Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tips: Write a Guest Post

Want to write a guest post?

I love posting articles written by others. Honestly, I know full well that in order for InnerPeace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Inner Peace and Joy Daily to be the most helpful website that it can be, it needs perspectives other than mine! So, if you ever have an article you want to write please contact me and pass it along…

Here is a little bit about what I am looking for…

• Articles that are truly valuable to Inner Peace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Your Inner Peace and Joy Daily  readers.
• About any spirituality, mental health, stress management and anger management related topic (it can incorporate your faith, but doesn’t have to).
• Original content not published anywhere else
• Shoot for 600-1000 words in length
• Not self-promoting (we can use the bio-line for that)

What you will get…

• A couple sentence bio-line at the beginning of the article explaining who you are with a link back to your website.
• A lot of eyeballs reading your article and hopefully a bunch of visitors to your website as well!

A few more things…

• If your article is accepted, it may be modified for brevity or readability. Often times this may just be title changes and formatting adjustments.
• Submitting the article to social sites like Tipd, PFbuzz, Digg, Twitter, etc. is a win/win because it sends more visitors to Inner Peace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Your Inner Peace and Joy Daily  and increases your exposure as the guest poster.
• Also, linking to the article from your website is allowed and appreciated.

So, If you write something that you think is great, attach it to an email and send it to me and we will see what we can do.

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Take a Vacation

Take A Vacation

Are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed or anxious? If you are, then you may need to take a vacation to help you to reduce your stress. I work a very stressful job and I do not take vacations as much as I need to. The result is, I am stressed at work with a low tolerance level.

Go To The Beach

I love the ocean and my favorite vacation spot is to rent a beach house or a condo over looking the ocean for a weekend. The smell of the ocean and the roaring of the waves relaxes me. I love going to the ocean because it is really inexpensive!

Rent a Cabin

Another inexpensive vacation that you can take is renting a log cabin for a weekend. The wilderness is a great way to help you to maintain your inner peace because it's just you and nature. You can leave your smart phone and lap top behind and just spend time focusing on yourself, your family and your friends.

Take a Cruise

I have only been on one cruise but it was very relaxing. The food and entertainment was very wonderful. The great thing about taking a cruise is that you can take a long cruise or a cruise for a few days. It just depends on your destination.

Take a Train Ride

I am planning to take a train ride for the first time this year. I am going to go to South Carolina and take a tour of their historical towns. Riding on the train embodies my idea of peace because when I take my train ride, I am going to have my own cabin. There is not going to be anyone around to disturb my peace. I am going to use this time to sit back and enjoy the ride. I also plan to use this opportunity to relax, read and write.

Where is Your Favorite Vacation Destination?

My Ideal Vacation Destination is Africa

My ideal vacation spot is Africa. I hope to visit the continent one day and take a tour of the safari. I also want to see the pyramids of Egypt. I also would like to visit Israel and take a religious tour.


Vacations are a great way to help you to maintain your Inner Peace because they are so relaxing. When I take a vacation, I leave the care of the world behind me. Usually when I return from my vacation and I re-enter back into the "work world" I am refreshed and I have a fresh perspective on life. Where are some of your favorite vacation spots?

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Make Home Work Fun

I work with high-risk boys as a youth counselor and assisting them with their math homework assignments can be very stressful at times, especially when they are not interested in learning math. I hear the boys state often that learning math for them is stressful because math is boring. When I am helping the boys with their math homework, the first thing that I do is figure out how to hold their attention by finding out what are the things that they enjoy most. I know that if I can get them to identify with the things that they enjoy most, then I can get them interested in learning. If I can get them interested in learning, then helping them with their math homework will not be so stressful. For instance, I know that the boys really enjoy football so I use football to show them how to understand the principles of math and how to make learning math fun.

Football Rules Made Simple

1. There is an offensive and defensive team
2. The objective of the football game is to score in the end zone and the team with the highest score at the end of the game wins
3. The middle of the football field is the 50-yard line. The numbers on the football field increase and decrease in increments of 10

How to Use Football to teach Math

1. Let the students name their teams based on their favorite college or NFL team
2. Draw a replica of a football field on the chalk board
3. Use colored chalk to write out the plays "math problems" and to show the movement of the football on the field

Math Problem #1
How to Teach Subtraction: 50-20=?

"Team A" has possession of the football on the 50-yard line. The Play: the Quarterback throws the football down the field. The Receiver runs down the field and catches the football at the 20- yard line. If "Team A " started at the 50-yard line and now has possession of the football at the 20-yard line how many yards did the Receiver on "Team A " gain on the play? Answer 30-yards.

Math Problem #2
How to Teach Addition 10 +30 =?

