Go With Peace

[Starman]

I was once a drug and alcohol counselor, and when I went through my training we had to tell the class
about a very difficult situation which we had experienced in life; most in my class were people recovering
from substance abuse who had horrid tales of how they slept in the gutter, prostituted their body, etc.,
but there was one young woman who was not recovering and did not have those type of experiences.

The recovering students made fun of her, some saying “why don’t you talk about the time you broke your
fingernail,” and other taunts like that. It does seem like misery loves company, and some wear their pain and
hardships like a badge of honor. Like complaining can become a way of bragging about what we have endured.
I am a Vietnam War veteran and I hear this a lot from other veterans, alcoholics and addicts do it as well.
“You think you had it bad, what you went through was nothing compared to what I went through.”

Beyond this type of posturing there is a lesson to be learned and when we learn that lesson we are liberated,
and that experience does not maintain a hold on us anymore. I believe the goal is serenity and peace with oneself,
and it seems we have to go through a lot of crrap to get there. The saying is that you have to go through
hell to reach heaven; but again, hell does not have to be constantly painful; at least in my opinion.

[naturesflow]

Originally Posted by Starman

Maintaining peace in your life can be a challenge with all of the things one has to deal with on a daily basis and stress inducing random events that periodically appear. Just the lifestyle of modern living, in most places, has intrusions which may challenge our core.

I view such challenges as tests of my resolve to stay centered and continually nurture inner peace regardless of outer circumstances. It helps to simplify our lives as much as possible, which is difficult when you have small kids, work two jobs, or are caring for elderly relatives, etc. Still what we give to others is our peace, calm, or lack of inner peace and calm.

A little bit of stress, or excitement, in our lives can be a good thing but not to the detriment of our emotional, mental, or physical health. Personally I strive to maintain inner peace at all costs but too often my efforts are inadequate. There are sometimes just things which shake our foundation.

Nurturing and strengthening that foundation in times of calm can offer a lot of help when things get shaky. It depends on how much we let the outside world intrude. We are usually more vulnerable to family and close friends than we are strangers, but strangers can also have an impact on us.

I had an experience where I felt extremely centered and quiet inside, and was sitting in a room with a person who was cursing, yelling, and making ugly remarks about people but everything this person said passed right through me because my mind was not there to grab hold of it and I was not in a place where I identified with what they were saying. I think sometimes people take things too personally.

There are people who are easily offended. We all want respect from others, and I would also hope that others would respect our inner peace; but that is most often not the case. Thus I feel it is important to protect your inner peace, bathe in it, nurture it, and stay with it regardless of outer circumstances you may have to deal with, or what someone else may say to you or about you.

A person blows up and goes into a temper tantrum, and others say that person “lost it;” but that person lost more than their temper. When we get angry at someone that anger affects us much more than the person whom we are angry at. A lot of people are afraid of anger, or what a person might do with their anger. Anger is a natural healthy emotion which should be released safely and not held in. Having said this I view inner peace and inner silence as one and the same.

Anger when clear and directed in healthy ways can be natural, but often in this world we are dealing with people who are more than just angry, they are deeply hurting and projecting pain that they haven't dealt with or projecting anger to make right their pain. Anger can harm, hurt others, unsettle people and children, frighten and scare.

I tend to listen to anger and act accordingly. Peace is my foundation, but discernment is my guide as to what I can do and be in that shared space.

Sometimes just be still is one form of dealing, sometimes speaking directly is another and of course their are many ways of peace to be directed of itself.

Calm composure with action can be just as powerful..diffusing in ways of peace as the underlying presence, but the action moving as it needs too to protect or whatever is required

[seekerAK]

Originally Posted by Starman

Thank you for sharing your perspective; we all have opinions on how life is suppose to be and I feel that experiencing the entire range of human emotions is healthy. But now entering my 70th year of human life I prefer serenity more than anything else; when my body was younger I frequently cursed and yelled, carried a frown, and found peace boring. I craved excitement, and was an adrenaline junkie. But these days peace is my cherished companion. I do not believe that one size fits all and each has to find their way in this life.

I agree with this. I also have done the cursing and shouting but in retrospect found that I always felt bad with myself after the incident. Last time I did this was a year ago and the experience was so bad that I fell from a very high vibration where I was feeling unconditional love towards everyone to a low vibration where I lost that feeling and the negative thoughts I had of the person lasted for around five days; I didn't regain those feelings of love even after that.

This was an important lesson for me. I know that being able to reach that stage of peace, unconditional love is very difficult to begin with and 'throwing' it all away to express some anger at someone due to a perceived injustice just is not worth it.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by Starman

... when my body was younger I frequently cursed and yelled, carried a frown, and found peace boring. I craved excitement, and was an adrenaline junkie. But these days peace is my cherished companion. I do not believe that one size fits all and each has to find their way in this life.

Here's the phenomenal thing with the statement, people will find the mind does not age. It feels exactly the same at 60 as 18. Crazy feeling, isn't it. Kinda shows how much the body influenced us. When I was younger I use to do the same things but my outcome was experienced differently. So in the end do we find the way which is one. I think this is important because every body is the same. Some great recognition is being presented. Why all the drama in the years in between. Age is a great teacher.

