Learn How To Live Happily AND Peacefully

I have collected some good points and good ideas for peace of mind  which I share with you.

Peace of Mind Tips and Advice

By Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson is the founder of Success Consciousness. He is the author of articles and books, teaching how to use your mental tools and inner powers to create a life of happiness, success, fulfillment and inner peace.

What Is Peace of Mind?

Peace of mind is a state of mental and emotional calmness, with no worries, fears or stress. In this state, the mind is quiet, and you experience a sense of happiness and freedom.
Such peaceful moments are not so rare. You have experienced them in the past, at times when you were engaged in some kind of an absorbing or interesting activity. Here are a few examples:

• Watching an entertaining movie or TV program.
• Being in the company of someone you love.
• Being absorbed in reading a book.
• Lying on the sand at the beach.
• On vacation, when you experience some sort of mental numbness, forgetting your work and day-to-day-life.
• In deep asleep, when you are not aware of anything.

Such activities, and similar ones, take away the mind from its usual thoughts and worries, replacing them with an experience of inner peace.
The question is, how to bring more peace of mind into our life, and more importantly, how to experience it in times of difficulties and ordeals.
You might also ask, whether it is possible to turn it into a habit, and enjoy it always and under all circumstances. Actually, there are a few things you can do to enjoy more peace in your life.

Tips and Advice for Peace of Mind

1. Minimize the time you spend on reading newspapers or watching the news on TV. Since most of the news are negative news, and you cannot do anything about them, why should you think about them and feel stressed and anxious?
2. Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people. You don't want their thoughts and words to sink into your subconscious mind and affect your moods and state of mind.
3. Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.
4. Don't be jealous of others. Jealousy means that you have low self-esteem, and therefore, consider yourself inferior to others. Jealousy and low self esteem, often, lead to lack of peace of mind.
5. Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries. Every day, we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible. We must learn to put up with such things and accept them cheerfully.
6. Don't dwell on the past. The past is not here anymore, so why think about it? Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and focus on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and get immersed in them.
7. Learn to be more patient and tolerant with family, friends, co-workers, employees, and everyone else.
8. Don't take everything too personally. A certain degree of emotional and mental detachment is very helpful. On many occasions, it would be useful to inject a certain measure of detachment and non involvement. This would bring into your life more peace, harmony and common sense.
9. Learn to focus your mind. When you can focus your mind, you can more easily reject worries and anxieties, refuse to think negative thoughts, and reduce the constant chatter of your mind.
10. Meditation is not everyone's cup of tea, but if you have the time, and are willing to try it, even just a few minutes a day will make a difference in your life. You will become more peaceful, relaxed and happy.

Inner peace eventually, leads to external peace. By creating peace in your inner world, in your mind, you bring it into your external world, and into other people's lives.


40 Ways to Create Peace of Mind
By Lori Deschene

“Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.” ~Brian Tracy

There was a time when I thought peace was a destination, in much the same way I imagined I’d eventually arrive at happiness or success.

It seemed like something I needed to chase or find—definitely not something I could experience without dramatically changing my life.

I needed to work less, relax more, and generally revamp my circumstances and relationships in order to be a peaceful person.

Despite seeing peace as an endpoint, I also saw it as something passive—after all, that’s why I was so stressed: I had so much to do.

I’ve since realized that peace is always available, and like any desirable state of mind, it requires effort, even if that effort entails consciously choosing to be still.

Sure, our circumstances affect our mental state, but they don’t have to control them, not if we make tiny choices for our well-being.

Admittedly, it’s not easy to choose peace when we’re going through tough times. I still go through periods when I get caught up in worries and stresses, and it can feel like that’s the only available response to things that have happened.
But it’s not. There are countless things we can do to create peace of mind—both in response to events in our lives, and proactively, everyday.

