Sunday Newscape Magazine

In times like these this is a perfect and powerful topic to consider adding into your daily life. On a personal level, my experience with spirituality in my early years consisted of abuse and hardship. For many years I shunned the thought of ever returning to or even mentioning the word spiritual in my vocabulary. What lead me to even ponder the thought of returning was a mindset for change and a little research. Being spiritual is not necessarily being religious.

The term ‘spiritual’ should be used and practiced to offer your mind peace, focus, hope, vision, and most important, gratitude. If you spend a few minutes everyday and truly focus on these five things in some quiet place, you will be presented with a clear mind to focus on what you want in life. Not to mention how much stress will be released as a result.

What changed my belief was quite simple. I have always been considered a deep thinker, but my vision was always through a narrow scope. Perhaps it was several factors like age, ignorance, or just plan stubbornness that lead me to take a look into the mirror one day. The question I asked was how can I stop my mind from going a mile a minute? That was the question that turned everything around and put me on the road to a new life.

To accomplish this mental shift I had to use the knowledge I learned and create a peaceful space at home. I’m prudent when it comes to expenses and did not want to make some elaborate shrine in my house. All I did was clean out my old dusty work shop in the basement and created what I call “The Happy Room.” This is not some hippy thing where I slipped back into the sixties or have lava lamps, but I made a simple area out of things I already had. Most important, I did not just create this room, I used it.

Everyday I slip down into this place to write, reflect, or just get away for a few minutes. I have a rocking chair to meditate and a big rug to sit on to do nothing but relax for a few minutes. You would be surprised with a house full of children and their feet just above me jumping around, how peaceful it still is. The world stops for me here and my mind clears in this special place. I use it everyday when I wake up to give thanks, plan my day, and just clear my mind from the day before. At night, I use it to reflect, rejoice, and write in my journal.

If you do a little research on the mind you will find the scientific fact that if your mind has energy you have energy; if your mind is overwhelmed and tired, you are tired. Does this ring a bell? How you can cure this is through deep thought with some sort of meditation.

When I first learned of how meditation worked I tried it in my car. Problem was, I got too relaxed and the trees did not move out of the way for me. But seriously, have you ever traveled in a car with only the sounds of the wind coming through your windows? That alone is peaceful thinking to start. So try anything that helps because there is no special way to create peace. Let your imagination run wild on this one. Just avoid the trees in the process.

If you do this your mind will clear of the ill’s that consume you and you will have the ability to focus on what you want and solve any problem. What hurts people the most and what likely will bring them down is their inability to present a clear picture of what they want in life. I guarantee if you find a way to relax daily for just a few minutes, that picture will materialize into a full scale movie. I am not asking you to invest in a Buddha and pray to the gods. What I am asking is for you to find peace anyway you can.

Good Luck!