One of the most common reasons people practice Qi Gong is to cultivate inner peace. We all like to feel in harmony with ourselves and the world, and Qi Gong is a powerful way to help us experience that state of being.
While we all have the capacity to enjoy peace and tranquility within our mind, emotions, and body, we are also susceptible to forces that can lead us astray. Life is full of difficult situations and energies that challenge us in our ability to stay grounded and in harmony. Therefore, we decided to share a blog post and meditation practice to help you cultivate inner peace throughout your daily life.
Understanding Stress
Stress, fear, peace, and joy aren’t experiences that just pop up out of nowhere. Rather, they are energies that exist at all times around and within us. As humans, one of our jobs is to tune into the energetic frequencies that will allow us to be our best selves.
In order to cultivate inner peace, it’s important to look at what can hold us back when it comes to experiencing the states of being we wish to enjoy. More than likely, our mind is one of the greatest culprits.
While it’s easy to look at external circumstances as the source of stress and anxiety, it is usually our mind that is involved in creating unpleasant experiences. Some environments and situations are definitely more difficult to deal with than others, but we always have a certain amount of personal power when it comes to forming our inner reality.
Often, stress is the result of the mind projecting worries about the future into the present moment. If a challenging event lies ahead, it can be very natural for the mind to become preoccupied with thoughts about that event. While sometimes it can be very helpful to think through plans to address such situations, it’s very important to be honest about what thoughts are constructive, and what thoughts are only causing emotional fatigue. If you’re like most people, the first 10% of your thoughts might be valuable, and the rest are only there to frustrate and confuse you.
Similarly, our mind tends to mull over previous, negative experiences. Frustration, anger, sadness, and loss are all common feelings that can creep up from our past journies in life. Sometimes, it can be very helpful to think about and process what we’ve gone through. Indeed, healing is an important step to moving forward and enjoying life.
While a certain amount of remembering or reminiscing can be positive, it’s very valuable to notice when thoughts become counterproductive. Processing and healing are very valuable, but ruminating in negative, past patterns or experiences will only cause anxiety and drain energy (Qi). Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge the past and future, do the work that is necessary to come to terms with the two, and then focus on cultivating peace and joy in the here and now.
Tuning into the Frequency of Joy and Peace
Just like a radio has a dial that can be switched between different radio stations, each of us also has the ability to tune into different energetic frequencies that determine the internal music we play for ourselves.
Earlier, we mentioned that stress, fear, peace, and joy aren’t external realities that we’re subjected to. Instead, they exist within us, and will only be present when our mind gives them our attention. If the metaphoric radio station dial of our mind isn’t tuned into the frequencies of stress and anxiety, then they can’t affect us.
Of course, learning how to work with your attention and direct it towards positive energies is a skill that requires great practice. To continue the metaphor, most people have a bit of glue or honey stuck in the dial of the radio that makes it a little challenging to turn to the right station sometimes. Just think of a 1940s radio that won’t be changed from a bad opera station.
To take control of the internal radio dial and focus the mind on joy and inner peace, most of us need tools like Qi Gong. With regular practice, we can become skillful navigators of our own internal spectrum of thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Here’s one simple meditation practice that can help you to cultivate these qualities whenever you’d like. Since inner peace is connected to the water element, it can be helpful to do this meditation next to a pond, lake, or the ocean if one of those is available to you. Also, because thoughts lead the energy within you (Qi), we’re going to focus on cultivating a positive and peaceful state within the mind.
Inner Peace Meditation
Start by closing your eyes and tuning into where you’re at and feeling the present moment. Pay attention to the things that are supporting your body — the chair or rock you’re sitting on, the ground beneath your feet, and the breath that is entering and leaving your lungs.
Take some deep breaths and continue to focus on the present moment. Then, as you’re breathing, start to say these words to yourself: “In this moment, I am at peace.”
You can either say the words out loud or or whisper them to yourself. As you speak, try to feel the intention of peace and harmony flow throughout your body.
After a few moments, start to visualize a large body of water in front of you and imagine golden light shining across its surface. Feel it envelop your body and nourish you with calm and peaceful energy. Allow any stress to transform and become part of the golden energy that surrounds your body.
Know that peace is already here within you. Remember that the water element is about doing less to accomplish more, and all you have to do is tune into its energy to experience its wisdom.
Continue meditating as long as you would like. This can be a quick way to start your day, or a long, relaxing activity that can last an entire afternoon. Whenever you’re ready, open your eyes and take your peaceful state of being with you into the rest of your day.
We hope you enjoyed this meditation and wish you a peaceful, joy-filled day.