Finding Peace Within Yourself - Rachel Devine
Let’s face it, life has its ups and downs and can sometimes go sideways as well. Life is a journey, and each one of us has different highs and lows. No one can predict what tomorrow will bring, but we can stand firm in our inner foundation of peace. Having this solid inner foundation is key to having peace even during the storms of life.
Annie Dillard put it so succinctly when she said:
“No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land.”
That pretty much says it all. No one will ever find peace in their adverse circumstances or world events. However, we can find peace within. Detaching from the adverse circumstances is important. How you view a certain situation determines how much power it has over you. Keeping a steady diet of peaceful techniques is key to building the foundation to withstand the storms of life and own your power.
7 techniques to build a peaceful foundation within:
Let’s face it, life has its ups and downs and can sometimes go sideways as well. Life is a journey, and each one of us has different highs and lows. No one can predict what tomorrow will bring, but we can stand firm on our inner foundation of peace. Having this solid inner foundation is key to having peace even during the storms of life.
Annie Dillard put it so succinctly when she said:
“No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land.”
That pretty much says it all. No one will ever find peace in their adverse circumstances or world events. However, we can find peace within. Detaching from the adverse circumstances is important. How you view a certain situation determines how much power it has over you. Keeping a steady diet of peaceful techniques is key to building the foundation to withstand the storms of life and own your power. These peaceful techniques can transform your life!
Inner Peace Examples.
Inner Peace Examples:
Practice mindfulness and present-moment awareness. Turbulent times often come from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness teaches you to stay grounded in the present moment, observing your thoughts and feelings without judging them. You are safe if you stay focused on the moment. This can help you bypass the mental loops that cause stress.
Cultivate gratitude: Make a conscious effort to appreciate the good things in your life, no matter how small. Gratitude shifts your focus away from problems and allows you to recognize the positive aspects that already exist. Keep a gratitude journal or take time each day to reflect on what you're grateful for.
Practice acceptance: While you can't control everything that happens, you can control how you respond. Accepting circumstances you cannot change with equanimity can bring a sense of peace. Acceptance equals serenity. Additionally, setting strong boundaries with people that disturb your peace of mind is a big step in finding inner peace. You have a choice to detach with love.
Spend time in nature. Being in natural settings has a calming effect on the mind and body. Go for a walk in the park, sit by a lake, or simply observe the clouds passing by. Nature can provide a sense of interconnectedness and perspective and bring much peace into your world.
Engage in relaxation techniques: Practices like deep breathing, meditation, gentle yoga, or progressive muscle relaxation can calm your mind and release physical tension. Find techniques that resonate with you and make them a regular habit. And light a candle to bring some fragrance and light to the mix.
Nurture your spiritual side: Whether through religion, philosophy, or personal beliefs, connecting with a sense of meaning and purpose larger than yourself can bring comfort and grounding during challenging periods. Connecting to your Higher Power, or as I call Him, God, can bring solace during a crisis and peace during any season of life. Connecting to the Spirit within is important to discovering peace and inner support. Remember, God is peace.
Seek social support: confiding in loved ones, joining a support group, or speaking with a therapist or life coach can help you process difficult emotions and gain new perspectives. Be around people who celebrate you. Feeling understood and not alone in your struggles can be immensely therapeutic.
Practicing all or some of these peaceful examples will help you on your quest for serenity. Remember, finding inner peace is a journey, not a destination. Be patient and compassionate with yourself, and trust that even the most turbulent storms will eventually pass. As the old adage says, “this too shall pass,” and it always does.
Your Inner Spirit:
We all have an extraordinary spirit within that brings us much peace and guidance. Our inner spirit directs us on our journey through life in the form of our intuition. When we listen to this inner whisper, we are usually steered away from dangerous situations or brought to joyful ones. The way to listen to this spirit within is through meditation. Meditation will take you from a turbulent day to a peaceful one. Meditation is a way to connect with your inner spirit. Picture the ripples on a brook; the ripples are the turbulence, but if you go beyond the ripples, you will find a peaceful haven in the water where calm awaits you. Incorporating even 10 minutes a day of meditation will change your life into a more serene way of being. It will give your mind a peaceful retreat from the hurried pace of everyday thoughts.
Meditation is one way to find peace in your life.
In conclusion, remember that life has many hills and valleys we must all travel on. However, the key is getting to a point where, no matter what happens in your life, you have a firm foundation of peace within yourself that withstands any storm that comes your way.
Rachel Devine is the author of her new book, Discover the Power of the Secret Within - Healing your Inner Child to Manifest your Dreams.