If you’d also like to develop a greater sense of peace, you may find these suggestions helpful:

Meditation

1. Take 5-10 minutes for a simple seated meditation.
2. Take 100 deep breaths, counting “and one,” “and two,” and so on, with “and” on the inhalations and the numbers on the exhalations.
3. Take a meditative walk, focusing solely on the physical sensations of walking—the earth under your feet, the swing of your hips.
4. Find a guided meditation on YouTube and let it lull you into a blissful state of presence.
5. Practice alternate nostril breathing. Hold the left nostril down and inhale through the right; then hold the breath. Release the left nostril, hold the right one down, and exhale through the left. Now start on the left with an inhalation, exhaling on the right. This is one set. Do up to five of them.

Communication

6. Write down everything that’s weighing you down mentally and then burn it as a form of letting go.
7. Write down everything you’ve learned from a difficult experience so you can see it as something useful and empowering instead of something to stress you out.
8. Tell someone how their actions affected you instead of holding it in and building resentment.
9. Call someone you’ve denied forgiveness and tell them you forgive them.
10. Apologize for a mistake instead of rehashing it, and then choose to forgive yourself.

Creativity


11. Engage in a little art therapy; grab some crayons, markers, or paint and put all your feelings on the page.
12. Create a peace collage. Include images that make you feel relaxed and at ease. (Google “peace collage” and you’ll get lots of ideas!)
13. Meditate on your favorite peace quote and then write it in calligraphy for framing.
14. Take a walk with the sole intention of photographing beautiful things that make you feel at peace, like a tree with colorful autumn leaves.
15. Write a blog post about what gives you peace of mind. (This has been a calming experience for me!)

Activity

16. Get up and dance to your favorite song, focusing solely on the music and the movement. Get into your body and get out of your head!
17. Take a long walk on the beach, focusing on the feel of the sand between your toes and the sound of the crashing waves. Cliché, but highly effective!
18. Go for a bike ride in a scenic part of town, and immerse yourself in the calm of your environment.
19. Take 5−10 minutes for stretching, syncing your breath with the movements (or if you have an hour, visit a local studio for a yoga class).
20. Declutter a cluttered part of your home, creating a more peaceful space.

Acceptance

21. Muster compassion for someone who hurt you, instead of wallowing in bitterness, which will make it easier to forgive them and set yourself free.
22. Set aside some time to actively enjoy the good things about the present instead of scheming to create a better future.
23. Create a list of things you love about yourself instead of dwelling on how you wish you were different.
24. Focus on what you appreciate about the people in your life instead of wishing they would change (assuming you’re in healthy relationships).
25. Recognize if you’re judging yourself in your head with phrases like “I should have” or “I shouldn’t have.” Replace those thoughts with, “I do the best I can, my best is good enough, and I’m learning and growing every day.”

Solitude

26. Start reading that book you bought about dealing with the challenge you’ve been facing.
27. Schedule a date with yourself—a time when you don’t need to meet anyone else’s requests—and do something that feeds your mind and spirit. Go to a museum or take yourself to your favorite restaurant and simply enjoy your own company.
28. Sit in nature—under a tree, on a mountain—and let yourself simply be.
29. Be your own best friend. Tell yourself what’s on your mind, and then give yourself the advice you’d give a good friend who had the same issue.
30. Repeat some positive affirmations that help you feel present, peaceful, and empowered.

Connection

31. Tell the truth in your relationships. When we hold in our true feelings, we create stress for ourselves. Be kind but honest and share what you really feel.
32. Catch critical, blaming, or self-victimizing thoughts. Instead of ruminating on what someone else did wrong, express yourself and ask yourself what you can do to create the change you’re seeking.
33. Have fun with someone you love. Forget about everything that feels like a problem and do something silly and childlike.
34. Connect with someone online who can relate to what you’re going through and create a mutually supportive relationship by sharing and listening.
35. Let someone into your self-care routine—ask a friend to join a yoga studio with you, or invite your sister to jog with you on the beach.

