The first pattern we all must learn if we want to study the Pacem Arts
In the Martial Arts (Art of War), the practitioner goes through a set of patterns over and over and over again to help him / her work through the basics of their art and fine tune the body, mind and spirit. In the Korean Martial Art of Tae Kwon Do, we called those patterns "poomsae" and there was a new poomsae for each belt level the practitioner accomplished within the art.
The Pacem Arts (Art of Peace) has a set of patters as well that needs to be practiced over and over and over again, for the same reasons. Without these basic exercises, a practitioner of the Pacem Arts will not find the peace that they are training for. As a practitioner moves through the different levels of the Pacem Arts, they will find new patterns to work on in order to progress.
Within both art forms, when we move to the next level, we must keep practicing the patterns of all the previous levels. A black belt must master all the patterns, not just the one he needs for the next level.
The Pacem Arts first level requires a surrender to ensure the practitioner is willing to learn the art form. If he / she is willing, then the first pattern to work on is called "Conscious Self Awareness". While most people 'think therefore I AM', what this pattern demands of the practitioner is to dig deeper and confront the very foundations of how we think, believe, act, listen and speak.
Most people engage in war to defend their position when confronted by others. The defenses goes up and our capacity to really 'hear' what others are saying is significantly diminished. How many of us are willing to engage in critical thinking, self evaluate and confront our own position when confronted by others? What if we admit to ourselves that we actually are engaging in violence to protect ourselves or justified against others? What if we hide behind masks because we are too afraid, ashamed or guilty of our past? What would it take to confront these issues, process the emotions behind them, forgive ourselves, work on new patterns of behaviour and practice that process over and over and over again? What if our first reaction is one of peace rather than war?
I witness lots of people who read from the 'good book' as they call it, yet still engage in violent behaviours, all justified in their own hearts and minds. Their actions contradict the masks that they wear and for the most part, they are not even aware of the contradiction. The Pacem Arts provides a protocol to confront the violence in our hearts and minds so that we can change our behaviours and thinking processes so that we no longer need to wear those masks. The surrender is necessary as this also requires bringing something from our subconscious or unconscious and moving it forward into our conscious mind so that it can be worked on. It takes a great deal of awareness to bring our shit into our conscious mind and not have it overwhelm us.
The first pattern of the Pacem Arts is to make conscious those thoughts, beliefs and behaviours that we engage with every day without even thinking about it. This requires that we be open to what others observe in ourselves instead of lashing out in anger, defense, intimidation, violence or contempt. This pattern is most difficult to master but is a critical pattern to establish if we are going to progress through the other Pacem Arts levels.
For those who find the courage, faith and internal strength to take this leap of faith in themselves and others, they will find much darkness. By focusing our attention on that darkness we can then engage our creative powers to transmute that darkness into light, strength, power, purpose, awareness, integrity and love.
How do we know we have become proficient with this pattern and we are ready for the next level? We find ourselves relating to others with a deep level of empathy. We can feel sadness, pain, fear and all those other feelings and not see them as 'bad' or 'negative' but rather learn to love them, appreciate the feelings and feel inspired or even empowered by them.
The practitioner will also acquire the skill to be able to detect bull shit as they can check in with themselves when others confront them to see if what is being shared resonates. Most times when other people confront, it is usually their issue not ours. Having the capacity to put peoples shit where it belongs, which includes acknowledging and accepting our own shit, is black belt level skills for a practitioner of the Pacem Arts.
For all those who read this post, 'hear' the message and work hard to practice this first pattern of the Pacem Arts, I welcome you as a fellow practitioner. May our training progress peacefully and may we all share the art form with others so that we can find peace within and bring peace to the world at the same time.
I leave you with this parting message that spirit gave me this morning during my meditation.
We are living ceremonies. Each heart beat celebrates love, each breath celebrates life. Honour each ceremony, they are sacred. - White Walking Feather
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Well, since I was diagnosed with the Kidney Disorder (Glomerulonephritis), I used to act and react in a very negative way as no body taught me about the #Pacem. As you mentioned this is an art demands continuous focus to spread peace through one's actions and thoughts.
Then I read your story as I take you a huge inspiration, suddenly I felt positive changes both in my actions and disease. Yes, credit goes to you for motivating me to live my life by spreading peace all over through my words and actions, massive respect for you the Great @wwf <3
Welcome back brother. Been a while since we last chatted. I am honoured by your writings. While you credit me for motivating you, I must hold up the mirror and suggest that you motivated yourself. The work is all yours as spirit moved you to make changes in your life. Keep up the great work. Inspire others to do the same through your own actions brother. Creator is blessing us all with these opportunities to heal and spread the love to whom ever has the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
Overwhelmed for the warm welcome given by my mentor @wwf. This is your level of generosity that you don't even want to take the credit, massive respect for you. I promise you, the thoughts you transferred in me I would spread all over (though i am trying to convey the message of love and peace through my writings). Together we shall end the feudalism from mother Earth <3
I always thought of violence as a physical thing but since following your posts on steemit I understand my own behaviours and those around me much better and can pick out violent attitudes as well as words and actions. There are so many things to learn about ourselves let alone the behaviours of others! It is a long learning curve and the more I learn, the more I realise I have not even begin to scratch the surface! One thing I am learning is that I don't have to tolerate violence towards me and I can say this is not an acceptable way to approach me to my aggressor. I HATE conflict and actively avoid it, but I am getting better at setting my boundaries. It is amazing how many 'friends' disappear though once you start setting your stall out lol
Well done. Yes, we start setting boundaries, "friends" disappear. That is a good thing. They were not true friends. That opens us up for the possibility of making new friends who are real friends. Ones that will honour, respect and cherish us. People that will respect our boundaries and set the same kinds for themselves. These friends are most likely open to being confronted and open to confronting us on our own shit too. Those are real friendships. That is what makes real relationships too! Well done. You took a big step my friend in recognizing that violence is not only physical, but also emotional, mental and spiritual. Rare for people to figure that out.
In some ways, violence is a strange mystery in the Human Experience. People look at physical violence and often "condemn" it... ironically, using words and energies that are — themselves — inherently violent.
Violence is often verbal; emotional; even spiritual.
You are exactly right: we must start with simple mindfulness; learning to pause so we can respond to situations in front of us, rather than merely react to them.
Bright Blessings!
It is difficult to practise such self-awareness without reaching into dark and uncomfortable places. Confronting the dark places takes strength, courage and above all faith.
Indeed it does. Most times it also takes an elder to help with that journey too. How can we 'see' if we don't have somebody to show us? It is tough but doable. Dark journey indeed.
Very true. A lot of people don't engage to know, they do so to hear echos of their thoughts. If we engage with an open mind in conversations, this World will definitely be better off
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