There are special moments in our lives when we find peace: really letting go and relaxing on holiday or walking in the countryside and stopping for a few moments to admire the view. Finding peace is to experience a deep, harmonious, and connected alignment with the world around us. The trouble is, with all the turbulence, noise, and uncertainty in today’s world, moments of peace are difficult to find.
We can pick up disturbance every time we watch, read or listen to the news, which often demonstrates little peace in the world, with wars, political and economic disorder, and the climate crisis. Using the latest technology, huge amounts of information are filtered, condensed, and presented in the news. And just in case you missed something, some news channels have a newsreader competing with other news scrolling to grab your attention on the screen. It was not always this way. Although it’s some time ago, there was a famous BBC news broadcast in 1930 where the news announcement was, “Good evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news”. It was decided that nothing newsworthy had happened, so they played piano music instead.
So, is there peace underneath all the turbulence and noise in the world?
We often think of the world that includes smartphones, cars, coffee bars, financial services, holiday adverts, airports, supermarkets, and motorways as part of the same world that includes nature, but they’re not the same. What if we separated out the “world”: everything that humans have created, from the “earth”; the blue planet seen from space, nature itself? Using this distinction, it’s easier to see the world as a man-made overlay. Although it’s governed by the laws of nature, it tends to be a lot more chaotic; always in a state of flux, uncertainty, and disturbance. So, although we may not be able to find much peace in the world, we can find peace when we connect with the earth through nature.
Although there is sometimes conflict in nature, for instance, a volcanic eruption, most of the time there is peace and harmony. Think about the last time you walked through woodland: the natural sculpture of the trees, the call of a wood pigeon, and the sunlight glinting through the leaves in the upper branches. Apart from the changing seasons, nothing much was happening. The earth is always in relative harmony, and peace is abundant. Caught up in the busy content and activity in the world, it’s hard to find peace. It’s when we drop beneath the noisy overlay, into a more natural space, that we find true peace.
Suggestions for finding peace include:
- Settling agitation and letting go of holding onto any agitated emotions, stress, tension, and tightness
- Reconnecting with nature – the “earth” rather than the “world”
- Taking an occasional digital detox for half a day, a full day, or a weekend
- Practising acceptance, rather than avoidance or resistance
- Avoiding getting pulled into the news for a day or two and see what difference this makes
- Connecting with the space, stillness, and silence that rests in the background of experience, rather than the foreground objects and content that we normally inhabit
They say, “Rest in peace” when someone dies, but we all aspire to find a bit of peace and happiness while we’re still vibrant and alive. Although finding peace at work and in our personal lives can be a challenge, by looking in the right places, and moving towards peace in nature we can uncover the peace inside ourselves.
Suggested weekly practice
- See if you can make time at the beginning of each day to find a little bit of peace.
- Avoid getting into conflicts or arguments before bedtime; protecting the peaceful hours before you go to sleep can make a real difference.
- If you need a bit of peace, take a deep breath and sound the word “Peace” internally as you slowly exhale, allowing mental agitation and noise to dissolve as you imagine a clear open sky.
Guidance
Find somewhere undisturbed and sit in a comfortable, dignified, and upright posture, where you can remain alert and aware.
There are two guided practices for this session. You can close your eyes, or lower your gaze while the meditations play.
- Play the first settling practice, then read through the session content, which you can print off if that helps.
- Then play the second practice to explore and experience inner peace.
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