"Team B" is at the 10-yard line. The Play: The Quarterback is going to pass the football to the Running back and see how many yards he can gain on the play. The play is successful! The Running back on "Team B" gained 30-yards. If the play started at the 10 yard-line and the Running Back gained 30 yards, Where is the ball positioned at the start of the new play? Answer- 40 yard line.

I find that children who are challenged socially learn better when you can hold their attention. If you implement football or any other sport in the learning process, it helps make teaching math less stressful because it makes learning interesting. Football also allows you to involve the children in the learning process and that will help them to remember the mathematical concepts.

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Stop Complaining

Top Reasons Why People Complain

Readers, I have a couple of questions for you....

The first question is " Does complaining change things?
The second question is "If complaining does not change things then why do it?"

Now, I am not saying that if you are going through a difficult situation that you should not express yourself but a part of maintaining your Inner Peace is learning how to express yourself in a positive manner.

Top 3 Reasons Why People Complain
I have noticed that the top 3 reasons why most people complain (or variations of these reasons) are about:

#1 Money
At least once a day I hear somebody complaining about their money woes. The conversation usually starts out with them expressing their lack of money, their desire to have a pay raise or their kids needing money for extra curricular activities that they can not afford ...

#2 Relationships
I am guaranteed to hear someone complain about their relationship woes. This conversation may be about their marital issues, the issues that they are having with their coworkers or how someone disrespected them in their comings and goings....

#3 Health
The health complaints that I hear most often are usually from people who complain about their weight gain or their dis-ease caused by them not taking care of their bodies.

How Does Complaining Kill the Spirit

When you focus on the problem or everything that is going wrong in your life then you are denying yourself the gift of Inner Peace. Complaining destroys your Inner Peace because instead of being optimistic about your situation, what you are actually saying is that you are worried, you doubt that your situation will actually work out for the better and you have no sense of self-value.

• You are Worried-Worrying kills your spirit because when you are worried ,you are anxious, nervous and not able to focus clearly. The whole point of operating in a state of Inner Peace is to maintain a calm and peaceful demeanor.

• You Feel Hopeless- When you complain, you feel hopeless. Feeling hopeless kills your spirit because you feel helpless and unable to change your situation. People who complain when they feel hopeless kill their spirit of Inner Peace because they see complaining as their only option to releasing their frustrations. When you have mastered the steps of maintaining your Inner Peace you will recognize that you may not be able to change your situation but you can respond to your situation in a calm and peaceful manner.

• No Sense of Self-Value-When you complain because you feel like "No one is hearing your frustrations", you will kill your spirit because you do not see yourself as having "Real Value". A person who does not realize their value, feels unimportant. You must have a feeling of self-worth in order to maintain your inner peace.
  

Positive Things You Can Do Instead Of Complaining

Instead of complaining about the Problem, you should focus on the Solution

#1 Money: It is easy to talk about your lack of money but a change is not going to just fall out of the sky. You have to plan to get more money and then work your plan.
#2: Relationship: If you are experiencing relationship problems then you have to do something about it. Complaining about it is not going to change a thing!
#3 Health Complaining about your health ills is not going to change the fact. Instead of focusing on your health issues resolve to change what you are doing to get yourself in the situation that you are in.

Remember: A Solution Focused outlook is going to be key to helping you to maintain your inner peace.

More Useful Tips
Be Happy With Yourself Everyday!

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Play Donkey Kong for Free

When you are feeling stressed, a great way to calm down and relax is to play a game. Growing up, I was fond of playing Donkey Kong. It was so fun!

You can play it to by clicking on the following link. Try testing your skills for about 30 minutes and please be sure to leave me a comment telling me what your high score is and how you feel afterward.

Peace and Blessings,
Antionette Tate








#1 Play Donkey Kong







More Useful Tips
Listen to Music

Inner Peace and Joy Tip #98: Go with the wave

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 36-40 for a Spirit Booster!



I am from Wilmington, North Carolina and I was raised a few miles from the ocean. As a child, my family went to the beach often and it is from my experiences at the beach that I learned a valuable tip on how to maintain my Inner Peace. Today's tip is go with the wave.

The Wave
I have two older sisters and growing up, I use to want to tag behind them more than anything in the world. Well, when we went to the beach, I could not tag behind my sisters because they could swim but I could not. My sisters were like fish, they would go out deep in the water about chest high. I would observe them from the shore.

Everyone once in awhile, my sisters would come closer in about waist high and they would invite me to come in with them. I would be very nervous, but they assured me that they would not let me drown; so I did not mind taking the risk. Remember, that I said earlier that I could not swim, so when I was out in the water all I would do is just stand straight up and when a wave would come, I would jump. That is, as long as the wave was not too big and then I would tumble down from the force of the wave.

If more than one wave would come back to back, then it was not uncommon for me to tumble down, get up, and get knocked back down again. So what my sisters taught me to do was instead of jumping up when I saw more than one wave coming, was to dive into the first wave and allow the wave's force to carry me to shore. Once, I was at the shore, then I would get up and go back and try it again.

