Finding Peace Within You | Life Purpose

Treasure the opportunity to be alone with your thoughts. For only through solitude can you know your true self, and thus discover what really matters to you in this life.

The Deep Fear Of Self…

Many people fear solitude, even for brief periods. They rush from one romantic partner to another, and/or constantly immerse themselves in social activities.

It can be scary to move from the noisy chaos of your daily life into a place of stillness and isolation. But I highly recommend the practice.

You probably spend most of your life rushing from one place to the next, wrestling against the present moment and denying with all your might the inspiration to let go and hear your inner voice. Sadly, this has become the “normal” human state; normal perhaps, but far from natural.

Why are we so frightened by the idea of truly being alone? I suggest that it isn’t a true fear of loneliness, but an instinctive discomfort regarding what we really are.

As Maryann Williamson wrote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

Understand: You Are Enough

Friends, family, and lovers can color our life experience. They bring us great joy, beauty, and wonder.

But the widely accepted belief that we need others to validate our worth and fulfill us is a dire fallacy. While there is profound value in both unity and contribution, the essence of the life journey takes place within.

The self is our greatest gift. It is our lens of perception and our vehicle for expression.

We live, love, laugh, and learn not for our parents, our spouse, or even for our children, but for ourselves! In fact the purpose of life is use the time/space experience as the means for expressing our core values into the universe.

The romantic notion that “you complete me” or “I just can’t live without you” is misguided, if not blatantly perverse. The ability to give love in all forms, including romance & intimacy, is a truly magnificent blessing but to love yourself is the epitome of why you are here.

As children many of us were taught the opposite: We were told by parents, teachers, and especially members of the clergy that loving ourselves was mean-spirited and perhaps even wicked.

This is, of course, absolutely ludicrous. It’s simply not possible to fully give love to another unless you are first able to love yourself.

Splendid Solitude: Quality Time With Yourself

And before you can love yourself, you must know yourself. Clearly, to know anyone requires spending a little time with that person; and the same is true when you seek the knowledge of self.

Finding even a small window of time each day to relish the experience of solitude can have a profound impact on your greater sense of peace and empowerment. This could be ten minutes each night after your head hits the pillow and you lie in the darkness with your unfiltered thoughts and emotions. Or it could be a simple body awareness exercise performed on your lunch break. You don’t necessarily need a ceremony or special occasion.

At the same time, if you are able to “make a day of it” I strongly urge you to do so. Taking one day out of your week (or even half of a day) to be completely alone can be an incredible experience!

Turn off the phone. Don’t answer the door. Tell everyone in your life that you will be completely unavailable during this specified frame of time.

Practicing basic meditation is a great start toward being mindful of the self. I strongly urge you to learn more about meditation if you aren’t already allowing this experience into your reality.

You can begin to find small spaces of “alone time” throughout your day starting immediately. And the more time you are able to spend with yourself, the more you’ll see the value in the suggestion.

Truthfully, I can’t relay the benefits of solitude in the same way I might list the upside of a low-fat diet. Matters of inner peace, spiritual enlightenment, and mindfulness are somewhat intangible and certainly not easily restricted to a verbal illustration.

But I can promise that once you begin to embrace the practice of healthy solitude you will know you are on the path to great empowerment. The greatest truth can be found in a simple moment of silence.

Tags: alone with your thoughts, how to find inner peace, inner peace, loving yourself, peace of mind, solitude, Spiritual Enlightenment