11 Jan A Year of Inner Peace and Contentment

Some of us are painfully aware of our inner angst, while others have mastered strategies to distract ourselves and remain blind to it. Either way, whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, our inner turmoil prevents us from living life wholeheartedly and from our best selves. It holds us back from the replenishment that’s available through true joy, from dealing with obstacles in creative ways, and from relating to others in a heartfelt manner.

Inner peace and contentment are a viable option to the habitual struggle-filled way many of us engage in life. In some regards, cultivating inner peace is quite simple, and yet the journey is far from easy. So let’s take a quick look at some aspects of what inner peace might look and feel like – and what the path toward it entails.

Inner peace and contentment might best be described as a sort of freedom from our reactive tendencies – from our egoic selves’ response to what’s happening (or not happening). These tendencies often stem from the need to defend or advance a very limited sense of identity; of over-identifying with our successes or failures; of seeing and thinking through the cloudy lens of the binary mind that is busy labeling, judging, and categorizing reality, and very often causing us to miss what’s really going on.

Inner peace and contentment is a
transformation of consciousness
where our inner dramas are quieted,
where the voice of our inner critic no longer dominates,
where we can be more fully open and receptive
to the present moment.

Attainment of inner peace and contentment requires what might be considered a contemplative mind and a liberated heart that supports seeing things in a new and more mature way. In short, we become transformed by creating an inner spaciousness in which courage, compassion and creativity can thrive – resources that enable us to experience and respond to each moment in fresh and powerful ways.

Two fabulous books that have been my constant companions in exploring this territory further are: Just This by Richard Rohr and The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie.

by Ipek Serifsoy