Being a calm and cool person is an extremely special trait which is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the hectic nature of our modern society. When a person is calm, his energy affects all the people around, bringing others an air of comfort and peace by making them feel that everything is going to be okay. A calm person is relaxed, assured, and stable, making him better capable of dealing with stressful situations and solving problems effectively and efficiently. Consequently, he gains the respect of others, is pleasant to be around, and abides joyfully in this world.
Today, I’d like to share two main ways to develop our inner calmness by highlighting how to increase our physical calm as well as our mental stillness.
Physical Calm
Healthy lifestyle concept with diet and fitness on blue boards
Because of our mind-body connection, the condition of our physical well-being has a significant influence on our feelings and emotions. If we can maintain a healthy body, our mind will benefit immensely, and we will feel an elevated sense of joy, calm and confidence, and overall positivity. We must always be mindful of the three basic yet vital aspects of a healthy body and monitor them daily. These three pillars of good health are: eating healthy, resting adequately, and exercising frequently. When we can manage these three things well, we will see a significant change in our mental well-being that in turn, leads to inner calmness.
Furthermore, it is important to maintain good posture throughout the day to ensure the tension on our joints and muscles are properly distributed and that we keep our body parts in their rightful positions to minimize stress. Whether we are sitting, standing, or walking, our backs should always be upright, our shoulders should be pulled slightly back, and our necks should be comfortably rested with our gaze just a little lower than horizontal. We should always assume relaxed comportment and avoid tensing up our shoulders, jaws, necks, or legs. We can do this by practicing several rounds of mindful breathing every hour or whenever we can remember. We take a deep breath and fill our lungs up with a good dose of oxygen. Then on our out-breath, we send our body into relaxation by letting go of all the tension throughout our body that we have been carrying unconsciously. You can try it now for yourself to uncover just how much strain your body is carrying. After a few rounds, you are sure to feel a little more relaxed.
Every time we breathe in mindfully, we clear our minds of mental clutter and regain clarity of thought. And when we breathe out, we relax our bodies and let go of negative energies and emotional burdens that we’ve been carrying throughout. Over time, when our sleep, diet, and exercise is well managed, our physical posture is realigned, and we have regained mindfulness of our breathing, we will notice a sharp increase in our body’s physical comfort. We will feel calm and relaxed wherever we are, whatever we are doing.
Mental Calm
Because we cannot physically see our minds, it is easy to forget that it also needs taking care of. However, not everyone knows how to care for our mental well-being, and so in many cases, we end up doing things that instead bring it harm and suffering. The first thing we should realize is that our minds are just as delicate as our bodies and is equality susceptible to negative influences. We need to show it as much attention as we do to our bodies.
The first thing our mind needs is our attention. How we feel, what we think, our wants and needs, our joys and pains, we should all be attentive to them, moment to moment. Giving attention to our mental world is called mindfulness, and without this quality, no amount of effort will bring us calm, peace, and happiness. Just as a mother cares for her newborn, never leaving it from her side, we should care likewise for our minds. Mindfulness is another word for deeply listening to ourselves, while maintaining a gentle, kind, and attentive position. This is the highest form of self-love, which, when practiced profoundly, leads to unconditioned joy and fulfillment.
When we begin listening to our minds and giving it the attention it deserves, we begin understanding what causes and conditions lead to certain effects and outcomes. For example, with mindfulness, we learn that hatred and anger create much stress, anxiety, discomfort, while kindness and open-mindedness lead to pleasure, ease, and delight. When we witness with mindfulness that wholesome qualities lead to inner peace and happiness, we will naturally begin doing more good and less bad. We learn to live life more harmoniously, generously, and lovingly. When we listen to our minds and give it what it wants and needs, we will inevitably develop a deep sense of calm and confidence.
But of course, mindfulness of our inner world may also lead to the discovery of negative emotions, suppressed memories, or even bad thoughts that bring us pain and sorrow. When this happens, we must fight the urge to turn away from our hurting mind, but instead, show it the great care and concern it needs most. The best way to deal with such situations is to realize that like everything else in the world, these thoughts, feeling and emotions are temporary, transient, and have the nature of arising and passing away. With this understanding, we develop patience which is the best virtue to help us manage unfavorable states. With a patient mind, we listen deeply to our pain, embrace it as a mother embraces her baby, and remind it that everything is going to be okay.
When we develop mindfulness, patience, and wisdom of impermanence, we naturally give rise to great inner calm, because we learn how to create good states, how to manage bad ones, and realize deep down that no matter what happens, everything is going to be okay.
Conclusion
To realize our inner calm, it is important to establish healthy lifestyle habits, a healthy body, and a connection with our breath. This will inevitably bring a great sense of physical calm and comfort. To cultivate our mental calm and comfort, we must practice mindfulness, which is simply the practice of deeply listening to ourselves. Then, we create positive states by developing wholesome qualities like kindness, generosity, and empathy, while learning to manage negative states with patience and the understanding that all phenomena is conditioned and temporary by nature.
If we can internalize these ideas into our everyday lives, we will naturally feel a deep sense of calm, joy and fulfillment, knowing that we have a way to deal with everything life throws at us, and at the end of it all, everything is going to be okay. I hope reading this has brought some benefit to you, and I sincerely pray that we all realize our inner calm, peace, and joy.
May we all live happily, healthily, and harmoniously, and work together to create a wholesome, vibrant, and joyful world for our families, friends, and all future generations.
Thanks for reading😊
Kind regards,
Byron ❤
https://bekindbehappy.net/2019/09/26/how-to-realize-your-inner-calm-in-all-situations/