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In case you haven't noticed, there's a battle brewing, and the pot is beginning to boil.

People are feeling enough is enough on a whole range of issues involving government, social responsibility, and the influence of money and power over the conduct and course of our common affairs.

Today I hope you will allow me to share some thoughts on a topic that is quite elusive to many of us – peace. I am not referring to the peace of nations, though the cloud of international strife hangs over our world, threatening to grow darker with each passing moment. No, the peace of which I speak is that which pervades us all, if we will but call upon it to come into our lives.

Peace. Pax. Pas. By so many names it is known around the world. Yet so few of us truly know peace. Yes, we have periods without personal conflict, but truly, is that peace? Do those times mean we are at peace within ourselves? Or are those moments we think of as peace just temporary lulls in the storms of the outer world?

Thomas Jefferson was a guy who also talked about individual self-determination as the key to creating a better world.

He espoused the idea all men were endowed by God with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Too bad he left slaves off that list. He didn't say much about women, either. I guess he wanted to leave some work for the rest of us.

"To build a new world, change the way you see the one you're in, and upon those new perspectives lay a foundation of principles and practices to support the one you crave." - John

We hold these truths to be self-evident, by which all who choose may live:

1. We are joined by common intention to build lives inspired by the voice that speaks within, and make whatever contribution it calls us to add to our world.
2. We seek to know ourselves a little better in every moment.
3. We honor ourselves, each other, and the source of life within all.
4. We allow all things to be as they are created, and look for the value in every person, situation, perspective, and belief.
5. We accept and preserve the right of every soul to go its own way while we go ours.
6. We speak our truth despite all obstacles with patience, persistence, and loving kindness, without filter, restriction, or imposition on others.
7. We act for others’ expansion and not at their expense.
8. We listen compassionately to those who struggle, suffer, or are in pain, and act on our inner urges to help.
9. We look for the divinity within all despite the egoic filters and distortions that keep us apart.
10. We accept responsibility for our choices and perceptions, and how they shape our lives.
11. We encourage each other to dream and create the visions of our souls, and to live in accord with our highest aspirations.
12. We keep no secrets about the inner ways, and hold their truths open to all.

Upon these principles we can build a better world. And so it is.