September, San Jose, Costa Rica

I went to the Peace Centre in San Jose, Costa Rica and stayed in the Martin Luther King room which is next to the Gandhi room.  His pictures were around my bed.   I felt myself in the right place and I felt to be here a few days.  Sometimes I don’t allow money to be an issue if my feeling is to stay.

The next day I was considering going to the University of Peace but ended up trying to upload more material.  As a result I stayed around the peace centre.  This centre was set up by the Quakers and had photo’s of peace makers on the ceiling and various materials around the place.  There was a library for research, I do feel home here.  It is also a cheap place, US $20 per night compared to the usual price of around $40 or more.  So it is reasonable.  I was thinking how important peace centres are we do need more of them to awaken people to the critical importance of understanding peace.

Some people turned up and they were having a meeting.  They were peace activists from universities and various other places.  I told them I am a peace educator and would like to sit in on their meeting.  The meeting discussed issues of concern to the peace movement.  Issues I was familiar with.  I found myself towards the end having an inner urge to speak up about my inner peace work.  I have the strongest feeling to discuss positive peace.  I understand the fears, concerns and realities of what is happening in the world (in part).  I am not an expert but I am aware.  My feeling is to find ways to creatively express.  For me I have no opponent and this is because I see the diversity.  Even someone who I completely disagree with I am learning to be able to suspend judgement.  My feeling is to listen carefully to help me to learn more about them.  I told them about Byron Katie and the importance of inner inquiry, she states all wars can be on paper if leaders put their negative thoughts down and inquire into the truth.  I explained the importance of positivity not as denial but as a state of joy and tried to explain the importance of creating the future you want.  This is because from focus you create the reality.  If people keep focussing on what is wrong this is very disempowering and can be very draining.  The media is a good example of this.    The type of thinking I am advocating is positive, humorous and there is no enemy.  I know Gandhi never saw anyone as an enemy he saw an opponent.  He always treated the ‘other’ with respect.  The new type of thinking works from inner awareness.   To my surprise there was silence as they were listening.  It is not always easy to hear a person talk about positivity when facing such difficult subjects but I respected their attitudes.  One woman felt challenged to understand it and did see it as a form of denial.  I was grateful for her honesty but my stance is not to convince anyone of this but for people to find what works for them.  For me it is about resonance.  I don’t pick up new ideas unless I feel resonance.  As a clown I find  I love and accept all people and for me it is a model for unconditional love.   This is not skipping through the tulips in a euphoric hue although for some it might be.  For me it is learning to love the person and question the behaviour.  Even there I start to look within.  I really feel for me the way is inner inquiry.  I believe as I develop inner peace my response to the world becomes peaceful and the world in turn does.  I do think the inner is a reflection of the outer.  

I spoke with a guy today who was saying as a scientist he saw it all as energy.  He said love is the energy.  This came from a scientist.  Anyone curious about this only has to look up Dr. Emoto and investigate ‘messages in water’, you will find our thoughts affect the molecular structure of water and when negative, it is erratic, when positive symmetrical (stable).  Hence when you get sick that can often come from sadness or unhappiness, wellness promotes good health.  It does make sense when you think about it.  Sometimes it can be easy to blame others for our upsets but ultimately the thought originates in our head.  What I like about Byron Katie is that she says she trusts that person to do what he/she does.  This is acceptance.  She is not resisting them.  She is accepting reality as it is in the now moment.  This is a new way of perceiving.  The reality of no past and no future, these are memories or concepts.  The moment of now is where it is actually happening, this is where power is.  The power of love is a resonance that keeps things together it is a vibration of unity, that is why the most powerful people in the world were very loving.  Power as we identify it today as violence, control and power over are actually not strong at all.  I did explain this at the meeting.  The real power is self understanding, love and joy.  This is what brings me peace and I see how it connects people automatically when you give them a big (genuine) smile.

So I spent a few days as the peace centre.  The peace group asked me to run a workshop on peace clowning.  So I showed them a slide show I created of my world trip so far.  And I took them through some laughter workshops and my philosophy of clowning and how it empowers people, it is not only ‘feel good’ stuff but it unlocks creativity and confidence.  I also showed them resistance and flow as concepts.  The flow is not fighting people it is just learning and listening and moving in accordance with energy.  If someone concerns you, you may feel to move away from them, but not with negativity just with awareness that it feels better to do that.  Learning to live life fully is about harmony with ‘what is’ it is not about forcing, controlling or resisting the reality of what is around you.  This does not mean you condone violence or abuse but from a creative space you know what to do.  I have chosen to not allow myself to stay in abuse, self love moves me on.  If I saw a person in abuse I may help them to become aware or through love offer them a place.  When you work from love the answers come creatively.  It is not forced it is natural.  To trust you will know what to do.  That seems to work I am discovering.  Just allow life to show you.

So I did my show, had some people from Quakers, clowns in hospitals, couple of travelers and an American guy who had been with a guy called Stephen Hawking who is also a clown into peace.  I was keen to learn more about him as we may be similar.  I was also interested in talking more to a guy about a love foundation where giving is the focus rather than taking.  I love that idea and would enjoy exploring it.

I finished my day deciding to stay here one more night but up at 3.45am to go to the airport by 5pm and on the plane by 7am.  I am going to Lima tomorrow via US.  So that will be an interesting flight. 

I went out for coffee with another American guy staying here.  He has traveled the world and is a gentle and kind person.  we went for a walk and had coffee.  I had another last look at San Jose.  What was interesting was we passed a restaurant.  My first night here I had dinner there and my last night there it was again, I felt the circle complete.  I see life in spirals or circles and I tell people the spiral is the blue print of life.  It is the shape of galaxies and we move through life ever growing.  It is a symbol I saw at some of the sacred sites.  I find it very interesting. 

So anyway, it has been great.  Each day feels like a week when you live this way, so packed with new things ad expanding horizons, can’t imagine anything else I would rather do or I should say ‘be’. 

I am awaiting to find out if I have scholarship for the School of the Work.  I feel the tears well up when I think of it, that for me is always a sign of a spiritual inner feeling.  So I pay attention.

Looking forward to seeing Machu Picchu and wondering how I will feel.

I ended my night feeling excited about life as I lay awake until around 2am. I was so happy I felt myself very awake. I felt the love around myself that comes from the joy of being myself. It was so strong that I felt the tears of gratitude come. I know in my heart I am on the right track in my life. For me, this is my direction, to love myself and others. This for me is the way of peace.

A last thought… peace is acceptance in my feeling of ‘what is’.  As I know that there is some sort of god or higher energy (intelligence). For me I feel this life has a purpose.  I felt it clearly in my own life and too many things have happened for me to say it is chance or coincidence.  Therefore I am learning to trust whatever comes and my wish is to accept all in peace.  We live in a beautiful world, just imagine if everyone came from a space of love, just imagine the potential, the work we would do, the food we would eat and the relationships we would nurture.  If the opposite is possible then so is peace.    We just have to notice it is here and make it visible.

The clowning is one way…. much love and peace to you. 


Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

“Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.”

Random video from the Gallery

Gandhi Ashram

Archives