What Is Peace of Mind?
Peace of mind is a state of mental and emotional calmness, with no worries, fears or stress. In this state, the mind is quiet, and you experience a sense of happiness and freedom.
I was talking with some people recently about having peace of mind and “good mental health” due to moving up to Big Bear Lake, California. Now I have always had an affinity with the woods, lakes, and mountains my entire life so it was not surprising that I purchased a home in the mountains, with woods and lake close by.
Every morning when I wake up I thank God for giving me the amazing opportunity to live where I do. And when stress from my job becomes a factor that needs to be dealt with – I retreat to my home, walk the trails in the woods or by the lake, meditate and revive my soul needs.
When one of the individuals I was telling this to heard this, they said to me, “So what is peace of mind? Don’t you think it is different for each person?” To the latter question my answer was a resounding “yes”. To the first question I attempt to answer in this blog.
Peaceful moments are not so rare. All have probably experienced them in the past, at times when you were engaged in some kind of an absorbing or interesting activity. Here are a few examples:
- Watching an entertaining mindless movie or TV program.
- Being in the company of someone you love and having “quiet” communication with each other.
- Being absorbed in reading a book.
- Lying on the sand at the beach or rowing on a peaceful lake/river.
- On vacation, when you experience some sort of mental numbness, forgetting your work and day-to-day-life.
- In deep asleep, when you are not aware of anything, and not dreaming of anything.Here are a few things you can do to enjoy more peace in your life.Tips and Advice for Peace of Mind
- Such activities, and similar ones, take away the mind from its usual thoughts and worries, replacing them with an experience of inner peace.
- Minimize the time you spend on reading newspapers or watching the news on TV. Since most of the news in written form or on television is negative news, and you cannot do anything about that, why should you think about it and feel stressed and anxious?
- Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people. Their thoughts and words sink into your subconscious mind and affect your moods and state of mind. Your brain will believe what they say if you don’t stop the influence.
- Don’t hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.
- Don’t be jealous of others. Jealousy means that you have low self-esteem, and consider yourself inferior to others and may lead to lack of peace of mind.
- Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.
- Don’t dwell on the past. The past is not here anymore. Live in the present
- Learn to be more patient and tolerant with family, friends, co-workers, employees, and everyone else.
- Don’t take everything too personally. A certain degree of emotional and mental detachment is good and are you so important that everything is about you personally?
- Learn to focus your mind on positive affirmations and thoughts and refuse to think negative thoughts, and reduce the constant negative chatter of your mind, cancel it out and replace it with positive thoughts
- If you have the time, try meditation or just finding quiet time for self, and you will make a difference in your life. You will become more peaceful, relaxed and happy.
Inner peace eventually leads to external peace in your life.. By creating peace in your life and soul, you bring it into your external world, and into other people’s lives.
“Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.” ~Brian Tracy
I’ve realized that peace is always available, and like any desirable state of mind it requires effort, even if that effort entails consciously choosing to be still.
If you’d also like to develop a greater sense of peace, you may find these suggestions helpful:
1. Meditation
5 to 10 minutes a day
2. Communication
Write down everything that’s weighing you down mentally and then work on overcoming them and ritualize getting rid of them by burning the paper or tearing it up
Write down everything you’ve learned from a difficult experience so you can see it as something useful and empowering instead of something to stress you out.
Call someone you’ve denied forgiveness and tell them you forgive them.
Apologize for a mistake instead of rehashing it, and then choose to forgive yourself.
Talk and live honesty so there is not reason for feeling guilty
3. Creativity
Engage in a little art therapy or music therapy; grab some crayons, markers, or paint and put all your feelings on the page. Music is healing and therapeutic so dance, cry, or relax to music.
Create a peace collage. Include images that make you feel relaxed and at ease.
Meditate and say affirmations. Then on your favorite peace quote write it in calligraphy for framing.
Take a walk with the sole intention of photographing beautiful things that make you feel at peace, like a tree with colorful autumn leaves.
Write a blog post about what gives you peace of mind so others will benefit from your experience.
4. Activity
Get up and dance to your favorite song, focusing solely on the music and the movement. Get into your body and get out of your head!
Take a long walk in the park, in the mountains or on the beach, focusing on the feel of the sand/land between your toes and the sound of the forest, lake or ocean waves. Cliché, but highly effective!
Go for a bike ride in a scenic part of town, and immerse yourself in the calm of your environment.
Take 5−10 minutes for stretching and deep breathing, syncing your breath with the movements (or if you have an hour, visit a local studio for a yoga class).
De-clutter a cluttered part of your home, office, life, creating a more peaceful space.
5. Accepance
Compassion instead of wallowing in bitterness is an addition to your life which will make it easier to forgive others and set yourself free.
Set aside some time to actively enjoy the good things about the present instead of scheming to create a better future.
Create a list of things you love about yourself instead of dwelling on how you wish you were different.
Focus on what you appreciate about the people in your life instead of wishing they would change (assuming you’re in healthy relationships).
Recognize if you’re judging yourself in your head. Replace negative judgement thoughts with, “I do the best I can, my best is good enough, and I’m learning and growing every day.”
6. Solitude
Start reading that book you bought about dealing with the challenge you’ve been facing.
Schedule a date with yourself—a time when you don’t need to meet anyone else’s requests—and do something that feeds your mind and spirit. Go to a museum or take yourself to your favorite restaurant and simply enjoy your own company. Scary for some people but worthwhile if you can enjoy who you are when no one else is around.
Sit in nature—under a tree, on a mountain—and let yourself simply be.
Be your own best friend. Tell yourself what’s on your mind, and then give yourself the advice you’d give a good friend who had the same issue.
Positive affirmation help you feel present, peaceful, and empowered.
7. Connection
Tell the truth in your relationships. When we hold in our true feelings, we create stress for ourselves. Be kind but honest and share truth kindly.
Catch critical, self-victimizing thoughts. Instead of ruminating on what someone else did wrong, express yourself and ask yourself what you can do to create the change you’re seeking.
Have fun with someone you love. Forget about everything that feels like a problem and do something silly and childlike.
Connect with someone online who can relate to what you’re going through and create a mutually supportive relationship by sharing and listening.
8. Contribution
Volunteer – help a charity you believe in. Put all your energy into helping someone else, and you will inadvertently help yourself or at an animal shelter or hospital.
Do something kind for someone else without expecting anything in return. Pay it forward as they say because someone has done something nice for you at one time or another.
Leverage your passion to help someone else or start your own business (i.e.: if you’re an aspiring designer, design a logo for a friend). A win/win!
Leverage your purpose to serve someone else, not for money—just because. That might mean helping them pursue their passion, or motivating them to reach their fitness goals. Whatever gives your life meaning, give it to someone freely.
As is often the case with these types of list, this can seem a little long and overwhelming. The important thing is that we do at least one tiny thing every day to create mental stillness.
I hope that this blog helps you to look at yourself more closely and focus on what can bring you inner peace, so that each day you choose to apply a technique or take the time to clear up the clutter of your life that stops the peace you so much deserve.