In today's noisy and unsettling world, in can be difficult to find inner peace and tranquility.
Dee Marques explores the three key techniques that can help: mindfulness, shadow work and cultivating equanimity. 

 

It’s true that human history has always been marked by unsavoury events, but perhaps you share the feeling that these days, conflict, hatred, and violence suddenly seem to be all around us. Feeling you don’t really know what’s happening to the world is deeply unsettling and can threaten your inner peace and happiness.


Yet, there are things you can do to counteract these emotions. Here are some ideas on how you can promote inner peace within yourself – and with others – regardless of how uncertain the world around us may be.

 

Finding inner peace

When dealing with hatred and violence, finding ways to promote inner peace requires mindful action. Here are the three key techniques you can use to try and find that inner calm and quiet.

 

1. Mindfulness

Our first suggestion is to practise mindfulnessNot just because of its ability to transform your inner self, but because it can change your perception of the world, too. Indeed, scientific studies have shown that regular mindfulness practice appears to shrink the amygdala (the part of the brain that controls feelings of fear), while at the same time activating the pre-frontal cortex, which is associated with decision-making and awareness.


All this means that mindfulness can help us regulate our emotions instead of simply reacting to triggers. It also helps us make more balanced judgements about what’s going on around us, as well as inside us. Discover some great mindfulness tips, such as mindful eating and drinking, gratitude walks and creating a start-of-the-day ritual.

finding-inner-peace-walk.jpg
Finding inner peace through gratitude walks 
 

2. Shadow work

When it comes to finding inner peace and calm, our second suggestion is to engage in shadow work. This transformational practice is based on the idea that our feelings and perceptions about ourselves dominate the way we feel and act towards others. The shadow is the “negative you” or “your dark side”.

 

With shadow work, instead of pushing it to the back of your mind or repressing it (as most of us feel tempted to do), you should explore it. This helps you to learn more about your own prejudices and misconceptions. The basic outline of shadow work looks like this:
 

  • Acknowledge the negative emotions triggered by some people, news or events.
  • Connect with your shadow and establish a conversation with it. What is it trying to achieve? Is its overall intention positive or negative?
  • In most cases, your shadow holds on to negative emotions to protect you from harm. Can you find other ways of achieving the same without getting caught in a negative circle or without blaming others?
     

Last but not least, remember that peace is not a goal that can be reached through certain mediums, but rather peace is the medium itself. In other words, use peace to bring inner peace by showing kindness and consideration towards your body and mind. For example, loving-kindness meditation has been proven to reduce self-criticism, promote peace with ourselves and others, and generate positive feelings towards strangers.




Loving kindness meditation for inner peace  YouTube/LovingKindnessMeditation

 

3. Cultivating equanimity

Cultivating equanimity can also help you to find inner peace and also peace with the outside world. Equanimity is one of the Four Sublime States in the Buddhist tradition, and the word derives from Sanskrit expression that means “to see without interference”.

 

Equanimity is also defined as even-mindedness, a balanced reaction to both positive and negative events or thoughts, and the ability to achieve a state of mind that cannot be affected by bias and prejudice, but that's driven by compassion instead.

 

“Finding ways to promote peace requires mindful action. Basically, you’ll need to disarm the inner world first in order to disarm the outer world.”

 

Cultivating equanimity involves re-wiring your brain through conscious practise. Yoga (especially gratitude yoga) provides the ideal conditions to work on this. Find your equanimity mantra (something that reminds you of the need to stay unbiased), start your yoga session, and take note of any negative reactions triggered by thoughts or people you dislike. Keep referring to your equanimity mantra while acknowledging that you are responsible for your own happiness and peace of mind.

 

Finding peace in the outside world

Of course, we should all do our best not only to promote inner peace in our minds, but also in the outside world. To do that, you don’t need to make grand gestures. As Buddhist author and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh said: “Learn the art of making one person happy, and you will learn to express your love for the whole of humanity and all beings.”


So, here are 10 easy-to-put-into-action gestures of peace and kindness:

  • Send a heart-felt handwritten card to a friend or relative
  • Compliment a colleague and express how much you appreciate them
  • Offer a small gift (e.g. fruit, biscuits) to the person who delivers your post
  • Donate to a charity shop
  • Volunteering is important. Try it at a shelter or soup kitchen
  • Offer your place in the queue to the person behind you (or try another random act of kindness)
  • Track down an old teacher or lecturer, and send them a note of appreciation
  • Bake some treats and take them to work to share with colleagues
  • Let another driver into your lane
  • Strike up a conversation with a homeless person

inner-peace-calm-meditation.jpg
Meditation can help you to cultivate inner peace shuttertsock/Jack Frog

 

When it comes to finding inner peace and calm in troubled times, it’s important to resist isolation, even if this seems to go against our most basic instincts. For example, you could get involved in community-building initiatives, as this can help establish meaningful conversations with those who hold different views. You can also join non-violence organizations, or learn more about how prejudice and stereotypes affect us by signing up to prejudice reduction workshops or seminars in your local area or online.

