How to Cultivate Lasting Inner Peace with Seven Key Steps to Mindfulness
I used to skeptically think of mindfulness as mere hocus-pocus.
The ironic part was my life was chaotically turbulent. Little did I realize at the time that I needed this more than ever.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of what’s around us and staying as present as possible.
Try not to let your thoughts wander into the past or future.
1. Setting Intentions
Being intentional with our lives is crucial to having the life we want.
Here are a few rules I follow:
I try my best to stay present and I’m fine if I drift away from that as long as I recognize it and bring myself back.
I make every part of my life intentional (think finances, work, vacations)
When I catch myself slipping, I don’t allow negative self-talk to get the best of me but rather I reset and keep going.
2. Meditation
You should do meditation as often as possible because it is fantastic. I don’t like when people advise daily meditation as most of us don’t have the time or sometimes forget.
I’d rather tell people to meditate when and where they can.
If you can meditate every day then great! I would never discourage that. If I missed a day, it would affect my progress.
That could lead to months without any meditation.
I’d much rather do some meditation with no expectations than none at all. This might not be a popular opinion but that’s how I see it.
Here is a great site I found that explains how to do it if you’re getting started as well as more advanced teachings.
How to Meditate
We will walk you through how to meditate properly, the benefits of regular meditation practice, and the various styles…www.mindful.org
3. Mindful Breathing
Focusing on your breath is one of the more relaxing exercises you could do.
There are many techniques such as counting 1 for breathing in and 2 for breathing out. Scientific evidence shows that focusing on the breath relaxes the body.
You can read about it here if this interests you further.
What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain
Different breathing patterns activate our brain networks related to mood, attention, and body awareness, a new study…greatergood.berkeley.edu
This seems like a very simple exercise and it is yet it’s so powerful you shouldn’t gloss over it. Give it a try and see the power of mindful breathing.
4. Embracing the Present
This step is key to finding inner peace. Another simple step that offers massive rewards in your life.
Here are a few things this does:
It keeps you grounded, which is a good thing.
Allows you to find joy in all the little things
Connects you to relationships as you won’t be thinking of the past or the future
Being present is fun.
It calms you down and relaxes the mind.
Living in the past is stressful and worrying about the future isn’t great either.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever reflect on both. You shouldn’t spend much time there. Otherwise, life will pass you by.
5. Cultivating Gratitude
Gratitude is all about being content with what you have. They are very similar.
You can be grateful for anything in your life.. literally. There is always someone worse off than you in any situation.
We tend to not see things clearly when under stress.
Like if you’re getting evicted be grateful you have your health so you could find work of any kind.
I could keep going with examples but it would never end. People will still message me and say “But I’m getting evicted and I have physical disabilities.”
You should be grateful for everything you have in your life, no matter the situation. Everyone goes through tough times so you can’t use that as an excuse.
I practice gratitude every day by realizing how wonderful it is to have a few jobs I love. I’m also grateful for being able to talk to my friends and family.
Plus, many other things make me grateful.
6. Connecting with Nature
I’m not a real outdoorsman by any means, yet I try to connect with nature as much as possible.
I enjoy listening to the birds in the spring and summer months. I also enjoy the scenery of a majestic golf course when I’m out playing.
Nature is all we have when we strip away all the modern necessities.
It’s easy to forget we once had nothing, no vehicles, no supermarkets — nothing.
I would say this is by far my weakest section. I struggle to connect at times and I need to allow myself to learn.
The winter for me is much harder to get motivated due to the cold and snow.
I envy people who love outdoor winter activities.
7. Mindful Relationships
It’s hard to argue that relationships are the most crucial aspect of human life. I mean if they weren’t we wouldn’t have friends or families.
Why start a family with someone if they weren’t important?
Almost all our best memories involve people and an experience of some sort.
I’ve been trying to teach my kids this and it hasn’t been easy.
They would rather eat at a restaurant and leave right away rather than take the time to enjoy the food and talk.
They are getting much better… thankfully. That’s mostly because I refuse to take them out otherwise.
Without the experience, it’s a waste of time and money.
Final Thoughts
These are the seven major steps I try to take each day to find joy and inner peace in my personal life.
There are other ways you can do this and it’s good to explore what works for you. These were not meant as an absolute list by any means.
Don’t feel like you’re not enough if you only do one of these things or haven’t meditated for 6 months.
It’s acceptable to cut yourself some slack.
Our lives get busy and sometimes your situation doesn’t allow for these practices.
When the day comes when you can put these in place then you should see the power of simplicity and inner peace.
If you have any other suggestions please feel free to leave a comment so we can all grow and learn together.
Thank you for reading :)