Ways to Accept the Things You Cannot Change - Finding Inner Peace - Rachel Devine
Acceptance is the key to serenity. When we can accept the things we cannot change, especially the things that are not within our control, then we can achieve inner peace. However, acceptance can be hard, especially when it comes to a family member. We don't have power over anyone but ourselves. Watching a loved one drown in drug addiction or someone we love live an unhealthy lifestyle can be hard. And yet, I have to emphasize that we only have the power to transform our own life.
Let’s look at 5 ways on how to accept the things we cannot change.
Acceptance is the key to serenity. When we can accept the things we cannot change, especially the things that are not within our control, then we can achieve inner peace. However, acceptance can be hard, especially when it comes to a family member. Watching a loved one drown in drug addiction or someone we love live an unhealthy lifestyle can be hard. And yet, I have to emphasize that we only have the power to transform our own lives.
Let's look at ways to accept the things we cannot change.
Acceptance
Acceptance means acknowledging, rather than resisting, our present reality, including difficult emotions, people, and external events. As addiction treatment expert Steven Hayes said, "Acceptance is about seeing things as they actually are in the present moment."
Acceptance is not passivity. We simply stop fruitlessly trying to control uncontrollable things. The more useful approach is to channel energy into transforming what we can change. Make no mistake about the fact that the only person you can change is yourself. Accepting that will help you come to terms with the turmoil in trying to change someone else.
Let Go and Let God
When faced with situations we cannot control or change—a loved one's choices, another driver's behavior, the loss of a job—practicing acceptance rather than struggling against what is happening provides a pathway to serenity. Sometimes the way to acceptance is letting go and letting God take over. We have the choice to hand our loved ones or the situation over to our higher power, or, as I call Him, God. We can wrap that person or situation in a favorite blanket and mindfully hand them over to your higher power for support, guidance, and grace. If you are a prayerful person, you can say a prayer for the situation in order to put some positive energy into it. This gives you a sense of peace as you slowly realize that letting go will bring serenity. Don’t feel guilty for letting go of a situation you can’t control. Your choice is valid. Motivational quotations can also help you find ways to let go.
Cultivating Acceptance
Here are strategies to start embracing acceptance:
Get curious - Observe your feelings and urges to control situations. Is trying to control the situation a way to alleviate stressful feelings that are overwhelming you?
Focus on what you can control - Rather than lamenting what’s outside your control, redirect efforts towards helpful actions within your power.
Let go of judgment - Release judgments about yourself, others or events being “wrong.” Sometimes what goes wrong has a lesson built-in that is priceless.
Let go of the guilt you might feel for letting go. Just know in your heart that you are doing the right thing for everyone involved.
Embrace your Feelings
Make a list of what you are struggling with accepting, and also make a list of what you have control over to change. You will quickly see that you only have control of your side of the street. Once you make the list, you can start to work on changing what you can and letting go of what you can't change. Also, start to look at things to be grateful for in the situation. Being in a state of gratitude helps us find peace with the situation. I suggest you practice gratitude daily. Give thanks for any positive outcomes, including lessons and opportunities for growth for yourself. This breeds perspective and ultimately leads to finding happiness.
And remember, if someone has to learn a valuable lesson, sometimes the only way to do that is to hit rock bottom. Trying to stop someone from hitting their bottom in life is equivalent to trying to stop God from doing His job. We all have a higher power to guide and protect us as we journey through life. Be trusting in life's process, as we can almost always see the blessing in disguise. When a person hits rock bottom the only place to go is up. You can also visualize the desired outcomes with positive thinking. Imagine goals manifesting smoothly without you having to force or control the process.
Prayer
When all else seems to fail, prayer is the calming power within. Prayer is a common practice to let go of the thing you can’t control and put you in a peaceful state. I believe the power of prayer can work wonders. When you are in prayer, you relinquish control of the situation, but still put blessings on what you would like to see a positive outcome for. It’s a great way to find some peace. The serenity prayer is a great tool that has so much wisdom and helps put perspective on situations.
The Serenity Prayer:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Through mindful surrender, rather than frustration over what we cannot change, we tap into an expansive peace, faith, and inner freedom. Remember, it's progress you are looking for in this situation, not perfection.
In the immortal words of Ovid, "By yielding, you may obtain victory."
Rachel Devine is the author of The Third Road, a book that gently guides one to the power within and their purpose in life, and Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack, a spiritual book on dating and relationships.
Devine Intervention - The Healing Center website.
Please leave your ideas in the comments. Or please also feel free to contact me.
