During the holidays, we see cards that read “Peace on Earth”. In addition to wishing people “Peace on Earth”, how about we wish everyone more “Inner Peace” (Inner Peace being: a state of calmness and composure?)
I recently attended a cool lecture where the teacher challenged us with a question: “What if the real natural state of our mind is actually peaceful?… and the problem is that we are so distracted from our natural state?” Hmmm…
So, what if one path to Inner Peace is to sharply reduce our distractions? Here are a few simple practices to try:
- Mono-tasking instead of Multi-tasking. I love this one. We all secretly know that multi-tasking doesn’t actually work. We are just jumping from one thing to another and it’s exhausting. How about mono-tasking – doing one thing at a time. Whaaat? Even practicing this a few times a day can create less pressure and more peace.
- Your Phone is a “Weapon of Mass Distraction”. Are you able to turn your phone off… for just 1 hour a day? During dinner? With friends? What would you have to do to have this freedom? In the old days, when cell phones first became popular: It was the important people, the cool people who had a cell phone. In the future, the important, cool people will be the ones who don’t have to be tied to a phone. They will be the calm, peaceful leaders whose lives are so well-managed that they can disconnect for an hour or two.
- Beyond Gratitude to Savoring. Many of us are now doing the positive practice of Gratitude. Another positive practice is Savoring. Here’s Rick Hanson’s (author of “Resilient”) suggestion: Bring to mind an event or moment in your life when you really did experience being peaceful. Then, feel the actual feeling you felt in that moment. Whatever emotions and body sensations you had then; feel them now. Savor these feelings for a minute or two. When we regularly repeat the act of Savoring, it rewires our brain. You fill yourself up with good feelings and become less dependent on external events, thereby creating more inner peace.
And if you can be even a little more peaceful… you have personally added to Peace on Earth.
