Finding Peace Within Ourselves

I’m writing this because I understand how many people are hurting inside, regardless of what they project on the outside. The world can often be a cold, cruel place that leaves the human spirit seemingly torn, tattered, and broke so what are the answers?

Many times we hear people preach, from a soap box, on how they have found enlightenment, or have found salvation in some religion. What I find interesting about this is that not a single person can speak with any confidence, because their current state of mind is always fleeting, and they have not achieved the state they are speaking of, but yet their is something that keeps driving our spirits.

I say this with love, because it is not meant to hurt, or defile anyone’s beliefs, but merely show that it most likely has nothing to do with spirituality but more with our Ego’s.

How can anyone sell enlightenment or salvation when they themselves don’t have any idea what they are selling, or since they haven't achieved this perfect state?

A classic example is when a religious, or new age leader is up on the pulpit professing words of an entity, or MO that is elusive on every level, in our current state of being.

I’m not sure what the silver bullet is, but I can say with a great deal of confidence is that the current methods available to us don’t seem to give the majority of the world anything near what they are professing, nor can we validate them through external sources.

Personally the times I have felt the most at peace is when I have not listened to the madness that the world professes, but listened to what my inner guide told me, or my higher-self, this seem to recharge my state of being thus extending love, kindness, compassion by default.

I’m not sure if this is the way to enlightenment, salvation, or what many people call their perfect God, but it works for me and I am sticking with it.

May everyone find peace on love in the now,


RT

I don't have an answer for your question.
I just try to be better today than I was yesterday.
I try to learn something new every day.
I try to see my flaws so I don't inflict them on others.
I try to remember that I don't know it all.
I try to laugh every day.
I try to love myself as much as I love others.
I try not to use the word I so much, but sometimes that doesn't work.

Realtruth
Many times we hear people preach, from a soap box, on how they have found enlightenment, or have found salvation in some religion. What I find interesting about this is that not a single person can speak with any confidence, because their current state of mind is always fleeting, and they have not achieved the state they are speaking of.

The current state of mind is always changing, fleeting, thoughts appear and disappear continually.
However, there is something that is aware of the changing - find That. It is the stable one among all the motion.

reply to post by badgerprints


All that trying is for what?
It sounds heavy not light.

Just see what appears as it is the light that everyone is searching for - it is arising unconditionally.

badgerprints
I don't have an answer for your question.

My question was more rhetorical, because I don't believe that we can find inner peace looking in this external world/material world we live in.

I believe to find the inner peace we seek, we simply need to look within past the Ego and the contradicting world we live in.

We seem to be like dogs chasing our tails, only to get exhausted, fall down from exhaustion, only to get back up to chase our tails again.

I think we all seek eternal inner peace, we come up with methods to attain temporary peace, but for some crazy reason we get back up like the dog to chase our tails again.

I wish we came with a user manual at birth because that would have been so much easier.


Peace,

RT

reply to post by Realtruth


How I find peace is by not dwelling on things I can't change. I remember the past is over and can not be changed. I remind myself the just because the future is unwritten and unknown doesn't mean it could be bad or negative. Each stone we stand on, is there because of the stones we stood on in the past. The stones in front may not lead us to where we want to be, but where we are meant to go with time.

I also remind myself that i can not change anyone else's path or behavior. If I feel I am wronged, the only choices I have involve me. I can change my path to avoid them, or change my behavior in regards to them to get to what I want.

that is why we invented whisky and large skins happy thoughts .

Silenceisalie

I also remind myself that i can not change anyone else's path or behavior. If I feel I am wronged, the only choices I have involve me. I can change my path to avoid them, or change my behavior in regards to them to get to what I want.

I think this is a wise piece of advice not trying to change the world, but rather we have the ability to only change our world.

And that is hard enough.

Realtruth

badgerprints
I don't have an answer for your question.

My question was more rhetorical, because I don't believe that we can find inner peace looking in this external world/material world we live in.

I believe to find the inner peace we seek, we simply need to look within past the Ego and the contradicting world we live in.

I agree. One must allow the conceptual world to crumble by finding that all concepts arise out of nowhere.
If you had no concepts, no words, no ideas and no beliefs you would be in peace.

Itisnowagain
reply to post by badgerprints

 

All that trying is for what?
It sounds heavy not light.

