Well most people like me would be glad to learn how to foster or increase our internal peace of mind, no matter the moments we faced in this fast pace environment. It is a matter of having the drive to do it, and learn the skills.
So for this blog entry, I would like to focus on finding peace of mind and sharing tips with all of you to put into practice. I also welcome your comments and discussion about further ideas.
Let’s start by asking: What is Peace of Mind?
There are multiple definitions out in the web, and while I was looking around, this is the one I like the most:
Peace of mind - It is a state of inner calmness and tranquility, together with a sense of freedom, when thoughts and worries cease, and there is no stress, strain or fear. Such moments are not so rare. They may be experienced while being engaged in some kind of an absorbing or interesting activity, such as while watching an entertaining movie or TV program, while being with someone you love, while reading a book or while lying on the sand at the beach.
Now let me ask you: When you are on vacation, do you experience some sort of mental numbness?
At this time, the mind becomes calmer, with fewer thoughts and fewer worries. Even while you are deeply asleep, not aware of your thoughts, you are in a state of inner peace.
Such and similar activities take away the mind from its usual thoughts and worries, and bring some temporary inner peace.
The question is how to bring more peace of mind into our life, and more importantly, how to experience it in times of trouble? Also, we might ask whether it is possible to make it a habit, and enjoy it always and under all circumstances.
First, we need to learn to bring more moments of inner peace into our daily life. Later, we will be able to experience these moments in times of trouble or difficulties too, when we really need inner calmness and tranquility.
Tips to Increase Our Peace of Mind:Experts say that we can turn peace of mind into a natural habit, but to do so, special training is required, through concentration exercises, meditation and other means. Therefore, to help us with this, let’s look for some simple things to start:
1. Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.
2. Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.
3. Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.
4. Control of Thoughts. It is our thoughts that determine our state of mind. If we constantly cherish negative and destructive thoughts, inner peace will always remain a far cry. At all costs, we need to avoid pursuing trains of negative thoughts. This requires practice. – 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. Never feel you are a helpless victim to your thoughts.
5. Don't be jealous of others. Being jealous means that you have low self-esteem and consider yourself inferior to others. Jealousy and low self-esteem, often lead to lack of inner peace.
6. Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.
7. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible. We must learn to put up with such things and accept them cheerfully.
8. Learn to be more patient and tolerant with people and events.
9. Don't take everything too personally. Some emotional and mental detachment is desirable. Try to view your life and other people with a little detachment and less involvement. Detachment is not indifference, lack of interest or coldness. It is the ability to think and judge impartially and logically. Don't worry if again and again you fail to manifest detachment. Just keep trying.
10. Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and concentrate on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and immerse yourself in them.
11. Practice some concentration exercises. This will help you to reject unpleasant thoughts and worries that steal away your peace of mind.
12. Learn to practice meditation. Even a few minutes a day will make a change in your life.
Finally, Inner peace ultimately leads to external peace. By creating peace in our inner world, we bring it into the external world, affecting other people too.
Action Item:
- Select 3 items from the list provided to start practicing your inner peace.
- Share with us other tips or resources related to Inner Peace.
- Remember one step at a time.
Keep In Mind:
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves”- Buddha
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment