I’ve been thinking a lot about the fear in the air lately, especially with the increasing unrest in the Middle East. There’s this rising sense of helplessness, fuelled daily by the media machine (if you’re still hanging out in it!), that has many of us wondering what we can do and how we can help.
I want to offer some practical suggestions – things you can do right now and ongoing – but I also want to reframe how we look at this, because we might be oceans away from war zones, oppressive regimes, or families in crisis, but we are not powerless. Not even close.
Let’s start with two pivotal distinctions shared recently by astrologer Pam Gregory: the path of fear and the path of love. Sound a bit airy‑fairy? Hear me out – it’s anything but.
Fear vs Love – and the trap of inevitability
It’s not hard to see the ‘fear channel’ blasting loud and clear. It’s the narrative that has people doom‑scrolling the news, taking in endless commentary on war, conflict, political manipulation. It’s the stories suggesting leaders have bad motives even when they’re trying to broker cease‑fires. It’s the sense that it’s all falling apart, and there’s nothing we can do.
But there’s a huge difference between believing something is inevitable and finding it difficult to imagine something else. One shuts down all other options, the other leaves the door open to possibility.
If we assume war is inevitable, we’ve brought the fear story. We give up hope. We stop imagining peace. And that becomes a kind of silent permission slip for more war, more violence, more despair.
But if we instead acknowledge that getting to (and maintaining) peace might seem difficult – but is still possible – we reclaim choice. We keep the door open to a different future.
Think back to India under British rule. Gandhi didn’t accept that it was inevitable the British would always rule India – even when many thought he was too passive to make a difference. In fact, looking back, it appears more like he decided it was inevitable that India would regain her independence – not in the least because India was standing for freedom and sovereignty.
To choose another path, we first have to reject the current one. I don’t know about you, but I reject war. I reject unholy regimes, violence, suppression, and fear.
I choose peace, harmony, love, and well-being for every soul on this planet.
The power of intention
Pam Gregory puts it simply: “Don’t give your energy as life support to anything you do not want.” In other words, it’s up to us to stop feeding the fear. To stop believing it’s the only story. Instead, to consciously choose to feed love. “What every single one of us can do for free” Pam says, “is focus on love and peace and gratitude and compassion, and what that does is raise the frequency of the world.”
You might worry that focusing on love and intention is a form of denial – a refusal to take ‘real action’. But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, scientists and spiritual teachers alike affirm that raising collective intention is one of the most potent forms of activism. Journalist Lynne McTaggart’s book The Intention Experiment documents dozens of scientific studies showing that focused group intention can:
• Improve healing rates in hospital patients
• Help plants grow faster and healthier
• Reduce crime rates in targeted areas
One experiment saw a significant drop in violent crimes in a Washington DC district when a small group practised meditative intention at specific times. Yes, one group of meditators influenced a whole neighbourhood’s safety.
Choosing love and compassion is radical, powerful, and deeply grounded in care. You may not be in a position to send money or fly into a war zone, but you can hold a vision. You can pray. You can intend.
And if you think your intention is just one drop in the ocean – know that together, we change the colour of the water.
Love is quieter – but no less powerful
The fear channel is noisy. Dramatic. Addictive. It’s there when people are sitting around the dinner table exchanging news tidbits, criticising politicians, getting angry, taking sides, and inadvertently feeding the machine.
The love channel is quieter, more subtle, but it’s everywhere. It’s in your mind’s eye when you picture peace around the world while you’re driving to work. It’s in day‑to‑day kindnesses to the people around you such as your spouse or children or someone serving you in a store. It lives in your morning meditation, in your kind words to a stranger. And it’s in seeing the collaboration, creativity, connection and unity happening all around the world.
And it’s not just you. Don’t ever think you’re the only person intending for peace.
People all over the world – in cities, villages, retreat centres, monasteries, yoga studios, organisations, clubs, community groups – are focusing on, calling in and anchoring in love. They’re planning a better world.
Be clear on what you’re asking for
If you’ve decided to ‘change the channel’ and vote for love and peace, consider what you want to intend. I suggest not getting too caught up in the details – like which leader should go, or whether families should stay in their home country or be granted asylum elsewhere. This isn’t about getting stuck in the politics or trying to control the ‘how’. For one, much of what we see and read isn’t accurate, so it’s risky to assume too much. And secondly, we don’t always know what the best outcome actually is. I don’t know whether it’s better for a family to stay in their home city or be given asylum elsewhere, but I can hold a strong intention for them to be safe, together, protected, and to live a thriving, abundant life in harmony. I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I don’t need to play God. What I can do is hold a clear intention.