Just see what appears as it is the light that everyone is searching for - it is arising unconditionally.

edit on 8-12-2013 by Itisnowagain because: (no reason given)

It's not the load you carry. it's the direction you carry it in.
If you stand in one spot, what do you learn, accomplish, achieve?
Enlightenment? Not likely.
Definitely not much else.

He asked how you sell enlightenment or salvation when you don't know what it is.

It's like I told him. I don't have an answer for that.

First off, why sell enlightenment in the first place? Because someone said so? Because some arrogant clown made up an ambiguous concept that would forever be out of reach of others?

It definitely wasn't to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. It was to exclude everyone else and to let them know that they weren't worthy.


I do know that enlightenment isn't something that we can expect to get by sitting on our butts feeling empty and unhappy about.

How about we forget about enlightenment for a few minutes and just strive for a little illumination.
Try something new. Do something different. Grow a bit before condemning ourselves to chasing an amorphous ideal.

It sounds heavy?
Thank God for that.
I'd rather be a vigorous, happy fool than a querulous, ineffectual philosopher.

Enlightenment, if it exists at all, will likely be something that naturally happens when it's way too late to do anything about it.

badgerprints

It sounds heavy?
Thank God for that.
I'd rather be a vigorous, happy fool than a querulous, ineffectual philosopher.

lol

Very true.

Star for you.

badgerprints
Enlightenment, if it exists at all, will likely be something that naturally happens when it's way too late to do anything about it.

Everything happens naturally - all by itself.

reply to post by Realtruth


"Ask and It is Given" - Jesus Christ

We want to go on a journey for our own development when we are already perfect as we are. Once we start wishing the best for each other rather than living in seeking, then the world will be a more connected place and it'll be easier to feel that Oneness that comes with enlightenment.

reply to post by Realtruth


i'm content with who i am and i found it just as you described, within myself first. i'm content enough to have become uninterested in most topics on this forum because i realize none of this really matters in the big picture. not the govt., not fukushima, not the potential for war, not mass shooting and not even large natural disasters do i give much attention to, other than saying a prayer for those involved, then it's gone.

most of what i grew up with has fallen by the wayside, the old way of viewing life is about gone for me and it feels nice to be free. i don't know if what i believe is right or true, but i do know it works for me and harms no one else in any way, so i'm good with it.

i used to worry so much about our world, society and so forth, but now i no longer worry at all, i just observe and laugh occasionally at how most poorly trained humans act like monkeys and that's okay too because i understand they have a mission of their own and i don't hold any judgment on anyone.

i wish peace to everyone in anyway you can find it, because once you found it you won't want to let it go. also a note on it being fleeting, it's not fleeting, it just takes time to practice and reprogram yourself away from what our sick society has taught you to do.

nice thread OP

I appreciate the thought in the responses.

I was under the assumption that my OP wouldn't reach many people, and I was just off on a tangent in my own thoughts.

I have to say that being on ATS sometimes makes me chase my tail, but other times it lends a helping hand with bountiful wisdom, that comes from different perspectives yet similar beliefs.

Peace,

RT

reply to post by Realtruth


it was a productive tangent non the less. i for one welcome threads like this because it leaves behind the fear based mentality i see so much of in this forum and in our world. i had hoped to find more like minded conversations here but alas that isn't so. i think a great deal of what we're talking about, comes down to living in fear or not living in fear. fear is what those in control want and living without fear is what's beneficial to us all.

maybe one day we will have more people who choose not to live in fear joining in more thought provocative conversations eh.

OceanSpray

maybe one day we will have more people who choose not to live in fear joining in more thought provocative conversations eh.

ATS is primarily a victim mentality site, that thrives on fear. This isn't good or bad, but can be a powerful tool of awareness if one steps out of the box, and people are able to see what they are writing, feeling, or responding with awareness.

I believe that fear has become comfortable for most and playing a victim instead of empowering oneself is much easier. Placing blame externally is much easier that taking full responsibility for whatever happens in our lives.

When someone is talking about the world ending, what they are actually saying is that their world is crumbling and they are in a state of chaos.

I have personally been there many times, but I brush myself of admit that I have fallen back into the rut, and get back to empowering myself.

The reason threads like this do not get more attention, which makes no difference to me, is because it does not pander to people's ego's, chaos, or external blame, but rather points to personal responsibility and self-awareness.

Thanks again for your insight,


RT

reply to post by Realtruth


couldn't agree more and thank you as well, it's been nice.