Stress is the number one killer today. Few people have real inner peace in a world that is filled with chaos, change, uncertainty and violence. This book will show you how to find inner peace and harmony.
The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is a quiet and peaceful mind and heart. The sooner you give yourself this gift, the sooner you will find happiness, contentment, and life balance. By this I do not mean that you cannot be productive, successful, goal-oriented, and living life with purpose, drive, and passion. I do mean, however, and will share this with you in the following pages, that without a peaceful mind and heart, none of this will ever give you any joy or satisfaction in your life, no matter how long you may live.
Many people today—due to stress, anxiety, frustration, fear, uncertainty, and change—are losing the ability to find peace in their world, both inner and outer. There is
- 24-7-365,
- the need to have more, learn more, see more, do more, become more,
- the desire for a better way of life,
- the relentless and increasing change in careers,
businesses, and relationships,
- still a day with only 24 hours,
- increasing social and career pressure,
- the cost of living beyond one’s financial means,
- a world of new medications, drugs, and various stimulants.
All of these and more have created a society that is consumed with a driving inner force to keep up, win, excel, and accomplish no matter what the cost in emotions, stress, relationships, and—most of all—inner peace. Here are some questions to ponder:
1. Are you one of the unfortunate ones on a treadmill toward more or better?
2. Are you slowly becoming a casualty of this way of life?
3. Have you sacrificed (or are you sacrificing) some area of your life for some other?
4. Are you feeling a “disconnect” with others or your world around you?
5. Are you able to just do nothing for a day, week, or an hour?
6. Are you spending time in regular relaxation? Meditation?
7. Do you have time to play?
8. Are you losing the ability to have a peaceful night’s rest?
9. Can you go to a restaurant or playground without your cell phone, pager, or palm?
There are others, but I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I believe in work. I believe in success. I believe in better. I believe in more. I believe in growth. I ask you one simple question: When it comes to consequences, are you paying too dear a price now? Are you aware that some of these consequences could haunt your future life in a negative way?
Each of us has an inner voice that guides, directs, prods, and helps us as we travel the many highways and crossroads of our lives. Now I ask you, would an all-loving God put enough sense in squirrels to gather nuts, birds to fly south, and fish to swim upstream, and not put something at least comparable in humans?
The answer is, yes, he would.
Psychics, therapists, counselors, spiritual leaders, and thousands of people in all walks of life are trying to coax us into believing that we have this inner voice and that if we paid more attention to it, we would be far better off in our lives.
I am none of the above, but I can tell you from years of sometimes listening and sometimes not, that when I do listen and heed that message, my life has tended to work out for the better; and when I have not listened, well you guessed it, things got out of whack.
This inner voice takes many forms, but it is usually not flashes of light, life-changing spiritual experiences, or the result of any number of rituals, spiritual or otherwise. It is usually just an inner, gentle, constant urging to change something, do something, or not do something.
There are only two things you need to do to discover the meaning behind the messages from your inner voice: Keep asking yourself the right questions and be willing to listen to the answers, whether you like them or not.
Here are a few that might help to get you started:
1. What (or who) are you envious of?
2. Where do you want to be right now?
3. What is your body trying to tell you or show you?
4. When are you the happiest?
5. What causes you the most stress?
6. What is your reaction/response to this stress?
7. Who are your heroes? Why?
8. How do you feel about money, security, and financial freedom?
9. If you could change one thing about your life, only one, what would it be?
10. If they wrote a book about your life to date, what is the title? What is the title of the current chapter? The last one? The next one?
11. Who or what is in your life now that is giving you the opportunity to learn about yourself?
12. If you could live your life to date knowing what you know now, what would you change about your past? Why?
Thought-provoking questions? I hope so. Difficult to answer? It depends on your willingness to listen and be honest with yourself.
The beginning of all peace comes from the willingness to let go and surrender. Believe me, your inner voice can help you if you will only take the time and have the patience to listen.
Learn to be, and not act your way through life.
Actors and actresses play roles. Parents, spouses, children, friends, and siblings play roles in life. There is, however, one major difference in the roles that each of us plays. The actors and actresses get paid for their roles. The rest of us do not earn our living from most of the roles we play.
There are some common denominators, however. Actors work with scripts; so do parents and spouses. Actors rehearse and so do children. Actors improvise when the timing is right; so do siblings.
The major problem with acting our way through life is that we have to remember which role and script we have used with each of the people in our lives. This can take energy, time, and can cause stress and frustration.
Being in life is just that. Being implies you are who you are and you don’t need to act. Being is less stressful and more rewarding in the long run than acting. If this is true, why do so many people act their way through life?
There are a number of reasons for this, but generally they are because we are all looking for some degree of acceptance, validation, approval, or love. We behave in such a way and we believe life will give these to us. People who are happy are real, authentic, and vulnerable. They are not afraid of going through life without putting on their masks or costumes. They are consistent in their beliefs, values, behavior, and attitudes, no matter who they are with or what they are doing. This makes life so much easier. They don’t have to have instant recall on what to say, how to feel, or who to be. They just are.
If you want to find lasting inner peace and harmony, you must look inward. This book will help you while you are on that journey.
Excerpt
Many people today are confused about who they are or what “defines” them. Some see who they are as defined by their roles as parent, spouse, salesperson, manager, executive, business owner, child, or offspring. Others define themselves by their accomplishments, careers, or failures; as single, divorced, retired, bankrupt; a millionaire, attorney, entrepreneur, nurse.
Still others are defined by the groups they belong to or associate with: Rotary, Business Women’s Association, mastermind group, graduating class, college attended. And many define themselves by what they believe: certain religions, philosophical leanings, social issues, and politics. A few people define themselves not by who they are, but by who they are becoming. And fewer still, don’t define themselves at all with some outside-in definition.
I can remember attending a convention years ago and being asked, “Are you a ‘speaker who writes, or a writer who speaks?’” “Are you a ‘consultant?’?” Why do I have to be labeled any of these? Why can’t each of us just be a member of the human race who chooses to participate in certain activities, philosophies, groups, etc.? The problem with defining yourself by a certain role, group, or belief is that you will eventually create a difficult internal, emotional uncertainty about who you really are. What happens when you are no longer a spouse, executive, football player, and so on? If your value of yourself comes from your definition, what do you do when you no longer can define yourself in that way? Yes, I know… so you now define yourself with your new roles.
Sooner or later we have to separate ourselves from our temporary roles and conditions. Eventually we all just have to get back to being: I am who I am. I am not a writer; I am a person who has chosen to write. You are not just a mother or a father, but a person who has that as one of your roles. It is not who you are.
How do you define who you are? When people ask you who you are, do you answer with your profession? Religion? Age? Sex? Color? Nationality?
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