I live opposite a National Park that is called the  Dandenongs in Victoria, Australia. A few weeks ago, I drove my car to the top of One Tree Hill, some 5 minutes drive away and parked it there.  I felt in need of some peace and quiet, so I selected a forest track and started walking.  After some 30 minutes, I reached a spot where I saw a very small track leading away from the main one.  I explored this and barely 3 minutes later this track ended and I sat down.

Suddenly, I became aware of movement in the trees.  I noted small birds flitting to and fro and from time to time I could hear twittering.  I focused my attention on the trees and noted also multi colored birds, Parakeets and Rosellas.  I then became aware of the wind soughing through the top of the trees.  Small whisps of fluffy clouds were visisble.  It was pleasantly warm.  Then I heard "thump, thump, thump" and knew, although I did not see it, that a kangaroo was going about its business nearby.  Then a Lyrebird came briefly in view and disappeared again in the shrubs.  I heard insects buzzing all over the place.  A line of ants were parading in front of me on their way to who knows where.  Wild Rhododendrons displayed beautiful flowers and the smell of eucalyptus hung heavy in the air.  I was enthralled at the beauty of the landscape around me.  I could see the King Lake Mountains between the trees and below me, at some 35 km distance, I saw Melbourne centre with its tall buildings shrouded in a haze.

Before I knew it, a full hour had passed and I had no recollection of the fact that I had been sitting there all the time.  Spiritual teachers will tell you that I must have in the Present, in the timeless Now.  Time then ceases to have meaning.  When in the Present, you don't think of the past nor of the future.  You just are and take in the beauty of the landscape.  My thinking restarted as soon as I started to move but I was grateful for that hour of peace and quiet.

Tags: Spiritual

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I am full with questions and very short on answers. I often wonder:

• Why nations wage war, when history shows that everything returns almost invariably to its former status quo after a war has finished.
• Why people feel inclined to judge each other.
• Why there are so many murders and acts of violence.
• Why there are so many religions instead of one universal one that espouses belief in one God so that there would be no excuse to wage war in the name of a Supreme Being.
  
• Why there are so many thieves and criminals in our midst.
• Why God created a world populated by beings with so much propensity towards violence.
• Why, if God indeed exists, has He made it so difficult for people to perceive his existence or the real purpose of our lives here on earth.
• Why God created a place for us to live in that is so dangerous. Think of the earth quakes, hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, floods, mudslides, tsunamis. The list is very long indeed.
• Why I have to gamble with my life, every time when I drive my car.
• Why there are so many illnesses and diseases. Who or what created these?
• Why are so many people depressed, anxious, or suffer from a whole host of other disorders that wreak havoc in their lives.
• Why there are so many languages in this world. You may well argue that different races developed in different parts of the world. However, how could this be? If this were by design, what useful purpose might this serve?

This list could be expanded exponentially. Now that I am retired, I am no closer to being able to answer these questions than when I was half a century youngerCan you imagine how beautiful this world would be if there were no more wars, no more criminal activities, no more false religions (you determine which ones are false), no more anxiety. Instead there could be a state of bliss for every living being on this planet, if only people recognised once and for all that this planet is all we have for now and that extending love to everyone would be infinitely more preferable to states of hate and other harmful ones.

I KNOW! DON'T SAY IT! I AM ONLY DREAMING! And....I probably can come up with a seemingly intelligent answer to each point that I raised but these answers may not necessarily be correct. Will your answers be correct?

Tags: Peace

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