Finding peace

What are we seeking when we arrive at the studio, or onto our yoga mat, or meditation cushion, or dance class? 

I hear every week students talk about walking in through Maitri Studio's doors to feel a sense of calm and peacefulness, a positive energy, or the sense of shared community. I'm so happy we've created that together. 

I was reminded of this by a recent Dr Who episode in which the Doctor says he is fighting for "everyday people...who just want to get through their day, and feel safe, and warm, and fed". The basics. Contentment, sufficiency. 

Of course, it's easier said than done. One glance at the 'news' is enough to disrupt anyone's sense of peace. The massive wealth inequalities between and within countries means that many are struggling to provide themselves and their families with even the basics - shelter, warmth, food and water alongside companionship and support. 

We might follow the awfulness on our screens down the rabbit holes to despair, conspiracy theories and the blame game. I notice when I do this I start to feel even less at ease: a tightness around my heart, a suppressed scream of frustration at my throat, anger and impotency raging in my belly. 

This is where our kindred folk from across the millennia and continents remind us of the ways we know at heart to be true and useful. It doesn't take the yoga sutras, the Bible, the Qur'an, Buddhist suttas or other religious and philosophical texts to tell us that peace has been sought by humankind for as long as our recorded history exists. As my background is within yoga, the sutras of Patanjali are ones I know best, but similar advice exists in all. 

Within ourselves we can cultivate a peaceful attitude. In yoga this can be through awareness of the body and breath in asanas and pranayama, and learning from the reactions in our bodies, minds and hearts to different actions. We notice that cultivating positive qualities of friendliness, compassion, joy and equanimity lead to a calmer sense of presence. We become content with less, more able to be resilient to life's flow, and not grasping or hoarding either belongings or ego states. We find we have a connection with others and the planet, and are more inclined to practice non-violence.   

With this as a solid grounding for our hearts, and coming from a place of sufficiency, we are then able to take action, whether for ourselves and immediate family and friends, or for wider community, or others in the world. Personal peace becomes community peace. 

I recognise that I am writing this from a place of privilege - white, heterosexual, cisgender female, of an age where I benefitted from free education & health care, and from baby-boomer parents / in-laws able to take advantage of post-war house-buying to become more financially secure. 

Not everyone has the internal resilience or external resources like the luxury of time or money to donate to actions to challenge inequality and othering. There have been times in my own life where I was not so secure. My practice at those times at least gave me reassurance and the ability to drop the inner struggle at things I couldn't change, so saving energy for what I most needed at the time - to keep myself together enough to earn and save time for absolutely fundamentally important friendship support.  

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference

Or as Mr Iyengar wrote, "Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured"

Then, if we do have the energy for more, building on that foundation of inner peace, we can join with others and start to change what might seem unchangeable*. Groups of people do change the world, from local foodbanks and charity donations to global movements for action against wars and genocides, to tackle climate change and environmental protection and rewilding. Knowing our own peace becomes a way to channel the rage at unfairness and inequity into focused action. 

I am reassured by listening to people's stories. The majority of people do want the same, regardless of background. A recent collection of reader advice about life lessons noted similar: don't sweat the small stuff, the value of deep listening, kindness and laughter, and relinquishing expectation (attachment).   

I'd love to know what your response is to reading this. How do you seek and find peacefulness? Does that help you in your wider connection to the world? 

Wishing you peacefulness this season, and beyond.

Claire

----------------------------

*You might be interested in reading Active Hope, a book about finding and offering our best response when facing concerns about our world situation.