How Meditation Can Unify Our Divided World

A few moments alone could be the key to bringing us all together.

We all love bad news. Science says so. And if you’re not one for science, today’s media headlines are probably enough to convince you. With stories of political fragmentation in the US, terrorist attacks in Europe and conflict in the Middle East growing more frequent each day, we seem to be embracing the intolerance behind these tragedies, too.

Despite evidence that, in some ways, we are actually becoming more tolerant, the headlines demonstrate that we have begun to focus more on our differences than our similarities — and have done so to our own detriment. In fact, societal divisions and internal conflict actually caused the US to drastically fall in the most recent Global Peace Index.

As our world is becoming more divided, it’s threatening our well-being and our future. The World Economic Forum even ranked the increasing polarization of societies as one of the top global risks for 2017, writing, “Collaborative action by world leaders will be urgently needed to avert further hardship and volatility in the coming decade.”

And while collaboration between world leaders is important, peace really starts with our acceptance of one another. Instead of looking for some superhero rushing to our rescue, we have to begin ourselves — and mindfulness meditation can help. Here’s how:

Step 1: Getting to the ‘Heart’ of the Matter by Looking Inward

Before we can learn to accept one another, we need to accept ourselves. We must start where we as individuals are and understand why we feel the way we do. Then, we must come to terms with our own prejudices, biases, irritations and fears, which, as suggested by psychology expert Dr. A.J. Marsden an interview with NBC News, are often responsible for breeding the enmity that plagues our society.

Through meditation we can better know ourselves and ask ourselves why we feel discomfort and insecurity with certain individuals. Often, we are strangers to our own emotions, projecting intolerance onto the world which stems from an intolerance within ourselves that we aren’t even aware of. But, by taking a few moments of meditative silence, we create a gap where our emotions, thoughts and irritations are allowed to arise and dissolve, without acting upon them.

This approach of mindfulness ultimately helps us become aware of our aggression and negativity and reach deep within to heal the insecure and fractured parts of our hearts. We’re not trying to restructure ourselves, but instead, accept ourselves for who we are and thereby uncover the fundamental goodness that already exists within us. In doing so, meditation helps us develop a deep sense of self-awareness, which researchers have actually linked to stronger empathy skills – a critical first step to tackling today’s epidemic of intolerance.

Step 2: Creating Space for Wise Judgment and Reaction

Once we have given ourselves time to develop a greater sense of empathy, meditation can help us react sensibly, without distortion from our emotions and irritations. And while critics might suggest that this encourages a numbness to the world and fosters a state of disengagement, it is not to suggest that we entirely abandon our ability to judge. To be moral beings and do good in the world, we must use judgment — but only after we have separated our fears from reality and created a more spacious place to experience the world.

Meditation ultimately creates this calmness, this spaciousness, through which negativity lessens, and we become more aware and see more clearly. From this healthy space, wise judgment and kind, appropriate responses can flourish, untarnished by our reactionary impulses and unsubdued prejudices.

In fact, researchers at the University of Central Michigan found that even just 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation can significantly reduce race and age discrimination by enabling wiser judgment. “Through extended practice, mindfulness can possibly bring us closer to each other in a more profound way, a way in which we see each other truly and as possessing the same innate qualities and essence that we ourselves possess,” write the authors of the study.

We often fixate on our first impressions of others, instead of slowing down and giving ourselves time to respond to people as multidimensional beings. The reality however, is that situations are textured, the world is a complex place and we are complex beings. Through meditation, we have time to dissect this complexity. When we have seen everyone’s layers, our own actions become less hurried or impatient — and we can often find similarities upon which we can come together.

Step 3: Engaging Patiently and Communally

However eager we may be, altruistic and compassionate responses are only effective when aligned with wisdom, which we can glean through thoughtful meditation. After allowing ourselves time to judge and respond, we must actively engage to enact positive change. And according to a study from researchers at Northeastern University, meditation can help us do just that. The study demonstrates how mindfulness meditation can build compassion and spur us into action, even overcoming the powerful “bystander effect”, a psychological phenomenon known to inhibit helping behavior.

When engaging in this helping behavior, it’s important to remember that we can’t initiate widespread change immediately; we can only change it one encounter at a time. Though we may become impatient when we see pain and confusion in the world, we must remember that any wholesome engagement in the world is slow, and that we’ll be working throughout our whole lives to make a difference. As such, meditation can help us avoid burnout by creating a space within ourselves to find the motivation to dig in and carry on each day.

To start, we must be kind to our neighbors. Goodness is as contagious as a disease. Before long, our compassion will have influenced the whole block, then the town and beyond. Additionally, as meditation has always included both solitary and group practice within the Buddhist tradition, coming together to practice mindfulness is a particularly great way to connect with others and build a supportive, engaged community.

While it is disheartening to see such striking examples of intolerance stretching across the globe, we must remember that the power to change it is ours. Small changes in the human heart can produce very powerful results. And to get started, all it takes is a few minutes each day to learn about ourselves, make wise judgments and engage together. In doing so, we just might see how a few moments apart in meditation can bring our fractured world back together.

About the author:
Lama Jampa Thaye, PhD, founder of the international Dechen Community, is considered one of the West’s leading meditation teachers. He is also a key contributor to Mindworks, an advanced meditation app designed to help create more calmness, clarity and well-being in our lives.