How to Help Find Inner Peace

How to Help Find Inner Peace
Table of Contents

Inner Peace

13 Reasons to Find Inner Peace

50 Ways to Help Find Inner Peace

Further Exploration – Articles & Media

Your Take – Comments

Inner Peace

Finding inner peace is what Peaceful Soul is all about.

Inner peace can be defined as a state of psychological (and spiritual) calm and contentment. It means knowing and understanding yourself, your beliefs and values and living to them. It leads to being able to accept and deal with outside stress and lead a happy, healthy & ultimately peaceful life. (Further definitions in further exploration below).

13 reasons to find inner peace & 50 ways to help find inner peace below.

“Do not let the behaviour of others destroy your inner peace.”
Dalai Lamar

13 Reasons to Find Inner Peace

Needing to list the reasons for finding inner peace seems like a rather self-explanatory exercise. The name itself suggests why we should seek inner peace, i.e. so that we are at peace within ourselves. However there are a number of other benefits that come along with finding our own inner peace, these include;

Lowered Stress and Anxiety Levels
Allowing Us To Be More Tolerant Of Others
Allowing Us to Have More Patience With Others
Providing The Ability to Handle Life
Being More Compassionate
Being More Resilient
Saving Money & Being Less Sucked Into Consumerism
Improving Our Relationships With Others
Allowing Better, More Peaceful Sleep
Being Happier
Freedom From & Acceptance of Our Past
Enjoying Life More
Creating World Peace: In the words of the Dalai Lamar, “Through inner peace, genuine world peace can be achieved.” Essentially, human behaviour drives the overall behaviour we see in the world so if we are at peace then we can help bring peace to the world.

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
Saint Francis De Sales

50 Ways to Help Find Inner Peace

50 ways to help find inner peace below including 16 concepts & teachings and 34 practical things to do.

16 Concepts & Teachings to Help Find Inner Peace

A number of the teachings and concepts below have origins in Buddhist & Hindhu teaching. A number are from therapeutic practices. And a number of are common sense. 16 teachings and concepts below and more in the further exploration section.

Don’t Attach Yourself To External Things: A basic principle of Buddhist teachings. Attaching yourself to external things means attaching your emotions to things you can’t control. Life changes, things don’t say the same. Through this attachment you are leaving yourself open to being unsettled and in a state of discomfort when things change.
Don’t Be Controlled By Your Ego: The ego or (as mentioned in many Buddhist teachings) “the illusory self” is the voice in our head that tells us who we are and what we think. It can make us worry about certain events in the past or future and tell us that things have or will happen because of the person we are. This is not a helpful or even true voice. Avoiding the ego through living with awareness, consciously and in the present moment will go a long way to helping live in peace.
Trust the Process: The world will keep turning no matter the good or bad that happens in life. Life will unfold in it’s own way, no matter how hard we try to resist. Let go.
Don’t Create Your Own Problems: Life is about how we react to certain situations. We can tell ourselves how we feel and bring sadness, anger or upset to any moment. Analyse your thoughts and feelings, are they justified? Is there a better way to react to the situation?
Care About The Things That Matter: Stop caring about everything. Realise and care about the things that matter to you and your life. Let the rest go.
You Can Only Control Your Own Words & Actions: Remember that. Don’t try to control things that you can’t.
Don’t Strive For Perfection: It doesn’t exist. Nothing is perfect. Be comfortable with the way things are.
Be You: Be comfortable with the person that you are. Accept your weaknesses and work to your strengths. You are the only you. Be happy about that.
Be Genuine: Don’t put on a front with others and attempt to impress them. Just be you.
Live by Your Values: Live by what is important to you and the things you hold sacred.
Live With Integrity: Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one else is watching. Living with integrity and being true to ourselves can help us live in unquestionable peace.
Be Accepting of Life: Accept situations, things and people for the way that they are.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: This may sound counter-intuitive however to gain inner peace we need to test ourselves. Getting out of our comfort zone provides us with the mental and physical toughness required to deal with all areas of life.
Don’t Chase Happiness: We can’t be happy all of the time. Life has ups and downs and expecting to happy all of the time will only lead to sadness and disappointment. Be comfortable that there will down times as well as up.
Don’t Be Materialistic: Consumerism and material things don’t bring happiness and contentment. Put value in relationships and experiences, the things that matter in life.
It Will All End: We all have a finite amount of time in this life before our energy is dissipated back into the universe. Find peace in the fact that in the grand scheme of things, our minor woes and troubles don’t really matter.

