{"id":5060,"date":"2013-04-30T00:01:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T04:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/?p=5060"},"modified":"2013-05-02T07:10:24","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T11:10:24","slug":"i-dont-like-war-but-i-am-about-to-get-deployed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/?p=5060","title":{"rendered":"I don’t like war, but I am about to get deployed…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Advice,<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>I have been blessed by the teachings that Neale and other like-minded souls have provided. I was wondering what I can do about my situation. I am currently in the military, and I have a wife and three children. I don’t like war, but I’m about to get deployed to Korea for a possible conflict. I am determined to let God work through me, but I experience sadness when I think about the potential violence and death that could happen in Korea. I was deployed to Afghanistan a few years ago, and the trauma of war is terrible. The military is my physical source of income, and it appears to be the only option for supporting my family. I feel some guilt because of my occupation, and what it causes me to potentially do; however, my wife and children need a loving, providing father.\u00a0 My wife is partially disabled as well, so her working at a job is partially unreasonable.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Thank you for your answers,
\n<\/em>G.M.G., El Paso,TX<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear GMG,<\/p>\n

As you know, there are no easy answers to this one.\u00a0 There are the physical and the spiritual, and there is how to combine them.<\/p>\n

The current reality is, as I see it, that you have a legal contract with the U.S. Government.\u00a0 I took the liberty of contacting a very good friend of mine, who is an ex Staff Sargent, to ask him what he would counsel.\u00a0 His first thought was to suggest that you go to your unit’s chaplain and approach the subject with him (knowing the military, it might even be prudent to do the “hypothetically, if a person felt…” thing), and see what he\/she might say about how to become a conscientious objector.\u00a0 This may not be possible, though, since your deployment to S. Korea is not considered in a conflict area at this point.<\/p>\n

Now, should you wish to, and are able to, pursue any track that gets you out of the military before your tour is up, it could cause you to lose your benefits as well, which, given your family situation does make your decision much more complicated.\u00a0 Since going to Korea is usually a 1-year unaccompanied tour, I assume you have at least that left?\u00a0 Might you have been in long enough to “retire”?<\/p>\n

However, we now move to the spiritual side…we often say we have no choice in the matter, when, in fact, we really do have a choice.\u00a0 We just don’t like accepting the consequences of what one choice would be.\u00a0 We are, also, conditioned to make the “easy” choice, even though that choice may just be delaying making the choice we really should make, or is simply the one we have been told is the “right” choice.\u00a0 Often, even though something nags at us, we do what others…culture, religion, government, family, friends…tell us is the right thing to do, rather than what our gut tells us would really work for us, on a level too often not worked into the mix…our soul level.<\/p>\n

I am going to suggest you also reach out to your family.\u00a0 If you haven’t already, sit down with your wife, and your children (if they are old enough to understand), and tell them how you are feeling.\u00a0 Discuss that a huge part of your decision rests in what you perceive your responsibility is to them.\u00a0 GMG, there is a real possibility that they don’t expect you to do something that is harming you in this way.\u00a0 I would let them know what your vision is of what you would like to do, and why, and ask them how they would create your vision.\u00a0 If you would like them to be part of you life, it can only work if they have a voice in what that life looks like, and how it gets created.\u00a0 Remember…they are on this journey with you, co-creating with you. Remember, too, that children, because they don’t have all of the clutter of culture, religion and more, often have the greatest insights!<\/p>\n

So, how do you apply the Spiritual knowing you have growing in you…you don’t like war…to all of these real (in the physical level) aspects of your life?<\/p>\n

I believe you have to move to the first level of truth telling.\u00a0 Tell the truth about yourself to yourself. Someone recently put it to me this way: The highest virtue is being truthful. What “works” for us doesn’t always look compatible with our physical circumstances.\u00a0 Telling the truth to ourselves, about what we are feeling, will often make us feel isolated from what the world says we should feel. However, when we are truthful with ourselves, it opens the door for all possibilities to appear.<\/p>\n

