Cultivating Inner Peace, One Thought at a Time

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

~Dalai Lama

 

Cultivating inner peace and joy through self-nurturing practices are the foundation of what I teach clients. One of the greatest thieves of our inner peace is negative thinking. Committing to transforming critical and anxious thoughts to positive and uplifting ones can impact our brains in very positive ways.

 

In search of more ways to support my clients, I read the book Neurosculpting: A Whole-Brain Approach to Heal Trauma, Rewrite Limiting Beliefs and Find Wholeness by Lisa Wimberger. This fabulous book is a treasure trove of practices to cultivate inner peace and utilize the gift of neuroplasticity to change how our brains respond to stress and fear. There is even a chapter called “Cultivating Self-Nurture.”

 

Lisa describes neurosculpting as “a mental training process that quiets our fight-or-flight center and activates our prefrontal cortex, which is the mind’s seat of our compassion and empathy.” Imagine the possibilities available to each of us if we viewed our lives through open-hearted compassion and empathy, rather than constricting fear and anxiety.

 

Self-awareness is an important first step in transforming our thoughts.  As a curious and non-judgmental observer, take a quick self-inventory of your most common thoughts throughout the day. Are they filled with gratitude, self-compassion and acceptance or more often worry, judgment and regret?

 

If you found yourself thinking more worried and negative thoughts you are not alone. What is fascinating about the brain and neuroplasticity, is that the thoughts we think actually train our minds to focus on the positive or the negative in our lives.

 

And if we can train our minds then we have choice. We can choose to cultivate inner peace one thought at a time.

 

Lisa Wimberger posed two powerful questions in her book, which I offer to you:

 

1) “What thoughts are you inputting that keep your limbic brain, or fear response exercised and strong and your prefrontal cortex weak and subordinate?”

 

2) “Would I input different thoughts or patterns if I had a direct line of communication with my highest self or spirit?”

 

I love these clarifying questions as they reinforce our ability to make intentional choices about what we feed our minds and in turn how we can cultivate more positive thinking and patterns in our lives.

 

To begin, in the next few days when you are feeling upset and anxious, observe what thoughts you are feeding yourself. If you notice they are fueling more anxiety, pause and then choose a more empowering thought. If you are cataloging a list of “what if the worst things happen” that lead you down a fearful path, transform them into a list of “what if things goes beautifully, smoothly, easily, etc.” Notice how you feel when you shift your thinking and remind yourself that you have the power to cultivate inner peace one thought at a time.

 

As Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”

 

May your awareness empower you to cultivate inner peace one thought at a time so that you can nurture peace in the world from the inside out!