In today’s hectic world it can be very difficult to find peace of mind. For those who are seeking out a life of Zen, it takes a combination of persistence, patience, and following the right pathway in order to achieve your goals. The good news is that living a life of Zen is not all that difficult and the rewards it brings far outweigh whatever cost is associated with the pursuit. However, you will need to find the right path to achieve your Zen and live it every day.

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

Everything starts with evaluating your life where it stands today. After all, in order to start any journey, you need to know where you are at right now. You may find that the changes needed are minor and quickly achievable or you might discover that considerably more work is needed. However, you must be blunt and honest in your assessment of where you stand today so that you can be living the life of Zen tomorrow.

Once you have completed your self-evaluation, the next step is incorporating a few simple techniques so that you can better experience the calming nature of Zen.

Meditation

One of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to experience a Zen-like state is to take a little time out of your day to meditate. For many, taking just a few minutes to close your eyes, focus on your breathing, say a little prayer, or just enjoying the calm of the moment is enough to cool the chaos and bring yourself into a higher state of being.

Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divine within you. – Amit Ray

Many people will close their eyes and meditate for a few minutes in the morning and in the evening to help balance out the day. Plus, you can use some meditation techniques during the day when the stress levels are at their highest.

Exercise

Getting into good physical condition is another tenant of living the Zen lifestyle. You do not have to train like you are going to compete in the Olympics. Instead, you can simply walk or do some bike riding on a regular basis that will help you achieve your fitness goals. Walking in particular can help calm the mind and work through any issues that you might be facing in your life.

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” ― Henry David Thoreau

In addition, you can also engage in some low-stress exercise that tones the muscles and sharpens the mind all while putting little to no stress on your joints. While you can build up your muscles, your tendons, ligaments, and cartilage which holds your joints together remains vulnerable to injury. So, be sure to engage in low impact exercises such as walking, bike riding, and the like that gets the results you want.

Noise

Perhaps the biggest interrupter of inner peace is the noise that everyone has to experience every day. The world is a noisy place and living in it many people may thing they have become immune to its effects. On the contrary, exposure to constant noise can jumble the nerves and make you feel more irritable than you should be. So, while you cannot control the noise that is made by traffic, airplanes, and other outside sources, you can create an inner sanctuary that is devoid of noise.

In your home, you should find a place where you can remove all the noise so that you can enjoy the serenity. The lack of sound will become quite apparent when you step inside your bedroom, den, or even bathroom if that is what you have available. Be sure to spend at least a few moments enjoying the silence and the tranquility it brings.

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” – James Allen

Take Time for the Present

Life is made up of moments and too many of them pass without noticing. In order to help you achieve a greater state of Zen you will need to focus from time to time on the present and take advantage of it. This means scheduling a few times each day a moment that you will recognize and appreciate. You can augment the moment with a favorite song, a small quote for motivation, or just the view of what’s going on in the world.

Be sure to focus on the moment when it arrives and schedule at least one or two per day so that you can take time to live in the present.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Let Go of the Past

The past is an excellent teacher as people can learn from the mistakes that were made. It is also a place of joy in remembering events and those who have passed on. However, the past is not a place to live and you must let go of the pain that remembering unpleasant actions and events bring. Everyone makes bad decisions, engages in poor judgment, and even does things that they should have known better. In addition, the so-called good times of the past were not meant to be lived over and over again.

If you want to create the good times again, then you first have to start by letting go of the past and embracing the present as you did before. By doing so, you can move on with your life and find that moment of Zen.

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” – Hermann Hesse

Forgive

To forgive is more than divine, it is a necessary step for you to move on with your life. There are times in which forgiveness does not come easy, but in the end you must learn to forgive those who have harmed you. Because holding grudges is no way to go through life. A grudge stops you in place and prevents you from living out your dreams.

So, remember to forgive others and forgive yourself as well. All too often people hold themselves accountable for actions that they could not prevent or did not intend. So, be sure that you include yourself when forgiving others so that you can move on with your life.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes

All of these actions will help you find and discover a life of Zen that can be with you for the rest of your days.

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