This week we are starting meditation classes. One of the main reasons is that in the past we’ve talked about achieving peace of mind but then we realised that a lot of people don’t know how to have peace in the midst of a storm.

How do you fare? Can you experience peace in the midst of a life storm?

Wayne Dyer once called Deepak Chopra to ask how to solve a problem Wayne was having. Deepak paused and breathed in (the pause and breathe of stating the obvious) … after a moment, in that wonderful Indian cadence, he replied “Meditate … meditate”.

Remember the old Rudyard Kipling line … “if you can hold your head up high when all about you are losing theirs” … that’s what it’s all about. Being in a place of everlasting peace. Stress serves no one.

A colleague recently commented on an old article I’d written about removing stress in our lives and said, “You are wrong”. He went on to say that people need stress to motivate them. Really? I’ve never met a stressed person who operates at 100% efficiency and makes sound decisions.

I’m not denying that stress exists or that we all don’t go a little batty at times with the pressures we put on ourselves. But if you practice living peacefully, the harder life gets, the more you can abandon panic and let the hands of peace carry you forward.

This is particularly true in conflict situations. Have you noticed in conflicts that they’re mostly because one of you or both of you have a need to be right. In the hands of peace, your need to be right melts away. Pride is replaced by a desire for harmony.

It is easy to be at peace when you practice meditation or when there are no stresses … what I call “when the sun is shining”. When the clouds begin to roll in and darken the day, you need to have reserves of peace and inner calm to override your emotions.

When anger brews in, you can just breathe deeply and allow tranquility to overtake you … keeping emotions balanced and in order. Challenging situations don’t overpower you because you call on the reserves of peace that you’ve stored up.

Most people … including people who follow New Thought practices … wait until they are in the middle of a storm before they decide to sit down and “meditate it away” … desperately searching for serenity. Understand that meditation is a practice, not a release mechanism.

What if you actively engaged in harmony on a daily basis?

Exercise the muscles of peace by thinking before you act or respond. Pausing to breathe and think to calm down and keep things in perspective.

Today, choose to stay calm, especially in the middle of the storm and observe the waves rather than get tossed around by them.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I practice peace on a regular basis?

2. What happens to my emotions when I give myself time to calm down?

3. Why is it important to remain calm instead of allowing myself to become overwhelmed?

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