Tuning in to Inner Peace: The Surprisingly Fun Way to Transform Your Life (2 page)

Imagine a variety of scenes playing out:

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You're sitting in a classroom. The teacher walks through the door.

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A teenager comes out of her room and walks into the living room.

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Your partner walks in and sets down his keys.

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Your boss walks into your office.

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You wave to your friend who you're meeting for lunch.

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You approach a sales clerk in a department store.

In any of these scenarios, what do you notice first: their clothes, their perfume or something else?

Read through the list of scenarios above again and ask yourself, what do you pay attention to?

When you begin an encounter, the first thing you usually try to assess is how the interaction will go. What most determines that is the mood of the person you're talking to.  Well, that, and your own mood.

If the teacher is tired and wants to be elsewhere, the students know. Pretty much instantly.

The tone of someone's voice. The wrinkle of his brow. The expression on her face. The way she opens the door. The way he sets down his keys. The way she turns to  answer your question.

You can’t be sure, but you usually have a pretty good idea of how someone is doing, how they are feeling. You know if they are tired, frustrated, sad, or overwhelmed.

Aha, so my state of Inner Peace (or lack of it) is instantly obvious to everyone around me.

So, just because it's called Inner Peace it doesn't mean that your current state is hidden from others. You walk around thinking that you mask what you deeply feel, that you are a Mystery! No, a better term would be that each of us walks around like an Open Book.

When you first realize this, you may feel a little uneasy. You may feel exposed, like you're walking around naked. Good! That will help you remain vigilant. It will make it harder for you to ignore this wonderfully important inner guidance system.

Exercises

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Tomorrow, as you meet your family, friends, coworkers or strangers, gaze into each person’s eyes.

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Do you sense contentment and peace? Or do you sense turmoil, frustration and self-doubt? Is it easy or difficult to sense a person’s level of inner peace?

What if you needed a completely new wardrobe? How much money would you need? Where would you go shopping? How much time would it take?

You could spend a lot of time and effort on this project, and still not be satisfied with the results.

What if, instead, you found that deep in the back of your closet was a magical door, that always had the perfect wardrobe. No matter what the weather was, or what the situation. No matter who you were meeting or what you were doing. Jacket, shoes, swimming suit, boots. Anything you could imagine. In every situation, you would be covered. The perfect outfit would be clean, pressed and ready for you to don.

There is a catch though. This perfect outfit is behind a door. The door is unlocked, but it might be inaccessible. As you go through your day, stuff gradually piles up in front of the door.

Our journey to experience Inner Peace is a similar challenge. You don’t have to go anywhere, get anything or achieve any outer goals to reach this state.

But you do have to be brave enough to go inward. And if you are having any trouble reaching that peaceful, joyful state, you don’t need to run around looking for things, doing things.

When you run around you feel like you are really doing something. Really making progress. Accomplishing something. So, it’s tempting to just keep running. It takes some discipline to stop.

But, once you stop running around, it simplifies everything. Just, pause, turn and focus inward.

So, you need to figure out how to remove the blockages. You can pick up one item at a time and gingerly examine it. Or you can sweep away the whole mess. Maybe there are a few stubborn, heavy pieces that don’t seem to budge. You’ll need a hand to move these out of your way.

Like any cleaning or maintenance project, little by little, you’ll figure out some systems and tools. You’ll find the help and tips you need that gradually make it easier.

A regular cleaning process will keep the task manageable, and give you a quick, reliable path to open that door.

Being mindful of the garbage that needs to be thrown out and the items that need to be returned or repaired, you’ll come up with some new habits. You’ll develop a daily routine that keeps you easily connected to that place of ease and perfection, that’s been waiting for you all along.

Exercises

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Think of the last major cleaning project you did. Write down what it was and jot down your answers to the questions:

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How long did things pile up before you cleaned up? How long did it actually take to do it? How did you feel once it was done? Did you find things you’d forgotten about?

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Make a list of areas of life where you have regular cleaning or maintenance schedules. Consider your house, clothes, exercise, meals, finances, relationships. How have these habits developed? What was life like before you developed these routines?

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Do you have routines to maintain how you feel?

Everyone knows the Dalai Lama.

So, I was surprised how I reacted when I read a passage in his book, How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life:

             
“Anger is not necessary. It has no value.”

My first reaction was that it really pissed me off!

How dare he say that!

After all, how can someone judge someone else’s life? How can he, not knowing me or anyone, know what situations we face in a day? How frustrating life can be. How difficult people swoop in and mess up our plans, our days and our lives.

But, really, it’s hard to stay on this self-righteous path very long when you’re comparing yourself to the Dalai Lama. Most of us know the general outline of his life. As the spiritual leader of Tibet from a young age, he witnessed the brutality firsthand as his community of monks was killed, tortured and exiled. Yet, he lives his life with the singular purpose of spreading the message of forgiveness and peace.