When you’re learning to cook, what makes you a good cook? Is it just from reading books and recipes? Or does your personal practice of cooking play the critical role?
Whether you’re learning an art, craft, sport, or any new skill, can mere learning from books or videos make you proficient? Or do you need to practice to master it?
What is true for all these pursuits is also true for inner peace.
Learning from authentic teachings about inner peace is essential, but can that alone bring you the experience of inner peace? Clearly not!
Personal practice is vital to your steady experience of inner peace.
The Three P’s of Practice:
There are three essential P’s that are vital for cultivating a steady practice of inner peace:
1. Practice
You need to consistently practice the techniques you’ve learned, such as silence meditation, to cultivate inner peace.
Find a dedicated spot where you can sit comfortably for your practice, this space will serve as a reminder and invitation for your daily practice.
Set aside time daily, even if just five minutes.
Turn off distractions like smartphone notifications or alarms to create a quiet space.
Follow the practice instructions diligently.
You can improvise on the technique when you are ready to do so, but not a moment sooner.
2. Perseverance
Obstacles will arise. The key is to persevere despite them.
If you’re too busy, instead of skipping your practice entirely, sit for just two minutes in silence.
Even short moments help maintain your rhythm.
If your day is stressful, remember you can always take one minute of time, take three deep belly breaths and direct your attention into silence for 30 seconds.
Sprinkle such minutes of silence throughout your day to stay connected to peace, no matter how challenging things get.
3. Patience
Cultivating inner peace takes time, and you need to trust the process. Be patient.
It’s common to want results quickly, but just as you wouldn’t expect to master pole vaulting in two weeks, you can’t expect to become a master meditator overnight.
Some days, your mind may feel restless, and it may seem impossible to tap into silence.
This happens to everyone.
Instead of getting frustrated, practice self compassion.
Be kind to yourself and know that perseverance will eventually lead to ease and flow in your practice.
Can you see why these three P’s (practice, perseverance, and patience) are vital in establishing a consistent silence meditation practice?
There’s another important aspect to developing your practice. Be child like.
Child Like Wonder, Curiosity, Trust, and Humility
Children naturally embody qualities like curiosity, wonder, and trust, qualities we often lose as adults.
Returning to these traits is crucial for a fulfilling inner peace practice.
Let me tell you a story adapted from the parables of the great awakened Master, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa:
A poor man met a monk and asked for teachings to improve his life.
The monk said, "Love God with all your heart."
The man responded, "I don’t know God, how can I love Him?"
The monk asked, "Who do you love the most in your life?"
The man replied, "I live alone, but I love my sheep."
The monk said, "Then love your sheep deeply, and remember that God’s Presence is within your sheep."
Years later, the monk met the man again and inquired about his life.
The man replied, "Everything is wonderful. I feel God’s Presence within my sheep, and it has made my life fulfilling."
What child like faith this poor man had!
Even though his material circumstances hadn’t changed, his life experience transformed because he trusted the monk’s guidance.
Today, we’re so conditioned by intellect and education that we’ve lost touch with this simple faith.
We’re locked into our beliefs, expectations, and judgments.
We want understanding before experience, when in fact, experience often precedes true understanding.
Take for instance the statement: “Peace is the experience of Presence.”
This is pointing to something deep and sacred.
Can you make room for some child like trust to follow this pointer to the experience of peace?
Can you cultivate curiosity to observe the experience without judgment?
Can you return to wonder, experiencing peace without labeling it?
Keeping Your Practice Fresh
Routine practice is important, but routine experience can make the practice feel stale.
Every time you sit down to practice, approach it with child like wonder, as if you are practicing for the first time.
Come into your practice with a curious, open mind.
You’ll notice that the experience of peace is fresh, every single time.
There’s nothing routine or stale about this fresh experience of peace.
Peace is ever present and unchanging, yet each experience of peace is fresh.
This freshness is yours to experience when you let go of preconceived ideas and allow peace to be as it is, approach it with a beginner’s mind, every time.
Embracing the Journey
Your practice of inner peace is not about achieving perfection, it’s about being consistent, patient, and persevering to overcome obstacles or challenges.
It is about approaching each session with child like curiosity and wonder.
This is the way to truly experience the secrets of inner peace.
So, develop your practice like this.
As you embrace your journey into inner peace, the fruits of it will surely unfold in your experience.
About the Author
Sundar Kadayam is an author, spiritual teacher, mentor, and healer. Midway through his 34 year career as a technologist and entrepreneur, life circumstances pushed him into an unlikely journey toward healing and awakening. His offerings provide guidance on self care and healing, self transformation, and self realization.
Sundar’s Website: Being YOU with Sundar Kadayam – Resources for self-care and healing, continuous self-transformation, and Self-Realization
Sundar’s Bio: About Sundar Kadayam
Sundar’s Writings: Articles and Pointers to Being YOU – with Sundar Kadayam
The Peace Practice: The Peace Practice – Simple Meditation to Cultivate Inner Peace (sundar.com)
Life Coach Code Interview: Find Life Coach | Meet Sundar Kadayam: How to Go from Weakness to True Power and Limitless Potential? (lifecoachcode.com)
Related Articles from Sundar:
- Why should you meditate regularly? (sundar.com)
- Understanding Meditation and The Peace Practice (sundar.com)
- How to start your meditation practice? (sundar.com)
- Your Specialness * (sundar.com)
- Be Here Now (sundar.com)
- Reframe Your Concepts, Rewrite Your Story (sundar.com)
