Today’s question comes from Peter Douglas. Peter says “I work pretty hard, I’m a disciplined person, I meditate yet I still don’t have peace of mind.”
Thanks for bringing this question up. I think a lot of people have the same problem. It’s not something that is talked about a lot. People only want to focus on happiness and fulfilment of goals. Peace of mind tends to get pushed to the side a lot.
Consciousness
Having peace of mind is a beautiful asset. When you achieve this state of mind you’ll become very happy and many things will align themselves in your favour automatically. Most religions focus on peace of mind: either how to keep it or how to get it back if you lose it. Peace of mind is achieved when you come in contact with your consciousness.
What we need to do is take a step back and figure out what our minds are doing. Why do we feel happy sometimes? Why do we feel sad sometimes? What goes on inside when we go through these emotions? People think that it depends on what is happening on the outside. This is also part of the problem.
Dharma
The ancient ones say that you will only attain peace of mind by following dharma. So what is dharma? Dharma is being aware of the exact point that your mind is becoming disturbed. We need to stop trying to disturb our own minds. When our minds become disturbed we move away from the track that was laid for us and this causes unhappiness.
So to follow dharma you must be aware of your own mind. You must be able to recognise the second that your mind is being disturbed.
An Ocean
Imagine for a minute that your mind is an ocean. Most of the time it is calm and peaceful but when a storm comes you’ll see waves building. These waves are disturbances. If you are in the distance when you saw these waves forming what would you do? You’d move away if you had enough time.
So that’s what awareness is. It’s being able to spot that wave before it crashes into you. You need to be able to see it when it first starts as a tiny ripple in the water. Catch it at this moment and it will never ever bother you.
These waves get bigger and bigger because people are not able to recognise the ripple when it first starts to grow. They ignore it and it grows and grows until it eventually comes crashing down on them.
So when that first thought, that first ripple of disturbance comes you must acknowledge it. Don’t worry about what’s happening outside. It has no effect on your peace of mind.
Krishna says ”No one on earth who was born or is ever born can disturb your peace of mind”. If it’s being disturbed then it’s because you have not learned to draw your mind inward. You did not notice the ripples when they were first formed but remember you have complete control of your peace of mind.
Knowledge
You are the ocean, you are the consciousness. This is the power of knowledge. Things that happen on the outside are due to karma-good and bad but only you control what happens within. It’s completely in your hands.
This is why Krishna says “Him the weapons cannot cut, fire cannot burn, water cannot wet, wind cannot dry. The self cannot be cut, dried, burned or wetted…Eternal, all pervasive, stable, immovable, everlasting the Self Reigns”
Take pride in your consciousness. Take pride in the knowledge of the consciousness. Understand that things can and will go wrong but you must catch that first ripple before it becomes a wave. Withdraw your mind and focus on your consciousness. Do this and you’ll have all the confidence needed to take action. Your consciousness will never be disturbed.
I hope I answered your question. You keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
p