KNOW PEACE
By Nancy Slocum

The key to the doorway of peace is acceptance of what is, right here, right now.
It is a portal through which we return to our true Self, a part of something much greater than our circumstances or conditions.  Peace, like love, is just “there” - an ocean of which we are a drop. We do not find peace, or create it.  We simply become present to it; there the whole time, a poem, a birdsong, a breath.

In my coaching practice I frequently help my clients define the criteria that they want to apply to the myriad of moment-by-moment choices we all make in our daily lives.  What to do next, where to expend our limited resources of time, attention, energy, money?  More often than not, one of the primary longings that arise is “What choice or decision will give me the most peace?”

Peace and freedom are often put together in the same sentence.  Once we define what we want (peace, or whatever other priority we identify) and then honor it with our action, we become free to move forward without second-guessing or “should-ing” ourselves.  We simply do what we do because it’s the next right thing in this moment. Defining criteria and making conscious choices that are in alignment with our heart’s deepest desire releases both feet from the starting blocks.  This is not to say that we won’t have feelings about what we’re not choosing; only that right now, we’re choosing the one thing that most moves us toward what we value and want most.

There is peace and freedom in conscious choice making, especially in the moment-by-moment mundane minutiae of our lives.  There’s an old saying that ”What you think about most becomes your God.”  Imagine standing in the middle of your busy day, confronting your “To Do” list, an internal rant of “shoulds,” “havent’s” “nevers,” and “others manage to,” etc., etc., crowding your mind.  This is the hamster wheel, the speeding train, the overwhelm that most of us experience in trying to keep up with modern life.

Now, imagine standing in that same place having defined your criteria for choosing the next right thing, e.g., “What choice will give me the most peace right now?” Take a couple of deep breaths, sink within yourself, and be prepared to be surprised by what might rise to the top of your list, often something that wasn’t even on it!  Also surprising is how what seemed so crucial can suddenly fall off the bottom of the list and not even be missed.  Can you imagine some examples of this in your life?  I sometimes look at my day and see no time whatsoever for going to the gym. I stop and apply my criteria, I slow down, go anyway, and, magically, everything else that was truly necessary gets accomplished.

By now, reading this, you might be experiencing some “yeah, buts,” or “someone else’s life might allow for this luxury, but not mine!”  There is a great gift that dawns like the morning sun when we begin to make these conscious choices based upon what’s really important to us.  We begin to loosen our grip on the reins of life, to find out that it is actually safe to let go of some control.  We let go a little, for a moment, in the moment, and settle into right here, right now.  In the vast spaciousness of NOW, we come into conscious contact with our true self as part of a power much greater than our individual existence. 

Once connected with this ever-present power, which many choose to call God, we can trust that the big picture is being handled by a divine intelligence and power that far exceeds our own.  We can release regrets about the past and fears about the future.  We can stop beating ourselves up or scaring ourselves with our imagination. We can accept what is, as it is, and let go of the suffering created by being in an argument with reality.  As the great spiritual teacher, Byron Katie, says, “Who am I to know better than God?”

In this moment, now, all of life actually happens.  The rest is in our head! We’re either thinking about the past or the future, or we’re experiencing life right here, right now. A question that brings us into the moment, “What would give me the most peace right now?” is access to the infinite wisdom of which we are a part, the deep well of knowing that is our true Self.  It provides the step off the hamster wheel, the way out of overwhelm.  We can simply do the next right thing, turn the outcome over to our God, and know peace. 

Ego mistakenly flies in through an open window,
and frantically crashes into walls and glass.
Peace sits calmly on a rafter, fluffed and cooing,
curiously observing this new place.
Her peace knows no conditions.
When the barn door opens Peace takes flight,
while Ego lies on the floor, dazed and exhausted.  

Nancy Slocum, Personal and Professional Coach, (951) 676-2949 or fulfillment@prodigy.net