You Are Inherently Peaceful
This will be the final of our five installments on insights from Buddhist psychology.
You are the blue sky behind the clouds of thoughts and emotions.
Each and every one of our minds holds the innate capacity for peacefulness. This truth has been recognized by Buddhist psychology for millennia and has more recently been reinforced by modern science.
To this, you might think: “but my mind is always chaotic — I can’t stop thinking!”
Of course you feel this way — our modern brains are having difficulty becoming accustomed to the quickness and chaos of the technological age, and most current cultures don’t really value stillness or reflection.
In truth, the brain, like the muscles of the body, must be both trained and rested.
To access our innate capacity for peacefulness, we must first train ourselves to be comfortable with solitude and silence, for this is where the true physical and psychological healing happens.
In this space of solitude, we can gradually begin to create a new kind of relationship with ourselves — one that isn't bound by the baggage of our past or the rigid ideas of who we think we are. This transformational process is often done through the practice of meditation.
"In the silence of the heart, God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself."
—Mother Teresa
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Meditative practice, specifically a form called Vipassana or insight meditation, can be likened to observing clouds drifting across a clear blue sky.
Our inherent Nature of peacefulness is the sky, and it is often obscured by the clouds of societal conditioning, attachments, and misconceptions in the forms of thoughts and emotions.
Through patient meditation, we can learn to disentangle ourselves from this conditioning, take a step back, and observe our habitual patterns. As we do so, the clouds clear, revealing the blue sky of our True Nature beneath.
Gradually, the "blue sky qualities" of compassion, gentleness, and peacefulness emerge. These qualities are always within us, just as the blue sky is ever-present behind the clouds. With ongoing practice, they become more solidified and enduring in our daily lives.
In other words, with meditative practice, we are essentially retraining our brains to remain observant of habitual tendencies while becoming firmly rooted in compassion, gentleness, and peacefulness.
We are becoming the blue sky itself.
“Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence.”
—Alan Watts.
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When we firmly establish ourselves in these Natural traits of peacefulness, compassion, and gentleness through diligent practice, we reach a the state referred to as Nibbana, which is often interpreted as “enlightenment.” This Pali word actually translates to something like “blowing out” or “extinguishing,” giving the connotation that a Buddha is a person who has completely extinguished the inner flames of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
The word “Buddha” then directly translates to “one who has woken up.” A Buddha has woken up to the exquisite nature of Reality. They wholeheartedly move with the dance of life and have become an exemplar of compassion, gentleness, and peacefulness. They have solidly realized their innate capacity for deep inner peace.
Again — each and every living being has this potential to become a Buddha and actualize this inner peace through dedicated practice. These sustained states of inner peace have even been documented by recent fMRI scans. (Click here for the science!)
"Nirvana is a state of profound peace, transcending all forms of duality and opposites. It’s the ultimate realization that there is no separation between you and the universe, that all distinctions are products of the mind."
—Alan Watts
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The awakening of the senses and unfolding of inner peace naturally leads to a deeper understanding of the profound interconnectedness of Life:
On the most grand level, we begin to see that everyone and everything was born as a result of billions of years of cosmic, celestial, and evolutionary unfolding.
At the most minute level, we begin to see that everyone and everything is intertwined through a vast web of atoms and empty space.
And on the level of the here-and-now, we come to see that we are inseparable from our environment and possess the profound ability to ripple positive impact throughout the world.
With this understanding, we are no longer separate individuals seeking peace for ourselves — we become embodied pillars of peace who contribute to the peace of the entire world and beyond.
We become cosmic beings seeking to contribute to the Unification of Life.
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May we all be pillars of peace for ourselves and all those around us.
Max Kristopher Komes
www.MaxKomes.com
Max Komes is a Masters-level Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern offering supervised in-person counseling services in Pensacola, Florida, as well as statewide.
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This writing is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you have imminent health concerns, please call 1-800-NAMI.
