By Celeste Smucker
Peace I ask of thee oh river.
Peace, peace, peace.
When I learn to live serenely, cares will cease.
–From the Girl Scout song Peace of the River
What is inner peace and how do you find it?
The Bible speaks of it often as in the phrase, “the peace that passeth understanding,” suggesting it may require expanded awareness to comprehend.
The Girl Scout song, Peace of the River lovingly compares peace to a river that flows serenely along, despite rocks, downed trees and other obstacles that may be in its way.
Peace appears to be both a spiritual concept that requires expanded awareness to understand, as well as a practical tool to help you easily navigate life’s ups and downs.
Let’s explore further.
Inner Peace & Your Spiritual Path
It is often the lack of peace in your life that triggers the start of a spiritual journey.
It is by following a spiritual path and entering your subtle dimensions that moves you beyond human understanding to the peace you seek.
Lack of peace may feel like a vague sense of dissatisfaction, or that there is something missing from your life. Maybe you ask yourself, “Is this all there is?”
Or perhaps you had a traumatic experience such as the unexpected death of someone close or a conflict at work that caused you to lose your job. Maybe you got divorced or discovered you no longer have much in common with an old friend.
Experiences like these can leave you stuck in worry or anxiety, places where peace is hard to find.
The good news, though, is that they can also motivate you to embark on a spiritual path.
Peace & Your Authentic Self
Following a spiritual path can help you uncover your authentic self, the real you beneath the self you bring out when you want to impress someone else.
Or when you have something important to say but don’t speak up fearing you might embarrass yourself by saying the wrong thing.
Or when you express an opinion that doesn’t reflect your true values (or don’t speak up to defend your beliefs) in order to fit in or not upset someone who has a differing opinion.
We have all been guilty of some or all of these at one time or another and suffered the consequences of being out of alignment with our true selves.
Yet, for centuries spiritual teachers have taught that to find lasting peace, alignment with your true self is essential.
Fortunately you can begin with simple steps designed to balance your three primary dimensions: your physical body, your emotions and your mind.
The more balance you achieve, the greater your access to your subtle dimensions, the source of serenity and inner peace.
Your Physical Body & Inner Peace
It is amazing how many hints and guides and intuitions for living
come to the sensitive person who has ears to hear what their
body is saying.
–Rollo May
Your physical body is your foundation. When it is out of balance, it will not align easily with your emotions or your thoughts. Instead, it can often be the source of imbalance in both of them.
So, a good first step towards greater inner peace is to uncover imbalances in your physical dimension.
Step one is to choose a diet that suits your unique constitution rather than one you’ve read about online, or that you’ve heard works well for a friend or relative.
To do so listen to your body and act on what you learn.
For two weeks, record all the food you eat along with how you felt afterwards. When you find foods that make you feel healthy and alive, keep them in your diet. Also, eliminate foods that cause you to feel lethargic and out of sorts.
Just as important, notice how you eat your food.
Studies show you can improve your digestion by eating slowly and mindfully, and chewing thoroughly. Also, avoid multitasking while you eat. Turn off the TV and don’t be tempted to use meal times to catch up on your reading.
Staying appropriately hydrated is also essential as studies show a dehydrated body can cause elevated anxiety and fatigue, reduced athletic performance, increased headaches and decreased memory and ability to concentrate.
You can also support your body by choosing the right exercise routine.
While some people benefit from a vigorous workout that shakes them out of a couch potato lifestyle, a calming yoga routine may be just right for someone who is perpetually stressed and over extended.
Your Emotions & Inner Peace
Stress is caused by being here but wanting to be there.
- Eckhart Tolle
Does being here (when you’d rather be there) cause you to feel stressed? Or maybe you’re stressed because things change around you, but you resist changing with them.
Or perhaps you are someone that swings from high to low throughout the day (or the hour) according to whether you judge your experiences to be good or bad.
Whatever the cause of your stress, it signals your emotions are out of balance.
In contrast, when they are balanced, you can experience ups and downs all day long and still stay relaxed, calm and worry free.
Neither an unexpected financial windfall nor news of a ridiculously high car repair bill can shake your faith in the idea that all is well.
This doesn’t mean your emotions don’t run deep but, like the river, you continue to flow serenely over and around the highs and lows accepting and being OK with them all.
With balanced emotions, you can also rest assured that serenity and the peace that passeth understanding will follow.
To help balance your emotions:
- Commit to a daily meditation practice, which promotes emotional balance in part because it feels good.
- When you feel upset or out of sorts, when you are angry about being here rather than there, sit quietly and flow positive emotions through your heart center.
- Take a walk or engage in some other kind of calming exercise like yoga.
- Add conscious breathing to your daily routine,
Your Mind & Inner Peace
Your goal is not to battle with the mind but to witness the mind
–Swami Muktananda
Spiritual teachers have long taught us about your mind’s ability to either help or hinder your achievement of inner peace.
It helps when it promotes a positive mindset. And it hinders when it promotes fear.
Today the internet, which thrives on fear-based clickable links, is a big cause of negative mindsets.
Fear often motivates us to click links promising “helpful” advice or updates on the latest research “proving” a particular supplement is the antidote for all of your health challenges.
Social norms can also be fear producing, encouraging you to hide your true self out of fear of being rejected or unappreciated if you stray too far from others’ expectations.
Have you ever gotten caught up in fear thinking that leads to anxiety or worry?
Excess worry can keep you stuck in a fear (fight or flight) response upsetting your sleep schedule and keeping you unproductive.
It can also spill out onto others in the form of angry responses, impatience or withdrawal into depression.
To maintain a balanced mind, keep it in the present moment and become a witness of your thoughts without owning them. Here are some ways to help you do that:
- Commit to daily meditation, which encourages your brain to generate more positive thoughts.
- Limit your time online, and when you do log in, visit positive sites.
- Practice staying calm and serene by witnessing your thoughts as though you are watching a movie, but without investing in them. Instead, when you notice them, release them and let them flow on by.
- When you become aware of negative thoughts, redirect them to positive ones with truthful affirmations.
A More Peaceful You Promotes a More Peaceful World
Expanding your sense of peace profoundly impacts your life and helps you become increasingly calm and serene.
Now when life sends challenges, you can accept them with ease, releasing anxiety and worry along with your stress.
And changes in you will begin to radiate out to others, challenging them to examine their lives and make more peaceful choices.
The results can impact not just you and your close circle of friends and family, but also your community and, ultimately, the rest of the world.