Our focus today is on peace as the deepest connection. Today’s meditation guides us to our deepest connection – real peace. Peace should be regarded as a natural state of awareness for everyone. Peace begins in our own hearts and silence of our hearts is the essence of our true self.
Day 20 – Peace Is the Deepest Connection
CENTERING THOUGHT
I am here to be in peace consciousness.
SANSKRIT MANTRA
Om Shanti Om (I radiate peace.)
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
If history has shown us anything, it is that we cannot attain peace by fighting for it. But struggle and opposition is all the separate self knows how to do, even in the name of peace. To find peace, we need to go beyond our restless mind to our silent source. In the stillness of our hearts, our awareness not only finds peace, but we also recognize that we are peace itself.
Today’s meditation is about knowing our true nature as peace and becoming a unit of peace consciousness for the world.
Journal Reflection Questions:
1. Reflect on your state of awareness. In your journal, give yourself a grade from one to ten on each of the following qualities: peace, enjoyment, inner calm, and sense of wellbeing. Don’t judge your grade or try to manipulate it. Just do the exercise as objectively as possible, simply based on where you are at this moment. Wherever you gave yourself a low score, write down next to it what lessons you can apply from this Meditation Experience to improve your grade.
2. Reflect on how to shift your motivation in the direction of being inspired. Inspiration is the greatest and most lasting motivator. But oftentimes pressure is mistaken for motivation, for example when people are driven by a sense of duty, daily demands on time, money, work, promotions, family obligations, self-criticism, the need to succeed, guilt, habit, etc. Journal about how these current forms of pressure masquerading as motivation manifest in your life.
3. Now, for each of these current forms of pressure, list a deeper inspiration you can use to replace it, such as love, compassion, intelligence, creativity, truth, beauty, evolution, strength, wisdom, and peace. What would this look like? For instance, instead of feeling like you have to try to be nice to your difficult brother-in-law at family gatherings simply so your spouse doesn’t get upset with you, look at your next meeting as an opportunity. Use it to discover something meaningful about his life that you can connect with at a heart level, regardless of the differences you may have on the surface.
4. Reflect further on your experience today.
“Real peace is not in power, money, or weapons, but in deep inner peace.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh