You can use anything you do to find happiness and inner peace. Your daily walk is an especially good choice, since generally speaking there will not be compelling demands for your attention (no phone calls, no boss, no doorbell… the list could go on).

As I and several others continue to shout out, you are the silent witness to your thoughts, and in that “witness-ship” is perfect inner peace, aka happiness.

Here’s what you do. As you walk, keep a tab of the thoughts you are thinking.

You might think, “OK, now I am going to try what Lucky prescribed. I hope it makes sense.”

Contemplate on how that itself was a thought, and that you were the being that was aware of it.

“I need to walk faster to get real exercise.”

Again, contemplate on how that was a thought, and that you were the being that was aware of it.

Practice thought-watching every time you exercise. If done enough times, it will become automatic and effortless. Then start doing it during other parts of the day, first during similar undisturbed moments, and then even when you are busy. Aim to watch your thoughts all the time… which means you will be deeply peaceful all the time!!

To your increasingly peaceful life,

Let me say at the beginning that you should reside in your inner peace not only at the beginning and end of the day but during all the intervening hours as well. I plan to write several posts on those intervening hours, one for each profession; this “Beginning and End of the Day” post will apply to all professions, so I have decided to write it first and refer to it in the profession-by-profession posts that will follow.

Inner Peace at the Beginning of the Day

Positioning yourself in your inner peace should start first thing in the morning.

• If you use a clock-radio, a good way to remember this is to tune your radio to an inspirational station.
• If you use an alarm without a radio, or if you do not use an alarm at all, be sure that you have an inspirational picture or object in plain view when you open your eyes. Change the picture every week.
• Then spend approximately 1 minute steadying yourself in your inner peace (earlier posts and my free course clearly instruct you on how to find it). Resolve that you will abide in that inner peace throughout the day, then proceed into your daily routine.

Inner Peace at the End of the Day

The day is over and you are in the process of lying down and going to sleep.

• Sit on your bed and feel thankful to the Universe that you experienced another day.
• Briefly dwell on the fact that at one time it will all be over. Try and imagine how your family, your favorite surroundings and your work will be taken from you at one point. Hope in your heart that you will be able to enjoy another day with all of them.
• Spend around a minute focusing your attention on your state of inner peace and not paying attention to your thoughts and your environment.
• Inhale and exhale three times, with exhalations taking twice as long as inhalations.
• Lie down, allow thoughts to flow freely without interfering in them and drift off to sleep.

Start practicing these actions now. They will help you become aware of the ‘big picture’ of existence, an oft-ignored reality!

To your peaceful life,

There are many excellent courses and retreats that help you experience inner peace. However, when the course or retreat is over, most often that newly-discovered tranquility, instead of continuing indefinitely, does not sustain.

The reason for this is that for you to experience inner peace, many of your core attitudes and beliefs have to change irreversibly. An example would be to stop believing that your mind is actually ‘you’ speaking and start believing that ‘you’ are separate from it.

Courses and retreats suspend those attitudes and beliefs temporarily. Sustained practice is required to make permanent changes.

The situation is exactly like learning how to volley at a tennis coaching camp: your coach will make you play a volley while you’re there, but it takes much practice over the long term to make perfect volleying part of your natural game. Immediate results are out of the question.

Also, as in the case of tennis, how fast you settle into inner peace depends on how much practice you put in per week. More time, more results.

There are two suggestions I have for facilitating extended practice:

1. Have a long-term arrangement with a coach or teacher
2. Join a like-minded group and interact with fellow members for peer-to-peer learning and continuing motivation

Practice, Persevere and be unshakably happy!

To your increasingly peaceful life,

Many of us are regularly struck by the need to achieve a particular long-term goal. It could, for instance, be the need to earn more money, the need to improve a relationship or the need to build a house.

Our minds then rapidly proceed to formulate a plan of action to fulfill that goal.

For an energetic, driven individual, this can be an exciting, energizing, creative process; for a desperate individual it can be nerve-racking and emotionally draining. Either way, it usually ends up becoming an obsession of sorts, the degree of obsession depending on how important the goal is to you. The obsession can have the grip of a bear-trap.

The obsession can start as soon as you open your eyes in the morning. Aggregated over the day, it can occupy several hours. The trouble is, the ‘bear-trap’ can often make you ignore other important tasks that you have to perform, resulting in your life being lopsidedly developed.

The solution is to remove the bear-trap but keep the goal (let me reiterate that setting goals is definitely a good thing).

You do this by watching the entire goal and subsequent ideation process as an observer. You also observe the plan of action taking place; you observe your mind taking decisions, then operate your body to perform whichever actions were decided.

Being an observer prevents you from being trapped. You likely will not understand this by reading what I just wrote; try my prescription once, and you will.

To your freedom from bear-traps!

Many of us are concerned that we cannot exert control over our thoughts. In addition, we can be severely distressed at the consequences of this lack of control… it can seem like being in a speeding car without a steering capability.

There is a time-honored solution for this very common scenario: Step out of the car.

You have to realize that there are two entities involved in the thought process. There is the thought, and there is that which observes the thought. The "that" is the "basic you", your fundamental identity.

To save your self much grief and stress, and to experience deep, lasting inner peace, it is important that you understand this two-entity concept and always position yourself as the observer of your thoughts. This is equivalent to stepping out of the car mentioned earlier.

Once you have stepped out of the car, no matter where the car goes and no matter what happens to the car, nothing happens to "you", since you are effectively observing the car from the sidelines.

The reason I am saying that is because a long time ago, I was "in the car". After much study, contemplation and practice I got out of it and am now its calm observer.

It is never too late to start. One of the simplest ways to realize that you are in actuality the observer of your thoughts is as follows:

• Sit comfortably in a place without any distractions

• Wonder, soon after a thought strikes you, who was aware of the thought

• Once you put your finger on that "who", try and stay there. (For this you will have to ignore your thought process to the extent that you are not pulled away from the “who" position. Most people are initially reluctant to do this for fear of the consequences, so I recommend trying it for gradually increasing periods of time.)

• Every day put in a bit of this practice. The aim is to always be an observer of your thoughts. Most importantly, be an observer of ‘first person’ thoughts, such as, "Now’s the time for practice," or "I wonder if this is going to work," or "Why am I so distracted?" or " This is really cool."

• As I said in this earlier post, if a thought suggests action, like, “I want to eat some pizza”, decide whether you want to obey it or not. If you decide not to obey, the thought will usually persist for a while. Just keep watching it until it dies down.

Once you are a constant observer of your thoughts, nothing can disturb you, since any disturbance is also part of the "car." Do it now and enjoy!!

To your peaceful life,

Many people think that the state of inner peace implies stopping your thoughts. This is not only incorrect, but dangerous to believe and work towards.

Inner peace entails letting the mind think without restraint and watching it as it does so.

It is a state where thoughts certainly flow, but you are in a way “outside” them.

Imagine standing shoulder-deep in the surf. The waves powerfully push you and pull you as they advance and retreat. It takes considerable strength and concentration for you to keep standing.

This is an analogy for a person who is not in the state of inner peace. The waves are analogous to thoughts.

A person in the state of inner peace is like a person standing on the shore at the edge of the surf. The waves continue to advance and retreat, and the person sees them very clearly. The big difference is that it takes very little effort for the person to keep standing.

For the person to be in this comfortable state, there was no need to stop the waves! There was only a need to step out of them.

There is no need for you to stop your thoughts to experience inner peace; just step out of them and instead, constantly observe them. Please try doing that… it is really, really worth it!

To the realization of your inner peace,

Yoga is without doubt a wonderful, invaluable and deeply beneficial discipline. It is taught all over the world, and the number of people practicing it is likely to run into the millions.

The goal of yoga is to lead one to Enlightenment; but what I am seeing is that this goal is often not given sufficient priority by those who teach it.

What the Literature Says about the Goal

That yoga is one of the paths to Enlightenment is described in the first part of the ultimate reference book on yoga, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, which is said to have been written in the second or third century CE.

The first part of the Sutra is called the Samadhi Pada, and the second sentence of this part succinctly describes the goal of yoga. It describes the goal with the word nirodah.

