The U.S. has been involved in nine armed conflicts since 1775. More than a million Americans have died and another 1.52 million have been wounded.

The history of man is a history of conflict.  Unfortunately, history tends to repeat itself.

A new, national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 57% of Americans approve of the U.S. military campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.

Have we accepted conflict as part of our existence? Can conflict ever bring peace? What is the essence of conflict, anyway?  

Jiddu Krishnamurti was a renowned spiritual teacher whose lectures inspired thousands.  He believed that violence and conflict were two of the most important issues of our time.  He believed you could change yourself, change your relationships with others and consequently improve the whole structure of society.  

"We are always comparing what we are with what should be," said Krishnamurti.  "This should-be is a projection of what we think we ought to be.  Contradiction exists when there is comparison, not only with something or somebody, but with what you were yesterday, and hence, there is conflict between what has been and what is. There is what is only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with what is, is to be peaceful."

"Freedom from the Known" features a collection of live talks Krishnamurti gave around the world. In it he poses three thought-provoking questions and challenges readers to wrestle with the answers:  

• What is the essence of conflict?
• Why do we have duality?
• Do we use the opposite as a lever to get rid of what is? Or is it an escape from the actual?

What do you think about conflict? Are you concerned about the escalating conflicts in our world? Join us as we discuss these topics with other seekers in a Live Webinar: Peaceful Reflections in Troubled Times on 11/15 at 1:00 pm.