One of the most important goals in my life has always been to reach a level of peace within myself. Although I wasn't always able to so clearly define that goal, it was a topic I have been dancing around throughout the course of my life. Now that I am able to clearly establish inner peace as a driving force in my life, I have been continuously attaining new and exciting methods to make this goal a reality. I believe that peace is our natural state and birthright. Once we locate our state of inner peace, our outer world will reflect this energy. There are countless ways to bask in the inner peace that we all possess, and below I have listed five cornerstones.

1. Practice Meditation

Meditation is such a great entity to incorporate into our daily lives. Many people do not fully understand meditation or have pretty intense misconceptions about what it truly is. In its essence, meditation is about connecting with our true self. Our true self is the unwavering energy that we have within. Our true self is always flowing, and meditation allows us to connect to this mighty force. Mediation is about letting go of the external factors that we all deal with- the unpaid bills, the barking dog, the school project- and instead focus on our inner world.

There are many different methods of meditation that have been practiced for centuries. At its core however, meditation is simply just quieting the mind and experiencing the divine moment. We should sit in an upright, comfortable position. Our legs should be crossed and our hands relaxed in our laps or on our thighs. We should close our eyes, breathe deeply, and begin to detach from our racing minds. When thoughts crop up in our consciousness, we notice them but do not identify with them. We turn inward and connect with the colors, sounds, and vibrations of our inner world. Practicing meditation each day, for roughly thirty minutes, gives us a sense of calm as we walk the world in our daily lives. We begin to notice that our lives are less stressful and follow a much more peaceful flow.

2. Find a Creative Outlet

For each of us, there is some creative activity that resonates deeply with us. Cooking, painting, and writing are examples of such an activity. When we are engaged in these creative endeavours, we find that we become deeply immersed in the present moment. We feel vibrant, interactive, and alive. When we create, we are collaborating with the universe to create something completely original. We are calling upon ourselves to co-create reality in the form of our veggie omelet or our short story. It is important that we all locate our creative outlet of choice, so that we may pour our self expression into such an activity. In a sense, creating is like meditation. Our minds become free of external worries, and we focus inward for our inspiration and original ideas. Dance! Write! Create! You will be happy you did.

3. Engage in Physical Activity

As humans, we are constantly interacting with our world by means of our mind, body, and spirit. Each aspect of ourselves must be nourished in order to maintain a sense of peaceful balance. It is not enough to simply meditate and paint, for we must also be mindful of our bodies. Our bodies are tremendous gifts, and it should be a joy to move, dance, run, and skip. I really think that any sort of physical activity is all it takes to bring this part of ourselves into balance. We certainly do not all need to be marathon runners, but we do need to take time each day to connect with our bodies. We should stretch, walk, and breathe deeply. Just as with our own personal creative outlet, our idea of the ideal physical activity will be unique. We will know that we have found what works for us when we feel an increase in our natural energy and vitality. Move, move, move!

4. Connect With Supportive Company

The people that we surround ourselves with have an enormous effect on our state of mind. If we choose to be subjected to negative people whose main form of communication is to complain about life, then we are choosing to absorb that negative energy into our psyche. We are, in an essence, bringing our own potential down to meet that lower vibration. It is important that we make a conscious effort to be around people who inspire us and make us feel good about ourselves. We want to raise ourselves up, not down. We want to be in the company of people who make us feel comfortable, and therefore at peace. Great ideas for meeting these types of people include joining groups that interest us and volunteering. In these settings we are likely to find like-minded people who can encourage us to think positively.

5. Say Positive Affirmations

An affirmation is a statement said in the present tense. " I am at peace with the world" is an example of a positive affirmation we might use. The purpose of the statement is to fill our mind with positive self-talk, as opposed to the negative self-talk that we all engage in to a certain degree. When we fill our mind with negative thoughts such as, "I'm not good enough", we are permeating these ideas into our external lives. Everywhere we look, we will actually see physical examples of why we aren't good enough. If we choose to say positive affirmations, the same miracle will happen in our lives. We will begin to notice that our lives are filled with the positive qualities that we actually desire. To say a positive affirmation, we simply choose a statement and repeat it several times. It helps to say the statement out loud and in a mirror. When we look into our eyes in the mirror, we are really connecting with ourselves on a deep level, making the affirmation more powerful. We can create our own affirmations, find them on the Internet, or purchase affirmations done by published authors. One of my favorite authors is Louise Hay. I connect deeply with her affirmations. Affirm yourself!

I hope that somewhere, something in this article has helped you on your journey to inner peace. I write the article with myself included in the audience because inner peace is something that must be constantly remembered. Although I can give the advice you've read, I also have to remember to take it on a daily basis. I write this article as much for myself as for others to learn from. Life is an amazing gift, and it is our right to live it peacefully and with joy.