How to find inner peace seems to be one of the biggest trends of the 21st century. Learning to seek out enlightenment and inner peace seems to be the buzz trend. People are buying up books everywhere and running from guru to teacher to try to find that inner peace they so desperately crave. So then, who really has inner peace and how did they find it? I dont know about you, but when I first began my quest for inner peace I felt a bit lost when it came to uncovering the Truth.One surefire method for determining if you are on the right path on your way to discovering inner peace is to simply ask yourself the question, "Am I more at peace than I was a year ago or six months ago?" If you feel that you are finding more peacefulness as you progress on your path, then you know it must be working.
If you aren't sure if you have been more peaceful, or if you think that maybe it isn't working then I suggest that you learn to to sit still a little more each day. Sitting still each day, and closing your eyes as you sit, can be a great way to calm your mind and emotions so that peacefulness eventually becomes more normal for you. Here is a bit of wisdom for you to ponder on your path to peacefulness -inner peace only comes from one place and that's the inner part of you! If you find that you aren't feeling peaceful, it's time to look deeper within yourself.
Many times, when people decide to start a daily meditation program, they discover that their thoughts and emotions are running wild inside of them and they feel almost instantly discouraged. Common statements from beginners are "Am I doing it right?", "How should I sit?" and "Should I concentrate on my breathing?"
If you find yourself thinking the same thoughts, relax. There is no "right" way to sit still or "correct" thing to concentrate on when you meditate. You're goal is to simply sit still with your eyes closed and relax. Don't fall asleep but don't worry so much about whether it is "right" or "wrong". If you are sitting there with your eyes closed then it is right! That's all there is to it.
I think that, especially for beginning meditators, that the hard part comes when you start judging and analyzing all of the thoughs and emotions which arise. You then feel that this causes alot of frustration with what you are trying to do. But what are you trying to do? Nothing! So why then did you get so frustrated about nothing?
The main issue for novice meditators is that they think there is a special formula for meditation and a way of doing it that will make them an "expert". The truth is that there is no correct way of doing it and there is no set formula. Everything you do will be correct. Just sit there and, by doing it each day for a certain amount of time, this will eventually result in more calmness of your mental processes and an equilibrium of your emotions. The beginning, however, as you are teaching your mind and emotions to to not run rampant, can sometimes be the toughest time.
I like to think of it this way - did you ever try to teach a dog to sit still? You can usually teach him to sit but getting him to 'stay' is a bit tougher. This is oftent the same problem for people. People know how to sit but they never learn how to stay. If you can teach yourself to both sit and stay you will be among the very few people in the world who have learned a very valuable trick. For dogs, it takes some extra 'Scooby snacks' to get them to do it.
For human beings it sometimes requires a timer, a calendar and the fun game of checking off the days of the week as they complete their task of staying for 30 minutes or more. Some humans get to be experts at this trick and can sit still for over an hour and for several different times a day. These humans are sort of like the dogs you have seen on television who can perform in front of a panel of judges and can sit and stay for long periods of time. Their masters always love them a lot and they always win the contests they enter.
As funny as this comparison may seem, it actually applies quite well. If you learn to sit for longer periods of time without having to move around in your chair and without your mind doing cartwheels every moment, you will eventually start to win more things in life. The Master behind your thoughts and emotions will eventually come forward and reward you with a lot of great 'Scooby snacks'. Finding inner peace can be as easy as training a dog but you have to be a good dog who really wants to please his master. Now get out there and "sit" and, next time you do it, make sure and "stay" too!
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Copyright 2012, by Dardarji. All rights reserved. If you would like some additional information on self improvement, meditation, and spirituality go to http://www.transformationalspirituality.com/ to down load free ebooks, mp3's, and other resources. Like us on Facebook!
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