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This is the perfect time to face your fears and insecurities because there are few distractions.
By Roland Legge — Written on Jun 12, 2020
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, and finding inner peace seems impossible.
You feel worries in your body and heart; the chaos in your mind. You have nothing to distract you from your busy mind. You hunger for calm and inner peace.
You're grieving the loss of everyday things. You can name what you've taken for granted. You're experiencing a disruption in your inner world.
Living in the time of pandemic is not an easy time. One moment you're sad, the next you're angry, and then happy. All of this is exhausting.
Even amid your fear and uncertainty, there is a path to inner peace. This is an excellent opportunity to find out more about your true self. It's time to face your shadow side. The pandemic is forcing all of us to slow down and face our pain, fears, and insecurities.
Here are 5 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's 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" of COVID-19 is complex. There is no simple answer than can explain it all.
When you look at social media, read posts that will inspire and encourage you. Share information that inspires your readers to help make the world a better place.
2. Increase your 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 you can practice. My favorite meditation app for this is called Insight Timer, 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're outside enjoying the sounds of silence, the birds, animals, water... Soaking it in helps 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 pandemic, even the 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's right for you at the moment
Accept whatever you're 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.
4. Live in the moment.
COVID-19 allows 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're 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're beginning to reveal your vulnerabilities. It is like ripping off a bandage from a wound that is starting to heal. At first, you're going to feel a lot of pain. You may not want to do this alone, because you'll 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 or counselor to help you through this time of personal growth.
5. Simplify your life.
COVID-19 is forcing you to simplify your life. You're discovering what's important to you. You may be craving deep connections with others.
You're learning to find joy in everyday life. You recognize all the parts of your daily life that you took for granted. You're also discovering your humanity. You realize there's more to life than consuming.
You recognize your needs for rest, relaxation, exercise, good food, and community. You'll discover how these needs are more important than all the extra things money can buy.
Learn to live in the moment. After all, you're not able to plan much ahead because you don’t know when it will be safe for your community to open up.
Rediscover the power of routine. Create new habits that will provide a template to help you organize your day and give a map to help you see where you're 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'll benefit from finding tools and psychological-spiritual practices to free yourself from the limitations of your ego.
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.
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Roland Legge is a life coach who offers coaching through REL Consultants for individuals, couples, families, and executives to help them to be the best they can be. For more information, please arrange for a free 30-minute discovery call by sending an email.
This article was originally published at REL Consultants. Reprinted with permission from the author.