What Matters/Peace of mind, Inner Peace

Peace of mind, Inner Peace

Contemplating the beauty of this lotus flower may calm your mind.

A quiet mind, and human wholeness, are available through controlling discursive thought and developing nondiscursive perception. Like learning to walk or to talk, using the mind well is a matter of patient repeated efforts.

The way in which we experience life is created from within us. Our life experience is the result of what we pay attention to, how we perceive external events, our internal states of mind, our stream of consciousness, and how we react to those events. Our experience of life is created from the inside, not from the outside.

Understanding what you can change and what you cannot change is the simple but often difficult path to inner peace.

Assignment 1:

• Study Wikiversity course on What You Can Change and What You Cannot.
• Reflect on the various frustrations in your life, and work to identify the causes of those frustrations.
• Examine the list of conditions that are causing you frustration. Determine what items on the list you can change and what items you cannot change.
• Accept the things you cannot change.
• Gather the courage you need to change the things you can change.
• Choose serenity.

Assignment 2:

• Choose a meditation technique you are comfortable with. This might be a practice suggested in the Wikiversity course on meditation, or some other technique you have studied.
• Practice meditation regularly.
• Complete the Wikiversity course A Quiet Mind.

Assignment 3:

• Select from these Resources for Developing the Self-Knowledge/Intuitive Aspect of Wisdom.
• Study the selected resource and practice the ideas and recommendations it provides.

Assignment 4:

• Search lawns in your area until you find a four-leaf clover.

Suggestions for further reading:

• Ricard, Matthieu (2007). Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 304. ISBN 978-0316167253. 
• Sapolsky, Robert M. (1998). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. W. H. Freeman. pp. 560. ISBN 978-0716732105. 
• Nhat Hanh, Thich (1992). Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. Bantam. pp. 160. ISBN 978-0553351392. 
• Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2006). Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness. Hyperion. pp. 656. ISBN 978-0786886548. 
• Kraybill, Donald B. (2010). Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. Jossey-Bass. pp. 288. ISBN 978-0470344040. 
• Goleman, Daniel; Davidson, Richard (September 5, 2017). Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. Avery. pp. 336. ISBN 978-0399184383.