Inner peace is the most valuable thing that we can cultivate. Nobody can give us inner peace, at the same time it is only our own thoughts that can rob us of our inner peace. To experience inner peace we don’t have to retreat to a Himalayan cave; we can experience inner peace right now, exactly where we are. The most important criteria is to value the importance of inner peace. If we really value inner peace, we will work hard to make it a reality.
These are some suggestions for bringing more peace into your mind.
1. Choose carefully where we spend time.
If you are a news addict and spend an hour reading newspapers everyday, our mind will be agitated by the relentless negativity we see in the world. 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. If you have a spare 15 minutes, don’t just automatically switch on the TV or surf the internet. Take the opportunity to be still or at least do something positive. The problem is the mind feels insecure unless it has something to occupy it. However, when we really can attain a clear mind we discover it creates a genuine sense of happiness and inner peace.
2. 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 practise. – We cannot attain mastery of our thoughts over night. 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.
“If you have inner peace,
nobody can force you to be a slave to the outer reality.”
– Sri Chinmoy [2]
3. Simplify Your Life
Modern life, places great demands on our time. We can feel that we never have enough time to fulfill all our tasks. However, we should seek to minimise these outer demands. 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.
See: Benefits of simplicity
4. Spend time to cultivate inner peace.
Every day we spend 8 hours a day to earn money, can we not find time to spend 15 minutes to cultivate inner peace? No matter how much money we earn, it cannot bring us inner peace, but, if we spend 15 minutes on meditation and relaxation techniques inner peace can become a possibility. Meditation does not just mean sitting still for 30 minutes; in meditation we seek to experience a state of consciousness which is flooded with inner peace. To experience this inner peace we cannot allow any thought to enter into our mind. True inner peace occurs when we can transcend the world of thoughts.
“You cannot buy peace; you must know how to manufacture it within, in the stillness of your daily practises in meditation.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda [2]
5. Be immune to Flattery and Criticism
If we depend on the opinions and praise of other people, we can never have inner peace. Criticism and flattery are two sides of the same coin. They are both the judgements of others. However, we should not allow ourselves to be affected by either. When we do, we feed the ego. We should learn to have confidence in ourselves. This does not mean we will love ourselves in an egotistical way, it means we value our real self and have belief in the good qualities that are part of everyone.
6. Be Active selflessly
Inner peace does not mean that we have to live a life of a hermit. Inner peace, can be felt amidst dynamic activity. But, this action should be done with selfless motives. When we serve others we forget our sense of self, and it is when we forget our limited self that we can have inner peace.
7. Avoid Criticising Others
If we want inner peace, we should feel that our inner peace depends on the well being 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 this is what we will see return.
Related Articles
References
[1] Sri Chinmoy, Poems on Inner Peace at Sri Chinmoy Poetry
[2] Inner Peace – How to be Calmly Active and actively Calm by Paramahansa Yogananda, Self Realisation Fellowship
Photo by Menaka, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries
Lovely article Tejvan,
Your writing style has a very wise feel to it. It doesn’t surprise me that your site is doing well in the alexa rankings!
I like the part of this article about our inner peace depending on the wellbeing of others. When you take on a self improvement approach to life, you come to realise that how others feel about life is just as important as that of yourself. That realisation has helped me realise that I’ll never be happy if I’m not helping others.
Thanks for the read and much love,
Sam
Thank you so much for writing…I enjoyed reading them.
A thoughtful list.
Number 5 reminds me of my father. He really was immune to flattery and criticism and expected other people to be as well.
That had its good points but the downside was I never recieved praise or blame of any sort; triumph and disaster were indeed treated like two impostors.
Sometimes it led to bizarre consequences, such as when I discovered he’d thrown out all my educational certificates: “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be bothered with that sort of thing”. On the other hand I never had to fear his harsh judgement or feel guilty for letting him down.
