I refuse to be at war. Period. By this I mean in my personal life as well as fighting against people that are culturally different than me, for whatever reason. But as we know, our personal wars, within ourselves, mind and body, within our homes, families and communities reflect outwards and create a war mongering society. This is what I see has been happening in Israel over the past 2 decades. So the work begins with me.
People come up to me often and tell me it's so wonderful that i've been fighting so diligently against my cancer for so long, that I shouldn't give up the battle etc. The words, "Fighting", "War on Cancer" are terms that I simply do not identify with. Even the name in Hebrew for the Israeli Cancer Society is: "The Society for War on Cancer". I am not fighting or battling anything. On the contrary, i'm working to evolve and bring peace and harmony within all the structures of my being in order to balance and bring healing. War creates stress and will only amplify the very thing I am fighting against. Cancer is an expression of something in the body-mind which has lost its balance, if I suppress it, it will find more aggressive and sophisticated ways of returning and attacking the body. If we give power to the positive balancing mechanisms in the body, the cancer with be eradicated from the root. Try to apply that to Israeli Palestinian conflict. We tighten the blockade, and they shoot their missiles farther and stronger... You get the idea.
Cancer came into my life at the age of 30 and had a lot of messages for me. Instead of putting energy into fighting it, or becoming a helpless victim of a serious illness and of the medical establishment, I left the "battle" to the doctors and focused on how this event can bring positive changes to my life. Since then I've altered my diet drastically, ended a long and unfulfilling relationship and opened up to deep insight and faith in the universe and the beautiful people living in it. It enabled me to go deeper into the field of healing with food as a profession and to explore various spiritual practices, meeting amazing healers and medicine men around the world. I still see this cancer as a call for transformation, not a nasty thing to get rid of. I'm doing everything I can to restore balance and harmony in my life, and the more I do it the deeper and more refined the process becomes. I learn more and more about myself and behavioral patters that do not serve my higher purpose.
In the same way, I believe both sides of the unfortunate and ancient conflict in Israel and Palestine must see the opportunity in this situation. Both sides are caught in the ignorant cycle of blaming each other, victimizing and playing the victim, and "I won't stop until he stops", reminding me very much of the way we used to fight as kids. It doesn't work. Problems were never solved by violence and hatred, they only make them worse. We can decide together as human beings living on the same land to see this conflict as an opportunity to grow together, let go of the past and see where we can improve and evolve as a human race. All the money and effort put into war and killing can be put into education, health, organic agriculture and creating workplaces and a high standard of living on both sides. But for some reason, people keep believing politicians when they say war is necessary, just like having doctors tell you what treatment is best for your cancer, when in fact their scope of knowledge is very limited, and only you know what is best for you.
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation work in the same way as attacking a city full of terrorists with heavy bombing from the air. You will inevitably kill a lot of innocent people and make their lives hell, as well as your own. Alternative methods put an emphasis on strengthening the immune system and restoring harmony to the body and mind so that it simply doesn't need the cancer anymore, and the organism is healed. If we as an Israeli people put more emphasis on how much good we can bring to the world instead of demonstrating our force each time we get pissed off, we won't need to use violence as an outlet for our internal aggression. Putting energy in the right places, cultivating a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians who are well nourished and feel good about themselves and do have the need to lash out every now and then on an enemy, but rather cooperate and realize what amazing potential we have in turning this region to a paradise desert together.
Healing comes from within, and cannot be resolved by conflict and aggression. This is true for our own bodies, minds, families and for nations at war.
Shalom, Salaam, Peace.
