September 21 is World Peace Day and I’m wondering what that means for you? Is peace a concept some of us share and talk about or is it a palpable reality—a greater truth of who we are?

I can’t help but wonder how many times in my life I talked about global peace and then was rude to someone in my life. Something tells me I played out that story more times than I probably really want to know. Is world peace even possible if I allow myself to become stuck in my stories and do not sink into the peace that lives in the deeper realization of greater truth?

A very wise man once suggested to me that there are two kinds of truth. As I ponder on his words I believe he was describing these two kinds of truths: one is a personal reflection of my momentary feelings and beliefs; the other is the greater truth that permeates all of life. It is in this greater truth where we find commonality, love and that deep abiding peace.

When do we experience that greater truth? We know it when we realize that we as humans share similar, universal emotions that do not know the boundaries of race, creed or culture. We know it when we are in silence together, or even when we are alone in the depths of our stillness. We even know the greater truth when we laugh together—that space where our thinking stops and purity of being exists.

I remember a dream in which I was with a small group of people and Satan. He was getting to me to do little errands for him that were actually quite harmless, but I was becoming perturbed because I was feeling a little used. Someone in our group cracked a joke and there I was standing next to Satan, and we were laughing hysterically. There was no longer an enemy, no evil or good, no feelings of being perturbed, nor any superiority. There was only the oneness and peace we were experiencing through our laughter.

If I am at odds with someone and I can share laughter with them, a meal, a heart-felt discussion in which I truly listen to understand them, it has been my experience that the barriers break down very quickly. What I perceive to be their thoughtlessness, carelessness or even evil intent, prove to be their attempts to reconcile the fears and wounds of their own earthly existence. My judgments quickly dissolve into nothingness if I open to compassion before opening to judgment.

Because I am human, that takes practice, but it is consciousness I am willing to invest in because I really do want world peace. I want the greater peace—the greater truth—for myself personally, and because that awareness is so rich and fulfilling, I want it for all. True peace is that serene place of consciousness beyond our illusions and fears.

Some of us choose to be that peace in the world. And some of us then choose to act from that peace in service to the world. One of New Dream’s volunteers, John Brown, has a deep dedication to peace. In his commitment, he brought to life a dream that would support the peaceful efforts of individuals and organizations through his program, Rooms for Peace. You can discover more here: http://www.roomsforpeace.org/ This is a natural and beautiful way to meet like-hearted peace-makers and put dollars you would normally spend for travel lodging into organizations that further peace in the world.

On World Peace Day, I invite you to join me in opening to the greater truth—the peace that exists in all of us. May we become what we wish to create in the world.