SYMPOSIUMS
LECTURE
No. 6 – INNER PEACE
INNER PEACE
We have just taken part in a meditation that helped us connect with the heart of ourselves, allowed us to become calm and peaceful, and connected us to our deep self. It is this theme of inner peace, the peace of the soul, that we will address in this talk, for it is true that world peace, to which we all aspire and which is the theme of this 8th Aumism conference, is closely linked to the inner peace within each of us.
“If we are not able to make Peace reign within ourselves, how could we make Peace shine out into the World?” writes Lord HAMSAH MANARAH in La Voix de Lumière, p. 473. And again: “The pacification of the World begins with our own pacification.” “Peace in the World is prepared through the conquest of inner peace, of Serenity, of Universal Love.”
It therefore seems important to us to realise to what extent our inner attitude, “conflictual or peaceful”, rubs off on the state of everything around us, and that we create our happiness or our “unhappiness” through the state of mind, the state of soul, in which we find ourselves at every moment.
Let us be at Peace within and we will create a peaceful world around us; let us be at war within and we will create a conflictual and chaotic world.
The Canadian psychologist and therapist Richard Lachance writes:
“Most of the time, and without knowing it consciously, it is with myself that I find it hardest to be at Peace. Because it is often difficult for me to forgive myself, difficult to accept myself as I am at that moment in my life…” Are we not all a little like that?
We will address this theme of inner peace in 5 points:
- 1. WHAT IS INNER PEACE? A state of mind, a state of soul.
- 2. WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO FIND IT? We will speak of the benefits of being at Peace.
- 3. HOW CAN WE FIND INNER PEACE? Through what methods? Meditation, prayer, affirmations, breathing…
- 4. EACH PERSON’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INNER PEACE, or how, through our state of soul, we “take part in the state of the world”.
- 5. CONCLUSION.
1. WHAT IS INNER PEACE? A state of mind, a state of soul
In Le Yoga de l’Amour dans la Force, p. 31, His Holiness Lord HAMSAH MANARAH writes, in a chapter entitled “Why and how to conquer serenity”: “Psychoanalysis has revealed to us the psychological process by which we project our inner conflicts outside ourselves.”
This clearly defines the subject at hand: our “inner state” defines and colours the state of our outer world, the one that makes up our daily life.
Inner peace consists in being in harmony with what we are in our depths, or rather with who we are, while trying not to let ourselves be disturbed by the many fluctuations of the world around us. When we know who we are, we let things take their course without their touching or affecting our deep Peace.
“Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice,” said Spinoza.
To be at peace with oneself is to be oneself, a link in the luminous chain of the world, a human being on the way to conquering their inner summits.
To be at peace is to be able to look at the world without judging it, without judging oneself; it is to be aware that, whoever we are and whatever our degree of evolution, we are moving, at our own pace, towards our destiny. We are at Peace with ourselves when we feel a real tranquillity dwelling within us: a feeling of well-being, a sense of inner harmony that gives us incredible strength and unity with ourselves, allowing us to accomplish real miracles. At a higher level, creating one’s inner peace means connecting with the supreme Self within, with our soul of Light, which is connected to the Divine and alone able to maintain a state of serenity, authenticity and truth in the face of the disturbances of our often fluctuating emotional world…
2. WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO FIND INNER PEACE?
We are all subject to strong “outer pressures of daily life” that tend to draw us away from what is essential, away from the source, as we cope every day with the ups and downs and constraints of daily life. Pressure at work, pressure in the family and responsibilities often make us adopt a way of functioning made up of habits and behavioural patterns that are not always in keeping with our deepest aspirations. We react more than we act. Our actions, words and thoughts pass through the filter of a demanding, time-consuming society that sometimes lacks compassion.
