Peace Begins With Me
   Ideas and Inspiration
October 2008
Issue #10
Greetings!

We have a big responsibility in the next few weeks. We have the responsibility to consider and discern who will  best represent our values and vision in government. The first article, Imagine, speaks to the opportunity that elections provide.

The second article is a continuation of my intention to share excerpts from Peace Begins With Me. This month  I share the message about the importance of breathing using one's diaphragm. Dr. John Travis states, "The way you breathe is the way you live your life".

I'm delighted that many of you took advantage of my offer last month to receive the e-book version of Peace Begins With Me at a significantly discounted price. Thank you for helping to share the message of peace.
 
Ted
Imagine
Elections - An Opportunity to Create
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Imagine if we used the electoral process as an opportunity to create. Imagine if we looked to elections as a time to share our dreams, to define our core assumptions, to identify possibilities, and to be inspired by the kind of country and community we might become.

Imagine if we used the electoral process to have leaders listen rather than tell, to engage citizens in legitimate dialogue to discover what is important to us rather than tell us what is important.

Imagine if the electoral process was an opportunity for choosing which ideas and dreams were the most inspirational.

Elections could be such a wonderful opportunity to revitalize our communities, refresh our ideas, and cast new visions. They could be a time to brainstorm, to be creative and innovative as we attempt to address the complexities of living in community.

In this election I'm looking for candidates who recognize the need for change. Our earth, our communities, our homeless neighours, and our future depends on change happening.

I'm hoping for candidates clear enough to articulate their dreams, assumptions, and intentions. I'm desiring candidates courageous enough to engage in meaningful dialogue with others, especially those of divergent perspectives, to identify new possibilities.

I want candidates who are willing to evaluate their strategies and ask the question, "Is what we are doing working?" I want candidates committed to pursuing peaceful ends through peaceful means.

I want us to come together as a community during election time to collectively declare our dreams. I want us to better understand our challenges, opportunities, and each other. I want us to be inspired by a vision and to find ways we can all participate in that vision.

Imagine that!

"Imagine all the people
living life in peace."
John Lennon
Breathing From Your Diaphragm
Excerpts from Peace Begins With Me
A number of years ago I attended a workshop on breathing. The facilitator asked us to sit on the floor, cross our legs, and close our eyes. He then asked us to worry about something. As we sat worrying the facilitator walked around the room and pushed each of us over with ease.

Now that he had our full attention he began his lecture. "Most of you," he said, "do not live in your body. You spend most of your life in your mind and drag your physical body around as though it has no value. Today I'm going to teach you how to live in your body
again. By the end of the day you will breathe the way you were meant to breathe."

Our instructor described the body's physical design. He explained that our breathing apparatus is similar to an old fashioned bellows that was used to fan a fire. He described how by separating the handles of the bellows a vacuum is created. This causes air to be drawn in. Squeezing the handles together pushes the air out. "Your diaphragm and lungs
work in exactly the same way." When you open your diaphragm a vacuum is created in your lungs causing oxygen to be drawn in. Closing the diaphragm pushes the carbon dioxide out.

He then asked us to recall how a newborn baby breathes. We all acknowledged that when a baby breathes its belly rises and falls. A baby instinctively uses its diaphragm to breathe. He explained, "If we are breathing properly, our belly ought to rise and fall also".

When most adults breathe however, their belly remains flat. All movement occurs in their chest rather than their diaphragm. The result is inadequate and shallow breathing. As a consequence, we are easily knocked over.

Taken from Peace Begins With Me PP. 177 - 179.
Message of Peace
"What you think, you create.
What you create, you become.
What you become, you express.
What you express, you experience.
What you experience, you are.
What you are, you think.
Your world will follow your idea.'

Neil Donald Walsch
Thank you for sharing these few moments with me. I hope they offer you inspiration, heart, and hope for the future. Together, we can make our world more peaceful.

If you have questions or comments, I would be delighted to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected]

 Sincerely,
 
Ted Kuntz
Author, Peace Begins With Me
In This Issue
Imagine - Elections an Opportunity to Create
Breathing from Your Diaphragm
A Message of Peace

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