Discovering Real, Deep, Authentic Inner Peace

Part 2

So the first thing we need to do is create peace. We need to learn to be peaceful at will. And this is quite easy! Yet no one teaches us this; unfortunately, they teach us the opposite. In fact, most of us are surrounded by people who would say “Don’t be peaceful, that’s passivity, that’s a cop-out”; “Don’t be quiet, make noise, fight back, force”; “Don’t just sit there, you have to do something”. So this is the challenge – how can we cultivate inner peace when all around you would prefer crisis and chaos, panic and paralysis, struggle and strife. First you have to see the connection between peace and creativity, between peace and power. You cannot be creative or powerful unless you are peaceful. If you cannot see that then please let me ask you to take time out and explore the connections. I don’t mind if you disagree with me. I am not trying to convince you of anything. I’m only sharing what I have discovered. If you can see that your deepest motivator is the experience of peace. If you can acknowledge that this is what you seek. And if you can see that inner peace is essential to your effectiveness and success then congratulations. You just discovered what the hippies missed, you just realised what every dictator misses, you just recognised the value of peace as an experience not just a word. Peace is not a cause, it is a state of being. 

Now, the paradox is that you already are what you seek. It’s already there. Think about peace and you’ll be peaceful. Give the water of attention to the idea of peace and it will become your state of being. Most of us search for peace somewhere else; in something ‘outside’. But the peace we seek is already within us and just thinking about it is an invitation for it to come to the surface of our consciousness and for us to be aware of it. That’s why meditation has been the most effective method to restore inner peace for thousands of years. 

But what do we do, we fall for the illusions of the marketing men and the tourist companies and the body building industries and get trapped in the idea that the peacefulness that we seek can be bought, consumed or discovered on the other side of the hill. So before we get right to the art of finding peace in our heart lets blow the illusions away properly.  

The illusion makers are not totally wrong, there are places you can find peace, but it’s not the kind of peace that you ultimately need to find. The first kind of peace is in the easiest place to find peace – outside in nature. Why do you go away on holiday? To get away from the peacelessness of work, the hustle, the hassle, the traffic, the noise. We head off into the countryside, go back to nature to connect with the rhythms of the natural world. We think, “Ah! The mountain, the lake, the sunshine and the ice cream, and then, yes – I’ll be nice and peaceful and relaxed”. That’s why the tourism industry is having an absolute ball worldwide. We are the only generation in human history that can travel anywhere in the world in 24 hours. So we are off searching as often as we can to try and find that elusive and ideal beach that gives the best peace in the whole wide world! Then we come back from the holiday and what do we say? “You should visit that lake”; “You should walk in those woods”; “Oh, I felt so good”. And then, two days later the feel good factor is gone, it’s gone in a puff of smoke. And we are back to our old peaceless self. Back in the race of rats, running like crazy and creating stress in every corner of our frenetically busy lives. And we cannot even see that no one else creates our stress; no one makes us stressful, it’s ‘me’ who creates it. It’s the result of one of the wrong options that we take as we respond to life around us. 

So yes, you can find a little peace outside. You can find a peaceful environment that’s quiet, calm and still, and allow that to influence your state of being, but then it doesn’t have any depth, it doesn’t have power. It has no power to empower you beyond the walk in the countryside… and true inner peace is a real power. Real peace is not a state of passivity, or avoidance or a cop-out. Peace is a power we have as human beings. 

The next place we look, and sometimes seem to find some peace is in the context of our relationships. And this is where most people think deep peace can be found. We say “I’ll be able to rest and be at peace when I find my perfect partner” or “I’ll be content when they do what I want them to”. “We’ll be at peace together when we settle down”. But what do we see in most of the world? Is it a peaceful world? Are our relationships peaceful? Is your office a peaceful place? The lounge: is that a peaceful place? Do you find a little peace on the front page of a daily paper? Do you tap into a nice, positive, peaceful set of images on the evening news? In fact, it’s the peacelessness in the world, the peacelessness between people, which feeds the illusion that when human beings ‘sign treaties’ with each other, whether it is a treaty across the breakfast table or across the ocean, then peace will be restored. Many people say that it is the most peaceful time in history because we’re living in a period, when for over 50 years there has been no major world war. Is this a time of great peace for people? There are no big wars, but there are around 70 – 80 conflicts across the world today. Without doubt there is actually more conflict than ever before, not only across a few borders but more than ever across the dinner table. 

Actually peace in our relationships cannot be ‘found’ it has to be created. And if we wait for others to create it we might be waiting a long time. It is the mark of a real leader who does not wait for others to bring peace to the table or the team. They just do it. It is also a sign that they have realised where real peace begins. Ghandi is the classic example. He lived and breathed non violence. He inculcated the deepest spiritual peace within himself to such an extent that the power of his peace completely changed the direction of a whole nation. He didn’t fight wars or sign any treaties, in fact he refused to sign anything, but in an extremely peaceful way. 

The third place most of us mistakenly look for peace is within our own body. Am I at peace with my own body? What is peace physically? Another word for physical peace is good health or well-being. Do I have physical well-being? Do I have physical health? Is my body sending me signals that it is in some kind of pain? Pain is not peaceful, although some people quite like it. It is not a sign of peace. Again we have a responsibility to create peace in our relationship with our body. That means listening to our body, giving it the right quality of nourishment, rest and relaxation. However, we tend to be influenced by the illusion that if we get our body right our mind will follow, when our body is healthy, in great shape and looking good, only then can we have peace of mind. This is the illusion which stops us creating peace in our lives, for the truth is the other way round. Only when we are at peace within ourselves, only when we are able to create our own peace of mind will the energy of our body stay well and in harmony. So we have to keep going deeper to see where true peace comes from and what we need to do to create it. Lets look at our heart. 

Peace in my heart and peace in my mind at very close together. I don’t think it is possible to have peace of mind until there is peace in my heart. What does it mean to have a peaceful heart? This is where we bring the companion of peace into the picture. What emanates from the heart is love. It’s difficult to have one without the other. In fact, it’s impossible; they go hand in hand. Unless I am peaceful, I cannot be loving. And unless I’m loving, I won’t be peaceful. It’s very simple. The truth is very simple.