How is life, similar to riding a Wave
The lesson that I learned on how to maintain my Inner Peace from being knocked down by the force of the waves is that life's challenges are similar to the wave's of the ocean. Here is what I mean, some days you are going to find are going to be good days and on those days you can stand tall because you are not facing any challenges.

I pray that you have more good days than challenging days but the truth is there will be those days that you are going to have challenges. You may even have some days when you find that your challenges are coming back to back and if you do not know how to deal appropriately with those days, you may find yourself getting knocked down by the impact of it's pressure.

So, instead of allowing life's challenges to knock you down, you have to go with the wave. When you go with the wave you admit that there are some things in life that you can not do anything about and you have to learn how to accept that fact instead of worrying yourself sick about it. You also have to understand that there are things that will occur in your life and you will have to wait on time to make the difference.

The most important thing that you are going to need to understand when you are working on maintaining your inner peace is no matter what you are going through you are going to have to maintain a positive attitude and keep your spirits up and this can best be achieved by focusing on your solutions and not allowing yourself to drown in your problems

More Useful Tips:
Do not Worry
Peace Be Still

Inner Peace and Joy Tip #97: Wait

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 31-35 for a Spirit Booster!





What does waiting have to do with Inner Peace
You may be asking "What does waiting have to do with maintaining your Inner Peace?" My answer is, I could have avoided a lot of my headaches if only I would have waited before taking action?

Here is what I mean...
Are you impulsive? Well, I am and what threatens my Inner Peace more than anything else is agreeing to do something and then later on wishing I would have just said "No". Has this ever happened to you?

Waiting Before I Speak
I can recall several times that I have been on the phone with my family and friends and during the course of our conversations they have asked me if I was able to do such and such a thing for them. It never fails, without thinking I say yes and no sooner than we hang up the phone, I realize that I acted in haste.

Lesson Learned
So after enough times of acting based on my impulses, I have learned that the best way for me to maintain my inner peace is to wait before I speak. I wait by silently counting to 10 (one thousand one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three, one thousand and four etc.) before I speak.

What happens when I silently count to 10 before I speak is I that I am able to maintain my inner peace because I have enough time to answer logically and not give an impulse answer.

More Useful Tips
Do not be eager
Peace Be Still

Inner Peace and Joy Tip #95: Manage Your Time

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 21-25 for a Spirit Booster!



Inner Peace and Time Management
The purpose of maintaining your mental state of peace is being able to be joyful, peaceful, calm and relaxed at all times instead of being agitated, frustrated, overwhelmed and confused most of the time. A great tip to help you to be able to maintain your mental state of peace is to have order in your life. I have found that when I have order in my life, I am better able to maintain my Inner Peace because things go smoothly and I am not stressed out. I have listed 5 tips that you can do to help you manage your time in order to keep your Inner Peace:

5 Time Management Tips
1. Prioritize : It is easy to become frustrated and overwhelmed when you have a lot of things to do and so little time to get them done. A great tip to help you maintain your Inner Peace is to prioritize. When you prioritize you are going to feel relieved and calm at the end of the day because you took care of the most important things first.

2. Write a to-do-list daily: Another thing that you can do to keep order in your day is to daily write out on a piece of paper all of the things that you need to accomplish in the course of a day. This will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because it will eliminate the frustration of operating based on your memory or impulse.

3. Work according to your biological time line: Are you a morning, evening or night person? You will be surprised how much more peaceful and at ease you will be when you set your schedule to work during the times that are best suited for you biological time line.

4. Set a time limit on your tasks:In order to make the best use of your time you are going to have to set time limits on your tasks and stick to them. What's going to happen if you do not set a time limit to your tasks you may work for hours at a time on one project and not get anything else done.

5. Set a Routine: You should get in the habit of setting a schedule and following your schedule. When you follow your schedule you will be able to effectively manage your time and you will be more productive. The more order that you can have in your day the more peaceful, calm and joyful you will be.

More Useful Tips
Prioritize
Make a to-do-list

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 94: Praise God

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 21-25 for a Spirit Booster!



I am working on maintaining my Inner Peace but I have to confess that sometimes if I do not watch it, I will slip into a state of being discouraged.

Discouragement and Inner Peace
When I am discouraged God always sends me a word to give me hope and encouragement. This Word can come in the form of my reading a scripture, books, watching television or listening to the radio etc.

My word of encouragement came at a much needed time today because when I start thinking about where I am in my life as compared to where I hoped to be I start feeling sad, I do not want to leave my home and I feel drained. I am normally an upbeat and joyful person so when I am discouraged my mind is not at a peaceful state of being.

