Namaste: We Are One
What You Can Do to Create World Peace
This is the title of a book by Deborah G. Hoofer, LMHC. It’s a book everyone on the planet should read and take to heart, actually understanding and following the suggestion that we greet everyone we come into contact with by using the word, “Namaste.” Surprise, surprise, “Namaste” (pronounced “namastay”) isn’t just a word used by the yoga community. Translated it means, “I recognize you and honor you as a child of God.” Or, more specifically, “I recognize and honor you and me as children of God, and therefore, we are one in God’s family.”
Ms. Hoofer (who, in the honor of full disclosure is a friend of mine) has done an exceptional job of condensing why we truly are one in God’s family. She explores the beginnings of the various faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Another surprise. They all have roots in the same place.
This is a short book, under a hundred pages, but the point it makes is huge.
I have thought about using Namaste as a greeting or a parting word in Starbucks. Especially since I often have to remind myself that God loves all of the customers just as much as he loves me.
Seriously, what if we all perceived that God loves each one of us the same? The enemy we are fighting is a loved child of God. The people those protesters are rallying against? Well, guess what? God loves them just as much as he loves the protesters. Al Quida members and the Taliban? God loves them the same way he loves the Pope and Mother Theresa. Barack Obama and John Boehner? Yes, He loves them both the same.
Here is what people don’t get and what We Are One attempts to convey: WE ARE ONE IN THE EYES OF GOD. There’s only one God, no matter what form of Him you believe. All religions are rooted in the same place. Imagine if even a quarter of the world’s population got that message and behaved accordingly! World peace is a concept we believe is impossible, but after reading Ms. Hoofer’s book, one can start to see maybe it isn’t.
I don’t normally recommend books, but then most of the books I read do not have world-changing possibilities. This one does. Even if all it does is make each reader recognize that they could make this change within their own family, or with one other person, it’s a start. World peace can start in your world and spread out from there.
You can order the book here:
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#Namaste: We Are One
