Inner Peace Doesn’t Depend on Peace in the World
The way we are built, our eyes are directed outward. No wonder we think everything must be in order in the outside world for us to relax. It’s what we see.
Order in the outside world does bring peace, but it is temporary peace. It is a peace that depends on situations and circumstances. The world is always changing.
Turbulence, injustice, war, meanness, loss, and every other form of disruption occur frequently in this world. How can inner peace be found and maintained in such a world?
It Is Only Lack of Awareness That Keeps Me Dependent
When I’m not aware of how much I influence my own experience, I see the world as the cause of any suffering. When I see problems in the world today, on a global level or on a personal level, I can be quickly brought to a place where I feel powerless, sad, angry, or fearful.
In that state of mind, I believe my peace depends on everyone getting along, on kindness and goodness dominating everywhere. I dream of heaven, but I am not able to be free on earth.
But as my awareness grows by looking inwardly, I notice that it is often up to me how I see the world. It is possible to see even great tragedy with an open, peaceful mind.
The Secret Lies in Looking for That Perspective
If I do nothing, my semi-aware mind will focus, as it naturally does, on the problems that surround me in the world in which I live. But if I direct my mind inwardly, its point of view can change dramatically.
This is what I love to do with The Work of Byron Katie, a meditation practice that invites me to connect my inner and outer worlds. It starts with an outward focus, identifying what I believe is not right in my world. Then, it directs me to explore the unknown of my inner self by questioning what I believe about my world.
This process of asking myself if there is another way to see my outer world often leads to the discovery of new perspectives that are not stressful at all. The world can be at war. People can reject me. My health can suffer. But when I go through this process, I often find that my peace can co-exist with the drama of my life.
This Feels Like Peace
For me, this is a more real kind of peace, a peace that comes with freedom from dependency on outer life. This is the antidote to fear—knowing that no matter what is happening, I can still find a perspective that feels gentle to me.
From this perspective, inner peace does not depend on peace in the world. Nor does it depend on peace in my family. It does not even depend on peace in my emotions. This is so strange, but I have experienced even anger, or shame, or sadness raging within me, yet a kind of peace and understanding co-existing deeper within.
In theory, I could be sick, I could even die, but from this point of view, inner peace does not even depend on being alive.
This is the gift of The Work of Byron Katie. When I do it, I become accustomed to touching that part in my depths where there truly never can be a problem. From there, I can do my part to make the world a better place, with no dependence on it ever getting better. That feels like love. That feels like peace. That feels like freedom.
And when I get overwhelmed again and lose that peaceful place within me, I have The Work to redirect me back again. It is such a gift.
Join us for The Work 101
Would you like to make The Work your meditation practice? Join us for The Work 101 online course. You will start by looking at your world and what is not right with it for you. Then, you’ll look for new ways of seeing it.
Have a great week,
Todd
“As you inquire into your own thoughts, you discover how attachment to a belief or story causes suffering. The mind’s natural condition is peace. Then a thought enters, you believe it, and the peace seems to disappear. You notice the feeling of stress in the moment, and the feeling lets you know that you’re opposing what is by believing the thought; it tells you that you’re at war with reality. When you question the thought behind the feeling and realize that it isn’t true, you become present outside your story. Then the story falls away in the light of awareness, and only the awareness of what really is remains. Peace is who you are without a story, until the next stressful story appears.” Byron Katie, A Thousand Names for Joy
Further reading: Sinking into the Experience of The Work
