Peace Within, Peace Without

No matter what is going on, it is our job and privilege to establish peace within.

Indeed, that is the only place we will ever see it.

We must reveal it in ourselves from within, in order for it to take place in the visible world we live in.

Long term or short term we must seek out our peace, over and over again.

It is our true nature.

It is the true nature of our planet and its systems.

And it will become the true nature of human relationships once we realize that all we desire comes from within.

I have had the privilege of learning to establish peace within myself when provoked by very strong and disturbing images.

Some have been from the past, some from the present, some over worry for the future.

I was glad to learn how to establish peace from within during any and all of those circumstances.

Since the disturbances were so uncomfortable, I was forced to recover my peace consistently.

Finally, it has paid off.

I got to the point where it didn’t matter to me what my fears were.

I simply had to find something else to think about.

I had to establish my peace and then I would be able to engage myself in the kind of world I prefer to live in.

Over and over again, persistent issues would interrupt me.

I would go within, whether by reading some inspirational literature, saying a “mantra”, or just listening deeply to messages from my Infinite Source within.

Then my happy and productive day revealed itself to me day by day and now one more long term issue has proven itself resolved.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Changing Triggers

It is possible to build in new triggers to create positive responses to events.

Joe Dispenza explains in his book “Evolve Your Brain” how to do this.

It is a conscious, repetitive process.

I am not doing this at anywhere close to a hundred percent level, but I am able to do it to some extent.

Discovering that it is possible and beginning to practice it is making a significant difference in my life.

When I find myself responding in the old patterns, I can stop and look at what is happening.

Then I can design what I prefer to happen instead.

I can give myself a whole new story.

I can appreciate where I am at this point in my life.

I can be grateful for the tools and techniques I have learned to address that issue.

I can look around and see the evidence of my new approach.

It is so totally worth making the effort to practice until the new patterns become the automatic default.

I learned how to train my muscles to play a musical instrument with all the repetition that required, so I know I can reset my mental “muscles” as well.

Lots and lots of conscious repetition.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Moving to a Peaceful Setting

It is making such a difference to be living in a peaceful setting.

It would not be everyone’s goal to move to the country, using what skills you have to finish the inside of a cabin, collect rainwater, read by flashlight, and start a garden from scratch.

But, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

In fact, I like this world much better.

Today, I was able to take my first “garden” shower.  It has warmed up enough that the camping shower, plus a quart of heated water was very pleasant outdoors.

We still have our indoor camping shower, which we mix with cold and hot water to the right temperature, but it was nice to be able to bathe surrounded by Nature.

We have been walking back and forth to our covered deck where I have set up my gardening supplies.

I have over sixty plants from two plant sales, and about half of them are in containers now, ready to grow in earnest.

I used rainwater which I collected in five-galling buckets from the roof of the covered deck.

My soil mix is in thirds - coir (coconut fiber), vermiculite #3, and compost.  A dozen five-gallon buckets now hold various herbs, squash, kale and peppers.

Another two dozen of a different commercial organic soil mix will hold peppers, tomatoes and more herbs.

The same soil mix will be in a raised garden bed for more veggies and flowers.

I will add various supplemental microbial stimulants to enrich the soil.

And then, we will see what happens.

We are still preparing the garden fence, as we are next to a wildlife conservation area in addition to our own wildlife inhabitants. 

We listen to jazz on the radio as we pick up our raw milk from a local dairy.

We watch the fireflies come out at night.

Tonight, it is cloudy, so we will expect some more rain to help our garden grow.

It is a different, lush setting for two city folks, who are rapidly learning about country living.

Sharing the peace…

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Leaving the Storm

I am learning to leave the storm behind, rather than just take relief from it.

Every time I reestablish my peace, it is more real to me.

Even though I experience interruptions to my peace, the deeper truth is becoming more and more convincing to me.

The peace is always there.

I am learning to come back to it, because it is always there.

The extremes which took me away are becoming less and less powerful as I find I can return to peace more and more.

I am also learning not to complain about the negative things, but to spend all my effort on returning myself to peace.

I am learning to leave the storm completely behind.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Keeping My Calm

I had a wonderful day and was walking around our land with my husband.  We found a large dump area that our neighbor in front of part of our land has been building.  Eew!  Sheet metal, dirt, and everything else!

What to do?

We started reviewing our property bounds and will certainly order a current survey.

But what about the bad  feelings that came along with the discovery?

After exploring several options, I have decided on this point of view:

Divine peace is always one hundred percent in effect.

I will keep drawing on it.

It never lessens.

It is unconditional.

It is in operation no matter what is going on in anyone’s life.

We all have access to it all the time.

I am sure we will find out what we need to know about he property line, and if there is no violation, once the season fills in the leaves on the trees, it will not be in view.

But the main thing for me, is maintaining my peace no matter what happens since I can draw on the Infinite Divine Peace which is always there, all the time, no matter what else is going on.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Peace and Happiness

I am so grateful for the sense of peace and happiness that I am feeling.

It is proof to me that despite the confusion of the news stories and sadness of many of our Congressional leaders, there is more good in the world than bad.

I hear discussions about the important things, and I see that so many of them are being taken care of.

I know that despite the problems, there are already solutions.

I know that despite the fact that many of the available solutions are being ignored, at some point many of them will be enacted, and many new ones will appear.

I know that we are all being given the opportunity to reevaluate what is important in our lives, always a valuable and rich process.

I know that as I make positive changes in my life, I am being led to better and better solutions.

Our lives form a microcosm of all of the lives all over the world.

We are each reaching out for solutions, and despite the fact that many of them appear to be in the hands of less than noble people, our individual answers can still come to us in the most effective ways.

I am listening within and I am feeling peace and happiness.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Moving Peacefully to the Next Step

Sometimes the idea is so big, we really can’t see all of it at once.

We work on what we envision, and then wait for the next step.

And the next, and the next.

I am learning to move peacefully into the next steps, because I now know I cannot see the whole of this idea that I am embarked on.

It really is a journey; it has expanded into much more than a path.

But still, I take each next step.

It is leading me into a much larger world.

As I continue, I find I am loosing my anxiety and gaining many other useful skills.

I am so incredibly grateful to be learning how to live peacefully.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com