The pursuit of inner peace is a journey into the heart of spiritual practice.
Journey's and quests are a little bit different than goal setting. When goals are set, attention is focused on a specific target that once arrived upon, can be checked off as completed. However, Journeys and quests change and are subject to randomness. Journeys can be twisting, winding, and can take lifetimes to run their course. If anything, you can gain plenty of life experiences from adventurous journeys. So, regardless of the randomness that shows up on your journey towards inner peace, help is available in spite of what happens externally.
The pursuit of inner begins with the choice to change.
With that defined willpower; one step at a time, one choice at a time, add the persons, places, things, and ideas that bring you back to peace. Make the choice to reduce contact as much as you can with the things that steer you away from your personal affirmation. And if you have to deal with things that pull you away from inner peace, make sure that you are able to rest and refuel your soul when you've completed the heavy job of dealing with, "stuff." Stuff can be heavy. Stuff can rob you of the inner peace you've made a commitment to adhere to; but stuff does not last always. Like everything in life, even "stuff" has an expiration date. It too shall pass.
If there’s a huge amount of tension in your environment, then making external changes may be necessary. If you find that you are stuck and unsure of where to begin, below is a list of empowering questions that you can ask yourself to get started:
1. Does this person, place, thing, or idea bother me right now?”
2. Is there too much noise and distraction in the space that I am in?
3. Do I have the ability to stay here, and if asked, will the other "stuff" leave?
4. Can I change my scenery immediately?
5. Can I tolerate things as they are until the tension passes?
Liberation begins with the very first step; even if that step involves stepping in the next room, or walking outside for a bit. But you gotta be honest with yourself;. decide what you need and then go do that.
Inner peace is more effective when you personalize it.
So make the conscious choice to pursue inner peace today. Though the journey towards inner peace may be filled with adventures known and unknown, don't give up. You may like what you see and who you become along the way.
Rev. Jesse Eugene Herriott, M.A. is the Spiritual Leader of Unity of Birmingham, AL. He is a writer and spiritual teacher whose work explores the soul of what it means to be human, through the lens of spiritual practice & western psychotherapy. He is an ordained priest in the UAIC Interspiritual community, an ordained metaphysical minister with IMM, and currently is in the process of completing Unity’s Special Dispensation program to become a licensed & ordained Unity Minister. He completed bachelor’s and master’s from the University of South Carolina and Keiser University, respectively. He also holds post grad certificates in Geropsychology, Organizational Psychology, & Clinical Trauma Support. In 2015 he was inducted into Morehouse College's Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Clergy & Scholars in Atlanta, GA. To find out more, join us online via facebook, or meet us in person for our Sunday Morning Celebration at 11am Central at Unity of Birmingham.