In Invitation:

May we firmly establish our intention to live our life for the healing and the thriving of the world. Let us be conscious of it, let us honor it, let us nurture it, every day.

May we be fully present in our time. May we find the courage to breathe in the suffering of the world, and allow peace and healing to breathe out through us in return.

We will not meet power on its own terms. We see through to its real nature: mind and heart made. Let us lead our response from that level.

May we simplify and clear away the dead wood in our life, look for the heartwood and give it the first call on our time, the best of our energy.

Let us put down the leaden burden of saving the world alone. Let us join with others of like mind, and align ourselves with the forces of resolution.

May we hold in a single vision, in the same thought, the transformation of ourselves and the transformation of the world. May we live our life around that edge, always keeping it in sight.

As a bird flies on two wings, let us balance outer activity with inner sustenance.

Following our hearts, we realize our gifts. Let us cultivate them with diligence to offer knowledge and skill to the world. Let us train in non-violence of body, speech and mind. With great patience to ourselves, may we learn to make beautiful each action, word and thought.

In the crucible of meditation, let us bring forth day by day into our own heart the treasury of compassion, wisdom and courage for which the world longs.

May we sit with hatred until we feel the fear beneath it. May we sit with fear until we feel the compassion beneath that.

Let us not set our hearts on particular results, but rather enjoy positive action for its own sake, resting confident that it will bear fruit.

When we see violence, greed and narrow-mindedness in the fullness of its power, let us walk straight into the heart of it, remaining open to the sky and in touch with the earth.

Staying open, staying grounded, we remember that we are the inheritor of the strengths of thousands of generations of life.

Staying open, staying grounded, we recall that the thankful prayers of future generations are silently with us.

Staying open, staying grounded, we are confident in the magick and power that arise when people come together in a great cause.

Staying open, staying grounded, we know that the deep forces of Nature will emerge to the aid of those who defend the Earth.

Staying open, staying grounded, we have faith that the higher forces of wisdom and compassion will manifest through our actions for the healing of the world.

When we see weapons of hate, let us disarm them with love.

When we see armies of greed, let us meet them in the spirit of sharing.

When we see fortresses of narrow-mindedness, let us breach them with truth.

When we find ourselves enshrouded in dark clouds of dread, let us dispel them with fearlessness.

When forces of power seek to isolate us from each other, let us reach out with joy.

In it all and through it all, holding to our intention, may we let go into the music of Life and dance!

~adapted from Akuppa’s writing: the Shambala Warrior Mind Training