 

Conclusions: finding inner peace

Finding kindness and peace within yourself and in the world won’t happen overnight, but mindfulness practise, shadow work, cultivating equanimity, and resisting isolation are within the path to hope and joy. To cope with the troubled times we're currently living in, you’ll need to be persistent and willing to challenge your inner self. 

Main image: shutterstock/marvent

 

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Written by Dee Marques

dee.jpgA social sciences graduate with a keen interest in languages, communication, and personal development strategies. Dee loves exercising, being out in nature, and discovering warm and sunny places where she can escape the winter.


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Ga****

Posted

finding your inner peace as well as listening your inner voice really helps to make your mind relax and calm.

Great Blog!!

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f8****

Posted

First of all, I would like to say that this great article has made me very thoughtful. Especially the point that our everyday life and the events in our world are becoming more and more restless, hostile and noisy, makes it very clear to me how important inner peace is. Not so that we can have an oasis of peace for ourselves alone, but that inner peace is a source of energy that determines our actions in this world.
But I also find it important to conscientiously examine our view of the supposedly negative things around us, because even in difficult times there are so many rays of hope from which we can draw strength. And "difficult" does not automatically mean "negative".
For me, seeing something positive in everything is a significant part of my inner peace. If I myself have hope that everything will be all right, then I also show this to the outside world and thus influence those around me. 

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f2****

Posted

I believe finding inner peace is a lifetime job, that I personally have to focus on day by day to not lose track. Other people may find that easier, but for me taking care on my mental health really depends on my actual situation. I may have some weeks to have it under control, but then something happens and a tiny negative thought can kick me out of that healthy routine again.
It's getting better, but one has to confront and remind himself/herself steadily to stay on that road.

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1a****

Posted

Finding inner peace has become something I focus on daily.

There are a few other things that help me find inner peace and happiness in daily life which I would like to share with you:

Going for short walks after my meals - with or without a guided meditation or podcast, which is a great way to clear negative thoughts.

Focusing only the things I CAN control and not on what other people are up to.

Eating to nourish my body. My mood really changes for the worse when I continuously eat junk food.

This song by Beautiful Chorus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS-Y8dYD-Bg

 

Everything I’ve mentioned is not only good for us and our bodies, but also for our mental health. Maybe the true meaning of life is to be happy, healthy, free from pain and suffering, in a constant state of inner peace…?‍♀️

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Calvin77

Posted

I'd heard of 'shadow work' before but had never read about it, so thanks Dee for explaining. That is something I will explore further.

I've certainly learnt my own ways to improve my inner peace; in my 20s and part of 30s I had a lot of internal turmoil, and while - of course - it stills pop up, it's not as everyday as before. 

Mindfulness has definitely played a part. As a ruminator, living in the moment has been essential in shifting my mindset. I'd also say consciously avoiding things which I note bring my inner peace down: negative news, negative/conflictive people, etc. And then there's the opposite of revelling in the things that bring me joy; nature, artwork, swimming. Keeping it simple. 

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Li****

Posted

Finding inner peace is definitely a work in progress and something to we take with us on our journey. I think how to find inner peace and happiness are questions everyone asks at some point, and it was really helpful reading these tips on what could work ? Challenging yourself can be really difficult but it's worth the effort!

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Tine

Posted

There's something about "spiritual" concepts that keeps puzzling me. The difference of what I thought it would be like and the felt understanding once I got a glimpse of what they are like.


Inner peace is a good example. I used to think inner peace meant that I would be calm and almost detached,  floating like a cloud above all the upheaval.
I won't claim that I experience a massive level of monk-like inner peace but much more than I used to and it's nothing like what I thought it would be.


The inner peace I experience now covers a bandwidth of more and stronger emotions. Instead of being detached, I immerse myself more fully. My "real" inner peace leads me to act and speak up way more often. I feel more and more intense, and all of that happens in a large container where not one emotion, sensation or thought eats up all my attention, but a lot of different often conflicting emotions and thoughts find space to be hold simultaneously.

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