The recent September 11th tragedy was not only an assault on the U.S. but on all of humanity. Its ripple effect will continue to influence our lives for years to come. The time has now come for us to begin to look at the global picture of this tragedy and its impact. Additionally, we must examine the sources of the madness in our world and begin to take responsibility for our contribution to the insanity.

We know now, due to ecological factors, the rain forest of the Amazon affects the weather in Paris. All things are interrelated and interdependent and nothing is inherently independent. For a rose to grow into a rose it is dependent upon nourishment from water, sun and soil. Everything in our world is interconnected and a change in one area will affect another. In other words, an American is very much interrelated to an Afghani or Parisian and so on. One cannot separate nations, people or situations. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Nobel Prize nominee and Zen master from Vietnam teaches us one fundamental aspect of Buddhism in simple language. He states “This is this because of that. That is that because of this.”

The terrible tragedy in New York is a resurrection of global egotism that manifested itself in horrible mass destruction that we all observed with shock and grief. Ever since then, we have been looking for “the man”. I have always been puzzled by the use of evil (violence) to rectify another act of evil. Is it not time for all of us to introspect within ourselves and begin to address our own evil within? There is after all an Osama bin Laden within all of us. Gandhi taught us “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still, small voice’ within.” We do not learn because of our own impasses, our own Ego who sees the world in a dichotomy of good and bad. A world of I will do to you as you have done to me, so the cycle of evil continues. An eye for an eye and soon the whole world becomes blind he says. We cannot perpetuate the act of hatred and violence with violence. Gandhi continues by stating “Love is a rare herb that makes a friend even of a sworn enemy and this herb grows out of nonviolence.” The time has come for us to address the Osama within ourselves. We have contributed to his creation due to our own lack of consciousness. Humanity is on the path of self-destruction. Master Samael Aun Weor, a fully awake master of our time, warns us “The gravest aspect of this whole matter is that the factors responsible for such desolation as hunger, war, the destruction of the planet on which we live, etc., are within ourselves. We carry them within us, in our psyche.” It certainly rings the truth in me.

We need to increase our psychological ecology and enhance our awareness regarding our thoughts, actions, and expressions. We need to address our own Shadow/Darkness first; otherwise we will project it unto others or act it out into this world. Let’s all unite and grieve over the death of loved ones in New York, Afghanistan and many other countries around the world. Each of us was given life through a mother and a father. This is the time for all of us to introspect within ourselves to find our own rage, hatred, and grief…

In conclusion I invite all of us to remember the 1st German astronaut’s observation from space, “I see no borders”. Wake Up! I have found Osama bin Laden - he lives within us.

Peace and Love.