Hello

I just had a basic question about how I can develop inner peace and detachment outside only meditating.

I'm aware of such things like living and accepting in the moment, allowing things to be as they are, not trying to control or getting upset when situations happen.

I want to develop inner peace so I'll stop having negative thoughts, and detachtment because... well the first time I was aware of being detached, it was the best feeling I ever had.

I recently bought "willpower and self discipline" a day or so ago, I was wondering how that could help me in my attempts to achieve inner peace and .

as well as what else i can do to practice these thingsin day to day life.

thank you

By good deeds which is a natural thing gifted by God!!!

(10-09-2011 03:17 AM)Iron Wrote:  Hello

I just had a basic question about how I can develop inner peace and detachment outside only meditating.

I'm aware of such things like living and accepting in the moment, allowing things to be as they are, not trying to control or getting upset when situations happen.

I want to develop inner peace so I'll stop having negative thoughts, and detachtment because... well the first time I was aware of being detached, it was the best feeling I ever had.

I recently bought "willpower and self discipline" a day or so ago, I was wondering how that could help me in my attempts to achieve inner peace and .

as well as what else i can do to practice these thingsin day to day life.

thank you

Attachment is emotional attachment to a particular outcome, and so there is an interest in the thoughts that promise to produce that outcome. As you can see, this interest produces precisely the opposite result from what you are looking for. You follow certain thoughts (attachment) because you believe they make you feel better, and yet letting go of thoughts is what resulted in "the best feeling I ever had".

Notice this contradiction deeply, completely, and the interest in thoughts that don't produce the right results will fade. Don't follow the path of self discipline. It's a mind game. Simply notice what's actually going on.

If you are serious in your quest to be free of suffering, and to find inner peace and inner happiness, you must seek enlightenment and allow the truth of your self-realization to burn through your old conditioning, so that you live in an entirely new way – in absolute freedom and abundance, which is your natural birth right. The enlightened way of living is free of suffering because there is no separate entity to “suffer”, oneness is inherently free.

The desire to develop inner peace is a contradiction. If I want something, I need a result that matches my expectations. As such, I will not find the inner peace, but only accept what I think it is inner peace, according to my beliefs. Sooner or later, that leads to suffering. As Enigma1 said, attachment to a particular outcome will produce the opposite result.

To eat an apple, I need an apple tree. It is not in my power to make the apple tree bear apples. All I can do is plant the seed, take care of it and of the growing tree. Maybe one day I'll eat a tree from the apple tree, maybe not. This is not in my power, but only an ilussion of control. All I can do is to accept the way things are going - whether they suit my apetite for apples or not - and do my job the best I can. In other words, let myself go with the flow, doing all the best I can. No expectations of a destination, just enjoying the journey. Interesting enough, that journey is made of plenty of destinations.

Almost everyone would like answers to some of the really tough questions life makes us ask.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do people die when they are still needed?

Why is there suffering in the world?

(04-09-2012 06:49 PM)steveandro Wrote:  Almost everyone would like answers to some of the really tough questions life makes us ask.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

The question is based on the assumption that good is rewarded and bad is punished, by God or the universe or whatever. (Or at least that it should be) We would like for it to be that way because it would give us a sense of justice: retribution for the 'wrongs' done to us by others and the promise of reaping the reward for our personal sacrifice.

However, the universe doesn't unfold that way. It aligns much more with one's expectations on a deep feeling level. The belief in unworthiness will necessarily involve a 'virtuous' humility, but it is not the virtue but rather the belief that will be a good predictor of future personal events. Conversely, criminals sometimes (not always, of course) come from a place of idealism, or at least a righteous sort of justification, and while most would see their actions as bad, the criminal may not be suffering any guilt at all. These personal responses to our own actions and state of mind are more operative than an arbitrary moral code.

Quote:Why do people die when they are still needed?

The question presupposes a purpose defined from outside the human experience, and there is none. Purpose and needs are defined on an individual basis while the transitions of life and death are determined on a unified universal level, as part of the movement of a singularity that we sometimes call God.

Quote:Why is there suffering in the world?

Without sorrow there would be no joy. Without pain, no pleasure. No ugliness, no beauty. No fear, no love. The heat of the noonday sun is what makes you move to the shade. Life IS that movement.
Even God cannot live in a world that does not move, does not love.

If I am a drop of colour on a painting, how could I ever understand the painting as a whole? How can I understand the world as a whole as long as I stay stucked in what I know about the world?

