“If you want to know what you are here to do, how you can be more loving, or how to get through a difficult situation, my answer is always to meditate. The difference between prayer and meditation is that when we pray, we are asking for something, and when we meditate, we are listening to the answer.” – James Van Praagh
Joy to your world!
Well, we made it to 2023! What do we do with this fresh new year? How about we focus on bringing more joy and inner peace into our world?
Sounds lovely, right? Okay, how does one achieve this loveliness?
Inner peace comes from having faith, hope, and courage.
Faith, that there is a solution to all things.
Hope, to never waiver from an optimistic viewpoint and that all will work itself out.
Courage, the ability to overcome fear when fear presents itself and to know that fear is simply an emotion that is perceived.
There are so many meditative practices and mindful breathing techniques that can help us to achieve more peace and calm. However, the best time to practice inner peace is when life is happening around us amidst all the chaos.
Let’s talk about some tools that we can practice and have ready to use when in “the eye of the storm” and tap into that stillness deep within while the turbulence is happening all around you.
The definition of Peace is: freedom from disturbance, tranquility.
Most people feel powerless and simply react to life and the situations we observe or find ourselves in. Life will always be up and down and all around. The truth is we have the power to change our situations, thoughts and emotions. When we realize that truth, we can begin to initiate change and feel empowered to take action.
Here are some action steps you can take right now to set the stage for cultivating more joy and inner peace. Try doing these as often as needed and see what happens…
Everyone knows what joy feels like even if it’s just a memory. Joy is something we can feel if we choose to feel it. As an exercise, write a list of things that bring you joy. It could be 1 or 20 things. When complete, pick 1 or 2 from your list and find time in your day to connect with those things that bring you joy. You deserve it!
If you need a smile look at internet pictures or videos of puppies and babies. I think it’s safe to say that would make anyone smile! Smiling is a great practice in itself. Make time in your day to just smile. Smiling is nature’s face lift so it’s also great for anti-aging!
Smiling can greatly affect your mood and even make you feel instantly better. Try it now. Have a negative thought about a person? Try looking at them or thinking of them and smiling and feel that negative thought soften.
Take more moments in your day to smile. Smile while you are doing the dishes, cleaning, showering, playing with your kids etc…Practice smiling anytime!
This is most important because our thoughts set the stage for our emotions and state of mind. If you notice that you are having many negative thoughts, then one by one, you can turn those thoughts into a positive version and reprogram your brain.
Example: Instead of saying to yourself, “I’m no good at dancing” tell yourself, “I will get better with practice”. Fake it till you make it is the name of the game here.
Remember this is an exercise in cultivating peace. You may be surprised by the regular thoughts you have that keep you from your inner peace that can be so easily changed!
For me, I get a lot of inspiration from my spiritual practice through meditation, yoga and qigong. Love is the foundation of these practices. Unconditional love is the highest vibration there is. When you take time in your day to connect with love and loving yourself, then everything else softens and feels more peaceful.
Where there is love there is healing. Love is inspiring! Take time each day to open your heart, breathe in love, and breathe out negative thoughts and emotions. If you are finding it challenging to feel the love, think of all the people you care about or who care about you and revel in this feeling. What inspires you?
Read this book, “You can be happy no matter what”. Everyone should read this book, at least once! Five principles for keeping life in perspective. There are a lot of people these days that have lost their way to happiness. This has a devastating effect on their day-to-day lives and can result in an endless journey of searching for relief through antidepressant drugs or addiction to food, alcohol, and other things.
Sometimes, a great book comes along that has the power to awaken something that has been asleep for a long time and can have a major positive impact on our lives. I believe this is one of those books!
These action steps are suggestions to get the ball rolling in the direction of positive change. In these challenging times, it is important that we take time daily to nourish ourselves. Just like we need nourishing food daily we also need nourishing self-healing practices. It doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming.
We all have the power of this moment to change our course. We just need to tap into that still part inside of ourselves so that the noise and conflict can fade into the background for a moment and allow us to recharge.
The noise will always be there. This noise can take over our lives if we let it. Let’s take a daily time out and cultivate more joy and more peace so we can all just feel good!
This brand new year of 2023 is full of new possibilities and opportunities. Let’s begin to put the focus on all the good things in the world and manifest more of that!
Wishing you all the best in health, peace, joy and so much love!