34 Practical Ways to Help Find Inner Peace

There are many steps and minor alterations we can make in life to help bring more peace and contentment to our lives. 34 suggestions below and more in the further exploration section.

Meditation: Our thoughts control our reality. When our thoughts are all over the place and all consuming, our life will be too. Meditation helps to calms the mind and bring a little peace back to life. Peaceful Soul guide to meditation here.
Practice Mindfulness: Be in the present moment. Dwelling on the past or worrying about the future is of no consequence and will not help. They are only thoughts. you are telling yourself stories about what has or might happen. Live in the peace of the present moment.
Cut Social Media Right Down: Social media has it’s place however it can also negatively impact our lives in a significant way without us knowing it. The photos and videos of people living perfect lives can make us look at ours and feel that we are insufficient or lacking, More often than not this is just a snapshot of people’s lives and is not representative of every day life. Cut down on it, live your own life.
Set Boundaries: Knowing our boundaries with the people and situations in our life helps us to know when and how we will react and where we “draw the line.” This in turn, brings us peace of mind as we know where those lines are in advance and what we will and won’t be prepared to do.
Use Positive Self-Talk: Give yourself a lift when needed. Write down and remember all of your positive traits and the good things that you’ve done in life. Give yourself a little recap when needed.
Be Nice to Yourself: Talk to yourself as you would a friend. Give yourself encouragement. Be nice.
Take Responsibility: For your actions and words. Accept when you have done both wrong and good. Live with integrity.
Forgive: Carrying a grudge can be unsettling and bring about unwanted feelings of anger and upset. Learn to forgive and let it go.
Overcome Your Past: We all have situations and events that have happened to us or hang over us in life. Until we face these and put them to rest, we will not truly be at peace.
Help Others: Helping others gives us a sense of self-worth and the knowledge that we are doing good in life. Peaceful Soul guide to helping others here
Have Fun: Smile often, laugh loudly.
Don’t Look for Short Term Relief: Alcohol and drugs may provide a short term solution to calming the mind and relieving symptoms of anxiety or stress however they are just that, short-term (and will most likely make things worse in the long run). Use natural things like meditation and exercise to calm the thoughts.
Stop Taking Sides: The world is incredibly divided. People have differences in opinions and the emergence of social media has given people a platform to voice those opinions with often the most extreme views being heard the loudest. People do have differences of opinions, that is a fact of life however stop taking sides, trying to impose views on others and discounting what others believe. Try to see the good and positive in both sides.
Practice Gratitude: Generally we have everything we need right in front of us. Be grateful for those things and people you already have in life.
Confront Your Fears: We all have deep routed fears. Without confronting them the anxiety and negative feeling surrounding them may appear at any time.
Spend Time with Family & Friends: Spending time with those who care about us reinforces our own sense of value whilst providing connection with others.
Take Part in New Experiences: New experiences broaden our horizons and allow us to live a life well lived. Peaceful Soul guide to New Experiences here.
Try Breathing Exercises: Breathing in certain fashions can bring instant calm and peace to the body and mind. Give 5/7 breathing a try, i.e. breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 7 seconds. Repeat for about 3 minutes. This activates the para-sympathetic nervous system bringing natural calm. More breathing exercises here.
Remove Negative People: When we associate with negative people we take on their negative energy, thoughts and feelings. Remove those people and the negativity from life.
Associate with Positive People: The opposite of above. Seek out positive and wise people to spend your time with, they will impart their knowledge and their positivity on you (and you on them).
Get Out in Nature: Shirin-Yoku or forest bathing is proven to lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and bring us back in touch with nature. Try a peaceful, mindful walk in natural surrounding. Peaceful Soul guide here.
Don’t Dwell On Failure: Take failure as a learning and don’t let impact your future decisions or path in life.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy: Don’t compare yourself to others. You will always be able to find someone with more money, fame, popularity, whatever it might it be. Don’t worry about them, just be you.
Find a Job That Fulfils You: We spend a large proportion at work. Find something that satisfies you both mentally and physically (if that is what you’re looking for).
Music: “In a world of peace and love, music would be the language.” Henry David Thoreau. Relaxing to our favourite type of music can help set the tone and mood we are looking for.
Spend Time With Animals: Spending time with animals can help us to live more mindfully and also remind us about the beauty and often simplicity of life.
Have a Sort Out: A home which is a mess can be stressful. Declutter to declutter the home and the mind.
Sleep: “Sleep is the best meditation” Buddha. Being fully rested can do wonders for our mod and overall perception of life. Peaceful Soul guide to sleep here.
Yoga: Yoga is not only good exercise but also helps us to be more mindful through the specific poses that are practiced. It helps us to slow down and observe.
Eat Well: Try eating a balanced diet including at least 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables for a week. Feel the difference in your energy and mood. Give it a try.
Exercise: Keeping the body in shape is good not only for our physical but also mental wellbeing. To be at peace, make sure you are taking care of your body as well as your mind.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help: Everyone needs help from time to time. Don’t be afraid to ask. That can be from friends, family or co-workers or if you feel that you have problems that you need to work through, don’t be afraid to speak to a professional or counsellor or therapist. Everybody needs help.
Relax: Have some time to yourself. Take time to take it easy.
Don’t Take Life (Or Yourself) Too Seriously: You won’t get out alive anyway 🙂