But when we are calm and quiet, soothed and relaxed, connected to the most serene part of ourselves, we are able to create, think and act from our highest planes. Inner peace then connects us to our deep self. It helps us let go of our fears. For yes, it is indeed fear that holds us back, bars our way and draws us away from ourselves… When we are at peace, our heart is open, in unity with everything around us, listening, alert, ready to hear the message of the soul.
Thus, in our everyday life, if before making plans, thinking of a new idea or undertaking a new project we seek this inner peace as a basis for action, we will find that our plans reflect the aims of our soul more than the desires of our “personality” alone. If, before speaking or acting, we connect with this feeling of peace, we will see our world change rapidly, and on many levels.
In short, we can decide no longer to be affected by the outside world and, conversely, we can influence the world around us through the benevolent radiance of our inner Peace.
3. HOW CAN WE FIND INNER PEACE? What means do we have at our disposal to acquire this precious peace of the soul?
MEDITATION
In his book La Réintégration Divine par le Yoga, p. 195, Lord HAMSAH MANARAH quotes this sentence from the BHAGAVAD GITA:
“Without meditation there is no Peace, and without Peace there is no happiness.”
Stepping out, stepping out of the world for a moment each day to close our eyes and look within: this is how meditation begins.
Finding Peace again, “stepping out” of the contingencies of a restless and often noisy world, sitting in silence, letting tensions “settle”, putting down the burden of one’s personality to let the gentleness of God’s light shine within: this too is meditation.
And as the psychologist Richard Lachance, quoted above, says: “Peace is born from within. It takes time to let the shock waves that jostle us, shake us and unbalance us settle… The aim is to slow down gently, to go back into one’s inner laboratory, to listen again, to breathe, to feel, simply to welcome life within us.”
And in this frame of mind, it also means reviewing one’s day each evening, looking at the positive, at the moments when we were joyful, connecting with our “small successes”, those little victories over ourselves that made us happy or satisfied, and filling ourselves with this energy of joy, which contributes fully to the peace of the soul, by feeling in harmony with the actions we have carried out during the day.
One of the ideal methods is offered by His Holiness Lord HAMSAH MANARAH in Le Yoga de l’Amour dans la Force, p. 30, under the title “Meditation for regaining Serenity”. It would take too long to try it together here, but I encourage you to read this Book, which will allow you to practise this meditation at any time, guided by the “Voice of God”…
PRAYER
Those who already practise it know that prayer is an active force, able to bring us back to our centre at any moment and give us lasting comfort and peace. Whatever form of prayer one practises, one is sure to manage to recentre oneself, to “calm the game of life” and to connect deeply with one’s soul… And those who know the active power of mantras know that here we have a “working tool”, a real treasure for acquiring calm and reaching the fullness and Peace of the soul. A mantra is like a “magic formula” which, repeated regularly and with concentration, creates an extremely soothing vibratory chant.
To speak only of the Sound “OM”, the basic mantra of the Aumist religion, know that, depending on how it is chanted, this sound is enough to generate within oneself and around oneself a climate of Peace, Harmony and Unity.
In his book L’Aumisme, la Doctrine de l’Âge d’Or, p. 22, Lord HAMSAH MANARAH writes: “The sound AUM improves health, calms the mind, maintains a climate of optimism and protects against bad psychic influences.” And He adds a little further on:
“When doubt perverts your inner being, take refuge in AUM and you will see that everything becomes clear.” … “Chant AUM mentally and you will more easily reach concentration, meditation and the inner strength that frees and delivers the soul.”
There are a thousand ways to pray… Repeating the Sound OM to reach inner harmony is one that Aumists all over the world successfully experience every day…
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
Another method for deeply soothing the soul is the technique of repeating positive affirmations. These are sentences, “active formulas” which, through repetition, profoundly influence our inner state. For example, affirming calmly and serenely every day that we are at Peace with ourselves and with the Universe makes this state truly possible, active and even permanent. An affirmation that is repeated often and that supports one’s inner harmony gradually permeates the subconscious, which joyfully “bends” to the “positive commands” of the words spoken, so as to reach a certain peace of the soul.
