Building Inner Peace

Peace begins within, or insert some similarly cliched saying here. It is true that it is better to find the peace within ourselves, rather than try to rely on outside sources. And to best find that peace, we have to build our mental memory. Most of us are familiar with the concept of muscle memory which is the “ability to reproduce a particular movement without conscious thought, acquired as a result of frequent repetition of that movement.” The same is true for a consistent mindfulness and/or meditation practice. Having a consistent practice now, even if you take just five minutes a day, will ensure you have the mental memory in place to help you in a stressful situation later.

Here are a few ideas for creating your practice:

• Start your morning with five minutes of intentional breathing.

• Do five minutes of affirmations. You can use several or just repeat one affirmation for five minutes.

• Do a visualization meditation where you focus on all the people, things, and circumstances that inspire gratitude.

There are countless ways to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into your day. If you miss a day here or there, it won’t completely negate the benefit. But if you can be intentional and commit to a regular practice, you will quickly see how the mental memory builds and how it can expand your sense of peace in each workday.