"I want to change the world!"
"So, where are you going to start?"
"I am going to start with you!"

This dialogue from "Peanuts" comics strip looks funny from the outside, but yet it is a true picture of underlying feelings of many people - including those who consider themselves "religious", "spiritual", or "enlightened".

Spiritual seekers soon find out that their existence has a purpose, and that a major part of their life mission is to "bring light to the world". Little do they know, though, how it should be done.

Partly, this urge to "change" or even to "save" the world is due to a genuine desire to share life-changing truths which those people personally discovered. Partly, it is due to their hunger for ego fulfillment, public attention, and recognition. Partly, "world-transforming" efforts are encouraged by spiritual teachers and leaders who want their organizations to become more powerful and influential.

But do we really need to go out into the world to convert it to our belief system, even if we personally think that it is the best possible worldview? Would it be wise to act in such a way? I don't think so, and I would like to explain why.

There is an important spiritual law we should remember: all pressure causes resistance. And then, we have to put more pressure to overcome that resistance. We have to become forceful or even violent. In order to explain what is going on, we imagine powerful enemies which oppose us. We may even come up with an idea that there is a global conspiracy against our "truth".

In the process of spiritual unfoldment, my desire is to distinguish that which is fictional and illusory from that which is real. I know that life is complicated enough, and there are tangible challenges we have to deal with. It would be useless to scatter our time and energy on chasing shadows. I cannot see anything noble about fighting against windmills, presuming that they are giants.

I don't look for enemies outside. I agree with Jesus that our enemies are "of our own household" - that is, they are our own thoughts and feelings. Knowing this, we may easily understand the following passage from the Sermon on the Mount:

"Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; that the opponent not deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, You shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the last kodrantes".
Matthew 5:25,26

Our adversaries are self-judging, self-condemning, destructive, angry, hostile thoughts and feelings. We need to deal with them not by repressing them, but by "agreeing" with them, bringing them into agreement with the divine nature. Why should we seek peace? Because we cannot overcome judgment by another judgment. We cannot overcome hostility by hostility. Our solution is to become established in the peace of God, and then work from that peace.

Outward conditions are reflections of our states of mind. If we project inner opposition into the outside world, it results in worsened relationships with the world. We find ourselves "in prison" of unhappiness, depression, disfunctional relationships, sickness, and poverty. But the truth is, our "prison doors" are locked and unlocked from within. We're our own prison guards.

So, if we want to change the world, the first rule is not to rush. It always takes more patience and understanding than we usually assume. There are no easy solutions or magical recipes. We may start by taking proper care of our inner world, by adjusting of our thoughts and feelings with God. And then, outward conditions will be taken care of. This attitude is often called "sacred selfishness".

(to be continued)