Teilhard de Chardin, called “the greatest prophet of this age”, intended to write a book called “The Book of Peace,” though he failed to do so. Instead, he went on sowing the seeds of peace throughout his writings. This book distills and presents the essence of the case Teilhard made for the cause of peace. There is no doubt that Teilhard’s readers have noticed how difficult his thought can be, and how puzzling it appears at times. This volume navigates the complexity of those labyrinthine roads, inviting the reader to confidently “see” the basic unity which underlies all that is. When we recognize that we live in the Divine Milieu, where we witness the transforming presence of the divine in human consciousness, we will existentially realize the truth of the principle by which Teilhard wanted us to live.

Humankind is, at the present time, reaching a critical point in history. A disaster of apocalyptic proportions could erupt at any time. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,” predicted Albert Einstein, “but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” What we are to do in order to prevent such catastrophic events? We are to change the way we think, insists philosopher Maalouf. We are to see people and things in different ways. We are to see with God’s eyes. We are to witness the birth of a new consciousness. For philosopher Jean Maalouf, who holds two Ph.D.s and who has published more than forty books, one needs to go beyond the symptoms, he affirms, and find the root causes of our crises. His new book, Awakening to the Power of Peace – Love – Joy -- Gratitude, goes straight to the very core of our crises and points the way to their solutions. The truth is that the battlefield is not primarily on the land where people confront and kill each other. The true battlefield is where decisions are made--in the people’s minds, hearts, and souls. This is also where solutions should be found. Dr. Maalouf invites us to change the way we perceive reality so that a new way of living can emerge. If we don’t learn to love one another and to live together in peace, we will continue to kill each other, and we will perish together. We are interconnected. We are interdependent. What we think about, how we see things, and what we say and do and the way we live our life matter greatly. We-ly (all of us together), we should live in peace, love, joy, and gratitude.

Pressures for transformational change have become a regular feature of most fields of human endeavour. Master-thinkers and visionaries alike have reframed existing divisions as connecting relationships, bringing together as dynamic systems the supposed opposites of parts and wholes, stability and change, individuals and society, and rational and creative thinking. This reframing of opposites as interconnected wholes has led to realisation of the power of a collective mind. This book offers ways and means of creating the synergies that are crucial in influencing a desired transformational change towards a just and sustainable future. It describes how and why our current decision-making on any complex issue is marked by clashes between the different interests involved. More optimistically, the book pursues a mode of thinking that brings together government, specialised and community interests at the local, regional and personal scales in a collective transformation process. Practical examples signal the emergence of a new knowledge tradition that promises to be as powerful as the scientific enlightenment. Written in accessible language, this book will be insightful reading for anyone struggling with transformational change, especially researchers, students and professionals in the fields of administration, governance, environmental management, international development, politics, public health, public law, sociology, and community development