Peace begins with me.
Welcome.
This meditation and mindset practice can help create a sense of peace within ourselves and remind us that we are born creators and peacemakers.
This practice intends to call back our power over our mind and body and to remember that we can create peace anytime we need to.
Being in a quiet cave or sitting on a beautiful beach can be an externally ripe environment to cultivate peace.
But in today's practice we are inquiring how to create peace within ourselves and inspire peace in others when our environment is busy and chaotic.
These many exercises will also create peace within ourselves when our mind feels busy and loud.
As we tap into these simple tools we will nurture the feeling of peace within our interior to beneficially calm our nervous system when we experience anxiety or internal conflict.
Over time a consistent practice will help to build our internal muscle of peace creation so that no matter what is occurring inside or outside of us we know that we are in fact capable of creating a peaceful alliance with ourselves.
There is the added benefit of inspiring peace in others too.
Before we settle in grab a pen and a piece of paper so you can jot down any reflective notes that you want to capture and save.
So let's begin with a warm-up.
I invite you to sit up comfortably exactly where you are and close your eyes.
Let's start with a deep breath in through the nose and then gently exhale that breath out through the mouth.
Let's do that again.
Inhale draw the breath into the body through the nose and then release it with an exhale through the mouth.
Last time for now draw the breath into the pit of the belly and then exhale let the breath move up and out through the mouth.
Settle in a little deeper to your seat.
Allow the breath to move into the background.
Keeping your eyes closed now and your body right here we're going to plant a few questions within ourselves.
First question,
What does peace mean to me?
How would feeling more peaceful in this moment help me?
Again,
What does peace mean to me?
How would feeling more peaceful in this moment help me?
Give yourself space for the answers to arise and let go of any expectation that you have to come up with an answer.
We can just experience this quiet moment too if nothing is coming to us.
Second question,
How would feeling more peaceful in this moment help me?
Again,
How would feeling more peaceful in this moment help me?
Like I said before,
Give space for the answers to just rise up.
So here's the third and final question,
What does peace look and feel like for me?
What does peace look and feel like for me?
Give yourself space for the answers to rise up.
Inquiring with these kinds of questions can help us find a loose benchmark or picture for peace so that when we experience it,
This feeling shares with our brain and our body that it is possible to create peace within and to let ourselves know that we can create it at any time.
There are no wrong answers,
There are just our answers.
So how you experience peace and what feels peaceful to you is unique to you and never set in stone.
So with our eyes closed,
Let's take two deep breaths before we exit our warmup.
Breathe in and breathe out and breathe in and breathe out.
Float your eyes open when you feel ready and just notice how you feel.
Grab your pen if you like and jot down a few answers that intuitively come to mind.
This may include words,
A descriptive feeling,
A scene,
A color or an image.
I'll give you a few moments.
Read over your definition of peace and how it feels for you.
So as you read this over,
You can see and sense that peace starts with us.
Peace starts with all of us.
Knowing this,
We can prioritize peace and place it the top of our mind at the top of our day.
Tapping into our peaceful zone doesn't mean that we don't engage in conflict or that we walk away or withdraw from challenging situations all the time or that we won't feel stress or pressure.
This notion of creating peace begins with the intention to shift the unrest within ourselves,
Impacting how we show up as well as the energy that we bring to our day.
It's a strong reminder that peace can be more than a feeling.
It's an action,
A thought and an attitude.
Let's drop back into another meditation.
We will use a phrase that we will repeat a few times called a mantra.
A mantra is this reverberation of energy of what we want to create within ourselves.
So if you're up for it,
You can also add a simple hand gesture technique that I will guide you through.
So let's begin.
Find a comfortable seat.
Close your eyes and take three simple easy breaths in and out through the nose and the mouth.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Allow your body to relax exactly where you are.
Let the breath fall to the background now and allow yourself to drop into your peaceful seat a little bit more.
If you're able,
Turn your hands up to the sky and rest them on your lap or thighs.
The mantra we will use is peace begins with me.
Say it quietly to yourself.
Peace begins with me.
Say it slowly,
Giving it the energy that this mantra embodies and noticing just how it makes you feel.
Let's say it twice more to ourselves.
Peace begins with me.
Peace begins with me.
Now if you'd like,
Turn your palms up to the sky and spread your hands open.
Palms are wide and as you say the mantra,
Peace begins with me,
We're going to start with the word peace and draw your thumbs and your index fingers together.
Next,
As you recite,
Begins,
Draw your thumbs and middle fingers together.
Say the word with,
Drawing your ring fingers and thumbs together and finally recite the word me,
Drawing your pinky fingers and thumbs together.
Let's take it from the top.
Peace,
Pull together thumbs and index fingers,
Begins,
Connecting thumbs and middle fingers,
With,
Pull together thumbs and ring fingers,
Me,
Connect thumbs and pinkies.
Try it on your own a few times to find your rhythm.
Peace begins with me.
Peace begins with me.
One more time to yourself.
I'll give you some space.
Let your hand gestures go now.
Rest your hands back on your lap.
You can release the mantra and together let's take a final breath in through the nose and a final breath out through the mouth.
Let the effects of your practice here be a reminder that we are born creators of peace.
Anytime we need it,
Allow your attention to drift back into your body and when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me and may peace be with you.