I used to complicate my life by doing piles of tasks at the same. But after reading this article particularly point 3, I would like to say that it’s time for me to simplify my life ^_^
Really thanks ^_^
I used to complicate my life, but after reading this article, I could say that it is time for me to simplify my life ^_^
Thank you 4 providing such an article ^_^
Sound advice indeed. Funny how we are our own worst enemies. Our egos are what keep us from understanding who we truely are and tearing ourselves away from it is easier said than done. It seems that the ego feeds off pride and greed and those things are difficult to give up but not impossible. The problem is that even if you can manage to do away with your ego, maintaining that state requires constant and diligent effort, otherwise it will creep back into your subconsious and before you know it you’re right back where we started. It’s like quitting smoking only harder.
i lost my job, my b/friend and my sister died a terrible death.. i had mixed emotions , anger, low self esteem , deep sadness, then i found silence, i switched off the t.v and radio, stayed in and lived in silence, i faced alot of things, some i didnt like, i found honesty in myself and acceptance of circumstances. the peace i have found is wonderful. i,ve learned to live each day at a time, things that are out of our control are not worth getting stressed about. grattitude for all we have replaced uncertainty, pain and sadness. the world looks brighter, the birds sound sweeter, and my head is turned upwards thankful for the peace and for the blessings of being able to see , smell , touch and hear.. , i see sadness and anger and strife and greed in the news and i realise these things are happening and nothing can stop it apart from each individual finding their own inner peace, its something you cant buy, its something that gives you the desire to send love to all living things. we cannot stop what happens in our lives sometimes or in the world ,but we can cultivate our own peace and inner freedom that can help us to strive to live a wonderful, grateful and enriching life , no matter what our circumstances. peace is a priceless gift an inner feeling of calm , self love and love of all humanity. my wish is that all could enjoy this wonderful gift that you can give yourself , by just going in to the quiet and listening and seeing who you really are.. true wealth in my eyes ;0)
i lke everybodys way of expessings abt inner peace….i wnt to add on it …that for inner peace we need to hav gud concentration power,,, we all forget our inner soul that yes it also requires food for inner peace,, externally we all stand beautifuf ignoring our inner soul ,,
to remain peace interally we must work in balance like taking care of our internal soul…
Another great post, but I’ve always found the arguments for simplicity difficult to understand or really do.
True, simplicity equals more time to relax and think in a progressive manner, but when we try to act selflessly at the same time – we’re increasing the clutter, even though it is for a good purpose.
So it is more an equilibrium between two aims which in essence contrast.
Great article!
I find that Forgiveness Work is also very effective in helping to let go of old past inner “crap” and create authentic inner peace.
Thanks for your insightful post!
Troyann
Such complex subject matter…to be free we must be unnattached, prepared to accept anything and remain unnattached. To know peace we must only allow it inside, now, immediately. There is no fee, no mystic license, no title or status required. To maintain it, we may try. But let us be kind to ourselves and each other, regardless of the many failures we encounter. Perfection is an impossible standard in this imperfect world. May we bare our burdens with grace and kindness, and may our everlasting peace be one day found. If not in this life of wanting, then perhaps when we have left it behind. Yet, here we are. Still trying. Finding inner peace doesn’t mean being a sap either. Walking around with some phony look on your face. Enjoy yourself and others. Celebrate, have fun, smile and laugh. We all know what a bitch this is, why not make the best of it? Don’t be prisoner to your pursuit of freedom! Best of luck to us all, and remember: if you’re uptight and unhappy, you’re going the wrong way! 🙂
my rabbi told me that meditation at this point will be detrimental to my health however he is not against positive suggestion and controlled breathing, part of my problem is I want the world to be a better and I feel let down because it seems to be getting worse please I need help badly!
Thank you for the great articles + website. Illuminating, very insightful, and concise!
Thank you so much for this inspirational post. I am currently blogging about my journey toward inner peace as worldpeaceisinevitable.
Namaste
Well I agree with the seven points and would like to add the eight point, which I believe is most important and mother of all points. its “ACCEPTANCE”. Acceptance of things around us, situations we are in and people we are with can provide us inner peace.It’s their non- acceptance only which makes us restless & loose inner peace.
Well I agree with the seven points and would like to add the eight point, which I believe is most important and mother of all points. its “ACCEPTANCE”. Acceptance of things around us, situations we are in and people we are with can provide us inner peace.
Some really good points! Thanks for this great article:D
I like the points you make about finding inner peace.
“Choose carefully where we spend time.
Control of Thoughts.
Simplify Your Life
Spend time to cultivate inner peace.
Be immune to Flattery and Criticism
Be Active selflessly
Avoid Criticising Others”
This is so true and indeed the traits of a wise person who can make those things a natural part of his/her daily living.