Inner Peace?

I recently realized (because of the sage wisdom that comes with turning 30 or because of what I've recently been through) that one cannot get through this life unscathed unless we learn how to acquire inner peace. I have always realized that I cannot change the world around me, but I can control how I look at the world. I try not to dwell on the negative. Television is dominated by negativity so I usually happily avoid it. I try to realize that I cannot change things that have already happened. I have to look forward and realize that life IS suffering. I just need to attempt to find those moments of happiness and peace in order to even it out.

I found this below and it is something I recently discovered so I wanted to share it.

You can turn peace of mind into a natural habit, but to do so, special training is required, through concentration exercises, meditation and other means.

Here are a few simple things that can help:

Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.

Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.

Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.

Don't be jealous of others. Being jealous means that you have low self-esteem and consider yourself inferior to others. This again, causes lack of inner peace.

Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.

Every day we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible. We must learn to put up with such things and accept them cheerfully.

Learn to be more patient and tolerant with people and events.

Don't take everything too personally. Some emotional and mental detachment is desirable. Try to view your life and other people with a little detachment and less involvement. Detachment is not indifference, lack of interest or coldness. It is the ability to think and judge impartially and logically. Don't worry if again and again you fail to manifest detachment. Just keep trying.

Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and concentrate on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and immerse yourself in them.

Practice some concentration exercises. This will help you to reject unpleasant thoughts and worries that steal away your peace of mind.

Learn to practice meditation. Even a few minutes a day will make a change in your life.

Inner peace ultimately leads to external peace. By creating peace in our inner world, we bring it into the external world, affecting other people too.