July/August 2006 Spirituality
The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking
by Fredrick James

by James Twyman

James Twyman

A review of the new book The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking by James Twyman

In a secluded mineral spring beside the Dead Sea in Israel, a miracle is about to occur. A man walks out of the desert with “eyes that shine like the sun” bearing a message of peace for the world.

Enter James Twyman, a peacemaker who has had more than his share of spiritual adventures. His books Emissary of Light and Emissary of Love have been read by hundreds of thousands of people around the world and recount his adventures traveling through war-torn countries sharing his ministry as “The Peace Troubadour.” One of the spots he often returns to is Israel, a place where peace and reconciliation seem almost impossible.

“Israel, and especially Jerusalem, is prophesized to be the birthplace of the new world,” Twyman said. “Jerusalem literally means ‘City of Peace’ and has been predicted by many to be the place where it all happens. What makes its history even more fascinating is that it continues to be the center of such violence and division. If peace can come to Jerusalem, then it can happen anywhere.”

Three years ago, after leading a group of 65 peacemakers from around the world to Israel, James and four others remained behind to relax and rejuvenate. They decided to return to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth and the site of the ancient Essene community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden nearly two thousand years ago. Near the spot where the scrolls were found there is a sulfur spring where the dense salt water from the sea combines with hot mineral waters from deep within the earth. James and his group had visited this spot earlier on the trip, but at that time it was filled with tourists making it difficult to fully enjoy. On this day, however, it was nearly deserted, and the experience turned out to be very different.

From the introduction to The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking:

“The water and the minerals seemed to inspire an impenetrable contemplation, and I was unaware of anything other than the waves of deep relaxation washing through my whole being. Nothing else existed, and my spirit seemed to shake free from my body, my friends and the motionless sea. I was at peace, vast and unfathomable, and it felt as if nothing would penetrate the stillness I felt.

“Then I felt a presence, as if someone was standing next to me. I instantly realized, however, that it was not a body I felt beside me, but the spirit of a person I felt I recognized. In my mind I saw this spirit as a man who seemed to have walked straight out of the desert, his hair matted and his dark skin covered with sweat. But there was something else that caught my attention: his eyes. I had never seen eyes like this before, radiant and dazzling like the sun. He looked at me as if he saw more than the person floating there in the spring. He saw me, the me I rarely if ever saw myself. The love that shot from his eyes wrapped around me and filled me with Divine radiance. I knew, without him saying a word, that this was he: Jeshua, the real man who walked the same paths and roads two thousand years earlier.”

Many if not most Christians do not realize that Jeshua ben Joseph is the actual Aramaic name of Jesus. This is what his friends would have called him, and as James says, there seemed to be a difference between this man he met in the spring and the iconic character that has dominated history for 2000 years.

“I use the Aramaic name rather than the more common ‘Jesus’ for a good reason. This was not the character from a book I met, nor was it the man that had been painted by the great masters or whose image had been immortalized in statues on altars around the world. This was the real guy, the authentic man who walked and talked and ate with his friends two thousand years ago. The man I sensed next to me wasn’t the cookie cutter Jesus, but rather, the mystical and passionate master who inspired or inflamed the land we now call holy. In an instant I knew why he inspired them so, for my own heart began to race.”

According to James, Jeshua came with a gift. James had already decided to write an Internet course called “The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking,” but after weeks of work he still had not written a word.

From the book:

“Would you like me to help you?” Those were the words I felt extend from him, and they startled me. What did he mean? What could he help me with? It was as if he immediately knew what I was thinking and as he smiled I realized what he meant – The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking. “Would you like me to help you with it?” he asked again.

I thought that I would have said yes without hesitating. After all, the way I was raised you don’t question such an extraordinary offer of support, especially when it comes from him. Yet, I felt myself hesitate, as if I wasn’t sure what it meant, or what I would be agreeing to.

Luckily, the hesitation passed and I was convinced. “Yes, I do need you to help me.”

Instantly, I felt something happen, as if information was being downloaded into my heart and my mind, information that I would have to access at a later date, regardless of how anxious I was to know what it was. He smiled when it was complete, then said to me: “When I was with my friends, I told them secrets that I couldn’t reveal to the masses. They weren’t ready…but now they are. I told them stories, but now is the time for everything to be revealed. That will be the course we will write together. I say together because it would be impossible for me to do it alone. We need each other in this.”

Thus began a journey of awakening and learning the secrets of enlightenment, lessons that not only changed the lives of the 30,000 people who took the course online, but James’ life as well.

“If I were to choose two or three books that I would take with me on a desert island, this would be one of them,” James said. “The fact that I am credited with writing it, at least partially, says something important. It certainly doesn’t mean that I like reading my own words, but rather, that there is something I find within these words that I have only discovered a handful of other times in my life. What I discovered is the Truth, pure and simple, and that is something to acknowledge and honor, whatever the source.”

James feels that the messages found in the lessons are of universal importance. In it Jeshua offers simple practices for realizing that each one of us is already enlightened. “No change needs to occur in your mind,” he says, “because you have never actually changed from how you were originally created. You were created perfect, and there is nothing you can do to alter that. This is the key to salvation, and to realizing that you are already a Spiritual Peacemaker.”

The book is divided into two sections. The first section shares the original 33 lessons exactly as they were received by James, each one exactly 999 words, while the second offers one lesson for each day of the year. They are all focused on what Jeshua calls “Seeing what is really in front of you, and disregarding what isn’t.” The lesson is simple: Each instant of our lives we have the opportunity to see the Divine, and in doing so, experience it within ourselves. The course focuses on “Seeing what is true…that God’s love is eternal and unalterable. When we learn to see one another in the same way, then we remember who we really are.”

From the book:

“You have been told that seeing through enlightened eyes takes time, and that it is difficult to master. Let go of this terrible belief.” (pg. 135)

“What is it in you that searches for love? The answer is simple: It is love itself.” (pg 138)

“In every moment, be willing to ask this question of yourself: ‘What would God choose to see now?’” (pg. 145)

“The eyes that were given to you by God will give you the vision you need to look past the world of forgotten dreams, and perceive a New World where forgiveness is completely unnecessary.” (pg. 156)

“Are you ready? What other question need I ask of you? And what answer will you give, now that it has been asked? Are you ready to bring peace to all beings by being peace? If so, then you are ready to heal the whole world by being a Spiritual Peacemaker.” (pg. 12)

“The teachings in this book are revelatory, and they’re revolutionary,” James said. “It’s difficult to realize that they were able to find their way through my thick mind. In the end I think the message is that if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking reached the number one position on Amazon.com on its release date, June 6th, 2006, remained in the top 10 for the duration of the week and is still near the top. For information on how to find the book or the courses, go to www.jamestwyman.com