How to Accept the Things You Cannot Change - Finding Inner Peace - Rachel Devine
Acceptance is the key to serenity. When we can accept the things we cannot change, especially the things that are not within our control, then we can achieve inner peace. However, acceptance can be hard, especially when it comes to a family member. We don't have power over anyone but ourselves. Watching a loved one drown in drug addiction or someone we love live an unhealthy lifestyle can be hard. And yet, I have to emphasize that we only have the power to transform our own life.
Let’s look at 5 ways on how to accept the things we cannot change.
Acceptance is the key to serenity. When we can accept the things we cannot change, especially the things that are not within our control, then we can achieve inner peace. However, acceptance can be hard, especially when it comes to a family member. We don't have power over anyone but ourselves. Watching a loved one drown in drug addiction or someone we love live an unhealthy lifestyle can be hard. And yet, I have to emphasize that we only have the power to transform our own lives.
Let's look at ways to accept the things we cannot change.
Acceptance
Acceptance means acknowledging, rather than resisting, our present reality, including difficult emotions, people, and external events. As addiction treatment expert Steven Hayes said, "Acceptance is about seeing things as they actually are in the present moment."
Acceptance is not passivity. We simply stop fruitlessly trying to control uncontrollable things. The more useful approach is to channel energy into transforming what we can change.
Let Go and Let God
When faced with situations we cannot control or change—a loved one's choices, another driver's behavior, the loss of a job—practicing acceptance rather than struggling against what is happening provides a pathway to serenity. Sometimes we have to hand our loved ones or the situation over to our higher power, or, as I call Him, God. We can wrap that person or situation in a favorite blanket and mindfully hand them over to your higher power for support, guidance, and grace. If you are a prayerful person, you can say a prayer for the situation in order to put some positive energy into it. This gives you a sense of peace as you slowly realize that acceptance will bring serenity. Motivational quotations can also help you find ways to let go.
Cultivating Acceptance
Here are strategies to start embracing acceptance:
Get curious - Observe your feelings and urges to control situations. Is trying to control the situation a way to alleviate stressful feelings you have?
Feel emotions - Don’t suppress difficult feelings that arise with non-acceptance. Acknowledge and express them, without judgment, as temporary passing experiences.
Focus on what you can control - Rather than lamenting what’s outside your control, redirect efforts towards helpful actions within your power.
Let go of judgment - Release judgments about yourself, others or events being “wrong.” Sometimes what goes wrong has a lesson built-in that is priceless.
Benefits from acceptance
Lower levels of anxiety, depression, and anger
Increased positive emotions and life satisfaction
Improved self-esteem and emotional regulation
Stronger relationships and social support
Enhanced work performance and problem-solving
Reduced stress-related inflammation and improved cardiovascular health
Serenity - remember, acceptance is your key to unlock the door to peace and serenity
Embrace your Feelings
Make a list of what you are struggling with accepting, and also make a list of what you have control over to change. You will quickly see that you only have control of your side of the street. Once you make the list, you can start to work on changing what you can and letting go of what you can't change. Also, start to look at things to be grateful for in the situation. Being in a state of gratitude helps us find peace with the situation. I suggest you practice gratitude daily. Give thanks for any positive outcomes, including lessons and opportunities for growth for yourself. This breeds perspective and ultimately leads to finding happiness.
And remember, if someone has to learn a valuable lesson, sometimes the only way to do that is to hit rock bottom. Trying to stop someone from hitting their bottom in life is equivalent to trying to stop God from doing His job. We all have a higher power to guide and protect us as we journey through life. Be trusting in life's process, as we can almost always see the blessing in disguise. You can also visualize the desired outcomes. Imagine goals manifesting smoothly without you having to force or control the process.
Prayer
When all else seems to fail, prayer is the calming power within. Prayer is a common practice to let go of the thing you can’t control and put you in a peaceful state. I believe the power of prayer can work wonders. When you are in prayer, you relinquish control of the situation, but still put blessings on what you would like to see a positive outcome for. It’s a great way to find some peace. . The serenity prayer is a great tool that has so much wisdom and helps put perspective on situations.
The Serenity Prayer:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Through mindful surrender, rather than frustration over what we cannot change, we tap into an expansive peace, faith, and inner freedom. Remember, it's progress you are looking for in this situation, not perfection.
In the immortal words of Ovid, "By yielding, you may obtain victory."
Rachel Devine is the author of The Third Road, a book that gently guides one to the power within and their purpose in life, and Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack, a spiritual book on dating and relationships.
Life coaching available. Devine Intervention website.
Please leave your ideas in the comments. Or please also feel free to contact me.