Happy Tuesday, everyone! My new video is finally published, all about how to find inner peace by living in the present moment. In this video, I talk about how to create an overall long-term peace within yourself, even when you’re not necessarily feeling so great.

But first, let me answer the first question that may be on your mind: What is the difference between feeling happy and being peaceful? Well, happiness is an emotion, just like sadness, worry or anger. These are all emotions that are triggered by chemical reactions in your brain that cause you to feel a certain emotional sensation in your body. These are temporary, affected usually by the situation you are in.

On the other hand, peace is something that is underlying. It is an awareness, underneath all of this, that does not necessarily have to do with your thoughts and emotions. Rather, peace is a stillness deep inside of you that brings you a sense of calm in everything that you do.

So you can have peace while you are observing yourself having unpleasant thoughts or feeling certain emotions. The simple answer to how to be at peace, is to be present. What I mean by this is to become aware of who you are vs. your life situation by coming into the present moment fully. Here are my top tips on how to become more present.

1. BREATHING

This may seem so simple, but it actually does wonders. This is important not only because it slows down your heart rate and calms down your body, but it also gets more oxygen flow to your mind to allow you to think clearly about the situation at hand and respond appropriately. Focus on each breath and you’ll start to notice how your chaotic thoughts get just a little bit more quiet and how they slow down over time. You’ll then be able to think more calmly and clearly and respond from a place of inner wisdom instead of just react out of emotion.

2. SENSORY PERCEPTIONS

Another way to become present is to use your other senses and pay attention to what is going on in the moment. Part of being present consists of being alert to your surroundings by maintaining an awareness of what you are seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting or touching. All of these are sensory perceptions that you can focus on and this will help you to come out of your mind and into your body and the present moment.

3. AWARENESS

When you are fully immersed into a difficult situation, it can seem extremely daunting and overwhelming, like it’s going to take you over. But, the moment that you’re able to take a step back into your Self, by creating some distance between yourself and the situation, then you can see the situation more clearly. Through awareness of yourself and the situation, you’ll soon realize there are always only two options: either to change a situation, or to accept it and come back to the present moment.

4. MINDFULNESS (through interaction)

Mindfulness encompasses a wide spectrum of techniques, but the way I like to look at is is through interaction. This can be self-interaction where you meditate or write in your journal, an interation with nature, by stepping outside and feeling your connection to the beauty of the outdoors, or an interaction with animals or other beings. When you’re interacting with a person, you can be present by making eye contact, listening to what the other person is saying withouth thinking about what your response will be, listening with your full attention, listening more than you’re speaking.

5. JUST DO IT

After you’ve done all of these tips, or any of these that you may come back to to use to be present throughout the day, do whatever it is that you need to do. You’ve become mentally, emotionally, socially and physically calm and in a good place.
But that is all you can control. There will always be problems and challenges in life, and you cannot wait for all of these to be resolved before you decide to become at peace.  The whole point of being present is to enjoy the journey and recognize that attaining peace is possible in this exact moment.

You are in charge of your own joy. Your peace is your responsibilty. You may not be able to control other people, situations, the past or the future, but you can choose your peace and happiness. And the best way to do this in an enjoyable manner is to be present in whatever it is you are doing by giving it your full attention and finding the simple joys in each moment of the journey.