Further Exploration – Articles & Media

Article: Inner Peace

Wikipedia article providing a thorough definition of the meaning of inner peace, how spirituality plays a part and a quote from the Dalai Lamar discussing how inner peace can lead to world peace.

Video: What is INNER PEACE? What does INNER PEACE mean? INNER PEACE meaning, definition & explanation

The Audiopedia Youtube channel presents an audio version of the Wikipedia definition of Inner Peace.

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace: The Essential Life and Teachings by the Dalai Lama

Book: The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace: The Essential Life and Teachings

A collection of powerful wisdom and teachings from the Dalai Lama helping us to understand how living with integrity can influence others and the world around us. And how through personal transformation we can contribute to a better world.
***This is one of the few affiliate links on Peaceful Soul***

Article: 5 Reasons Why Inner Peace Is Important

5 reasons why inner peace is important from Life’s Journey including enabling us to enjoy happiness and improving our relationships with others.

Article: 10 Things Mentally Strong People Give Up to Gain Inner Peace

Article from Inc looking at 10 things people give up to gain inner peace including engaging with toxic people, excessive self-blame and complete self-reliance.

Article: 10 Reasons to Make Inner Peace a Priority

10 reasons to make inner peace a priority from Gaia including growing your compassion muscle, increased intelligence and protection against age-related mental deterioration.

Article: How to Find Inner Peace

How to find inner peace on Wiki How split into 4 sections; practicing awareness, engaging in mindfulness, meditating and resolving the past.

Article: Eckhart Tolle: Why You Aren’t At Peace Right Now

Article on Oprah.com from the legendary Eckart Tolle explaining 5 reasons why you may not be at peace; you mistake peace for consciousness, you mistake peace for happiness, you keep looking ahead (or back), you strain away from the present moment and you don’t fully trust… yet.

Further Mental Wellbeing Guides from Peaceful Soul

Mind Guides

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How to Help Find Inner Peace