Inner peace is a deep human need, just like air, water, love, and sunshine. The trouble is that even though we want it, we live as though we can do without it because we can still survive physically even when we are in serious states of chronic stress.

But inner peace does not show up automatically, just like food on our plate will not show up unless we do something about it. So it’s important to think carefully about what we can do to create this much-needed experience for ourselves.

Firstly, let’s dispel some of the myths about inner peace, so we can focus on how to make peace a regular experience in our lives.

Myths About Inner Peace

Here are some of the more common false ideas and beliefs about peace within:

• I’ll just wait for God to make my life peaceful.
• Someday my circumstances will change, and then I’ll feel peaceful.
• When all the wars stop, then we’ll have peace.
• If so-and-so (name someone in your life) would just act differently, then I would feel peaceful.
• I’m too busy for peace. I don’t really need it anyway.
• If I were peaceful, I would be lazy and never get anything done.
• Inner peace is just for mystics and monks.
• We don’t need inner peace in the modern world.
• Inner peace is selfish.
• I don’t deserve peace. I deserve to suffer.
• The politicians are ruining our lives. I can’t be peaceful.
• I’ll get around to peace later. (Like maybe when I retire.)

You can probably think of other beliefs along similar lines. But what do all of these ideas have in common? They mainly have 3 things in common: 1) Peace is dependent on outside circumstances, 2) It’s not a priority, and 3) I don’t need it or deserve it.

So let’s begin by pushing all these beliefs to the side, and going deep within to discover your heartfelt desire to feel peaceful. 

Why is inner peace important on a collective level?

There are collective reasons and personal reasons as to why peace is important. Let’s start with talking about the collective reasons.

There is a false belief that when all the wars stop, then we will have “world peace”. But this idea presumes that war has a life of its own, and if we could just get rid of it, then life would be peaceful. War is nothing more than the behavioral acting out of human desperation, anger, and overall negativity, through the use of extreme weapons. There is a human experience that originates the start of every war.

These wars can be little wars (such as between family members) or big wars (between countries), but they all start with an inner war that comes first.

Picture this: Imagine that every human being on Earth is represented by a dot. That would be approximately 7 billion dots. Now decide that any dot that does not experience inner peace is colored black. The dots that do experience inner peace are white.

Now that you have this image in mind, think about this: The only way that the world becomes peaceful is to have as many of those dots as possible turn white. In this example, you are one of those dots. Now do you see why your inner peace is important to the collective?

Why is inner peace important to you personally?

There are quite a few reasons why inner peace is important to you personally, and here are some of them:

• Your health: In order for your body to function at optimal levels, it needs to stay in a harmonious balance. It needs to be as free from stress as possible, so as to avoid undue strain on its functionality. Your body is best served if it can exist in its natural state of flow, without the impediments that stress, tension, and worry produce. Inner peace allows for the unimpeded flow of your body’s natural and harmonious functions. 
• Your mind and creativity: Creativity is part of the natural flow of your mind. You are designed to think creatively, which is exceedingly important when you need to come up with new ideas. The ability to think creatively is the only way to get out of feeling stuck, or feeling like your life is in a rut. Stress, anxiety, and tension serve as blocks to your creative energy and your ability to think clearly. Inner peace relieves you of those blocks, so that you can feel more positive and able to move forward in your life. 
• Your emotions: Inner peace allows you to relax, and take advantage of using your emotions and feelings as an internal guidance system. How you feel overall can help you understand if you’re on the right track in your life, or if you need to make changes and adjustments. If you are not able to relax, then your emotions will be in a constantly reactive state, depending on what is going on around you. You will not have the space to do the necessary soul-searching that is so valuable when determining your course in life. 
• Your energy: Stress, tension, and worry are physically draining experiences. Because your energy is blocked by fear, these things can lead to exhaustion or even depression and hopelessness. Inner peace frees your energy from these blockages, and helps you to feel much better overall. 

How can I create inner peace in my life?

The first thing you have to do is to consider it a priority for you. If you don’t place it at the top of your list, then it will get lost among all of the other things in your life. You simply won’t find the time or the motivation to do something about it.

Secondly, you need to realize that inner peace does not just “happen”. It will take some effort and intention on your part. But it is best to consider this effort as something positive that you can look forward to and enjoy.

Here are some simple steps you can take to begin introducing some inner peace into your experience:

1. Look at your overall environment. Do you have a quiet place where you can go to relax and rejuvenate? Do you have a place where you can meditate without interruption? If not, see if you can create that space for yourself.
2. Examine your relationships. Is there something you can do to improve your relationship with family members? Are there friendships or relationships in your life that are draining you and are unsupportive? Re-evaluate your relationships, and see if there are any that you think you should let go of.
3. Give yourself a designated time every day to meditate or do something that eases stress and helps you feel more relaxed and conscious. Stay away from mobile devices and computer screens during this time. Consider this special time as sacred to your well-being.
4. Cultivate a higher, more spiritual meaning in your life. Be like the lotus, where you can raise your consciousness above the stresses and strife of everyday life on planet Earth.
5. Do a deep evaluation of your life overall. Do you need to make a dramatic change in order to be more aligned with your soul’s purpose?

When you decide to make inner peace a priority in your life, your intuition and creative mind will serve you with other ideas to improve things for you.

Remember that you were created to live in an optimal state of peace. The more that you do things to bring this about in your life, the more closely aligned you will feel with your creator.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Share with me in the comments below!