One's good is someone else's bad. There may be a reason, but I can't see or understand it while looking at the bit of the world that I know (my mistake is that I consider it to be the entire world). Bad and good are two sides of a coin. One cannot exist without the other. As long as I stay hooked in a dual perception, I won't be able to see beyond my illusion of good and bad. I see a small portion of reality and I consider that I can say what is good and bad for the entire reality. This is an illusion.

Why do people die when they are still needed... Needed where? What I consider reality is only a drop in the ocean. Let's take a look around: death is a part of life, not the opposite to life! Thing go away only to be replaced by other things; is that replacement corect? How could I know? I only see a small part of the world, using my own terms of perceptions, so how could I understand the world (universe, life, etc.) as a whole?

Regarding suffering, I see it as the result of our desires. I want and I don't want. That wouldn't be such a problem, but I stay attached to the result, and as such I am not able to accept all that life is offering to me. If I don't get what I want, I suffer. If I would be able to detach myself from the result, meaning to accept everything that happens, whether it fits my will or not, than I wouldn't be suffering anymore.

(10-09-2011 03:17 AM)Iron Wrote:  Hello

I just had a basic question about how I can develop inner peace and detachment outside only meditating.

I'm aware of such things like living and accepting in the moment, allowing things to be as they are, not trying to control or getting upset when situations happen.

I want to develop inner peace so I'll stop having negative thoughts, and detachtment because... well the first time I was aware of being detached, it was the best feeling I ever had.

I recently bought "willpower and self discipline" a day or so ago, I was wondering how that could help me in my attempts to achieve inner peace and .

as well as what else i can do to practice these thingsin day to day life.

thank you

Hey all, my first post and It will be short and sweet!

There are many ways of living with complete inner peace, well, almost complete inner peace for I don't think it is possible to attain absolute inner peace. As many have already said, there will always be 2 sides to the proverbial coin of life, good and bad. Without one the other is non-existent.

It takes practice. The brain is like a child and you are its parent teaching it and telling it what is right and what is the best course of action to take for the best results. Just as a child needs constant reminding and tutoring, so does your brain, by you, the mind.

Take time out each day to practice thinking good thoughts. When bad thoughts arise, simply acknowledge that you have a choice and choose a better thought instead. It is science. What you focus on most becomes you. However you are used to thinking will greatly influence your reactions towards outer stimuli.

Train yourself to respond. To think before feeling.

When habitual thoughts become so ingrained you won't even have to think anymore, the feeling will arise immediately according to the situation.

Example: You always expect the worst due to your peers and relatives letting you down so much when you were young. It has become a habitual thought/behavior/reaction. When faced with any new situation/scenario you feel scared, pessimistic, unsure of yourself, distrustful etc, and there is just the feeling/reaction and no thought preceding it. This is because it has become habit. Wipe those habits away by being aware of them and catching yourself mid-habit, mid-reaction and doing the opposite.

That is one of the most effective ways of greatly heightening your inner peace. When one is in control, peace follows.

This is a process to live in peace. Peace comes from within. It's letting go of dualist thinking. Right/wrong, good/bad, fat/thin, etc, etc. These are all judgements, based on perceptions. When I judge my brother, I am keeping him separate from me. Peace comes from oneness and seeing that I am equal with my brothers. What do I value? If I place high value on sickness, death, poverty, sacrifice, hate then I am choosing to put limits on myself and others. If I value, abundance, joy, peace, compassion, forgiveness, etc. then I am open to endless possibilities. Detachment will come from honestly evaluating what I love and hate.

All my life, I was the good church girl. I was convinced that I loved God and was upright and honest. I have had to get really honest with myself and admit that I was deep down angry at God and didn't trust him with my life. i believed I was all alone in this world and that I had to figure it all out on by myself. (These were mostly based on my relationship with my dad and so I projected it no to God.) It's all well and good to be positive, but if you have suppressed anger, positive thinking won't change squat, until you face and release the anger. I have had some pretty angry, tough conversations with God about all that I believed he didn't do for me. Trust me, He doesn't care. Now, I am able to have an authentically loving relationship with God and I deep down believe that he always was a God of love and not judgement. I just had to get honest first, before I could experience genuine love for God. I did the same with my dad and now I have been able to forgive and see him without all the baggage.

I see it as a systematic process of removing obstacles and blocks in the subconscious, so that we aren't run by this negative programming any longer. I am using and learning a powerful process which works very efficiently at removing these blocks. Otherwise, it could take years to let go of and identify attachments.