7 Steps to Complete Inner Peace
Inner peace is one of the most valuable assets that we can cultivate. Nobody can give us inner peace, but our own thoughts can rob us of our inner peace. We can experience inner peace right now, exactly where we are. One does not need to travel to a sacred temple to find it. The most important criteria is to value the importance of inner peace. If we truly want inner peace, we will strive to make it a reality.
These are some suggestions for bringing more peace into your mind.
1. Limit your time reading negative material and watching the news.
It is true, that we can try to detach from this negativity. But, in practise, we will make our progress easier if we don’t spend several hours ruminating over the problems of the world. Once I limited, if not completely removed myself from watching the news and reading the newspapers I found my energy levels and outlook on life became more positive.
It has become too easy to automatically switch on the TV or surf the internet when we have a few free minutes. Take the opportunity to be still and enjoy a relaxed state of mind free of conflict and responsibilities. As a writer I find when I turn off the television and the internet my mind tends to become more aware and more creative.
2. Control of Negative Thought Processes:
It is our thoughts that determine our state of mind and body. If we constantly cling to negative and destructive thoughts, inner peace will always remain at a distance. Begin by turning these thoughts around. If you feel you failed at something look at what you learned in that situation. Train yourself to think, “I did the best I could” and forgive yourself as well. This requires practise. – We cannot attain mastery of our thoughts overnight. But, at the same time we always have to remember that we are able to decide which thoughts to follow and which to reject. You are NOT a helpless victim to your thoughts.
Somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
3. Simplify Your Life & Home:
Learn to say “No”. We can feel that we never have enough time to fulfill all our tasks. Take time to simplify your life; there are many things that we can do without, quite often we add unnecessary responsibilities to our schedule. Do the most significant tasks, one at a time, and enjoy doing them. To experience inner peace, it is essential to avoid cluttering our life with unnecessary activities and worries. Organize our activities and appointments in daytimers, use a filing system to find important documents. We also may want to purge ourselves of things, perhaps clothing and items that we no longer use.
I have learned many ways to maximize my time, such as running a few errands together. I balance household responsibilities and time I need to ensure I stay healthy – going for walks with the dog to prevent back pain and keep chronic pain at bay with my free-lance writing and my coursework as a student. Yet, I am still able to spend time with loved ones and friends.
The things I do not desire to do I do less of. It all comes down to priorities and what really matters now. Will it matter if the laundry gets done tonight or another day? So what if the sink is full of dishes that will wait until tomorrow.
4. Spend time to cultivate inner peace.
Most weekdays we spend 8 hours a day at a job, surely we can find time to spend 15 minutes to cultivate inner peace? No matter how much money we have, it will never bring us inner peace. I am able to sneak in at least an hour a day to do things alone that allow me to maintain a state of peace in my busy life. I enter my office ( sanctuary) and listen to music, burn incense and listen to my waterfall and the world falls away.
One can get creative with this one, so maybe you can’t find ten minutes a day for inner peace at home. Maybe our lunch break at work might be a place we can slip away for ten minutes to meditate. Some friends I know take a little drive after work and sit at the park for 15 minutes to unwind and meditate while others demand 30 minutes when they get home from work to be left alone.
If all else fails listen to some relaxing music in your car on your way to and from work. This can be a great stress reliever as well..
5. Avoid Criticizing People:
If we want inner peace, we need to be more accepting of others. If we are indifferent to the feelings of others, then it is impossible to have inner peace for ourselves. What we give out comes back. If you offer a peaceful attitude to others you will find that this will be returned
tenfold. Not everyone will return a peaceful attitude and those people that prefer not to, let them worry about it, that is their stuff.
6. Let Go of Perfectionism:
We are not perfect nor is the world or anyone else. Stop being so hard on yourself. Nobody ever died from a messy living room. It can be quite freeing to let go of having to do everything perfectly. When we do this we also allow others to help us if we ask.
7. One final point, stop worrying. This serves no purpose; things are going to happen as they do. We can convince ourselves we have all this control but we often don’t.
Peace
Namaste
REPOSTED FROM 2012.
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