We live in challenging times, when peace seems to be elusive.
How can you, as one person, make the world a more peaceful place?

Here are three steps:
1. Peace really does begin with YOU.
If you don’t have peace in your own mind, there can’t be peace in your world. How can you cultivate peace within? It begins with awareness. Perhaps you notice that sometimes your mind is churning over a problem like a hamster on a wheel. In Kundalini yoga philosophy, we recognize this phenomenon as a “mental intrigue”. The brain and its connection to the (wanna be) all powerful ego, believes that if it just thinks about something long enough, it will “figure it all out”. This simply isn’t so! Once you recognize that you are in a mental intrigue, drop it! Tell yourself that this process will not bring you peace, and take some time to meditate and get yourself into a more neutral state. You may find that the more you make this a habit, the more that real answers to your problems arise from a place of peace. Something you may want to try that helps with finding your peaceful place within, also relates to the next step. See if you can carve out a place in your home that is a restful sanctuary – a place to meditate, reflect, and be quiet. This could be as large as an entire room devoted to your spiritual practices, or perhaps just a small shelf in a corner near a comfy chair or meditation pillow. Having a physical place to go when you want to create peace in your mind can help. This space can have something like an altar in it, that contains images that are uplifting to you – a cloth of your favorite color, spiritual/religious images, devotional reading that uplifts you, a candle, a flower, etc.

2. Once you feel that your inner space is more peaceful, take a look at your “outer space”.
How does your home, your office, your car, feel to you? Is it cluttered? Is it dirty? Does it make you feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, or does it bring a smile to your face? You don’t need to spend money to create a feeling of joy in your physical space. Just giving things a good cleaning, getting rid of clutter, and perhaps reorganizing, may be all that’s needed. If you are happy to walk into your home and your office, if you feel peaceful driving your car, you are making your own little corner of the world peaceful. Then inviting others into your spaces will also help them feel a sense of happiness. Including art, photos, items, etc. that are inspiring can make a big difference in your outlook.

3. Once you have created peace in your mind, and peace in your physical surroundings, you will find that peace rippling out to the world around you. The smile you give a stranger at the market may give them a lift that they pass along to the next person they meet, and so on! Don’t underestimate the power of your own peace to affect the world around you.

HarDarshan Kaur Khalsa, LPC, helps people find peace through transpersonal psychotherapy, Feng Shui home consultations, and the practice of Kundalini yoga and meditation. You may learn more about her: www.matashaktiashram.org, www.sacredlistener.com, www.sacrednest.com, or contact her at (919) 257-7814 or hardarshan@sacredlistener.com