HBlissHow to Experience Inner Peace By Sofios Ploumidis
Growing up I remember daydreaming and having scattered thoughts. As an adult, it seemed to be typical or normal for the mind to behave in this way. I often wondered if this is indeed how the mind is meant to function. Is it meant to wonder off into random thoughts? Is it meant to be distracted by events in the past or of the future? Is it meant to worry about outcomes and circumstances? Is it meant to be pre-occupied with daily events? The next meal? etc, etc…. the list goes on! I also noticed that it was hard to be at peace, to feel an inner calmness because of these continual thoughts, worries and emotional states.
I had heard about relaxation and meditation as ways to slow down the mind and the physical reactions from an overactive mind (e.g physical tension, butterflies in the stomach, etc) but I had never given such practices a go.
It wasn’t until I came across a book titled ‘Self Knowledge for Spiritual Awakening’ which explains how to experience inner peace that I decided to explore the ‘inner’ realm of my mind and how to achieve inner peace.
In the process, I have discovered where thoughts come from, how they can influence our mood, our decisions and our experiences, how they can take away our inner peace and our awareness. I could be in the most beautiful and natural place on earth, but be totally consumed by my mind, and not have an inner state of peace, to be present in that moment, to appreciate that beauty before my eyes. Or I can be in the busiest location, with lots of people and commotion but not be affected by this because of an inner peace. Where I am and what I am doing is not governed by my mind and its thoughts, or its random daydreaming, but by my own presence in that moment, to be in awareness of what is going on around me without being influenced by it.
The kind of practices that I have found most beneficial to achieve this peacefulness and inner calmness are mindfulness, duality, awareness walks… I have even found practices like visualisation and concentration on the heart beats useful too. Specific mantras can also help with silencing the mind. Focusing on the breath is another technique that can slow down an overactive mind too. I discovered so many ways to help achieve inner peace from this Self-Knowledge book.
And, it does not take long to do any of these. I start my day with a 5 min practice (either a mantra or duality, etc) and simply repeat any of these throughout the day. I can also go for an awareness walk at lunchtime as another way to help strengthen awareness. I even find it useful to ask myself or check where I am and what I am doing – in other words, am I in ‘auto pilot’ or ‘aware’ of what I am doing. So, it does not take up a lot of time, but the frequency of practices has had a huge impact on my overall inner state.
From applying various techniques that have helped me to achieve inner peace, I notice that my thoughts during the day are not as intense and my daydreaming has reduced. I seem more aware and clear. It would seem this has some significance and impact on my sleep state too. I seem to have more restful sleep and I can recall more of my dreams. I have even had lucid experiences as a result. Somehow this is related to my daily inner state and this overall achievement of inner peace. As a result, I have embarked on a search to understand why an inner state would allow and even benefit my sleep and dreams.
This has been my simple way of creating inner peace on a daily basis. I hope that you can find yours…
The ‘Self Knowledge for Spiritual Awakening’ is available as a free eBook. To access your copy go to: https://belsebuub.com/free-spiritual-ebooks/self-knowledge-for-spiritual-awakening
Note: this author also has a book on ‘Astral Travel and Dreams’, and will be available soon as a free eBook
Gosh.. I can relate to this! I’ve found myself one day waking up really early to go see the sunrise on the beach.
I was there alone, it was so beautiful, so tranquil – yet I was not enjoying it a bit 🙁
I had too many worries on my mind. Not only none of them mattered that morning as I could not do a single thing about it, yet I felt compelled to “think” about them. I started to feel even more anxious and not being able to just sit still.
In a sense, it was a wake-up call! I needed some peace and quietness and had ‘thought’ by escaping early in the morning before anyone else woke up and I would have some lone time, it would grant me this.. But it dawned on me that while I want this inner peace, I do not know how to achieve it..
When you say: “It wasn’t until I came across a book titled ‘Self Knowledge for Spiritual Awakening’ which explains how to experience inner peace that I decided to explore the ‘inner’ realm of my mind and how to achieve inner peace.”
Just wondering how has this book helped you exactly?
Hi Lily,
I have been able to slow down my mind from having random thoughts; more able to track the type of thoughts and pattern of thinking that can infuence not only my mood but also my outlook. It has given me the opportunity to understand more of my subconscious (and how not to be in that frame of mind during the day) and to be more in the present moment (ie conscious of what I am doing, thinking, feeling etc).
The book goes into detail about our inner states influencing us and how random thoughts and emotional states take away our capacity to be at peace within. It explains where these thoughts and emotional states come from, why they exist, how you can change their influence over your consciousness and be more in the present moment too. The book goes into a lot more detail of course about strategies and techniques you could use to achieve this. I have only outlined a few in my article. Overall, I have found this book to be a valuable resource and have wanted to share this with others, in case it helps them too.
All the best,
Sofios
Nice article Sofios! Thanks for the link.
Understanding the root cause of our thoughts and our emotions is the only way to free ourselves from being ruled by our mind. Then and only then, can our mind become our greatest ally.
I can also recommend the book you’re talking about. I got the hardcopy back when I was in the States over 5 years ago, and it’s been a really good tool to help me understand what it is I need to do to actually get to that state of simply ‘being’.
The ebook I’ve found even better – as more information and tips have been added to it. I’ve liked that it’s practical, down-to-earth and explains simple techniques you can implement in your life straight away.
Thanx for sharing this. I have also found a wealth of practical information in that book.
Hi,
Thanks for your article, it was really inspirational to read. I found that very same book to be extremely helpful in my own quest for spiritual knowledge and peace beyond the mind. There seems to be a lack of practical resources for spiritual development around these days, but this book is different and much more useful than other books that I have read in the last few years.
Thanks again,
Joe.
Great article Sofios. It’s so true that our mind can take us away from finding inner peace. We get so caught up in what happened yesterday or what’s happening tomorrow that we forget about what’s happening now. But discovering that level of awareness is not so easy. It is a constant battle with oneself and the material world we live in. I have also found the book on Self-Knowledge helpful in attaining a level of inner peace. The book guides you through practises and offers a perspective on the value of self-awareness.
Hi Everyone
There will be a series of free information and discussion sessions taking place around Brisbane starting in January with the topic: Achieving Inner Peace. Simply drop an email to ‘innerpeace170@ gmail.com’ to find out more details.
Cheers
Sofios
thank you very much