There are several translations (in my opinion, mis-translations) of this word; the translation that ties in perfectly with other ancient Indian philosophical texts that describe Enlightenment is, “realizing that you are the still and unmoving Consciousness that is aware of all your thoughts and sensory perceptions.”

What Frequently Happens in Yoga Schools

In my observation there are many yoga schools which do not have this goal in mind when they plan their curriculum. The emphasis is on perfecting the physical exercises of yoga, the asanas. Asanas no doubt do wonders for one’s flexibility, strength, posture, concentration and general health. But, as I have mentioned above, they are by no means all there is to yoga.

Integrating Yoga with Enlightenment

In my opinion, and based on my learning, the enhanced power of concentration that results from yoga should be harnessed for meditation aimed at attaining Enlightenment (which is also the state of inner peace).

One’s basic self, which I term the “basic you” in all my writings, is deeply peaceful and not dependent on external things or events. Constant identification with the “basic you” is the nature of Enlightenment (and the state of inner peace).

The “basic you” is the witness to all your thoughts and sense perceptions. To identify with it constantly, you should follow a two-step process: firstly, put your finger on the” basic you”; secondly, keep going back into it until you stop leaving it.

To put your finger on the “basic you”, some meditation is necessary: sit in a place where you will not be distracted, close your eyes, and watch what is going on in your mind. The moment a thought hits you, find the answer to the question, “To whom did did that thought to occur ?” That “whom” is the “basic you.”

Please be aware that when you identify with the “basic you”, you should allow your thoughts to come and go freely, neither pulling them in nor pushing them out, with you being nothing more than a motionless observer.

Once you learn how to do this, you should try to identify with the “basic you” even when your eyes are open and you are going about your daily routine. Over time this will make you reside in the “basic you” constantly.

The method I have described above requires keen use of your powers of alertness and concentration, and one of the ways to enhance these powers and therefore make your meditation more effective is to practice yoga.

Therefore if you are already into yoga, please use the mental benefits that accrue from it to meditate first with your eyes closed and then with your eyes open, thereby growing in inner peace and true Enlightenment.

If you are sincere in your effort to attain Enlightenment/inner peace, all doors will open for you… you will see it happen yourself!

To your success,

If you have ever read about or practiced meditation, it is likely that you are familiar with the prescription for watching your breath. You may have wondered why this exercise is beneficial, and I will now give you the answer, based on my first-hand experience.

First a definition: the state of inner peace, as widely defined, is a state of inner stillness. You are aware of your thoughts coming and going, and you act on them only when you feel like it. If you do not feel like it, you continue to watch the particular “call to action thought” until it fades away. Your mind can no longer dictate terms to you.

Watching your breath helps put you in the above state.

Prior to taking steps for attaining inner peace, you are seemingly bonded to your mind. It is as if your mind is a flying carpet and you are glued to it. You feel your mind is “you”. It is the boss; wherever it goes, that’s where you go. In a way, you are its helpless passenger.

The fact is that you are not glued to the flying carpet. You are actually on the ground, motionless and still, watching the flying carpet. You have to “unglue” (i.e., separate) yourself.

I will digress for a moment: you are glued not only to your mind, but also to your breathing. You think your breathing is an essential part of “you.” You feel that “you” rise and fall with it.

The same skill that is used for separating yourself from your breath is what is used for separating yourself from your mind. If you learn how to separate yourself from your breath, separating yourself from your mind is a snap.

Watching your breath helps separate you from it. This is because when you watch your breath you get into a subject-object situation. You are the subject, and you are watching the breath as an object. You therefore in a way necessarily separate yourself from it.

And how exactly do you “watch your breath”? Simple. You watch the air flow in and out of you. This means you watch the air entering your nostrils, flowing through your nose, going down your throat, entering your lungs, and then watch the air flow in the reverse direction until it exits your nostrils.

Conclusion

Inner peace teachers ask you to watch your breath so that you can develop ”separation skills.” Once you have honed these skills on your breath, teachers typically direct you to apply the same skills on your mind.

I hope you now understand the mechanics and the rationale behind breath-watching. The important thing now is for you to start practicing it yourself!

