Let peace be the baseline for your life.
Imagine a line running straight across your eye line.
Everything above it is positive emotions like joy,
Appreciation,
Enthusiasm.
Below the line are emotions like sadness,
Depression,
Anger,
And fear.
All of the emotions above and below the center line will come and go.
Your goal is to stay as close as you can to that center line of peace.
As humans we tend to create large goals like a promotion or losing 15 pounds.
So let's start with losing 15 pounds.
What will you feel when you lose 15 pounds?
You might say,
I'll feel better about myself.
Okay.
Yeah,
For about 20 seconds.
Then your mind will tell you to lose another 5 pounds.
I've literally been down this road with my mind before.
It never feels peaceful.
I had a goal of losing 10 pounds and within a few months I accomplished it.
And for about 20 seconds my mind was ecstatic.
I was so proud of myself and I felt a real feeling of accomplishment.
And no sooner did I acknowledge my accomplishment than my mind started thinking,
If I just lost 3 more pounds I'd be down to blah blah blah my weight in high school blah blah blah.
And I watched this happen.
I watched my mind go back into a tizzy again just after I had completed my goal.
And I realized this is insanity.
I would never be happy.
I would never feel peaceful about my weight unless I chose to make peace my goal instead.
So I did.
And my weight fluctuates from week to week but my emotions don't fluctuate as much along with my weight.
So make peace your goal first.
And the weight will either be there or it won't.
But you'll feel peaceful.
And doesn't that feel so much better than riding the endless weight loss and weight gain roller coaster?
You will still feel emotions.
You'll still fluctuate above and below the line.
But you'll have that compass that points you in the direction of peace.
This can actually be so freeing.
I also used to think I had to feel joyful all the time because I only wanted to manifest goodness in my life.
So I was constantly striving for a state of joy.
And I rarely got there.
And I'd feel disappointed when I wasn't joyful.
I just didn't understand why I wasn't happy.
So striving for peace is my goal now.
And I encourage you to try this too.
And if you come back to this place of peace often,
You'll eventually realize that you're living from this place of peace.
Your emotions will be what they are.
But you'll find your way back to peace.
It's the most helpful way I've ever found to experience this unpredictable thing we call life.
So take a moment to get comfortable in your seat.
Relax your shoulders down your back.
Take a nice deep inhale through your nose.
And exhale through your open mouth with a nice deep sigh.
Do this two more times.
Relaxing your whole body more with each exhale.
Good.
Now notice what emotions are coming up for you right now.
When you sit with your emotions,
You can release them.
So just be with whatever is coming up for you right now.
Turn towards the emotion.
Turn towards the discomfort or fear,
Sadness,
Hopelessness.
Whatever you feel,
Just allow yourself to experience it fully right now.
And breathe through it.
Let this emotion fully encapsulate you.
Overwhelm you with its power.
You may experience a release through tears or feel a compulsion to scream.
Whatever it is,
Just allow it here in this space.
Breathe through it.
Your breath is the door to your emotions.
And when you keep them locked up,
Your breath becomes shallow and stifled.
But when you release the blockages within you,
You can breathe fuller and deeper.
Knowing what needs to pass through you to do so.
When you have fully released any emotions that need to come up,
Bring your awareness down lower.
Just below your belly button and about two inches inside your body to your center of gravity.
Your Hara,
As the martial arts tradition calls it.
This is where I experience my inner knowing in my body.
A part of me that is beyond thoughts and emotions.
My soul that holds all of the wisdom and gifts of this lifetime and others.
And now ask your inner knowing a question.
Just breathe deeply and listen for an answer.
Deep breathing into your diaphragm will help you bring your awareness lower into your body.
So let's ask the question now.
What brings me peace?
What brings me peace?
What brings me peace?
What brings me peace?
If you heard something that's wonderful,
If not,
That's okay.
It may come to you in a sign or through a book or a podcast.
You'll know it'll be like a little spark of light in your day and you'll want to follow whatever this action or peaceful knowing is.
You don't have to strive for all of the goals that your mind says you do.
You can just focus on peace,
All of these things will come in time.
You don't have to strive or push yourself to make them happen.
Peace within myself is my unconditional goal.
My peace is unconditional.
My peace is unconditional.
You can use this as a mantra when your mind starts telling you that you aren't good enough or that you're not doing enough.
Just tell it my peace is unconditional.
And as we close our practice,
You can start to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Waking up your body.
Take a nice big stretch and when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
