Exhaling, taking a moment to actually allow my heart to break open. It is a time to cultivate my inner peace so that I can remember that humanity is kindness and peace.
War is such a disconnect from the essence of our true nature. We are living in the shadow of ourselves and how painful it is to be witnessing the horrors of living in this turmoil of discord. So many demonstrations with our fellow Ukrainians in our own country.
The heaviness of the situation is being lived in our own neighborhoods. We are affected not just in our global economics but in our acceptance within our global humanity.
People are dying and we are all suffering. This has to be a time of rebuilding and restructuring our commitment to all souls. These brave individuals of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, and our own country are rejecting the horrors of this situation.
We have entered into the Year of the Water Tiger according to the Asian calendar. This water tiger is stalking the earth. The year is filled with the rage of fire with the unconscious emotions of the waters. The moon will pull on us as the sun will take action for change.
The inner self is seeking balance within to calm the unsteadiness of the ego. Be aware of thoughts that will become words. Speak from the ease of stillness.
“Om shanti, shanti, shanti,” we chant shanti three times. There are not three types of shanti. There is only one shanti, but there are three types of problems that can deny shanti. Let there be freedom from those disturbances of the mind. Let problems not arise from the forces over which we have no control, adhidaivika; from the beings around us, adhibhautika; or from factors centered on ourselves, adhyatmka.
The first set of problems comes from sources over which we absolutely have no control whatsoever, like a tornado or earthquake. We can only protect ourselves from it.
The second source of agitation is any kind of disturbance from the external world, political, social, or domestic which is an obstruction to our ease. We pray for shanti from the obstacles that we do not want to have.
The third shanti is to take care of problems centered within ourselves. These can be physical, mental, or emotional. We pray to balance our reactive mind to balance our system for clarity of perspective.
Let us all come together and use the mantra as an opportunity to practice our own peaceful ceasefire.
Please be kind to each other and appreciate being present to this day. Let us share in a collective meditation for the entire world to be support for the brave people protesting in Russia and hold compassion for what the lack of freedom really looks like. We are feeling everyone’s pain.
In addition, here are organizations that I have researched that are also ways to help:
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Ukraine’s Voices of Children Foundation & Longwood Care combine efforts to support children and families affected by the war with GoFundMe.
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Save the Children is raising money for the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Save the Children has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, including in the conflict-impacted regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Currently, teams are working with Ukrainian migrants and asylum seekers in refugee camps in north-eastern Romania and assessing needs in Poland and Hungary. 7.5 million Ukrainian children and families are in mortal danger.
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CARE is raising money for its Ukraine Crisis Fund, which is aiming to reach 4 million with immediate aid and recovery, food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support, and cash assistance — prioritizing women and girls, families, and the elderly.
In love and light,
Laura Jane
