Develop Your Peaceful Mind
As discussed in the Happiness is in Your Heart article, developing a peaceful mind is absolutely essential for truly being happy and creating your best life. In fact, as far as I am aware, attaining a peaceful mind is the ONLY path to true happiness. We seek happiness as if it were an object to be attained, looking outside for external pleasures to bring us happiness, when we only need to look within. It is one of life’s greatest paradox’s.
With so many thousands of thoughts incessantly and chaotically streaming through our mind every single minute, it is no wonder that we find true happiness elusive and we consequently live a life riddled with unnecessary suffering and to simply be happy eludes us, which is a tragedy because you deserve to have the best life.
Our entire reality is filtered through an unruly and unkempt mind. We create fanciful stories, harbor unrealistic romantic expectations and create unnecessary stress and hardship in our lives just because we, unaware, distort the truth of the moment so far beyond recognition that we live in fear and anxiety about our world while the best of life passes us by.
Charming!
As with the paradox to what we seek, the path to a peaceful mind also resides within us. To develop a peaceful mind, become truly happy and ultimately live our very best life, we only need to stop, close our eyes and turn our attention inwards.
Just 10 minutes a day, every day, is enough to begin the process of developing a peaceful mind.
Take some time for yourself and find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Have a seat and make yourself comfortable, then begin..
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Very deep and slow.
Acknowledge everything that you have to be grateful for e.g. your health, family, friends, country, opportunities, experiences, special characteristics, car, roof over your head etc. Balance the material with the immaterial.
Next, keeping your eyes closed, continue breathing, very deep and slow breaths. Focus your attention on your breath, and only on your breath. Notice the breath on your skin as it passes your nose / mouth, follow it down and into your lungs, be aware of your lungs expanding and your breath reaching the bottom of your belly and your chest rising, then be aware as your breath slowly leaves your body, touching the same skin as where it first started. Let your mind start to quieten.
Continue doing this for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, open your eyes softly and stay focused on how your body / mind feels. Try to carry that feeling with you throughout the rest of your day.
It’s not rocket science, it really is as simple as that.
You may find in the beginning that your thoughts are uncontrollable and that it is almost impossible to stay focused on your breathing for any more than just a few seconds. Do not despair! This is perfectly normal. Whenever your mind wanders, as soon as you realize your mind has become distracted, just simply bring your awareness back to your breathing. Train your mind like this and with practice you will soon be able to stay focused for longer periods of time.
Do not have any expectations of the process. Do not expect miracles. Just sit and breath.
With practice, it will become easier to stay focused and your mind will soon quieten to levels that you have never experienced before. It is in this quietness that your consciousness increases. Enjoy the process. Do not push it or become frustrated. Just sit and breath. Once your mind does become quiet, simply rest in that feeling.
I started with this practice after reading Deepak Chopra’s book, SynchroDestiny : Harnessing the Incredible Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles. Just by acknowledging and becoming aware of all the little things I had to be grateful for made me instantly feel a little happier. I continued with this practice until one day (approximately six weeks after starting) while watching my breath, my mind slipped into an extended moment of silence and the most unusual sensation came over me : my body became weightless and hollow and my “awareness” was just “floating” where my heart should have been. The feeling scared me and jolted me back to “reality”. Later, when I recalled the event, I had a nostalgic sensation that I was deep in peace and was drawn to experiencing it again, but it didn’t happen, not for a long time after. Despite this frustration, I kept at the practice, read more books to increase my understanding and kept pursuing it. There was no pivotal moment when everything in my life suddenly changed and I was living my very best life and I was at peace, no, it was more of a slow, transformational journey effecting my life in the most curious of ways, ultimately leading me on this magical journey to where I am now and still further where I need to go.
Definitely a must read!
On a final note, I just want to add that although I have been doing this practice for approximately four years now, it has not been consistent. In the beginning I would go several days, sometimes weeks, without practicing, simply because of forgetfulness. But even with sporadic practice the effects were tangible. After two years I realized that this practice deserved more loyalty so decided to incorporate it into my essential daily routine, creating a morning ritual around sitting and breathing for 30 minutes, simply being aware. Please do not be disillusioned. Just because I sit in silence with this practice, does not mean my mind does too!! Still, my mind wanders frequently, some mornings it is noticeably more active and unruly than others. In fact, the entire practice consists of “me”, with love and patience, continually catching my mind wandering and bringing it back to rest, but with time this has become easier to do and now, when my mind does quieten, it rests in that void like feeling for as long as I want to.
The key is in the practice, to be aware of when your mind wanders and to keep bringing it back to rest, encouraging it to quieten, using your breathing as an tool.
Good luck!
What is your view on this? Share your thoughts and experiences below in the comments section.
If you are interested in Free Life Coaching, then please feel free to contact me, I will be delighted to support and encourage you to follow your heart and start to live your best life now.
If you enjoyed this article, then please consider sponsoring me with a donation. Thank you!
“The purpose of the life is to experience and be happy”
Welcome back. Thanks for visiting!
So true, so simple, but easily forgotten.
P.S.This was the article that i clicked on when doing the couchsurf group post response.
This is great! Too often we never actually get a chance to take a step back and actually look at our lives. There are so many distractions day to day that we loose focus and never get a second to relax and find some peace.
Hey Mark
So true – have to admit that Meditation is at the heart of my Ultimate Lifestyle successes. If it wasn’t for this laidback peaceful mind (developed through meditation) I would never have the mentality to do what I am doing and living the life I am living – no doubt I would be a traditional conformist living in the rat race.
Here’s to all our dreams coming true.
Peace and much love
Lara