What is Internal Peace Finding Peace Of Mind

 What does internal peace mean for you? Does it mean a place of sanctuary where you can come home from stressful situations and find that place of safety away from the ‘cares of the world’? Does it mean a place where you can be yourself without the facade many of us wear throughout the day so that people won’t know how we really feel? Or is this place (often our home) one more place where we need to defend ourselves from the ongoing onslaught of anger, hostility, and power games that are so often the measure of our lives in the 21st century?

 The dictionary defines internal as: having to do with or situated inside the body; or relating to, or existing within, the mind. Peace, defined as: a state of calm and quiet; freedom from disturbing thoughts; and an agreement to end hostilities.  I will combine these two notions and define internal peace as: the integration of our thoughts and feelings culminating in a state of tranquility and harmony. One of the most important keys for this tranquility and harmony or ‘peace of mind’ as it is often called, is to honor our emotional nature and find methods to express feelings in appropriate ways that allow us to release them.

 Practical Steps to Releasing Emotions

 Learn to listen to yourself. We have been harried for so long that we are out-of-touch with how we feel. A situation will present itself, and we will ‘flip out’ and find it unbelievable that we have lost control. This is results from a build-up of emotions that we have not been aware of.

  Responsibility for your feelings.  You choose how you think and feel based on what you interpret the situation to be. Blaming others gives away your power and when you feel like a ‘victim’ you react with anger and resentment.

  Talk to a trusted friend or counselor. Finding a ‘safe place’ where you are able to express feelings without anyone judging you provides an opportunity to release pent-up emotions.

 You are not supposed to be perfect, and learning to accept yourself with all your strengths and weaknesses creates feelings of peace within.

 Don’t judge yourself. Judging yourself means thinking you have to be perfect and creates feelings of not being ‘good enough.’ When feeling inadequate, you judge yourself harshly and no matter what you do, it will never be ‘good enough.’

 Let go of the past, and you did the best you could with what you knew at the time. If the memories of painful experiences for you, release the memories and find forgiveness for yourself and/or others. This doesn’t mean you condone these behaviors. The memories and feelings to find your own inner healing and peace.

  Many methods exist that contribute to staying in balance and harmony. As a daily ritual, reading, exercising, walking, or creating a sacred space where you can spend time feeling a sense of renewal and refreshment are all methods that take you away from focusing on ‘what is wrong’ to seeing yourself as having ‘control of your life.’

 Practice gratitude, attention to increases as you give energy to your thoughts. The love and abundance increases the inner healing and peace and leads to living lives that feel more balanced and harmonious.

  Keep journaling for many years in order to release emotions and make sense of what is going on. This notebook is for your eyes only and allows you to say anything you want without anybody seeing it except you.   The emotions tend to dissipate, and you will find they are released through this exploration. If this process doesn’t totally release them the first time, repeat the exercise.

 Spend time in nature. When we re-connect with the natural world, we touch our inner self/ spiritual connection to something more. That something is our connection to the Universal Energy, whether we call it God, Goddess, All That Is, or Higher Power. Whatever we call it, when we feel connected to the ‘Whole’ we recognize our place in the world and feel a sense of peace and harmony and that ‘all is right in our world