It is no secret that the world is always in constant turmoil. Violence is committed in the name of hunger, greed, fear, and political and religious ideology. Both within and without, chaos rules our psyche and the world. Is peace of mind possible in such a troubled world?

Since world peace is an outward reflection of our inner psychological state, it is imperative for us to discover an inner peace not borne of the world. It is important for us to be in the world but not of it. Of course, peace is not only the absence of strife; it is also the fullness of love. I strongly believe that it is only through love and compassion that peace of mind is possible.

This is not a new message. It is the age-old message of the heart. We constantly look at ourselves, others, and the world through the pale cast of thought. We emphasize labels rather than relationship. We overlook simple acts of loving kindness as if they were exceptions to the rule, rather than a natural expression of our true nature. Love is an inner realization of a multidimensional higher truth; yet, we often choose to ignore the light of this eternal verity. We do have the "free will" to pursue completely negative behavior patterns, and, in this regard, evil must be equated with human cruelty.

According to the Dalai Lama, our true nature is the very essence of love, as expressed by the tender caring of a mother for her children. Love is expressed in human relationships as tenderness, affection, friendship, and romance, along with pure altruism or unconditional love.

It is only because of our distorted understanding that we fail "to relate" to either the world or other people. We must move beyond the mist of labels and discover the underlying significance of love as a higher order of understanding. This is a big order, no doubt; however, there is no other solution to the crisis of meaninglessness.

We use a variety of symbol systems (linguistic, musical, mathematical, ritualistic, and pictorial) to express ourselves and to understand the universe in general and ourselves in particular. We create these symbol systems, we project a linguistic structure and context, and we create the meaning.

Is there a meaning that we don't superimpose?
It is my contention that meditation creates an opening that enables the mind to understand love. Meditation is the art of being creatively present. Our screen of words, thoughts, and ideas are usually historical documents, in the sense that they refer to past experiences, or ideas about past experieces. We learn nothing fundamentally new by following this conditioned pattern. Love and compassion, on the other other hand, are always a true expression of present concern and give us an understanding based on
genuine relationship. Compassion means to suffer with another, and, in that suffering, there is understanding.

True love is a transpersonal realization of integration at the highest level, rather than some sort of atavistic
regression to a Freudian oceanic form of consciousness. It is through love, compassion, and intelligence that we eliminate suffering. Violence is a fragmented, conditioned response, while love blossoms in the freedom and panoramic awareness of a silent mind.

Thus, what the world needs now is new paradigm thinking replaced by new paradigm loving. Love is the only true paradigm, and it is the only hope for the furture of humanity.