For example, this sentence recommended by His Holiness Lord HAMSAH MANARAH:
“I am more and more calm, calm, calm; I am more and more master of myself, master of myself… Peace floods my soul…
I am a centre of strength, light and consciousness. I am in unity with the Divine Consciousness.”
Try repeating these sentences slowly at least once a day and you will see peace settle within you like an intimate friend…
BREATHING
Breathing, the breath of life that we mostly practise without thinking about it, is also a sovereign means of reaching peace and harmony of the soul. The practice of pranayama (active breathing, in Sanskrit) is a very sure path to the conquest of serenity, the High Tradition teaches us… Breathing deeply and consciously several times a day helps us regain a saving calm and allows us to come into contact with the deepest part of ourselves… It is an extremely simple method that can be practised at any time and anywhere, for as Kodo Sawaki, one of the Japanese Masters of Zen Buddhism, said: “For a mind at Peace, there is no bad place.” So there are only good ones!
Meditation, prayer, positive affirmations and breathing are so many simple tools at our disposal to bring us as close as possible to our inner peace, and thus to work for harmony in our own life but also in the lives of others… For being at Peace with oneself also means not adding to the “chaos of the world”… And this brings us to the 4th part of this talk.
4. EACH PERSON’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INNER PEACE, or how, through our state of soul, we “take part in the state of the world”
We are all links in the gigantic human chain, which makes each of us, individually and collectively, actors in the future of the World. Feeling at peace within, at least enough to generate beneficial, prosperous, harmonising and peaceful waves around us, makes us responsible and conscious human beings: conscious that, through the personal waves we emit every second, we contribute concretely to the happiness, evolution and pacification of all those around us… or to the opposite.
Let us therefore be fully aware that none of us is merely a “free electron” playing with our character, personal tensions and personality, but that there is indeed a higher plane that makes us universal and interactive agents of a possible Peace.
Let us take to heart to emerge, as soon as we can, from our inner chaos when it arises and from our personal meanderings, in order to take an active part in the Peace of this World through the radiance of the Peace of our soul and of all the treasures that this inner peace can bring forth.
It is not a matter of making anyone feel “guilty” at times when life plunges us into a “chaos” from which we sometimes find it hard to emerge, but of realising that our inner Peace, when it dwells in us, is a “weapon of mass construction”. For as His Holiness Lord HAMSAH MANARAH taught: “I love war, yes, but war against oneself…”
So let us wage this “war against ourselves” as often as possible, in order to establish lasting Peace within us, a Peace that will therefore shine around us…
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I will quote the German writer Thomas Mann, who said: “What we call Happiness consists in harmony and serenity, in the awareness of a goal, in a positive, convinced and resolute orientation of the mind; in short, in peace of the soul.”
Expressing our inner peace means “acting rather than reacting”. It is a state, an attitude, a beneficial energy that heals and opens the door to every possibility. It means that we can unite with the Universe through the highest planes of evolution of our soul and share the love we feel in our depths with everyone. We then put down the burden of our ancestral fears, our doubts and our false beliefs to enter a world of deep peace from which the truth of the “divine plan intended for us” is released, a plan that asks only to be fulfilled, in spite of everything and sometimes even in spite of ourselves! For nothing is more powerful than the Force of the Divine Plan, of this luminous destiny intended from all Eternity for the good of our soul and its evolution.
Doing everything to reach the inner Peace that allows Divine Energies to pass through us means connecting with the source, letting happiness into our life, letting God within us act in accordance with the legitimate wishes of our heart and our “Mission on Earth”.
Whatever the “failings of our personality” that prevent us from being at peace with ourselves, let us do our best to move forward at our own pace, to “calm the game” of our restless mind each day, and let us forgive ourselves for not yet being that wonderful being, perfectly calm and serene in all circumstances, for as Gandhi said: “One must know how to serve intelligently the inevitabilities of one’s nature.”
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