Then we have to make sure that we put no boundaries around possibilities!\u00a0 We do that so very often by having a very specific view of what the solution to a problem should look like.\u00a0 We most often want that road of least resistance, when it is the messy road that our soul tells us we should take.\u00a0 When you are truthful with yourself, you will know what the “right” road is.\u00a0 That’s what gut feelings are all about.\u00a0 Our bodies connect the mind and the soul.<\/p>\n

And then there are your children.\u00a0 What do you wish to example to your children?\u00a0 What do you feel you are exampling now?\u00a0 What do you think you would example by doing something different?\u00a0 Which would have the most positive long-term benefit to your children…and your wife…and you?<\/p>\n

Having said all of that, let me conclude with this: There are no “right” and “wrong” choices to be made here.\u00a0 As CWG states, there is only what works and doesn’t work.\u00a0 We<\/em> get to define what “works” for us.\u00a0 Sometimes things that once worked don’t any longer.\u00a0 Sometimes what would never have seemed like a possibility in our lives, is now the perfect choice, if not the easiest choice.\u00a0 And knowing what that perfect choice is comes from, yup, telling the truth about ourselves, to ourselves.<\/p>\n

I am now going to suggest that you find some time to just sit quietly and meditate.\u00a0 I am going to suggest a very simple meditation.\u00a0 Begin at the top of your head and just feel every inch of your body…from the top down, and then back up again.\u00a0 When you have a thought (and you will!) don’t judge it, simply acknowledge it, thank it, and move on.\u00a0 The same thing for body sensations…notice, thank, move on.\u00a0 Do not linger in the thought or sensation.\u00a0 Do this for 15 minutes to 1 hour.\u00a0 It may be difficult to go more than 15 minutes the first time or two.<\/p>\n

Why do I suggest you do this?\u00a0 Because doing this brings your mind fully, and only, into the present moment.\u00a0 It eliminates the clutter for that brief period of time…and does much the same thing as rebooting your computer does.\u00a0 It gives your mind a chance to de-clutter and and allows for the possibility of new thoughts.<\/p>\n

GMG, I would also like to invite you to join The Changing Change Network at www.changingchange.net<\/a> .\u00a0 This is the website Neale Donald Walsch created to support the book “When Everything Changes, Change Everything.” \u00a0The membership is free.\u00a0 The book, in its entirety, is on the site to read…for free.\u00a0 And, most importantly of all, there are volunteer Spiritual Helpers there who will dialogue with you about moving through dramatic change in your life…and I think this is a pretty dramatic time for you right now.\u00a0 It has some pretty powerful stuff, that can help you find your answers.<\/p>\n

Finally, I would ask you to be kind to yourself, no matter what decision you make.\u00a0 You have had a lifetime of data, and changing your thoughts about that data will not always happen overnight.\u00a0 Just know that you are on the “when you know better, you do better” path, and that is enough.<\/p>\n

Therese<\/p>\n

(Therese Wilson is a published poet, and is the administrator of the global website at <\/i>www.ChangingChange.net<\/a>\u00a0. She may be contacted at:<\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/i>Therese@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>.)<\/i><\/p>\n

(If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to\u00a0<\/i>Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/a>, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)<\/i><\/p>\n

An additional resource: \u00a0ChangingChange.net<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0offers spiritual assistance from a team of non-professional\/volunteer Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less. Nothing on the CCN site should be construed or is intended to take the place of or be in any way similar to professional therapeutic or counseling services. \u00a0The site functions with the gracious willing assistance of lay persons without credentials or experience in the helping professions. \u00a0What these volunteers possess is an awareness of the theology of\u00a0Conversations with God. \u00a0It is from this context that they offer\u00a0insight, suggestions, and spiritual support during moments of unbidden, unexpected, or unwelcome change on the journey of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Advice, I have been blessed by the teachings that Neale and other like-minded souls have provided. I was wondering what I can do about my situation. I am currently in the military, and I have a wife and three children. I don’t like war, but I’m about to get deployed to Korea for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5060"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6930,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5060\/revisions\/6930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}