All I Wanted Was Peace

I had a flashback this week to a conversation with my mentor a few years back, to a time when all I wanted was to find some inner peace. I remember feeling that if I could find peace by my old age, I would at least feel like I’d achieved something. As I reflected on that I wondered at just how stressed I must have felt then, to have only aspired to peace.

You might be feeling the same thing yourself, it’s natural, and it indicates that you must be spending the majority of your time feeling various shades of grey on the emotional scale. Whether you are simply feeling doubt, disappointment, rejection, insecurity, loneliness, worry, impatience, frustration, irritation or pessimism much of the day, or you are feeling outright anger, rage, revenge, fear or hatred, or you are experiencing sadness, abandonment, shame, anxiety, feeling unloved, or worse, you are in down in the depths of despair, depression, disempowerment, grief or hopelessness, finding peace, that quiet centre of stillness, is a good place to aspire to.

It’s been the best part of two years since I left my corporate job and I have reflected on those days a number of times in my articles. Suffice to say I knew my inner and outer worlds did not match, I knew I wasn’t being me, but I had no idea who that was.  This week as I updated the home page of my website, I finally felt that all of who I am is right there, and I didn’t just feel peace, I have had a huge big smile on my face and in my heart since.

What I’m experiencing more of the time now is the rainbow of colour, emotionally speaking, beyond the stillness. It starts with things like hope, acceptance, faith, encouragement or a positive attitude. Soon you find you feel more empowered, worthy, eager, at ease or light-hearted. Then there’s the realms of feeling inspired, confident, responsible, open-hearted, even serene. Beyond this there’s happiness, gratitude, compassion, courage and spiritual connection. Ultimately there are those emotions of love, joy, passion and freedom.

We all spend time experiencing all of these emotions to one extend or another in any given moment of the day, but what are you feeling the balance of the time? I once heard a spiritual master say that freedom is our basis, joy our quest and growth and expansion is the inevitable result. The entire emotional spectrum we experience is in relation to how we perceive our control levels over what we are experiencing.

So strong is the connection between our thoughts and our feelings that over 90% of your thoughts just keep subconsciously fueling the same emotions over and over. The vast majority of your negative thought patterns are embedded in your subconscious mind, they are rooted in early childhood and reinforced many millions of times throughout your life, like attracting like, and the same thoughts lead to the same behaviors, resulting in the same experiences.

You don’t need to unpick all these thoughts, you just need to become aware of them. Awareness is the trigger to change, it slows and eventually stops the momentum of those old thought patterns. It allows you to shine a new light on situations, to look for thoughts that feel better.

Better feeling thoughts, lead to better outcomes, always, there are no exceptions. Think about those times in your life where you have been ‘flying high’, the early days of a new romance, a sought after promotion or new role, a business or physical triumph. When it’s good, it’s good. Your goal is to get there and stay there for as much of the time as you can.

It doesn’t mean you won’t experience challenges, it means that your perspective changes. The more aware of your own thoughts you are, the more control you have. The more control you feel, the better you feel, and the better the experiences you attract into your life.

I’m excited about life now, and its possibilities and you can be too.

​If we’re not already connected, just fill in your name and email at the top of the blog page to subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love for you to comment on, or share these thoughts with others, or contact me directly - shona@shonakeachie.com - I'm always happy to help.