Make Chaos Disappear

Every day brings us a choice, either to practice stress or to practice peace. Right now I am in a tight squeeze. I am in the process of making some big changes, and it’s bringing quite a bit of chaos—uncertainties, insecurities, and fears—into my life, like any change does.

A deep desire of mine is to be able to look chaos in any form, of any magnitude, squarely in the eye and levitate up to the next level of not letting any of the anarchy affect my inner peace. Whatever the drama—work, family, friends, worldly, financial, school, natural disasters—I don’t want any of it to touch my inner peace. My desire is for peace or bust, on the inside and all around me.

When we recognize that life is our mirror, we begin to understand that the outer chaos merely represents our mental state. It is the mime of our mind. If we can quiet our inner chaos, our outer chaos will disappear.

However, too often we get this process backward, and that is why it takes us so long sometimes to tame all of the chaos: We don’t take the time to first quiet our mental noise. A good friend of mine, Jordana Carroll advises us of the importance of mental floss in all her weekly radio shows on the Mentors - VoARadio Network. (If you haven't heard any of her shows, you should check her out at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/search/jordanacarrollshow)

I often say that I desire to be a yogi, untouched and at ease. My biggest fear is someone knocking me off balance and getting trampled. So, my fantasy is to be just kind of floating there in the lotus position in the middle of it all, with pushing and shoving going on all around me, yet I am untouched. I remain at ease and guarded by my peaceful light.

I crave that kind of serenity in my day to day. When situations arise that are not going according to my plan, I want to transcend into a glowing yogi and remain perfectly centered, unfazed by the drama going on all around me. Keeping this vibe of peace is hard to do sometimes when we are faced with the challenges of life.

Winds of change blow through our lives daily, and unpredictable circumstances happen regularly that are beyond our control. How do we handle it all?

Personally, my brain used to rush to “fix” everything. If something came up that did not go according to my plan, I used to spend sleepless nights trying to figure out “what to do.”

I solicited advice from friends, loved ones, and colleagues. I even 'Googled' for any hints and solutions I could find. I did anything other than assimilate myself as the peaceful yogi who doesn’t worry, and again that is approaching the issue backward.

It is only from cultivating an inner calm and centeredness that I was able to transcend above any outer chaos. So, how can we do this? How can we transform any chaotic situation into one of inner and outer peace? How do we sit calmly and not get caught up in the hype? How do we not worry? How do we stay centered and grounded? How do we remain connected and rooted?

Here are some ideas that I use; maybe some of them might work for you:

1. Thoughts have power

Visualize - this is the first thing I do. I try to calm my mind down, and I start envisioning the outcome I’d like to see happen. I don’t get attached to these ideas; I simply start imagining myself happy, healthy, safe, and loved. I begin to visualize a friendlier situation and outcome.

Then I can rest in those good vibes as I remain cradled in my center. Thoughts have power.

2. Words have power.

Train your subconscious brain to have a different default thinking than it does now. Wishful thinking for different circumstances is not enough to transcend us; we have got to feel it. If we wish for things to be better or different, but underneath it all we feel that we are doomed no matter what, then nothing will change. It takes us retraining our subconscious mind to have a different belief system.

I personally like to use affirmations to help me improve my mental and emotional fitness. In Hindu scriptures, we call this a mantra. It’s a positive, uplifting thought that is to be repeated many times throughout the day until it becomes an inner truth and belief system.

An example of a mantra is, “Everything always works out,” or, “Only what is best will happen.” When I am stressed, repeating these two mantras throughout the day pulls me back into my center and eases my mind. Words have power.

3. Feelings have power

Develop faith that things always turn out OK. In order for us to transcend our situation and create more peace in our lives, we have got to feel it. The best way for us to succeed at levitating above the mosh pit is to have faith.

To have faith, we must believe with conviction that everything will be OK, even if we cannot currently see exactly how.

When we possess faith, that inner knowing is a feeling that we have. We know. And we cannot evolve fully into knowing until we have unshakeable faith. Feelings have power.

4. Action is power

Keep your eyes and heart focused on how you can add value to the world each day. In Hindu scriptures, we call this our Dharma, and it means life purpose. It is our own unique mission in life, the reason each of us are here. It is our individual gift we were born to share with others. It is what we are here to serve and dazzle the world with. It is in our DNA and a part of us. It is scripted on our souls.

In moments of mayhem, cling to your purpose in life. Stick with what is true to you. No matter what is going on in our lives right now, our only guarantee is our life purpose. It will never leave you because it is a part of you. You need your purpose, and your purpose needs you. It is the yin to our yang.

So, in my moments of panic and confusion, instead of pumping my brain for answers, I have learned to continue to focus on my purpose. We are here on this Earth for one purpose alone: to be and spread unconditional love. It’s how we do it that differs. And it’s these differences that paint the mosaic of life.

When all else fails, focus on how you can add value to the world. If you are wondering what your own personal life mission is, follow your dreams; they will lead you there.

