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Finding Peace Wherever You Are
Peace is available to us in each present moment. Sometimes all it takes is remembering this simple truth and other times it requires actively reconnecting with the inherent peace in the present.
I know firsthand that this isn't always an easy practice.
Anyone willing to be real about their meditation practice will tell you that. It’s uncomfortable at times to meet the truth of your reality. Some days an unpleasant feeling like heartbreak, sadness, or fear can feel too much to bear or sit with. Other days your mind can be entirely unwieldy and seemingly out of control. And let’s not get started on any discomfort from just simply sitting still in the body.
Yet all of this is the practice. there is ALWAYS a way to find peace in EVERY experience, in every moment and wherever you are.
Mindfulness is the ability to keep your attention in the present moment, moment-to-moment, in a non-judgmental way. It is also the pathway to peace. When you are judgmental, you are blocking the calmness of being, ease and love.
Two Steps To Finding Peace In The Present
My two steps to finding peace in the present are:
1. Not to judge
2. Meet everything with compassionate love
Let's do a walkthrough of this practice. If you are at your local teahouse or coffee shop and someone in front of you in line is noticeably impatient with how fast (or slow) the line is going, instead of labeling them as rude, see if you can just observe them neutrally. If a judgment begins to arise in the mind, notice your need to judge and form an opinion and then go back to simply neutrally observing. Now, notice if you can extend compassion to this person. Can you meet them with any empathy, understanding, friendliness or love?
After you go through these two steps of non-judgment and extending compassionate love or understanding, notice how you feel! Most likely any inner-turmoil, stress or impact you may have been experiencing from this person will no longer be there and you may be experiencing a neutral feeling of healing or peace.
A Meditation For Peace Wherever You Are
If you want to access peace wherever you are, meditation will help you tap into the natural peace of the present moment.
You can have your eyes open or closed as you silently repeat these phrases in the mind with a light mental attention to your heart or breath.
May I be peaceful
May I be full of ease
May my life unfold with grace and harmony
May I remember the love that is me
Repeat these phases until you feel sensations of peace within.
