Mindful Monday - Unshakeable Inner Peace

“It is evenness of mind, unshakeable freedom of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain.” - Bhikkhu Bodhi

Peace: Freedom from disturbance; tranquility.

Conflict: A state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony.

Often, it is not a lack of work ethic, goals, or intelligence that prevents one from achieving their dreams. Rather, the greatest hindrance to achievement is inner peace.

Achieving momentous objectives in life, requires an unshakeable internal peace so that obstacles, whatever their size, may be responded to with rapid and effective action or indifference depending on their nature.

Unfortunately, the world is wired for disharmony at every turn, thus one is left to their own devices to create peace by mastering their mind, emotions, and beliefs, intentionally becoming the person capable of the achievements so wished for.

Unshakeable Inner Peace cannot be gifted to you. It also cannot be taken away. It most certainly will become the most valuable asset that you possess and control in your lifetime.

5 Methods for Manifesting Unshakeable Inner Peace

Develop Emotional Resiliency

When decisions are biased by the spectrum of love and fear (the two most motivating emotions) and everything in between including happiness, sadness, anger, pride, guilt, compassion, and envy, distortions in judgment are common. Feelings instead of reasoning automate the decision-making process. One becomes emotionally invincible by developing an awareness of how feelings influence beliefs, choices, and actions. One should not ignore feelings, but notice their effect, always questioning the belief system that triggers them. Conflict contracts as emotional resiliency grows.

Wanting Exactly What You Have

Desire is inherently unsatisfying. It is conflict. It is wanting something different than you currently have. This illusion of perpetual aspiration may cause some to constantly seek more, which in turn causes them to become unsatisfied with what they already have. This does not require one to abandon goals. It merely requires one to be humbly grateful for the here, the now, and all the blessings (to include the invisible ones, like failures) that result from the undertaking, regardless of the result.

Intentionality

More and more, the world is designed for addiction, that simulated feeling of inner peace. Addiction’s greatest foe is self-control. Intentionality is developed by making decisions based on intrinsic satisfaction, as opposed to external motivations such as rewards and punishments, both real and virtual. One who is self-controlled is better equipped to resist social pressure, undue influence, and addictions, as inner peace develops naturally.

Your Personal Value System

Your identity is a byproduct of your value system which shapes your beliefs, choices, and actions. Awareness as to how your beliefs, choices, and actions align with your values leads to harmony. Unshakeable Inner Peace is achieved through loving and respecting yourself. Alignment of values is the intrinsic reward, the motivator, the inner peace.

Seek Truth, Always

Today’s world reinforces biased belief systems by structuring incentives to confirm these beliefs. The internet and social media are rewarded for clicks and views which they get by pandering to desires rather than determining or exposing truth. Truth is the ultimate peace. Instead of priding yourself on the accuracy of your beliefs, find pride in your willingness to question their authenticity and veracity to the point of abandoning them for more accurate ones. The more your beliefs align with truth, the more unshakeable your inner peace.

“The strength of a person’s spirit can be measured by how much truth he can tolerate…to what extent he needs to have it diluted, disguised, or sweetened.”– Friedrich Nietzsche