Have you ever argued with a loved one and wondered how you can have greater peace within your own family and community?

Do you ever watch the mainstream “news” and question how we can collectively create lasting peace in the world?

Meanwhile, saints and sages of all religions have said world peace starts right with you – and how you experience inner peace in each moment.

It can seem like a far cry to bridge this ancient wisdom with the realities of day-to-day life – making a living, spending time with your family and friends, nourishing yourself spiritually, mentally, physically and creatively – let alone addressing global crises such as the economy, the environment and political strife!

If you’re like many people, it can all feel so overwhelming. Some of you may even feel despair and hopelessness about the state of our world.

This is exactly why we are offering this FREE global seminar with James O’Dea.

James has been on the frontlines of human rights with Amnesty International as well as on the frontier of science and consciousness with the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

He’s seen the worst that humanity can do to itself, and he’s seen how science is leading us back to the wisdom of the sages and saints.

James is far from pollyanna and yet he offers profound insights into the problems of the world – and how you can dig deep into your own soul to awaken your inner response to our crises.

He’s a master teacher for this epic time that calls upon each of us to deeply transform our own lives, become wise leaders and learn practical ways to resolve conflict.

The 5 Obstacles to Personal and Planetary Peace

The saints have it correct that world peace does start with inner peace.

At the same time, the world is so interdependent and interconnected today that we live in a time of acceleration. What happens in one part of the world affects people thousands of miles away.

At an unprecedented level, you can feel the ramifications of another’s inner unrest and the collective individual pursuit of happiness. In this sense, inner peace has become a global responsibility for each individual.

This takes us to the first obstacle to personal and planetary peace: inner restlessness and conflict, which includes fear and endless cravings that seek to satisfy an inner hunger through outer distraction and consumerism, and prevent you from releasing your own essential qualities, talents and capacities.

The second obstacle is personal and collective wounding. Many of us carry wounds that blindly influence our behavior, creating cycles of reactivity toward others. This is also true on societal levels where entire groups of people carry forward wounds from generation to generation.

The third obstacle builds upon the previous two: breakdowns in communication, where there is little listening as people act out from a place of protection, pain and self interest. We see this in households, political arenas and international stages.

The fourth obstacle is the manifestation of the previous stages: systems based on dominance and control that perpetuate societal and global inequities.

The fifth obstacle is disempowerment and paralysis, a result of feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges and the world. Choosing to close down and mindlessly live feeds the cycle of inner to global unrest.

Do these obstacles sound familiar? If so, you are not alone!

By understanding these five obstacles to personal and planetary peace, you can begin to make conscious choices of how you show up in the world.

Awareness is the first step. From there, you can learn how to cultivate your authentic inner peace and wisdom that will help you heal and transform on the deepest levels.

This awakened inner essence will help you become more resilient to outer influences. Over time, you will discover and manifest your own gifts as a peacebuilder in your family, community and beyond.

The best part is: as you travel this path of embodying and promoting peace, you can join a global community of peacebuilders and collaborate on initiatives that make a real difference in the world, providing you with an expanded sense of peace, optimism and purpose!

Join James O’Dea for this FREE transformational training to learn how to become an ambassador of peace in your family, your community and our world.

About James O’Dea

James O’Dea is a well-known figure in international social healing who has conducted healing and reconciliation dialogues for 15 years. He is currently the co-director of The Social Healing Project, whose work has led him to Rwanda, Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland. In addition to teaching the Path of the Peacemaker and Peace Ambassador Training programs at The Shift Network, he is also on the extended faculty of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and is its immediate past president.

The former Washington office director of Amnesty International and CEO of the Seva Foundation, O’Dea is a member of The Evolutionary Leaders Group founded by Deepak Chopra. His most recent book, Cultivating Peace: Becoming a 21st-Century Peace Ambassador (2012), is featured and reviewed in dozens of media outlets.

James is committed to dialogue as a practice and is engaged in dialogues at SEED Graduate Institute between native elders, physicists, and thought leaders; between Israeli and Palestinian psychologists and social workers; and contributes to dialogue on systems thinking and government policy making with the Washington, D.C.-based Global Systems Initiatives.

In August 2010, O’Dea was recognized with the honor of “Champion of Peace, Reconciliation and Forgiveness” by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance. James lectures and gives workshops all over the world and was a keynote speaker at the Berlin Peace Festival in August 2011. He is also an advisory board member of the Peace Alliance.