To your mental freedom,

If you are tortured by guilt, this is a post that could help you escape the torture chamber…

As you may already be aware, there is a state of inner peace built into you. I point out the location of this state in my free 4-part course available here (take it). I call that state the “basic you”.

As I also mentioned, for a profoundly peaceful life, you should identify with that state all the time while going about your day-to-day life. Let your thoughts come and go freely, performing an action whenever you feel it is warranted.

That said, I will explain how to use inner peace to blunt the edge of guilt.

Guilt consists of a recurring thought that you should not have done something that you did. Every time the thought hits you, it seems to chip away at your very essence, and this is a painful event.

However, if, at the time the thought hits you, you are identifying with the “basic you”, it would be like watching a TV show where one of the actors says, “I caused severe damage by what I did. I shouldn’t have done that.”

If someone on a TV show says that, it doesn’t make a dent on you, because you do not identify with the person who says it. In a similar manner, if you are identifying with the “basic you”, you are separate from your mind. It’s your mind that’s saying “I caused severe damage, etc”, not you. You are the silent, motionless witness to the process. You are unaffected by the thought.

That said, you do have to perform whatever is warranted to rectify the situation that occurred.

For instance, let’s say you are a builder. Using the best materials and processes you know of, you start constructing a building. Nevertheless, there is an accident on site and someone is killed. You feel responsible for the event.

If you were identifying with the “basic you”, you would not have been personally disturbed by any guilt-related thoughts that may have arisen (as described above). But you would still have to take necessary action, such as  possibly compensating the victim or defending yourself against lawsuits et al.

Incidentally, an advantage of not being wracked by guilt is that you will go about these tasks with better concentration. This in turn will result in a better outcome for all concerned.

THE TAKEAWAY: Always abide in your state of inner peace , it will make dealing with guilt a snap!

To your peaceful, productive life,

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Yes, even if Buddha himself were teaching you, he could only tell you what to do to find inner peace. He could not make your mind go through the process required for realizing it.

This is in contrast to what you do when your car is giving trouble. You give it to a mechanic, he fixes it and gives it back to you.

As far as becoming peaceful is concerned, it is DYI: You are the one who has to perform the repair process.

***

What is the repair process for getting inner peace, you may ask.

The process is very simple… I would even say it is failsafe, provided it is performed correctly. The steps involved are:

STEP 1

• BELIEVE that inner peace puts an end to all anxiety, stress, anger and insecurity. It’s the real deal
• BELIEVE that inner peace is already inside you and that you have just forgotten where it is (there is no risk in doing this — thousands, if not millions of people have re-discovered it in the course of human history)
• BELIEVE it is possible for you (and everyone else) to recognize it and abide in it at all times (it needs no  special abilities)
• BELIEVE that if you work on attaining it, you will definitely succeed in the course of time.

STEP 2

Locate your true identity (which I call the “basic you”) as follows:

1. Go to a place where there will be no distractions for 10 minutes and where you can spend those 10 minutes sitting (or standing) with your eyes closed
2. When a thought strikes you, try and locate who was aware of the thought. Do this especially for thoughts involving “I”, like “What am I doing here?”
3. That “who’”, which is the “basic you”, is a pure observer of your thoughts. It does nothing else. Since all thoughts are observed by it, they are objects, and in a way external to it like a TV show
4. Since it is thoughts that cause anxiety, stress, anger and insecurity, and since all thoughts are external to the “basic you”, the “basic you” does not experience anxiety, stress, anger and insecurity. Which is why it is absolutely calm.

STEP 3

The next step is to learn to abide in that peaceful identity as a base:

1. Whenever you remember, ponder on how the last thing you thought was a thought coming and going in front of you, like a scene coming and going on a TV show
2. As mentioned earlier, it is most important to do this for thoughts involving “I”, like “I am getting old,” or “I need to buy a new watch,” or “How dare he say that about me”
3. In time, this will make you abide in the “basic you”, the still witness of your thoughts, all the time, so that you are aware of your thoughts coming and going in real time, and there is no need for you to ponder about them after they occur (as described above).

You have to perform the three steps yourself. No guru can perform them for you since he does not have direct access to your head. A guru, can, however, give you the tools you need to perform the repair.

Now open your bonnet and get to work!

To your early enlightenment,