Hello,
Wayne.
Good morning.
Good morning.
How are you?
I'm great.
How are you?
Good.
You look very peaceful.
Oh,
Good.
Are you always?
Most of the time,
But not always.
You wrote a book about the dance of dynamic peace.
What does that mean exactly?
The dance of dynamic peace is really about how life is full of ups and downs and how we can really create a sense of inner peace for ourselves but we're not always impacted and swayed by these ups and downs.
There's this ever-present awareness that is within us.
Where do you find that inner peace?
That's the million dollar question,
Isn't it?
That's the million dollar question.
Well,
Yes.
You find it within.
We're always conditioned to look externally for happiness.
And unfortunately,
That's not where it is.
Happiness is within.
And so we need to turn our gaze inward and spend more time with ourselves to be reflective and to actually then take moments of just pausing,
Noticing our breath,
Being still,
Being present.
So that we're not sort of like that analogy of the tail wagging the dog,
Where the external world is what affects our moods,
Our happiness,
And our sense of inner peace.
This is what they call mindfulness,
Isn't it?
It is.
Absolutely.
So how do you begin?
I mean,
We hear about mindfulness.
It sounds like a good idea.
But when all hell breaks loose,
The wheels fall off the bus,
It's hard to find that inner self.
So where's a good place to start?
A great place to start with this is really taking a few moments every day to just be with yourself,
Just to notice the inhale,
The exhale of breath.
You can be in nature,
You can be at home,
Any place that you can find.
You could be doing the dishes and just noticing the breath.
Whatever you're doing,
Incorporating it as part of your life.
Where it really begins to grow is meditating.
And meditation is a tool that helps us to actually become more mindful.
And so when we commit to a practice,
And it doesn't have to be a lot,
It could be five minutes a day.
When we commit to that,
We actually then begin to expand our awareness and create a greater sense of inner peace,
Again,
So we're not so swayed by the external things that are going on,
Which we have no control over.
We do have control over our thoughts,
Our beliefs,
Our emotions.
And so when we begin to work with those and be selective about those things,
We ongoingly create inner peace,
Moment by moment,
Day by day.
Is your book sort of a step-by-step guide,
Or how would you describe it?
I would describe it,
I would read it from front to back.
It wouldn't be something I would jump through.
And then certainly once you've read through it,
You could pick up a section and then go back and read a section about judgmental mind,
About not causing harm,
About the impact that you're having in the world and how to choose to have a positive impact in the world.
So it's not so much a step-by-step,
But I think there's a progression that goes through the book.
And what is the payoff if we do this mindfulness thing right?
We have a greater sense of peace within ourselves.
We're not so negatively impacted.
We're more grounded,
More balanced,
And we have a greater opportunity to experience joy,
Happiness,
And bliss and peace within our lives,
Moment to moment.
And then we can be more present for the people in our lives.
All right,
Very good.
Thank you,
Wayne.
Thank you for the time.
