This is the second installment in a two-part series on peace. The first installment, A Piece of Peace: Part One, covered five ways to cultivate peace. The first two foundational ways of peace cultivation covered in part one are recapped here along with additional ways you may empower peace within yourself (and potentially in the world). The idea is that the greater peace we can find within, the greater the growth of peace throughout humanity. You do not need to adopt all that is listed here or in the first installment of the series. I do, however, recommend adopting the recap listed here and then pairing it with any of the other ways of peace cultivation that resonate with you.
1- Non-Peace to Peace & Become the Awareness Outside of Thought (brief recap)
This foundational step in empowering peace is so impactful it is worth recapping from A Piece of Peace: Part One. Start with acceptance and surrender within. As Eckart Tolle states (2021): “Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender. When you accept what is, every moment is the best moment.” This path of acceptance and surrender within yourself thwarts inner resistance, judgment, and inner conflict.
Should you find yourself to be in conflict or discord with people in your personal relationships or with people in the world, aim to step outside the structure of thought: “...see your own stream of thinking, to see that no thought can encapsulate the entire truth in any situation. You have to step out of thought to see that…rise above polarities, and say, here's this perspective which is [mine or] ours, and I can also see the other perspective which is yours" (Tolle, n.d.).
One might also see this as compassion for self and others.
2- Meditation
"When the mind is set in meditative equipoise, you can see reality exactly as it is." - Buddha
Peace, rising above polarities, and stepping outside the structure of thought becoming awareness outside of thought can be assisted and supported with meditation. There are many ways to meditate and many suggestions on how. My approach is to do the kind of meditation that feels best to me at any given moment. Perhaps in this moment that looks like a 5-minute guided meditation. Great! For some, meditation may look like 90 minutes of mantra meditation. Great! Try out some various meditations (there are many free guided meditations on YouTube) to see what feels good to you. If you’re having a hard time gaining clarity and making decisions that are true to you, causing internal discord and inner disruption of peace, try the free Harmoniously Herself™ meditative technique. Ultimately, go with any meditation that feels best for you in this present moment. Meditation can be a simple way to reduce stress and restore inner peace and calm.
3- Love, Safety, and Peace
Are you with a person, in a situation, or thinking thoughts rooted in love, safety, and peace? Are you giving yourself love, safety, and peace? As Jenna Lyons (2023) in the Real Housewives of New York City astutely stated: “Oftentimes people want from people who can’t give. Sometimes the person who won’t give you what you want is the person you go after the most.” Release that person or situation or the thoughts within who can’t give love, safety, and peace.
Having risen above polarities and having become awareness outside of thought, if you’ve come to a clear realization of what is right and thus not right for you in this moment, and if you need to say ‘no’ to a person or situation or thoughts: “...let it come not from reaction but from insight, from a clear realization of what is right or not right for you at [this] moment. Let it be a nonreactive ‘no’ a high-quality no a no that is free of all negativity and so creates no further suffering. (Tolle, n.d.)”
4- Flow
"When you are doing something that you love it’s like throwing a rock in the pool because that love is hitting the pool and then it starts radiating out and so, when you’re doing something that you love and sharing it with other human beings, you are doing something of benefit" - Meredith Monk, 2018, Feminists: What Were They Thinking?
When you find your state of flow, that flow can radiate out to others. The concept of flow, discovered by Mihayli Czikszentmihalyi, is finding a balance between skill and challenge allowing you to become absorbed in what you are doing.
When are you in flow? What are you doing when you’re in flow? Where are you in flow? If you’re hard pressed to come up with the answers, Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007) suggests you: “Establish the precise time periods and activities during which you find yourself in flow…and then multiply them."
5 - Inspiration
One definition of inspiration is being in-spirited or filled with peace and grace. While one can’t make inspiration happen or force inspiration, creative pursuits and an open mind can help one stumble upon inspiration. Perhaps this is reading inspiring words, engaging in writing or another art form, embarking on a new idea, trying something new, meditating, or finding your state of flow. Maybe it’s sitting outside looking at a flower noticing all the details of the flower or looking at a tree and noticing all of the details of the leaves and trunk.
Inspiration welcomes clarity and greater awareness outside of thought. Inspiration is a breath of fresh air. And, this breath of fresh air cultivates a piece of peace within thus planting a seed for the growth of peace in the world.
This is the second installment of a two-part series on A Piece of Peace.
May you, may all of us, find peace 🕊️
References
Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The How of Happiness. New York, NY: The Penguin Press.
The Real Housewives of New York City (Season 14) [TV episode] (2023). Bravo.
Tolle, E. (2001). Practicing the Power of Now. Novato, CA: New World Library.
Tolle, E. (n.d.). Part 3 of an interview with Eckhart Tolle conducted by Josh Max at the Omega
Institute. Understanding Terrorism. Retrieved October 18, 2023, from
https://tolleteachings.com/eckhart-tolle-interview-part-3-terrorism.html.
Demetrakas, J., Jagoda, J., Landau, G., & Remington, L. (Director and Producers).
(2018). Feminists: What Were They Thinking? [Film]. Netflix.
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Harmoniously Herself™ Transformational Coaching by Amy M. Toney International is here to support conscious clarity for women empowering compassion, love, clarity, self-belonging, self-discovery, self-confidence, self-worth, and self-illumination 💖
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