Finding Peace Here & Now - 20 Min Daily Insight

Hello and welcome to The Daily Insight.

My name is Hugh Byrne and I'm a meditation teacher here on Insight Timer.

I'm delighted to be with you for this meditation on Finding Peace Here and Now.

One of the great teachings from many spiritual traditions is that finding peace does not depend on external circumstances or getting rid of pain or difficulties.

Rather,

Peace can be found in any situation or condition if we are able to meet the present moment wholeheartedly and without judgement or resistance.

The practice of mindfulness helps us to be at peace with whatever is arising from moment to moment.

When we open to our experience just as it is,

Without judging or resisting anything,

Then any moment can be a moment of peace,

Of ease,

Of true freedom.

This can be inspiring and empowering if we can take it in,

That nothing has to be different than it is right now.

All that is needed is to meet whatever we're seeing,

Hearing,

Feeling,

Tasting,

Smelling,

Touching,

Thinking,

Without judgement or resistance.

In this meditation we'll invite ourselves to open to this liberating truth.

Just sit in a comfortable and relaxed posture,

On a chair or cushion or bench,

Or lying down if you prefer.

Let your body be at ease,

Relaxing your shoulders,

Letting your hands rest in your lap or on your knees or thighs.

You can close your eyes if that's comfortable for you,

Or leave them open with a soft,

Unfocused gaze,

Looking ahead of you a few feet.

And let your attention drop down from the thinking mode into the body,

Feeling your body here now.

You might take a few longer,

Deeper breaths,

Filling the lungs and the chest on the in-breath,

And relaxing and letting go on the out-breath.

Breathing in,

Relaxing the body.

Breathing out,

Relaxing the mind.

And when you're ready,

Let your breath return to its natural rhythm.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Knowing you're breathing in,

Knowing you're breathing out.

And as a way of gladdening the mind,

You might invite a smile to your face,

Activating the muscles around the eyes and the corners of your mouth.

If it's helpful,

You could think of a loved one,

Family member,

Dear friend,

A child,

Pet,

Someone who easily makes you feel happy at ease,

Joyful.

Letting that smile come down into your heart.

Letting the smile be the expression,

The attitude with which you meet your experience.

You might bring to mind a time in your life when you experienced being peaceful and at ease.

If you can conjure up in your mind the place,

The time,

The people.

And allow yourself to take in any feelings that arise in your body,

Your heart,

Your mind.

This is a poem by Wendell Berry,

The Piece of Wild Things.

When despair for the world grows in me,

And I wake in the night at the least sound,

In fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water,

And the great heron feeds.

I come into the piece of wild things,

Who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.

I come into the presence of still water,

And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light.

For a time I rest in the grace of the world,

And am free.

For a time I rest in the grace of the world,

And am free.

Now sit in a way that's comfortable and relaxed,

Keeping a gentle awareness on your breathing.

And you might send yourself some wishes,

Some intentions of peace and well-being.

You could use these words and phrases if they're useful,

Or use your own words,

Or none at all.

May I be safe.

May I be peaceful.

May I live with ease and with kindness.

You can repeat these phrases slowly to yourself,

Or your own phrases or words,

Or just experience whatever feelings are present for you.

If it's helpful,

You might put your hand on your heart,

On your belly.

Wishing yourself well.

May I be safe.

May I be peaceful.

May I live with ease and with kindness.

And if your mind wanders,

Simply bring your attention back to your body and your breathing.

And back to the phrases.

May I be safe.

Peaceful.

Live with ease and with kindness.

Whatever comes up for you,

Have the intention to meet it with acceptance and with kindness.

And you might ask yourself,

Is peace possible in this moment?

Whatever you're experiencing.

Is peace possible right now?

You might ask,

What if anything is in the way of being fully at peace in this moment,

Right now?

What if anything is in the way of being fully at peace in this moment?

There might be some difficult or painful feeling in the body,

Feeling of pressure or discomfort or an ache.

Or there might be an emotion or a mind state that's difficult.

Worry.

Thinking about a painful conflict we might have had.

And you might ask yourself,

Can I be at peace right now in the midst of this?

Just making space for whatever is here.

Perhaps the tightness,

Contraction or a feeling of sadness.

Just allowing it to be as it is,

Letting it come and go.

Meeting it with kindness and with acceptance.

Can I be at peace now in the midst of all that I'm experiencing?

Can I be at peace now in the midst of all that I'm experiencing?

Dorothy Hunt in her poem,

Peace Is This Moment Without Judgment asks,

Does peace require an absence from your boss,

Your spouse,

Yourself?

Do you think peace will come some other place than here?

Some other time than now?

In some other heart than yours?

And she says,

Peace is this moment without judgment.

That's all.

This moment in the heart space where everything that is is welcome.

Peace is this moment without judgment.

Meeting whatever is present right now with kindness and with acceptance.

Letting your attention rest,

Your breathing,

If that's helpful for you.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Coming back when the mind moves into thinking,

Into planning or remembering or daydreaming or problem solving.

This moment here now.

Peace is this moment without judgment.

Appreciate the effort that you've made today.

And if you like you might sit for a few minutes after the bell with this question.

Is peace possible in this moment just as it is?

And finishing with this poem,

The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats.

I will arise and go now,

And go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there,

Of clay and wattles made.

Nine bean-rows will I have there,

A hive for the honeybee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there,

For peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings.

There,

Midnight's all a glimmer,

And noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now,

For always night and day,

And hear lake water lapping,

With low sounds by the shore,

While I stand on the roadway,

Or on the pavement's gray,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree