Inner Peace, How do I get it? And importantly, how do I keep it? Click to tweet
Most everyone I know has experienced inner peace although fleeting. I also know through personal experience of my own and through coaching hundreds of clients that peace is what we really want. Peace and happiness that is.
I believe that inner peace has to be constantly renewed through specific practices although those practices may be unique to the individual.
The world we live in is filled with conflict and it’s so easy to be brought into that conflict, pick up that energy and experience unrest unless we consciously safeguard our attention.
Does this mean we don’t watch the news? It’s my belief that we should have an idea of what is going on in the world but always turn our attention back to things that create harmony, love and happiness. After all when we change. the world changes with us and the more of us who practice inner peace the more peaceful the world will become.
I’m an unpopular person at our dinner table when the discussion turns to the miserable and unhappy news of the day. The news that’s been replaying on the TV and radio the past 8 to 24 hours; I just don’t turn it on. No, I’d rather not fill my mind and energy field with brutality, war and misery of all kinds. This is not to say I don’t want to stay informed. I do, I just don’t wish to immerse myself in it.
They say, “You are what you eat”. I believe that, do you? Well don’t you think you are what you pay attention to and surround yourself with? Believe it, because that’s true. Those who fight violence with violence are simply violent.
Those who choose not to fight but rather to lead by example can be harmonious, peaceful and certainly happier. Click to Tweet
Cultivating your Inner Peace
Here is an acronym to remind people of inner peace and it’s RAIN. (courtesy of http://www.mindful.org/mindful-magazine/tara-brach-rain-mindfulness-practice)
R Recognize what’s going on
A Allow the experience to be there just as it is
I Investigate with kindness
N Natural awareness which comes from not identifying with the experience
To give you a bit more insight to the meaning of RAIN I will go through it here.
R Recognize what’s going on means being aware. Not only aware of what is going on in your immediate space and even the world but to also be aware of your feelings and reaction to that. Many call that mindfulness.
A Allow the experience to be there just as it is. The awareness you cultivate in the first step also let’s you know when you are in judgment of what you may be observing. If you’re at all introspective you know that judgment does not create happiness and certainly adds to the busy mind. I would say that A should also stand for Acceptance. After all, it is what it is. Accept it and move on, toward what you want. Fighting it creates war, not inner peace.
I Investigate with kindness When trying to better understand a person and even a situation a good practice is to always try to see the good inherent within. To put yourself in the others’ shoes and to realize that most of us are doing the best we can with the information we have. Compassion goes a long way to cultivating inner peace.
N Natural awareness which comes from not identifying with the experience. If we are able to see the happenings of day-to-day life, the remarks of others, the petty annoyances as really having nothing to do with us, the busy mind calms down. When we identify with a situation we give it meaning and that meaning comes directly from our own personal story, filter and perception. Once again when we allow whatever it is to just be, without giving it our label, inner peace is able to emerge.
How to create the practice of inner peace
So the question is how do we practice all of the above? I believe we must create a practice or practices that keeps us in harmony with life. Many practice meditation, or sitting as the Buddhists call it. Yoga is another way to cultivate inner peace, others do it though prayer and many, including myself, find getting into nature is the most peaceful and renewing thing I can do to maintain the inner peace in my life.
Let us not forget laughter, a happy and fun way to practice creating inner peace.
Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm
All of these practices help us to become more aware and that awareness allows us to hear the things we may be saying to ourselves. Often the voice is unkind and promotes unhappiness, depression and failure. Certainly not inner peace. Read http://loranegordon.com/yourhappinessway/inner-critic/
This weeks radio guest Barb Schmidt, best selling author of The Practice gives her approach to achieving inner peace. You’ll hear it in her voice and learn from her example.
CALM IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM- Radio Show
Let me know what YOU do to cultivate inner peace? Comment below
Thank you for teaching us how to achieve inner peace. I love the acronym RAIN you explained. Thank you Lorane 😉
Hi Lorane. I totally agree with how you feel about watching the news because I feel the same way. I like to know what’s going on in the world but I do find that it can swamp my energy and get me down if I let it. So I started to say a prayer asking God and his Angels to send love ,light ,and healing energy to all the parts of the world where there is trouble and violence , and also to all the people involved to help them heal and to find a better way.
I still can only watch small amounts though , and I have to take a step back from stressful situations in my own life as well. So I meditate most days and it really helps to calm my mind and focus on the positive more.
Thanks for today’s Succesful Sunday. Really enjoyed it.