I love to write about how to find inner peace.  This is a peace that proceeds from within to without.  One of my favourite prayers about how one might find inner peace is the universal prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi that reads

 

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

All the words of the opening line of this universal prayer are important but for this writer and storyteller the last two words go especially together.  The peace that is referred to in this universal prayer as “thy peace.” This is not a peace that is simply the absence of conflict wherein there is still a tension that has the potential to become less than peaceful.  “Thy Peace” is the peace that passeth understanding.  This means that it is a peace that is beyond the opposite of peace as opposed to that which is not peace.  Moving beyond this tension of opposites is how to find inner peace in a lasting and fulfilling way.  This is the kind of understanding of peace that the logical mind cannot acquire.  The logical mind understands the difference between peace and non-peace.  The logical mind, does not, and cannot comprehend the idea of a peace that is beyond duality or beyond opposites.  This peace that is beyond duality is what St. Francis calls ”

 

Thy Peace

 

This peace is  true peace of mind because within it there is no opposition and thus no tension.  It is a peace that has been attained by harmonising the opposites within oneself.  It is the harmonising of the forces of the unconscious with the consciousness of the ego.  To be made an instrument of they peace is a great invitation and maybe one of the greatest invitations.  To attain to such a state of grace is a great blessing.   I love the invitation from the modern day writer Deepak Chopra in his book How to Know God – The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries where you are invited to become a saint.  Toward the end of this book, that covers the various stages of spiritual development, there is a section called Manual for Saints.  In this section Deepak Chopra writes,

 

Set your intentions high.  Aim to be a saint and a miracle worker.  Why not?  The same laws of nature operate for everyone.  If you know that the goal of inner growth is to acquire mastery, then ask for that mastery as soon as possible.  Once you ask, don’t strain to work wonders, but don’t deny them to yourself, either.  The beginning of mastery is vision;  see the miracles around you and that will make it easier for greater miracles to grow.

 

Paradoxically speaking there is as much arrogance (if that is the right word?) in refusing to become an instrument of thy peace as there is in asking to become such an instrument.  Many ,if not most people, will not see any value in making such a request.  The question here is, which then leads to the quest, is are you going to live the values that you love and to make these values manifest in this world of form for the highest good of all?  When you spend time with your core values and align these with your actions then you do not become so engaged with judging others.  Your focus, is not on what others do or do not do,  but on how you follow the intention to be integral and true to the way that life and love expresses through you.

 

The core values that are spoken about here are universal values.  I am not referring to the limited values that might attach to the idea of family values, American values or the values of the culture that you live in.  At one time slave owning was considered a cultural value.  Female circumcision is considered to be a value in some cultures.  This invitation to alignment with your core values will take you into your deep interiority.  These are what this writer calls your true Desiderata.  These are your true hearts desires.

 

 

Are you cultivating that deep interiority of your true Desiderata – your list of deep heart core desires?  Or are your desires simply those driven by the marketplace that never last and are cultivated from a never ending sense of enough?  These limited time space values are values that will not take you into a peace that passeth understanding which is the real inner peace and true peace of mind.  Political  and business leaders talk a lot about adding value.  The real value that is added to you is a paradox.  It is not so much added as is revealed.  The more deeply you align with the interior values of the heart the more expansive you reveal yourself to be.  This alignment is how to find inner peace.   The beginning, as with all beginnings, is intention.  Do you intend, and are you intending, to be true to thine own self and value the expression of life that you are created to be?

 

You cannot add value to yourself because you are essentially beyond value.  What you can do, and what most everyone is doing, is hiding that value that you already are and substituting it for something other.  This substitute is called the ego.  This is the separate sense of self that is added to in order to make something of itself of value.  What is the universal value or values that you would live and be remembered for.?  In choosing to commit to this, or these universal values, you then align yourself with the Universe the flows through you.  You align yourself with the creative force of life.  This alignment with universal values is part of that stage of personal and spiritual development referred to as the stage of vision/logic in the map of consciousness outlined by Jim Marion in his book Putting on the Mind of Christ.

 

 

At lower levels of consciousness the value system that is subscribed to tends not to be universal, but as we see in places were there is conflict, is focused on tribal loyalty or on the larger tribe called the nation state.  Alignment with universal values begins at a stage of personal and spiritual development were one’s awareness begins to be focused more on the connection to the experience of Oneness rather than on the limitation of a sense of separateness we call the ego.  Alignment with core values means that you have a sense of what is to be revealed from core of human existence.  This core is not simply a belief but arises from a direct revelation of your essential Self.  This universe is not a collection of separate forms.  It is essentially a sacred unity.  The separate forms (you and I) are simply an expression of this unity.  Lao Tzu said this beautifully when he said.

 

Thus, the sage keeps himself in no-action (wu-wei),
He teaches his wisdom without words.
The Ten Thousand Things rise and fall.
Tao “creates” everything without possessing,
Accomplishes with no claim,
Thus, no adherence, no vanish.

 

This invitation to come into  alignment with universal forces invite integrity, healing and miracle and is not simply a cerebral exercise.  It is practical engagement with such universal practices such as mediation, prayer and contemplation.  This are universal practices that, not so much add value, but reveal the value of who you truly are.  If your values are those that align you with the idea of the tribe, the nation State then this alignment will create opposition within you became you are aligned with an aspect of separateness.  There is nothing wrong with having a pride in your belonging to a tribe, or nation State.  This, however, is not universality and cannot lead to the living of universal values and the deep peace that is inherent within such a practice.

 

 

 

As always, practice kindness to yourself.  Wherever you are is an opportunity to expand but remember that expansion into deeper universal values and stages of spiritual and personal development tends to involve resistance and tension.  When you move beyond the tribe, your family or your religious group then you might be accused of disloyalty.  When you move beyond the limited idea of the nation state then you might be accused of being less than patriotic.  This is part of the the growth involved in personal and spiritual development.   This is part of the reflatory process that is moved from the deep hearts core.  This is the real value that you are and who you are intended to be.

 

Core values, as invited by this writer and storyteller, are universal values.  They invite the arising within you of the integrity of Oneness.  It is this Oneness that allows you the knowing of your true value and your true values.  This is the list of your true hearts desiring – your true Desiderata.  Let me finish with a Celtic blessing of peace that I use on occasion and sing on occasion.

 

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.

 

This is a beautiful blessing that is written by one who has lived from an alignment with the universal value of peace.  This is one who knows directly the real value of peace as being the connection to the infinite peace that you are and which you are here to reveal and share with others as the core of your very being and your being here.

 

10 Ways to Find Inner Peace

 

Finally here is a video that I love and which inspires me each time I am graced to watch it. Simply double click on the graphic below and enjoy the images, the inspiration and the feelings of empowerment.  If you were to practice the Ten things YOU can to to create peace and are committed to this practice then you WILL get the blessing from above.

 

 

 

OTHER GREAT CONTENT

Here is some other material that will further your personal and spiritual development and your understanding of the various stages of spiritual development.

inner peace
BLISSITATIONS – At this site they are committed to making it easier, more enjoyable and more effective with guided meditations, visualizations, affirmations and other goodness to help turn your meditation into Blissitation!
SPIRITUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION – The study shows student life is enhanced if students engage in “inner work” through activities such as meditation or self-reflection
SPIRITUAL ARTICLES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS – Spiritual Development articles related to student life