This morning Bernie came up from the garden and showed us a yellow bean, then ate it. This thrilled our daughter: she planted the beans. In fact, we are going to have a bumper crop, and also way too many tomatoes, and pumpkins and zucchini. On the other hand, no human could eat that much lettuce and our other daughter's rabbit left for their new home with her, so we are getting lettuce and spinach going to seed, and the carrots never came up at all. Yesterday, though, I was delighted to discover that the hibiscus (which we've had for a few years and which I put outside every summer) is in bloom again, and the gladiolas continue to do well. Today I will plant some lilies of the valley, which came from my neighbours, who are completely redoing their front lawn from dirt up (and have planted an olive tree, much to my surprise, as I didn't think that you could get those in this climate). She and her husband lived in Israel for a decade and she said that they planted it with prayers for peace.

In my thoughts this morning: the power of the mind of the world. There is a passage from the Baha'i writings which I like a lot, from 'Abdu'l-Baha in his Paris Talks, which tells us, " I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love." I have a friend who is a practitioner of Christian Science, which uses the term "Divine mind". I find it interesting, and am reflecting on its similarities and dissimilarities from the Jungian idea of collective unconscious. I am certainly aware of the power of suggestion: as we think, we do. So I do wonder what it would be like if the world's peoples concentrated, as suggested, on a peace and love which could overcome their opponents. There is a power in the universe which can overcome the continued bloodshed, as expressed by Baha'u'llah, and note the section I place in bold:

Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.

"A new life," Bahá'u'lláh proclaims, "is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause, or perceived its motive." "O ye children of men," He thus addresses His generation, "the fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race... This is the straight path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure." "The well-being of mankind," He declares, "its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established." "So powerful is the light of unity," is His further testimony, "that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words... This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all aspirations." "He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful," He, moreover, has written, "cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God's good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days."

Today our friends Wendy and Bernie are having a gathering at their house of many people of different beliefs, coming together for prayers and readings for peace, followed by a barbecue. I hope they send out a lot of positive energy!

This evening I will attend a benefit sponsored by some CEGEP students (and co-organized by my daughter's boyfriend) with profits going to the Stephen Lewis foundation. More good energy.

May some of that positive energy encourage you to concentrate the power of your minds, hearts, and spirits on peace.