James O’Dea: The Conscious Activist
This kind of potent spiritual witnessing becomes possible when we decide to move out of clever abstractions– and superficial notions about how to live successful lives– and surrender ourselves completely to the true power of a loving universe. The greatest progress for humanity will come not from spiritually aided material success but from the radical humility of millions of people to stand up and express the love, peace and wisdom which is at the core of their own being. It’s all there inside of us waiting to be expressed– waiting for us to have the courage to be divine sparks of transformation.
OMTIMES: Many people today—especially young people—hold a vision for a peaceful planetary society. How optimistic or pessimistic are you about our chances for achieving this dream?
James O’Dea: I have been teaching peace building for several years and I am in awe at the creativity and tenacity of peacemakers the world over. I’ve also spent many years conducting social healing dialogues in various hotspots and I am equally in awe at the power of people to heal from the gravest trauma. Our power to forgive, to reconcile and to go beyond our addiction to punishment is greater than we think but unless we end the transmission of wounds from generation to generation we will continue to sabotage real progress.
Wounds hide out in beliefs, attitudes and in ideological, religious and cultural conditioning. The tragedy is that even when grave injustices or brutal victimization are committed against us the wounds they create can end up swimming in a toxin of resentment, anger and even hatred. If we do not release those toxins they not only eat away at our peace of mind and emotional stability they get transmitted to others. This is the great work of our time– to interrupt the transmission of all the unresolved hurts of the past that create the next generation of in-group/ out-group. International laws and protections can help but nothing can replace the psycho-spiritual work needed to find healing. Inner meets outer as never before in human history. I am convinced that there is a stirring in collective consciousness that will inevitably lead us to peace on Earth but we will have to walk through the fires of purification to get there.
