I’ve always been fascinated by Truth. Not “truth” with a lowercase t—the subjective, shifting narratives we cling to—but Universal Truth. The stand-alone concept that fuels arguments, divides neighborhoods, and ignites wars.

If writing is a vessel for discovery, what is it if it isn’t truthful? That question led me to my own “Theory of Everything.” I decided to strip away the assumptions and observe this five-letter word from every angle. This is the heart of Contemplative Writing:

• Enter the Sacred Space: Leave the inner critic in the waiting room.
• Remove Taboos: In this space, nothing is too sacred to be examined.
• Cultivate Curiosity: Reclaim the child-like instinct to ask the questions that make adults uncomfortable.

A Note on the Process: This is my process for Contemplative Writing, being as brutally honest and courageous as I possibly can be when I consider a term. If there are taboos or limits on how deep I can dive into my own mind, I am self-policing, and that never results in discoveries. I am not governed by fear in this sacred space. For me, it’s all sacred space or nothing is sacred space. I am the judge of that. If you are offended by this work or wish to argue the points before seriously considering their efficacy, I invite you to do the work yourself—leave your taboos in the waiting room, enter your sacred space, open your mind, and write from your heart, with courage.

My courage has deepened since I began this quest. I no longer accept “truth” simply because it is presented as set in stone—in fact, those are the claims I question most.

Certainty kills creativity; it blinds you to the laser-bright sparks of insight that change everything.

The Reality of Truth

The words we use to define our reality have nuance and sometimes alternative definitions. We must get clear on our definition.

Just because the majority of the world believes something to be true, that doesn’t make it True. It makes it “true to you.”

Universal Truth exists regardless of my perception of it—it is what it is, independent of our collective agreement. It doesn’t require our consensus, and it certainly doesn’t require our enforcement.

This is where we must stop lying to ourselves about “peace.” We often speak of peace while keeping violence in our back pocket as a “last resort.”

If you will use violence as a last resort, you aren’t peaceful. You are pragmatic.

Force may be necessary to protect the innocent, but do not confuse pragmatism with peace. The moment you define peace by its ability to wield violence, you have already abandoned the Truth.

This is the unsettling Truth that the human race must face if we are to find True Peace in life.

The Truth Test

Consider this: If we possessed Universal Truth, we would possess the all-encompassing attributes. And if we possessed those attributes, violence would become logically redundant:

• If we were Omnipotent: We would not need force. When your word is natural law, nothing can oppose it. Violence is a confession of weakness—it is the tool of those who cannot simply command reality.
• If we were Omniscient: We would not need coercion. We would already know the origins, the reasons, and the outcomes. Coercion is the tool of the ignorant, used when one cannot persuade through understanding.
• If we were Omnipresent: We would not need control. We would be in everyone and everything. To control others is to treat them as external, but if you are omnipresent, there is no “external.”

Universal Truth doesn’t delineate; it integrates. There is no need for human interpreters, enforcers, or defenders. No need for any human to die on a battlefield to preserve it.

If the “truth” you are told requires a sword to defend it, it isn’t the Truth. It is merely an attachment. The moment we stop using violence to enforce our version of reality, we are finally free to see the other side of the human equation—the side where we stop playing games, drop the pretense of pragmatism, and begin to create.

Your Own Quest

The truth you’ve been handed is rarely the Truth you are capable of discovering. I invite you to pick up the pen and test these boundaries for yourself. Enter your own sacred space, identify a concept you’ve been told is absolute, and pull at the threads until you find the core of it yourself.

I know there’s more in you, that you didn’t come to life to follow rules and become a passive observer in your own life. Acceptance is a beautiful thing, but only if it creates a state of beauty within. That doesn’t include fear or force.

When you are swept away by a beautiful thought, in that moment, friend, you are truly beautiful.

Contemplative Writing isn’t about finding the “right” answer—it’s about the courage to dismantle the false ones so that you can see what remains.

What will you choose to explore today?

Originally Published on https://akasha111blog.wordpress.com/

Paula Tozer Author

Paula D. Tozer is the author of three books - Saving Your Own Life: Learning to Live Like You Are Dying; An Elegant Mind's Handbook, and Enchanting Treve, a Novel. She is also an actor, singer/songwriter, Creativity Coach, competitive speaker, and leader with Toastmasters, as well as an avid cyclist, hiker, gym rat, and critter lover. The vast majority of her accomplishments have been achieved after the age of 50, demonstrating that It is never too late to be what you truly could have been...

Paula believes that living fiercely at any age is the way to optimize our time on this side of the grass. She has taken up the mission to inspire and motivate her contemporaries with what she has found that has allowed her to age with elegance, vitality, and most of all, good humor!