A Path to Being #2: The Beginning

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In order to have a state of Becoming, one must find the path to inner peace. But what is inner peace? What does it mean? Some say that inner peace is having a spiritual calm despite external pressures or adversarial problems. Others say it is a peace of mind. Here are some very famous quotes on inner peace by well known leaders:

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
― Gautama Buddha

“Learning to distance yourself from all the negativity is one of the greatest lessons to achieve inner peace.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

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

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”
― Eckhart Tolle

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When we are born, we are free to take in all the stimuli around us. We don’t have any prejudices, preconceived notions or judgements. Everything is new to us and we are a clean slate. We are happy and free and hungry to learn. We are like the wind, flying through space and time, taking all visual, olfactory, taste, tactile & auditory inputs into our being. We learn to experience our surroundings as they enter our awareness. We were happy then.

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Then soon after our initial introduction into our new existence, we get influenced by our families, friends, acquaintances, and peers to modify our spirit with what people call “socially acceptable behavior.” We are taught to color within the lines, sit properly, eat with our mouth closed, don’t talk with food in our mouth, play nicely, etc. Gradually our free spirit becomes less free and our connection to our inner being narrows.

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As we grow, we are expected to conform more to what society expects. We follow rules, we work harder, we focus on materialistic goals, we share less and become more greedy, we spend less time with things we enjoy, we stress more, we take more medication, we sleep less and less deeply, we make judgements, form prejudices, we get headaches now, we get depressed and discouraged, we play mental games with each other, we manipulate, we scheme, we hurt others, we become more self serving, we become selfish and self absorbed.

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Wow, what has happened to us since we first entered our world in which we live? Are we happy? Are we content? Are we healthy both physically and mentally? Are we proud of what we have become? Are we satisfied with life? Have we reached a point where we say, enough is enough? Are we ready to change, to become better beings? Have you finally gone through enough, where you finally say, “I want to reconnect with my inner being”?

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I have finally reached this point where I have to stop the madness and start trying to find myself again. My first blog post was called, “A Path to Inner Peace”. I never could continue it, because I had reached a major block in my life path's journey. Something did not allow me to even look at this post again. Was it life's stresses or my self made pressure to do Steemit. Then after a month, I tried again, switching from inner being to, “A Path to Being.” Once again, I couldn’t move past this major obstacle I had. I guess one has to reach rock bottom in order to be motivated enough to try to take a step back and then take two forward to reverse this downward spiral.

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I found that once I was able to reach this acceptance, of where I was at, I actually had an “aha” moment. I found that by truly letting go, by writing this article, was my first step to being able to reconnect to my inner peace. So I will continue my path to being in a short series. It may be slow, with major obstacles in my way, to challenge my progress down life’s path, but I will strive to push forward. I will also continue my other series because it makes me happy. I hope you will check on my “Down Memory Lane” about the 60’s and “My First Travel Abroad: Japan.”

I appreciate your interest in this post and look forward to working with you on Steemit. May your week ahead be stress free and happy! Thank-you for visiting my post! If you would like to see other posts that I have created, please click HERE.