[linen53]

Originally Posted by Starman

Thank you for sharing your perspective; we all have opinions on how life is suppose to be and I feel that experiencing the entire range of human emotions is healthy. But now entering my 70th year of human life I prefer serenity more than anything else; when my body was younger I frequently cursed and yelled, carried a frown, and found peace boring. I craved excitement, and was an adrenaline junkie. But these days peace is my cherished companion. I do not believe that one size fits all and each has to find their way in this life.

You are absolutely correct in everything you said. I'm only 7 years younger than you and I do enjoy my quiet. I used to be an adrenaline junkie too Amazing how age wears down all my sharp edges.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by lemex

Here's the phenomenal thing with the statement, people will find the mind does not age. It feels exactly the same at 60 as 18.........Age is a great teacher.

Hopefully aging is the great teacher, but for some they may be very, very, very, slow to learn.
I know a person in his 60's who is still making the same mistakes that they did in their 30's.
The thing is there are people who are mentally developed but emotionally under-developed;
I know people who are at the doctorate degree level mentally but emotionally they are still in kindergarten.

I had to really ponder your statement about the mind remaining the same and not aging.
I think for the most part that is true, thus the saying the mind may be willing but the body may be unable.
Still there are such disorders like Alzheimer's and dementia which are commonly associated with aging.

But if we care for our mind in the same way which we care for our body, giving it what it needs to maintain
good mental health, then I would say that the mind seems to age a lot slower than the body, if at all, as you have stated.
The thing is it seems most people do not care for their mind; they let their mind run wild and expect for it to maintain itself.

Our physical body will not maintain itself without our help and I feel the same way about our mental and emotional nature.
I quiet my thoughts and experience inner peace for many reasons; one being to have better management of my thoughts,
moods, attitude, etc. The mind is a wonderful tool and if we do not learn how to use it, it will use us.

[acorn]

It has come to me in this way...to the mind and the body

As awareness became aware in me...I see...(in me) that suffering is the other side of the coin of awareness...for me I know beyond doubt that karmic law, if you will ..is at play.
The "price" of my awareness is having a physical price also.....I am "paying off" some karmic debt in this....this is clear to me...I have direct perception of this.

Truly I am paying the fiddler...and this is Grace..
Each physical ailment has brought with it some very subtle insights , insights that were most certainly quickened because of the suffering related to it.
It is finding the eye of the storm..and the stillness therein.
I found the stillness in the eye of the pain...and it has revealed much
I persevere ....I don't claim it to be easy...or constant...but...for me, it is Divine

those near the fire may get burned


Love
acorn

[Starman]

Originally Posted by acorn

It has come to me in this way...to the mind and the body

As awareness became aware in me...I see...(in me) that suffering is the other side of the coin of awareness...for me I know beyond doubt that karmic law, if you will ..is at play.
The "price" of my awareness is having a physical price also.....I am "paying off" some karmic debt in this....this is clear to me...I have direct perception of this.

Truly I am paying the fiddler...and this is Grace..
Each physical ailment has brought with it some very subtle insights , insights that were most certainly quickened because of the suffering related to it.
It is finding the eye of the storm..and the stillness therein.
I found the stillness in the eye of the pain...and it has revealed much
I persevere ....I don't claim it to be easy...or constant...but...for me, it is Divine

those near the fire may get burned


Love
acorn

I relate very much to what you have shared, as I too can see karma at work in my life;
things which happen to me I can trace back, sometimes years, to things I had previously
done, and it may be something I did which only involved me and no one else. there is a
lot of divine grace in my life as well as my sight widens.

Pain has a way of closing us down, but what a blessing to remain open while pain is present.
A lot of pain which I have had in my life I unconsciously inflicted on myself. We do beat ourselves
up in ways that if someone else where to do to us we would want to call the police and have them arrested.

Peace changes the cells in our physical body, as I have shared many times I find peace in inner silence,
and that silence is rich and thick with bliss. It heals and guides me most true, for I can only truly listen
when I am quiet inside. Yes, those who are near the fire often do get burned but it is the dross which
is burned away; it is our falseness which fears the fire. That divine fire purifies us in ways that nothing
on this Earth ever could. Thank you for that heartfelt sharing acorn.

[acorn]

Yes, those who are near the fire often do get burned but it is the dross which
is burned away; it is our falseness which fears the fire. That divine fire purifies us in ways that nothing
on this Earth ever could. (starman)
______________

Amen.....exactly......how many lifetimes to get near this fire.?....I'm gonna warm my hands near this fire come what may.

I am not afraid to be afraid......ironically, it has never stopped the fear when it was present.....yet somehow ....I find strength in this attitude

Love
acorn

[Starman]

Originally Posted by naturesflow

Anger when clear and directed in healthy ways can be natural, but often in this world we are dealing with people who are more than just angry, they are deeply hurting and projecting pain that they haven't dealt with or projecting anger to make right their pain. Anger can harm, hurt others, unsettle people and children, frighten and scare.

I tend to listen to anger and act accordingly. Peace is my foundation, but discernment is my guide as to what I can do and be in that shared space.

Sometimes just be still is one form of dealing, sometimes speaking directly is another and of course their are many ways of peace to be directed of itself.

Calm composure with action can be just as powerful..diffusing in ways of peace as the underlying presence, but the action moving as it needs too to protect or whatever is required

I agree with what you have said about anger; and some stuff their anger until they explode with rage;
a heightened state of anger. I think it is very important to immediately deal with our discomforts before
they reach the point of anger, and find safe and unoffensive outlets when we are angry. Although anger
can be healthy when it moves us to be productive in a positive way.