anne halonium said:
i can endorse the whole peace and love thing.
that said , ive met some seriously dangerous humans............
not every pitbull can be coddled.
The divine protects me.
Though I have been in a spiritual bind regarding my views on self-defense, I've always figured that if a person threatens your peaceful existance with violence, you have the right to defend yourself, even if it means taking a life to save your own, I've always saw it as their own fault, if a person attacks you and you eliminate them as a threat, it's their own fault, they should have acted peacefully, I still carry several weapons on me, but only for self-defense...Though in the larger picture, hate only breeds more hate, war only breeds more war, and from individual interaction to international warfare, I feel I must only act in peace... should I turn the other cheek and allow an attacker o take my life as I forgive them, or should I eliminate the threat in self-defense? It's an issue that will take much deep contemplation, and as I consult with my spiritual teachers, take entheogens, and pray, the answer will come...
While I promote peace and love I was also a fierce believer in self defense, I thought that if someone or something is threatening your right to peaceful existance, you are obligated to eliminate it...
Though I'm beginning to see this is not a spiritually correct view....
it's how you go about this "elimination" that's makes the difference...sometimes you must remove yourself from a threat that can not be confronted peacefully, even if it means making sacrifice...when that doesn't work all you can do is say to your attackers "I forgive you" as they take your land or life, their ignorance and hatred is no excuse to abandon what is right, by responding with violence and hate you are doing exactly what they expect and want you to do....
Here's a terence mckenna quote that provides some insight on the issue:
think that what we have to say is that we must win by example. You know, the I Ching says you must never confront evil directly, because then it learns how to defend itself. The hippies were certainly no threat to the government as a military force, but as an example, as a model for others to follow, I think they scared them to death. They were probably very happy to see them all turn into Weathermen and begin hurling molotov cocktails. *That* they understood. They could relate to that. But flowers in the barrels of their guns spelled ruin and defeat, and they knew it.-terence mckenna
...look at Tibet, the Tibetan people were committed to peace, and when unjustly attacked and robbed of their homeland, all they said was "we forgive the Chinese, and pray for their happiness"...no peaceful solution was possible, so they simply left, and lived by their peaceful example, they chose not to let hate and ignorance breed more hate and ignorance, they understood land and possessions are impermanent any way, they understood that when a person attacks you and you respond as they expect, the attacker is in control, when you respond with love it confounds them, their dominator logic can't process responding to hate with love...
...plus while watching video of the Tibetans leaving for exile in India I did not see people who were sad and in despair, I saw smiles, happiness, and positive attitudes, their happiness is not generated by anything that can be taken from them, and they did not let outside negative forces rob them of this happiness.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you -jesus ( Matt 5:44 )
I'm a spiritual man, I'm on a holy path, and I follow the laws of the divine, I consume marijuana and entheogens, and I practice peace, love, and compassion, no matter what, I refuse to let negative forces manipulate me into being as negative and miserable as they are, they can not shake my commitment to positivity, peace or love, they can not change my happiness and all the love that I have found through the practice of peace...and they will know that I forgive them...
-eg