When I know I have contributed value to the world each day, I feel centered, grounded, and at ease. Action is power.

Remember, the outer world is a mirror of our inner world. If we can tame the inner beast inside, the dramas in our outer worlds will subside. And when events occur that are beyond our control, we can use these four steps to remain rooted in our center, and at peace.

We will become one with the yogi floating in the mosh pit, glowing and untouched.

Obstacles to Mindfulness

"Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict from life, but the ability to cope with it.” ~Unknown

Mindfulness has allowed me to become more aware of my thoughts and reach a sense of inner peace. As my awareness has increased, so has the peace and joy in my life. The more familiar I have become with the inner workings of my mind, the better I have started to feel.

I came onto the path of mindfulness, meditation, and spirituality within the past 10 years only. At the time, in early 2000s, I was watching the syndicated TV-series Ed where the main character experiments with lucid dreaming.

That got me interested, and that is where my journey started. It hasn’t been an easy journey by any means, but I am nearing a decade on this path, and I don’t regret it for a moment.

I have been through a lot of challenges, such as going through brief spurts of depression. I have felt like I wasn’t good enough, and that life wouldn’t work out the way I wanted it to. In every one of these cases I let my thoughts run wild. I started focusing on the negative instead of on the positive, and I think many people have the same tendency.

So, there have been both ups and downs, but in the end they have all been there for a reason. And with each “bad period,” I have learned more and more about myself. I have learned more about what works and what doesn’t, and they have all been blessings in disguise.

I wanted to give up many times, but I am glad that I kept going.

Truly living in the present moment is not easy, but it is highly rewarding. The best way to move forward on your own path to “here and now” is to understand the potential obstacles and plan in advance how you’ll deal with them.

1. Progress doesn’t always come quickly.

Progress may seem excruciatingly slow. There will be times when you attach to things and situations that you want, which will make it difficult to be fully in the present moment. It’s impossible to be mindful when you are dwelling on the past or obsessing about the future.

We all do those things sometimes. I have experienced it countless times in my own life. The more I want something, the more I fixate on not having it and wanting to get it.

Once I release the attachment and focus on being grateful for what I have in the moment, my life seems to shift, and progress seems to happen naturally.

2. Mindfulness takes ongoing effort.

Mindfulness takes a lot of work, but the good news is that the longer you practice, the easier it gets, and the more joyful your life becomes.

At first, your thoughts will be in chaos, and everything will seem out of control. Your situation will feel helpless, but the more you focus on being fully where you are, the easier it will be to find peace of mind in the moment.

Mindfulness is best practiced throughout your day. It’s not just for when you sit down and meditate. Focus on being mindful of your thoughts when you are doing everyday tasks and it will be easier to remain mindful when things get tough.

3. There will always be distractions.

When you are on your journey to becoming more mindful, it seems as if the universe starts throwing stuff at you just to give you challenges.

The distractions could be problems in your life, drama in your relationships, or old negative beliefs popping up from your past.

These are great opportunities to practice present moment awareness. They will help you become stronger, better, and more in tune with yourself. The problems and challenges we face are teachers in disguise.

They are there to help you grow and to realize who you truly are.

4. You may want to give up.

Like with any worthwhile journey, you will feel like giving up and throwing in the towel multiple times. But it is during the times when you feel most frustrated that you are often on the verge of a breakthrough.

Our lives are very similar to the seasons. We go through cold, dark winters, and joyful, expanding summers. It all comes and goes. It’s the ebb and flow of life.

When you realize that the challenging times are there to help you grow, you will automatically feel more peaceful and relaxed.

5. Your goals may challenge your mindfulness.

Having goals is fantastic, even essential, but when you become overly attached to them, something bad happens, just like we talked about above.

You know that you are too attached to something when you start feeling frustrated, angry, and negative.

Attachment muddles our clarity. You are likely pursuing your goals because you believe they will make you happy. But, real happiness comes from within, even when things don't appear to be going perfectly well outwardly, and it is still possible to experience sincere happiness. It is our inner feeling that creates happiness, along with how we interpret the events of life.

This will make you much happier in the long term, and, of course, right now.

6. You might forget that the journey is the destination.

Most people miss the fact that the reward is in the journey. Have you ever noticed that when you reach a goal, it’s not as exciting as you thought it would be? Sure, it feels great to hit a milestone, but if you do not replace that goal with another one, you will soon find yourself feeling unfulfilled.

That’s because we are goal-seeking mechanisms. Humans need goals so they can have a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

It is in the journey that we learn, grow, and become better. When you are practicing mindfulness, remember that there is nowhere to arrive at. If you focus on what is going on right now, the rest takes care of itself.

7. Sometimes you’ll want to be anywhere but in the now.

Even the most enlightened masters on earth have to deal with difficult situations and chaotic thoughts. The difference is they have learned to accept the moment for what it is.

When you do this, you become the guardian of your inner space, which is the only way to feel good inside and find peace of mind, right now.