Contribution

36. Volunteer your time to help a charity you believe in. Put all your energy into helping someone else, and you will inadvertently help yourself.
37. Volunteer at your local animal shelter. Animals are naturally present, and it’s contagious!
38. Do something kind for someone else without expecting anything in return. If they ask what they can do for you, tell them to pay it forward.
39. Leverage your passion to help someone else (i.e.: if you’re an aspiring designer, design a logo for a friend). You get to get in the zone doing something you love; someone else gets support they need. A win/win!
40. Leverage your purpose to serve someone else, not for money—just because. That might mean helping them pursue their passion, or motivating them to reach their fitness goals. Whatever gives your life meaning, give it to someone freely.

As is often the case with these types of list, this can seem a little long and overwhelming. The important thing is that we do at least one tiny thing every day to create mental stillness. What helps you create peace of mind?

Meditation For Peace Of Mind-Art Of Living

Respond Instead of React

Have you observed your mind when turbulent situations arise? These situations trigger powerful emotions in us. When emotions are on a high, the tendency is to react and be impulsive. Further, we can get very easily carried away by our emotions and our awareness of the present moment is lost. We start thinking, why did this happen to me? What have I done? and so on, instead of focusing on the action to be taken. We also worry and are anxious about the future-of how things can return to normal again. This continuous bombardment of thoughts reduces our ability to think clearly and we often end up reacting to the situation, instead of responding.

Prepare the Mind to Become Still

A turbulent mind filled with such uncontrolled thoughts drains out the energy called prana (life force energy), leaving us completely tired, exhausted and frustrated. So how do we move from this turbulence to tranquility? How can we respond to such situations with a peaceful mind? Explains Shriram Sarvotham, senior Art of Living Yoga teacher, “We cannot directly force or demand the peace of mind but we can prepare the mind to become still.” Meditation prepares the mind to calm down effortlessly.

Act with Complete Awareness

Meditation releases the stresses that are accumulated in our mind and leaves it fresh and clear. It brings the mind to the present moment which is the field of action. See, can we smile yesterday? Can we smile two hours later? We can only plan for it. But, we can smile NOW. That is in our hands. Any action is possible only in the present moment. When we act with complete awareness of our action, when the mind is totally attentive to the moment, the action is perfect and mistakes do not happen.

Spread The Waves Of Peace

An interesting aspect is that we have the ability to influence our surroundings- When we enter a room where a fight has happened, we feel a little uneasy; whereas when we enter a room where a baby is playing, the enthusiasm and joy catches on to us even if we are tired. Similarly, even in a tumultuous situation if we have inner peace, we can spread the vibrations of peace around us which can help reduce the turbulence. A few minutes of meditation daily helps remain calm during any situation.

A Few Minutes Just For You- Your Meditation Time

Wondering how to break the knots of daily work along with other responsibilities, to find just a few minutes of meditation time? A good time to meditate is in the morning, as it will help you remain peaceful during the day. You could meditate when you wish to take a break from your work, for instance, before your evening coffee. This is the time you can just be with yourself, shutting down the doors of daily chatter in your mind and just relax completely. You can make the most of this time and enhance your experience of meditation with a few quick tips.

Meditation Made Easy : Follow These Tips

• Comfortable surrounding - It is advisable to meditate in a quiet place. This saves you from distraction and helps you go deeper in your experience.
• Be regular with the practice - It is a good idea to meditate at least twice a day and be regular with the practice. Only then will you be able to observe its positive effects with each passing day.
• Meditate with your buddies - You could get together with some of your close buddies and meditate in a group. This will enhance your experience; it will also help you to be regular with your practice.
• Try some stretches before meditating –This helps release the stress and tension in various parts of your body and helps you relax to have a more enjoyable meditation.
• Observe your thoughts - Do not make an effort to resist your thoughts. Let them flow. Meditation is effortless.
• Take it easy - Make sure you meditate for at least 10-15 minutes. Do not be in a hurry to open your eyes.
• Make sure your stomach is not full – This will prevent you from falling asleep!

Inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's wisdom talks
By Divya Sachdev and graphics by Niladri Dutta

Link for Peace Of Mind

Link For 40 Ways to Attain Peace

Link For Meditation

Ten Commandments For Peace of Mind