"De profundis clamabi ad te, Domine! Dona nobis pacem ..."

      Thus reads a snippet from the Roman Catholic liturgy from which I borrowed my title. At this time in American history, it seems more than usually appropriate.
      Approximately 292 hours and 50 minutes ago, life on Planet Earth changed. Now, the presence of change is itself the only thing that will never change; but this change was rather drastic and far more than usually sudden, thanks to the playthings of the high-tech Information Age. It was remarkably costly in a good many different ways ... and the appalling monetary loss was probably the least of these. It was rude. It was crude. And it was extremely effective, notwithstanding that it was only 75% successful.
      And what was that effect? At present, there is no clear or definite ... let alone final ... answer to that. Two hundred ninety-three hours is not enough time for anything more than short-term effects of such mayhem to manifest. About the long term, all we can say at present is that far more profound change shall surely ensue ... abundantly if not profusely.
      Officially, the United States of America has declared war on the rest of the world. But it is not war as we have known war in the past. This is not war upon a nation, but upon a human attitude ... a philosophical viewpoint that is specifically designed to affect human beings and our life experience. Is it religious? Indeed ... at least many times. Yet that is not the point, because the religion cited does not condone the action done in its name. Therefore, it is a question of non-academic philosophy.
      Unofficially, one faction in the nation has declared war on another part, which has declared peace on the rest of the world. Example works best here: anyone recognizably Muslim or Arab has been at risk of the modern equivalent of lynch mobs ... no matter that they were at least as appalled over what was done in the name of their religion as those who call themselves Christians. Perhaps the Christians forget the horrors committed in their own name seven or eight centuries ago by those of equally extremist viewpoints ... against the Muslims! At that time, I suspect, lack of our technical trinkets saved us from retaliatory devastation.
      Nor must we forget that there are "heartland" reactions as well. As a nation, we feel challenged to determine how we wish to respond to all of this. Naturally, the diversity of people composing the nation has given us a predictable diversity of expressions. Some felt troubled; a good many lost family members or dear friends in the maelstrom ... persons having qualities that make most of us wonder "Why? Why him? Why her?" Ladies stormed, men cried. Memories were brought up ... Vietnam, Pearl Harbor, FDR's "day that shall live in infamy," Oklahoma City, on and on ... offered as parallels, as metaphors of the Incomprehensible. Almost no one has been exempt: teenagers, retirees, rich, poor, black, white, and everyone in between has been affected, emotionally and to varying extents practically as well. The stuff of blockbuster movies was upon us; but this time, it wasn't entertainment. This time, someone really did drive airliners carrying some two-hundred-odd human beings into the sides of massive buildings. America was shocked. Looking over her shoulder (what was left of it), so was the world.
      But there has been a brighter side, too. Those who, like me, use e-mail would certainly bear out my observation that this reflector of human cultures has exposed a rallying together in spirit. Oddly yet fittingly enough, the first intimation of this was the collection of electronic marvels by which we were so quickly informed: the media went into maximum overdrive, giving us splendid coverage from many points of view 24/7 ... 24 hours a day for about a week. The heavy emphasis on personal reactions served very much to tie the nation together just when one might think it most likely to go the other way. At least in my experience, there was less intrusion on victims' privacy, and more expression of thoughtful, benevolent perspectives. What emerged was that most people cared. Albeit they had less idea of what to do about any particular thing in the news, they were keeping informed and, at the very least, wishing their circle, their state, and their nation well in time of trouble. Consider these samples from my e-mail basket:

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      The events of this day cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives and to ponder deeply the larger questions of life. We search for not only the meaning of life, but the purpose of our individual and collective experience as we have created it-and we look earnestly for ways in which we might recreate ourselves anew as a human species, so that we will never treat each other this way again.
      Our opportunity now is to demonstrate at the highest level our most extraordinary thought about who we really are.
      A central teaching of Conversations with God is: What you wish to experience, provide for another.
      Look to see, now, what it is you wish to experience in your own life and in the world. Then see if there is another for whom you may be the source of that.
      If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.
      If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are safe.
      If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand.
      If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another.
      Those others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance, for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love.
      This is the moment of your ministry. This is the time of teaching. What you teach at this time, through your every word and action right now, will remain as indelible lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives you touch, both now, and for years to come.
      We will set the course for tomorrow, today. At this hour. In this moment.

