Peace comes from Within

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. ~ Buddha

You know that feeling. Where the world around us may seem at times to be whirling out of control. It feels like too much or not enough. The earth quakes as we walk and the path feels muddied.

And in these moments we may wait for something divine or someone objective to tell us or give us something to regain control; but at the heart, the path to freedom from the chaos is ours and only ours.

It is through conscious choices that we can create our own path to joy, happiness, and peace.

In the moments where I feel myself enduring, resisting or seeking answers to questions I didn’t even know I had there are practices I come back to; and each time I am amazed by their resonance.

Accept What Is

There is only so much we can affect. And therefore we must know the boundaries between what we can and cannot change. Accepting is the path to letting go of our mountain of stress and anxiety. And at that the most simple of exercises to do; one that reminds me of the most important yoga “pose” I picked up from my yoga teacher Ron Reid. Standing in Tadasana or mountain pose, I centre myself, feeling the strength and structure of a mountain but accepting the volatility of the elements. I consider that thing that I cannot do, or control and I “shrug”. I literally shrug and the weight that I carry lifts of my shoulders.

Practice Yoga

Yoga asana helps me reconnect with my body, and quiet mental chatter. How many times have you stepped onto your yoga mat thinking you couldn’t get through your first 5 minutes of practice only to arise from Savasana with a sense of lightness and a brand new perspective? When we focus our mind on posture work, the intensity of mental distractions is greatly diminished. In our practice we have an opportunity to replace all the noise with the silence of integrating our body and mind.

The quieting influence of asana work is deepened when we link our postures or movements to our breath. When movement and breath are coordinated, distracting thoughts become less intrusive.

As an exercise in mindfulness, next time you walk try to coordinate every step you take with every breath. On an inhalation, you take one step, and on an exhalation you take another. You can walk/breathe as fast or as slow as you’d like. For greater benefit and enjoyment, try it in a park.

Meditate

Maintaining a meditation practice will change your life. Our minds are filled with thoughts, pulling us in all directions, often times opposing. We are so burdened by our own thoughts that we often find ourselves incapacitated to take action. When I have a lot on my mind, I give myself space to close my eyes and clear my mind completely. Eventually what’s most important will surface, while the rest will just float away. Try it – you might be surprised at how a few minutes each day will help you find greater peace.

Spend Time in Nature

Connecting with nature; rejuvenating; spending spend time in park, or by the water. Observe a tree, in its imposing stillness, with the breeze blowing through its leaves. Even in the dead of winter you can walk outside and find truth and life if you just watch and wait for it.  This summer, sit yourself under a big tree and spend some time observing your breath, absorbing the Earth’s pulse beneath you.

Smile

Mother Theresa said that, “Peace begins with a smile.” The fact is that whenever we smile or laugh, we are free from stress and negativity.  Tension or softness in our facial expressions is connected to tension or softness in our nervous system, stress response, lightheartedness. A student I know walks everywhere with a smile on her face. One time I saw her on the way to a yoga class, walking alone down the street with the biggest smile on her face. I later told her how inspired I was to see her, and she told me it’s a practice she cultivates every day. Not only did she feel happier when she did, she inspired me (and others, I’m certain) to feel the same.

It is contagious, and you’ll find that peace finds its way to you first, when you gift it to yourself and second, in the knowledge that you are giving it to others.

Appreciate Life and Those In It

We can’t find peace if we spend our entire time consumed by our own problems and needs. An act of kindness towards others, whether it is a friend or a stranger, only helps cement our own sense of inner peace. I once heard a teacher say that when he was consumed by his own self in approaching life, he would simply ask the question, in any given situation: “How can I be of service?” This simple exercise takes us right out of ourselves and broadens our own perspective on life. There is a great sense of peace and purpose when we care about other people, instead of focusing only on our own world.

In every spiritual tradition it is believed that peace must exist in one’s heart before it can exist in the outer world. And I think each of us has a great responsibility in contributing to that, starting with ourselves.

On August 22, thousands of us will come together at Fort York for a celebration of peace. The power of peace among one soul is powerful; imagine what we can do as a community. I hope you can join us in spreading this message. Visit Lole White Tour Toronto for more information.

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh