Peaceful Easy Feeling

I aim to meditate for 20 minutes or so each day. It grounds me, centers me and sets the tone for my day. It has become a habit that I have cultivated over the years, like everything else we do in our lives routinely.

But every now and then, I have a week like this past one, where before I know it, days have hurriedly flown by and meditation didn’t happen. On those days, it feels like the plug has fallen out of the socket—I’ve lost the deeper, peaceful connection with myself. The value of losing this connection is in the realization of how important the connection is to my well-being. As Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

In our noisy world, we often find ourselves longing for relief from the busyness; to find respite in a deeper, peaceful connection within ourselves. As we cultivate the seed of peace inside, it grows into a reliable source of serenity that we can always access, no matter where we are.

We experience peace when we are in a state of mental calm and serenity. By giving ourselves regular time in this place, we get to feel what it is like to be free from anxiety. This is the first step to inner peace.

If we wait until all the details of our life are taken care of to allow ourselves to experience peace, we will never feel peaceful because there is always something that our mind can grab onto to create anxiety. It is important to consciously set aside our worries and make time to cultivate inner peace.

When we schedule time each day to meditate on that peaceful connection within ourselves, we strengthen the felt sense of what it feels like to be calm and serene. It takes practice to learn how to let go of our worries, and give our self some time to connect.

Simply by exhaling the worry and inhaling the peace all the way down into your belly, you are strengthening this experience. Allow yourself to move deeper into this state with each inhale.

Soon enough you will be able to take care of everything you need to, but right now you are taking a break. As the clutter of your thoughts and concerns clear away, you will start to feel more serene.

Realize that you have the power to free yourself from anxiety simply by deciding to do so. The more you practice feeling peaceful, the easier it will be for you to feel the bliss of the deeper, peaceful connection within yourself.