Peace of Mind is something most of us want, and yet not everyone has or achieves it. I’ve had my own struggles with this one. Peace of mind isn’t something you can have and hold; it is certainly something that you can learn to cultivate and allow to grow.
The question is how do you cultivate it?
If you think about how you grow plants, whether you have a green or a black thumb, generally one of the critical things to consider are the weeds in the soil and also the nutrients. No matter how great your garden is, if you let the weeds flourish, sooner or later they will take over, and then it takes something for your garden to regain its former state. Our minds and the thoughts we have running through it can be like weeds. In the words of Echard Tolle:
“The mind is a superb instrument, if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.”
The Power of Now
Of course, not all thoughts are weeds. And, make no mistake, your thoughts can be very destructive, indeed. It’s probably one of the reasons why we say that we are our own worst enemy. Think about that ‘little voice’ inside your head that has something to say about everything and everyone. It is a very opinionated little beast at times. And, what’s more, it can be incessant.
What does your ‘little voice’ have to say?
Most of us allow that ‘little voice‘ to speak to us in a way that we wouldn’t tolerate from just about anyone else on the planet. So, why do you let YOU get away with that? Now that’s a question worth enquiring into!
What would it take to turn that little voice into your greatest ally?
It’s going to take weeding out the thoughts, beliefs and dare I say it, even people who are not supportive. That doesn’t mean you don’t take on feedback as feedback from the right people who have earned the right, is very valuable. I’m not talking about that. However, just like when you tend to your garden you have to be continually removing weeds; the same logic applies to your thoughts etc. that don’t serve you. Weeds choke your garden and the same is true of thought patterns that are destructive. This is particularly important when they are seedlings. Again, the same logic applies to your thoughts. Even more care is needed in the early stages if you are to cultivate a high degree of inner Peace which leads you to the experience of Peace of mind. For some of us, this is almost a foreign concept.
Identify the weeds and then start eradicating them, one by one.
If you don’t currently experience a high degree of Peace identify the weeds and start removing them one by one. If you are in the embryonic stage of cultivating it, you must remove anything (as best you can) that will get in the way of your feeling and being at Peace. For some of us, we need to apply a simple test in the form of a question.
Would I tolerate that from anyone else?
If the answer is NO, that is an excellent place to begin weeding. We can’t always weed out people in our lives that are destructive and steal our Peace. It isn’t always possible to just up and leave. We may have circumstances that make that challenging. There are things you can do, or not do, that will assist you in increasing your level of Peace and contentment. For starters…
Where do you put your focus?
As an example… Are you subjecting yourself to the 24/7 news cycle that is on repeat? Which is COVID-19 and all things worrisome on steroids?
How much of that do you really need to be across? How much of that comes down to ‘weeds’ in your mental garden?
Remember, YOU control the flow of information into your mind.
Peace of mind can be measured. If you are interested in seeing how you measure up click here and find out.