5 Mind-Blowing Tips to Inner Peace (& Growing Through Covid-19)
/Life is never easy. Right now, you and people around the world are facing Covid-19 together. Being stuck at home is amplifying your fears. You feel worries in your body, heart and the chaos of the mind.
You have nothing to distract you from your busy mind. You hunger for calm and inner peace.
You are grieving the loss of everyday things. You can now name what you have taken for granted. You are experiencing a disruption in your inner-world. Living in the time of pandemic is not an easy time. One moment you are sad, the next you are angry, and then happy. All this is exhausting.
Even amid Covid-19, there is a path to inner peace. Covid-19 is an excellent opportunity to find more about your true self. It is time to face your shadow side. Covid-19 is forcing all of us to slow down and face our pain, fears and insecurities.
Here are five mind-blowing tips to inner peace:
1. Limit your intake of news:
Your ego will do everything it can to protect you from facing your dark night of the soul. One way you can free yourself from your ego is to limit the amount of news you watch and the information you soak up on social media.
Yes, it is good to keep up to date on how the pandemic is impacting our community, country and world. Doing this once a day is probably enough.
Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in conspiracy theories. The why’s of Covid-19 are complex. There is no simple answer than can explain it all. There is no one person, an ethnic group of people, race or nationality that you can blame. All of us have to take some responsibility.
When you look at social media, read posts that will inspire you and encourage you. Share information that inspires your readers to help make the world a better place for people, animals, fish, trees, water and more.
2. Prayer and Meditation
There are many different types of prayer and meditation if you are part of a faith tradition you might want to start with the traditions and practices of your community.
In the Christian tradition, there is Centering Prayer, the examen, Lectio Divina, Ignatian Bible Contemplation, Journaling, walking the labyrinth, writing and art.
For those with no faith tradition, there are many forms of meditation, including pure awareness, pure awareness, loving-kindness, yoga Nidra body scans—their excellent apps to help you bring your practice. My favourite is called “Insight Timer” which is available for both Android and iOS phones.
3. Hang out in Nature:
Getting outside into nature can help you stay grounded. No matter where you live, you can find places that will nurture your soul. It might be your backyard, a favourite street in your neighbourhood, park, beach or country road.
When you are outside enjoying the sounds of silence, the birds, animals, water, children soak it in helping you to connect with your soul. Allow yourself to notice your sensations, the openness of your heart and the activity in your mind. Whenever you feel distressed, breathe into that pain and let it go as you breathe out.
During this time of Covid-19, even our cities have become quiet. Use this time to explore places in your town that once were busy.
Pay attention to the world inside you. As you explore your inner world, it will help you to experience the
world in new ways.
· Take deep breaths
· Consciously walk with intention the sensations of your body
· Notice what is right for you at the moment
Accept whatever you are experiencing without judgment. The more you can allow yourself to sense, feel and notice what is happening within you, the less control it will have over you.
Wanting to learn more about how to bring body, mind and spirit together: Click Here
4. Live in the Moment:
Covid-19 is allowing you to practice presence. You likely have more time at home with less to do. Use this time of fewer distractions to live in the moment.
Learning to live in the moment is never easy. You are living in a perfect time practice presence.
To practice presence, you need to face your shadow side. Living in the moment means being willing to meet all your pain, fear and insecurities you have repressed.
The Enneagram is an excellent psychological-spiritual tool to help you let go of old habits and beliefs that no longer serve you.
If you have avoided unpleasant emotions, sensations and thoughts for years, this work will require a lot of self-love.
You are beginning to reveal your vulnerabilities. It is like ripping off a bandage from a wound that is starting to heal. At first, you are going to feel a lot of pain.
You may not want to do this alone because you are going to experience repressed feelings, thoughts and emotions that may be overwhelming.
You may have a friend or family member you trust to journey with you as you face life as it is. Who do you trust enough to walk with you? Who are you willing to share the truth of you?
You may find it beneficial to hire a professional coach such as myself or a counsellor to help you through this time of personal growth.
As your coach, I am here to create a safe space for you to face your fears, insecurities and pain. I see myself as a midwife who is with you to help you birth the person the universe created you to be.
5. Simplify your life
Covid-19 is forcing you to simplify your life. You are discovering what is important to you. You maybe like so many craving deep connections with others.
You are learning to find joy in everyday life. You recognize all the parts of your daily life that you took for granted.
You are discovering your humanity. You realize that there is more to life than consuming.
You recognize your needs for rest, relaxation, exercise, good food and community. You are discovering how these needs are more important than all the extra things money can buy.
You are learning to live in the moment. After all, you are not able to plan much ahead because you don’t know how quickly our communities will open up.
You are rediscovering the power of routine. You are learning to create new habits that will provide a template to help you organize your day and give a map to help you see where you are going.
Claiming your inner peace takes dedication, self-love, self-forgiveness, and a willingness to face your pain. The only way to inner peace is to face the yuckiness of life.
You will benefit from finding tools and psychological-spiritual practices to free yourself from the limitations of your ego. Asking for help from a religious leader, a professional coach or counsellor can help you to find your path.
The Enneagram is an excellent tool to find your way to inner peace. It can help you to notice what is going on in your soul. It can help you to become conscious of behaviours and beliefs that do not bring out the best in you.
Wanting to learn more about how the Enneagram can help you: Click Here
Don’t be afraid to try different healing modalities until you find one that works for you. Just watch out that you don’t allow your ego to push you into something new, just when you are beginning to shine the light on your pain.
With practice, you will learn to know the difference between the sensations that come when your ego is panicking and when the modality/healing path you are trying is not the right path for you.
The more you free yourself from your ego, the greater flow you will experience in life.
I am Roland Legge, an Identity Coach here to help you find inner peace even in the midst of Covid-19. You can access your Free Online Enneagram Test: Click Here. Please join me in conversation on my private Facebook Page called “Discover Your Identity. Click Here