Freedom from Thoughts or How to Feel Peace and Joy

Are you free to feel peace and joy?

Are you aware of the free, natural state of being when you feel light, happy and alive? Can you remember the last time you felt this way? Perhaps on a special vacation, a momentous occasion like a wedding or graduation or a job promotion.  Children are great examples of humans in that state of “freedom”.  They observe and experience everything in their environment, gravitating to people, places and situations that are joyful.

If it has been days, weeks or years since you enjoyed this feeling, then you are in luck! You can heal the stressors that block your inborn system of joy.  Indeed, you can allow yourself to enter this state of being as it is your right.  You were born to feel this on a consistent basis.  Wow!  The key is shifting your awareness away from your mental constructs- your thoughts.  You can harness a peaceful state of being by learning to release thoughts (especially when they consist of “to do lists”, worries, fears, ruminating over past events and future events).  The absence of thinking brings us into a naturally happy state of consciousness. It brings us into the present moment.

Fortunately, liberating ourselves from the prison of an over-active mind is a matter of practice.  Practice breathing. Ask yourself “Am I breathing” and feel your awareness move immediately out of your head and into your heart.  Then, continue to breathe and simply observe. Any thoughts, worries, can be observed for what they are: ways of preventing us from just “being”.   Begin with brief moments of focus on breath.  Once you feel peace and relaxation, you can extend this practice for as long as you like.

If this does not bring you immediately into a blissful state of peace, do not worry.  Just try again for a minute or two when you feel rested.  Lack of sleep is a common stressor that can undermine your initial breathing efforts. Just try at different times of the day and find when you are most receptive to letting go.  Then, make the decision to continue experiencing the absence of thought.

It all boils down to making a choice. First you choose freedom from your mind and thoughts.  Then you choose breath and relaxation. Finally, you choose joy and happiness.