When you are with your family, life seems effortless and easy. When you’re alone, that is when your soul is put to several tests. If you can be sane only around people or while you are involved in activities, then you have never really identified yourself. You have not learnt how to live.

We are desperate for happiness and peace but these seem to be missing from our lives. We have become a prisoner of our minds.

Happiness and peace are crucial for our survival. How to be happy and peaceful?

You can’t be a slave to external things. The external world will never be your way. You should be glad that’s how it is because a few years from now you will be glad that things did not happen the way you wanted them to happen. – Sadhguru.

What are Our Lives Comprised of?

Let us divide our lives into two parts:

Internal world

The internal world is what happens inside us. Our thoughts, feelings, and emotions are part of our internal world. The internal world is who you are. You are beyond your body and mind. They are just a part of you, not you.

External world

The external world is what happens outside us. The way people behave with us, our family, the situations that life throws at us, work form a part of the external world.

The Internal World is the Key to Happiness and Peace

We have not been able to be happy and peaceful because we have been attaching happiness and peace to the external world. You must realize that whatever happens inside you is completely under your control. Happiness and peace are internal things.

They are not dependent on the external world. The external world is not under our control.

The stress, anger, joy is eventually happening within you even when it is a result of the external world. – Sadhguru

We should feel lucky about the fact that no one but our own selves has the power to choose happiness and peace. Isn’t it such a pity that we have failed to realize this reality? It is time to understand the fundamentals of life.

Let these Realities Sink in:

Spirituality: Experience who you are at every moment.

You have to realize that you are beyond your body and mind. Don’t pay much attention to your thoughts until you need to act in the external world. Do not categorize thoughts into good or bad.

If everything that you think becomes true then you are finished *laughs*. – Sadhguru

When you will realize that they are just thoughts and not the reality, they will automatically stop affecting you. The realization of this fact will automatically help you to let go and remain at peace.

Use thoughts but don’t let them use you. – Sandeep Maheshwari

Remind yourself every now and then that you are beyond your mind, thoughts, and body. Repeat – “I experience who I am at every moment (which is something beyond this mind and body.) Repeat – “I only have to fix myself, not the external world.”

You are the master of your life, not a prisoner.

Where is happiness? It is inside you. When is the right time to be happy? The right time to be happy is now, in this very moment, in every moment. It is in the present.

Every time your mind tells you that you can be happy only when the external world is, according to you, then at that very moment, tell yourself:

“My happiness is within me. I manage my internal world.”

You aren’t a beggar. You don’t have to beg for happiness and peace. You are happiness and peace.

Be Grateful.

You might have failed, lost or things might not be going your way. Whenever you feel that there is heaviness and restlessness in your heart, then remember the following:

Focus on what you have and not what’s gone. Make the most out of what you have.
The present is your most powerful asset, neither future nor past.
Start counting your blessings. There is always something to be grateful for every moment.

Emotions are a part of you but you get to decide for how long they can affect you.

Feel your emotions. Accept them. Accept the fact that they are temporary whereas happiness and peace are permanent. There are several people who have mastered happiness and peace. You can do it too.

Be patient for the right time to act on a problem.

Our lives will become peaceful when we stop investing our energy into everything. Stop trying to find a solution for everything. Let some things be as they are or let them be as they are until the ‘right’ time comes to work on their solution.

Adopt a healthy routine.

Start meditation, exercise, and maintain a healthy diet. They are necessary for a healthy soul, mind, and body.

Once you start with meditation, be very patient with yourself, with time your actions will bear fruits. Actions will ‘automatically’ lead to consequences. You only have to focus on actions. You will notice the benefits of meditation after some time. The same thing goes for every action.

How to Master the External World?

Unlike the internal world, for the external world, you have to use your thoughts. Use your thoughts to make decisions.

Think before you act and act on what you believe. – Bo Bennett

Keep these Things in Mind before Taking Action to Solve a Problem:

1. “Before doing anything, you have to be joyful and should have a clear mind.” – Sadhguru
2. “Collect the correct information from the correct sources i.e. from people who have already done it.”– Sandeep Maheshwari
3. Get into the depth of it. Keep trying. Keep looking for alternatives until you find the correct method. Do not give up.

You have to make several decisions related to work, relationships and several other situations. Don’t attach your survival or well-being to them. Remind yourself that you are complete. You are happiness and peace.

Conclusion

Even for managing the external world, you have to conquer the internal world. No one but you can do this for you.

You came to this earth all by yourself and you shall go all by yourself. – Saai

You are always alone within you even when you are with people. – Sadhguru

Always Remember You are Extremely Powerful

You are meant to live free, like the bird flying amidst the clouds, feeling the air; the calmness of the ocean underneath. You aren’t chained to people or situations (“I will be happy only if I get this, only then when I achieve my goal or only when this thing happens.”) There are no ifs and whens. There is just now.

There are so many people, animals deprived of love and food. You are very powerful. You possess an incredible power – the power of love and kindness. Money and beauty are very small parts of your power. If you don’t believe it then ask yourself what helped you during your toughest times – love or money?

You are special.
This world needs you.
You have incredible power within you.

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