Inner Peace

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything here, as my attention has been on other things. I’m presently conducting a video series on my book, The Complete Soul, and have been busy re-editing the entire nine episodes. In addition to the normally busy Christmas season (thanks to my friend Al), I’ve discovered drone photography and have been working at wrapping my mind around the wonders of this marvelous and fascinating technology.

Each week I post the theme of my upcoming talk on Facebook. I’m using the Advent season to explore the four fundamentals of God: life, love, power and intelligence.  This week we’re on power, which manifests as strength in its many forms: strength of faith, strength of character, strength of body and so on.

It occurred to me that one of the most satisfying manifestations of power is inner peace. Centered in peace, we find all the strength we need to deal with life’s issues. The mistake we often make, however, is that we seek peace through the resolution of these issues. When I resolve this thing, I’ll be peaceful. The key is to experience peace first, as the resolution always follows. If our inner peace depends on resolving problems, then peace is elusive, conditional. When we learn to experience it prior to the resolution, then we realize its unconditional nature. This, I believe, is the peace that passes normal understanding that Jesus referred to, a peace not given by the world of resolved conditions, but by an inner experience of the ever-present power of God.

It’s easy to put a price on peace, to believe that something more must happen before we can be at peace. We’re taught in so many ways that being at peace in the midst of a storm is irresponsible. If we care, we’ll be frantically at work seeking a resolution to whatever issue confronts us. Jesus’ disciples couldn’t believe he could sleep in a boat being tossed about by a storm. Having been in a similar situation, I have to admit that I probably would have been among the disciples. But I found the more I learned of sailing, the less fearful I was of the wind. Likewise, the more we learn of the presence of spiritual power, the more we tap into the unconditional presence of the peace it gives.

For many, the holidays and all the preparations they call for become a rather stormy sea. Instead of enjoying the season, we stress our way through it, catching our spiritual breath only after it all passes. We should recall that we reside now in the full power of God and that power is now being imparted at our innermost level as the wonderful gift of inner peace.