We Once Lived Without War

One of the most important books of the past century (according to Ashley Montague and me) is “The Chalice and the Blade” by Riane Eisler.  It’s a historical, anthropological study of our history which proves that humans once lived without weapons and without war.  I think that’s a really important fact to know.

If we lived without war in the past, we CAN do it again.  It seems many people believe that violence is inherent in humanity — but it’s not.  It’s learned.  Don’t they say that if you know history, you’re less likely to repeat it?  Well, I don’t know about that, but I think knowing that patriarchy, and our culture of domination and violence, is only about 5,000 years old comforts me.  It’s a brief speck of time in the continuum….and we can feel the tides turning to a time of growing cooperation and sharing.

Until 1973, it wasn’t illegal for men to rape their wives. Until 1920, women didn’t have the right to vote. Not long before that, women didn’t have rights to own property or go to school.  While women are gaining certain rights, the worldwide scale of violence against women doesn’t seem to be receding, like you’d think it would if women were truly empowered.

Then again, women and children aren’t the only victims. Violence affects all of us humans, and the rest of the planet as well. In fact, many believe that if we don’t stop the violence against the planet, all these other issues will just be academic, cause we won’t be here to see anything evolve to a higher consciousness.

What can we do?  Some well known person once said “when 10% of the world’s population meditates, we’ll have world peace” (not IF, but WHEN).  OK, this translates in my mind to mean that if we calm our busy minds, if we bring peace between our ears, our planet will be more peaceful as a result.   Believing this helps me make the time to meditate.

Hearts Aligned for Peace