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      That one came from Neale Donald Walsch. Here are several others from a mailing list service called "A Word a Day":

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      I am a freelance writer and love getting AWAD. As many activities have come to a halt due to the devastating attack on the US, I commend AWAD for carrying on, as we all must.
      Given that AWAD does reach so many people around the world, and that these events are a crime not only against America, but against all of humanity and what we hold dear, I wonder if our collective interest in words can be used to foster a collective interest in peace. I'd suggest that we use AWAD as a forum for all AWAD subscribers around the world to talk about these events, how they have effected all of us, and more importantly, how each of us can grow and make a difference from this experience.
      Change, and thus peace, does not come about by government policy, weapons, treaties, or even hatred of war ... however noble. It comes from seeking peace, putting our attention on peace, cultivating and demonstrating peace. But what is peace?
      An arrived at static state but will it magically cure all the world's ills?
      Peace is a choice ... a choice we make every day of how we will act and react to our circumstances and the world around us. It is the willingness to first and always seek understanding, to continually nurture and be secure in our own compassion, and to purposefully use our God-given intelligence and humanity to move toward that which we desire most ... Love and Acceptance.
      We have the power to change the world. Let's make that choice and direct the change for peace.

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      I see a profound tendency developing here. It seems to be a spiritual awakening. There are vibrations of a new militancy ... toward Love. There is kindness being displayed among people who don't know each other. There always has been, but now it is being done more consistently and more insistently.
      In this building there was a meditation meeting ... a vigil of soul, watching over the earth. In my experience, the noon service in this building has taken on a new poignancy, a new relevance as the world, trying to extract anything of true meaning out of the chaos, looks consciously or unconsciously toward Higher Powers (again, the meaning of this term is as varied as humanity itself) for reassurance that life has meaning after all.
      People are thinking. People are watching each other. People are looking at the leaders. I sense that we are vigilant about what are leaders are leading us toward ... hoping against hope that it isn't merely more bloodshed, more political games, more revenge. Many of us are horrified at the possibility of the national response amounting to Hammurabi's justice ... yet this attack was not by a nation, but by individuals acting on their own behalf, individually or as a relatively small group. We sense that the term "justice" must entail something far more loving than "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." We sense that this could too easily be turned into an excuse for further erosion of human rights; we wonder why it seems so difficult for our leaders to get the point that this is a marvelous opportunity to develop new ways of living together. Hopefully, the few would not feel so incredibly alienated as to feel the need to respond in this way in numbers large enough to execute such a plan as the one recently completed. Gold could rule ... that is, the golden rule, common to all religions, is a very commonly-known approach to living which offers enormous potential to spread harmony instead of discord, love instead of hate.
      This is the Temple of the People. We are the Annunciator Movement. We are a "John the Baptist Movement." What a great opportunity this is to respond anew to that call!
      Therefore, all of the foregoing said and essentially agreed with, I want to share a perspective that I haven't heard from any other mouth as yet. Everyone seems agreed that what happened 293 hours ago was pretty negative. Now, we teach in these sacred precincts that everything negative must have an equal and opposite positive side. Balance requires equality, in one form or another, and I want to speak to the other side of the picture for a moment.
      Not that any sane person would suggest such methodology, but ...
      Whoever did it did us a rather large favor. We have been reminded of the importance of unity of spirit. We have confronted the fact that we are people, not consuming machines. We have experienced a taste of renewal of our sense of social responsibility.
      We have rediscovered Love, and thus had an opportunity for a rare type of spiritual rebirth.
      We of the Temple of the People can hug those who grieve, comfort those who mourn, hold out a hand of understanding to those who feel confused.
      We can act from our consciousness of the power of the moment. We can realign our motives accordingly. Thus we bear witness to the truth. Thus we bear Witness to Truth. Thus Truth can ring forth in greater apparent power.
      Last night, yet another e-mail came my way, and I would like to close with it:

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      We the undersigned are writing to you at this moment to express our profound sadness at the events of September 11th, and to plead with you and those making the very difficult decisions which have to be made at this time for calm and a non-retaliatory stance.
      We have all been deeply affected by this tragedy and our hearts and sympathies go to all those who died and to the loved ones they left behind.
      In the wake of this event there is shock and sadness, and emotions run very high. It is human to want to respond quickly, to find those responsible and ensure that this cannot happen again anywhere. However, retaliating with more violence only breeds more violence and ensures that future generations will live in fear with mistrust and suffering.
      We urge you and our fellow citizens to remember that vengeance offers no relief, that retaliation can never guarantee healing and that to meet violence with violence breeds more rage and more senseless deaths. Only love leads to peace with justice.
      We believe it is our duty as a civilized nation to rise above the desire for retaliation and to find a way of dealing with this tragedy that is peaceful and good. We do not ask that we ignore that this happened or that those who are responsible not be held accountable. Rather we ask that we lead the world as an example of another way, a better way for all mankind.
      Further violence and the deaths of more innocent people will not resolve this situation or ensure the safety of future generations. This is truly an opportunity to show the world that leadership is earned, not imposed through violence and bullying tactics. Please Mr. President, give us all hope for a future where good will truly prevail over evil, and where violence has no place. Our goal should be to build bridges of love, respect and understanding among all people. This is the only way to ensure that the tragedy of September 11th and similar tragedies around the world do not happen again.

September 23, 2001
Blue Star Memorial Temple
Halcyon, California