STWDM 10 - All Fulfillment Comes From Peace

Day 10 Message: Each one has to find his peace from within.  ― Mahatma Gandhi   

We all know the peaceful, settled contentment that comes from being fulfilled. Peace comes first. It isn’t the result of fulfillment, it’s the source of fulfillment.  Peace is our true self. In that state of peace, there are no cravings and no lack. Needs are life-affirming and arise not out of lack, but out of abundance.  In reality, our true self is simple contentment.

O:  When Martin Luther King set his vision for equality in America, he said, ‘One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal’.  ‘We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful  means.’  Dr. King’s words spoke about America but his insights can guide each of our lives no matter where we live, in the deepest spiritual way.  When we come from peace, we can achieve peace. Beginning from the peace that resides within each of us, we actually create the path to healing and wholeness.  As you meditate, you allow your inner peace to be your compass.  With peace as your guiding force, you are creating a new lighter self, free of hunger and frustration and any sense of lack.  Your inner peace elevates your relationship with all of your hopes and desires.  The promise of fulfillment is realized when you are present in just being yourself, enveloped in the peace that is always within you.  This is the ultimate state of harmony.  It’s the way to lightness.

D:  The chief symptom of any imbalance is that it feels disturbing.  Mental and physical pain are agitating and burdensome influences.  They block contentment and well-being.  The opposite of agitation is peace which is also a lightness of the soul.  When a moment of deep contentment comes, most people feel a worrisome weight has been lifted which says, ‘I can relax and be at peace.  How do you shed the weight of trouble, worry, dissatisfaction and mental agitation?  I love the saying, ‘There is no way to peace’.  ‘Peace is the way.’  Your true self is perfect peace and you express peace by consciously owning your inner peace.  In other words, peace comes first, not last.  People tend to get this reversed.  They work toward a goal that will bring them satisfaction and from that goal they expect to find peace.  The goal could be a long working life, the perfect spouse, an abundance of wealth and possessions but what if peace is the cause of satisfaction instead.  Then the picture changes radically.  In a state of peace, there are no more cravings.  Feeling empty, dissatisfied, restless, inferior, wanting and needy are all distractions from the contentment of your real nature.  As you practice a life of peace, there are several important shifts to align you with your true self:

• Start from a place of respect for everyone and look for common ground.
• Don’t voice anger unless you absolutely have to.
• Uplift and acknowledge others rather than criticize them.
• In the presence of daily conflict, walk away.  The best contribution you can make to almost any conflict is to remain centered, respectful and calm.
• When you feel an impulse of love and affection, put words or gestures to the feeling so that it touches another person.  It could be a smile or a kind word

The beauty of a life lived in peace is that you are creating a new lighter self – effortlessly and joyously by bringing your inner and outer aspirations together.  This is the ultimate state of harmony.  In peace you release all burdens because they belong to a self that was motivated by lack and neediness. There is tremendous peace just knowing that the key to healing is simply being yourself.

Journal Ideas: 1)  Write down three simple ways you can bring more peace into your life.  2)  Write down three everyday things that annoy or agitate you, then list the simplest ways to improve them.  3)  Reflect on and journal your ideal vision of a friendship that is comfortable, easy, filled with light and laughter, and consoling when you are down. List ways that you could make a current friendship closer to your ideal.