The Yin and Yang of Passion

Did you notice the remark by the Dalai Lama at the September Peace Summit in Vancouver that “The world will be saved by the Western Woman”. What a thought provoking prophesy from the world’s most respected spiritual leader!

Hearing this during a fortnight ago during a passion bombora gathering, some of us were immediately taken aback by this call to action. And the questions raised for me included: “Why Western not Eastern?” and “Why women not men?” “Does the world really need saving?” and, if so, “What does it mean to save the world?”

My sense is that when the Dalai Lama refers to ‘saving the world’ he is meaning creating a peaceful and environmentally sustainable world. And it seems to me that he sees this as an imperative, not just a good idea. Then I discovered another powerful quote from His Holiness to reinforce this sense of urgency: “Humankind is crying out for help. Ours is a desperate time. Those who have something to offer should come forward. Now is the time.”

The Dalai Lama has long taught that when we can achieve inner peace in our minds, we will then be in a position to bring about peace in our own lives and then peace in the world at large. So perhaps he was suggesting that we can harmonise our inner and outer worlds and in doing so, change the world. And perhaps that is also needed to bring about a state of peace with our natural environment.

For me the ‘western’ mind is akin to yang energy (externally focused) and ‘woman’ is yin (internally focussed). So the Eastern concept of harmonising yin and yang is embedded in the Dalai Lama’s idea of ‘the Western Woman’. And I think he is suggesting that ‘the Western Woman’ can bring this about in the most powerful way and with the urgency demanded by our current global challenges.

Well then I thought – “What has this to do with passion?” and “How can passion contribute to empowering ‘the Western Woman’?”

I have been blessed with having the experience of facilitating many amazing men and women around the globe, in particular in guiding them during their exploration and expression of their passions.

From them, I have learnt that when we track our passions to their deep creative source, we can find that peaceful place in ourselves, like following a river upstream to source. I have also learnt that when we are clear about our passions and make a commitment to fully living them, we find a sense of flow and harmony in our lives – like travelling down the river to the big ocean of life. So, being guided by passion, let us harmonise our two different journeys – our yin and our yang, our inner and outer, and in doing so, let each of us contribute to peace and sustainability in the world in our own unique way.

By Peter Wallman