We can simply ask for safety. For families to be together. For thriving lives in harmony and abundance. For peace in ways we can’t even yet imagine. That’s enough.
Words (and thoughts) are energy. what are you speaking into the world?
We know from basic quantum physics that what you think, say, and share influences the field around you. With this in mind, every conversation is a chance to cast your vote for the kind of world you want to live in.
So, what can you do? Here are some tangible actions:
Choose mindfully how you engage with news
~ The nightly news and social media feeds can be relentless. Strip back your time there if you still use news platforms – perhaps 10 minutes in the morning, 10 mins at night (early, not late or near bedtime) – then switch off.
~ Look for sources of information outside mainstream media.
~ Replace doom‑scrolling with intentional practices: do some yoga or breath practice, read a book, listen to a podcast or music that uplifts you, write that book!
Choose daily
~ Spend 60 seconds each morning visualising peace – for your community, another country, the world. See families safe, healthy governments, peaceful streets, happy people, flourishing communities.
~ Use meditation, journalling, or spoken affirmations: “I choose peace. I choose compassion. I choose prosperity.”
Speak hope, not fear
~ In your conversations with family, friends, colleagues, weave in visions of unity. Ask open questions: “What if peace were our default? What would that look like? What if peace in the Middle East became our new normal?”
~ Call out fear‑based rhetoric when you encounter it, with curiosity rather than blame: “What makes you feel that way? Have you considered…?”
~ If it’s not going to be received well (and to stop feeding the fear machine) the next best thing you can do is change the subject.
Don’t be afraid to pray!
~ If you’re spiritually inclined, dedicate a moment to sending love and protection to those in conflict zones. Picture a golden light flowing into and enveloping communities.
~ If that’s not really you, simply hold the thought: May all beings be safe. May all hearts know peace. May freedom and unity be our new normal.
Look for the good
~ Seek out news of grassroots peace initiatives, women’s peace networks in war zones, community gardens in bombed‑out cities, cross‑border humanitarian efforts, communities standing together. So many good things are going on!
~ Share these stories on socials. Highlight the good stuff that rarely makes for clickbait‑worthy headlines.
The science of collective intention
Stephan Schwartz, a scientist and scholar of consciousness, says this: “Mind is the builder. Collective intention shared amongst groups of people can create social transformation that fosters well‑being.”
He highlights research showing that when around 10% of any group – whether it’s a town, a church, or a nation – shifts its consciousness, the entire group starts to realign. Our individual and collective thoughts, words, and emotions send ripples through the vast field of consciousness.
That’s how powerful we are. That’s how much this matters.
If not now, when? if not us, then who?
A few weeks ago, a woman in Iran wrote on Pam Gregory’s YouTube channel that she was trying to leave the country. “I am an Iranian woman, currently in Tehran and trying to flee the country. The only thing that keeps me going is the light inside me and my courage. Wish me luck. Peace and blessings to everyone.” She made it out safely and, a week later, posted again:
“Hello everyone! I finally crossed the border and am now safe and sound. I wholeheartedly received all your support and love. Let there be peace and light.”
This was then followed by many well-wishing comments, as you can imagine. Reading that brought me to tears. This is happening. Real people. Real crisis. Real hope. Real courage.
I know it can feel daunting to shine your light, to worry you’ll sound like a Pollyanna. But if this brave woman can stand for peace and light from the heart of crisis, so can we. We can be brave. We can do this.
Let your conversations uplift. Trust that your prayers ripple outward. Let your vision be bold.
Let’s own this idea of peace! Let’s be it.
Because how we are – our beingness – is everything. As Gandhi showed us, change doesn’t require money, power or position. It requires intention, vision and alignment. His life was a masterclass in living the change we want to see.
We can stand for peace. We can be peace.
So …
Choose peace. Make a conscious decision about what you stand for.
Visualise it. Picture it happening.
Feel it. Feel it as if it’s already here. Let it move you.
Talk about it. Share hopeful visions with others.
This is how we change the world.
Karen x