Encouraging Words
I was riding in my car and listening to an interview that Big Tigger was having with the singer Omarion about his latest CD "Illusion". What stood out for me about this interview was that when Big Tigger asked Omarion what was the biggest illusion in the music industry he replied (paraphrased) "People give the illusion to have more than they got instead of appreciating the quality of life that they do have"

I said to myself, Wow! I may not have all that I want to have but I have a pretty good life and then immediately I began to Praise God. The more I praised God for the good things in my life the better I felt about myself and the more encouraged I was to keep working on maintaining my Inner Peace.

What to do when you are discouraged
When you are working on maintaining your Inner Peace you have to be conscious of all of the ways that your Inner Peace may be threatened. Your Inner Peace may be attacked subtly in the form of discouragement.

Once you become aware that you are not at a mental state of peace due to being discouraged you can get encouraged by :

• Thanking God for waking you up this morning
• Thanking God for having a good night sleep
• Thanking God for your body and good mental and physical health
• Thanking God for running water and a roof over your head
• Thanking God for having food to eat
• Thanking God for your family being alive and healthy
• Thanking God for having a car with gas
• Thanking God for having a job
• Etc.
  

And then start praising God

• Praise God for being a God who is forgiving (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for God's unconditional love for you (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for being a Provider (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for taking an interest in you (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for being a Healing God (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for never leaving you or forsaking you (reflect)
  
• Praise God for alone being God (Reflect)
  
• Praise God for God is working things out for your good (Reflect)
• Etc

I have found that praising God when you are discouraged will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because it will help you change your perspective from focusing on what is going wrong in your life to what is going right. When you get into the habit of praising God throughout the day, you can not help but get encouraged.

I look forward to reading your comments on how Praising God has helped you to maintain your Inner Peace.

More Useful Tips
Pray
Change Your Perspective

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 90: Call Your Mother

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 1-5 for a Spirit Booster!


Release Your Frustrations
Have you ever had a bad day at work, school or just a plain ole bad day in general? How did you feel? What did you do to release the energy that you were feeling? Did you release the energy in the form of frustration, agitation or anger?

When you are working on maintaining a mental state of peace you are going to have to find positive ways of expressing your energy when you are feeling stressed out. You should not keep all of your frustrations bottled up inside because what ends up happening when you keep your emotions bottled up is that they will just keep building up and building up until one day you will have an emotional explosion.

Talk to Someone/Call Your Mother
One positive way that you can release your energy and maintain your Inner Peace is by talking to someone. When you talk to someone it will help you to remain calm and peaceful because it will give you a chance to let off some of your steam. When I am in a stressful situation, sometimes all that I really need to do to keep my peace is to have someone who I can vent to. Usually after I vent I feel a lot better.

One person in particular that stands out as a great person to talk to is your mother. Mom's are great because they seem to have a natural tendency to listen and to understand their children when they are upset. Mother's always seem to know the right words to say to calm their children down. If you do not have access to your mother you should work on building a circle of friends that you can confide in.

Build A Network Of Friends
It is going to be a good idea to start developing an inner circle of friends that you can talk to when you are having a stressful day. Call up a few of your friends and ask them if it will be okay if you could call them from time to time when necessary just to vent. You need to make sure that your circle of friends will be patient with you, will sincerely listen to you and will not judge you when you are releasing your frustration to them.

Here is a suggested list of people you can call to help you calm down:

• Your Mother
• Your Parents
• Your Spouse
• Your Siblings
• Your Pastor
• Your Significant Other
• Your Best Friend
• Your Spiritual Adviser


If you have someone who you confide in and they help you to calm down, please feel free to add to this list.



More Useful Tips
Know Your Triggers
Surround Yourself Around Positive People

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 89 : Bury Your Grudges

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 146-150 for a Spirit Booster!



I have a friend, who has been holding on to a grudge for over fifteen years with a person who once was a dear friend of hers. One day, I asked my friend, why it is that she is not speaking with the person who once her friend any more? Do you know that because the incident had occurred so long ago, she had forgotten the reason why they were not speaking anymore. She just remembered that they were not speaking anymore. Wow!

Do You Hold Grudges ?
How many of you hold grudges? Many people do. Did you know that if you hold grudges for an extensive period of time that you will not successfully be able to maintain your mental state of peace and live your life full of joy?

Here Is Why
When you mentally hold on to the wrong doings that some one has done to you or you have done to someone else for an extensive period of time you are actually hurting yourself because you are mentally holding inside of your mind negative emotions of anger, grief and sorrow. When you hold on to anger, grief and sorrow for an extensive period of time, you mind is troubled and you are not at a state of Inner Peace.

Now I am not saying that if someone has harmed you that you should not feel any type of emotions after all you are human. What I am saying is that for the sake of maintaining your Inner Peace you must find a way to release your negative emotions and bury your grudges.

How To Bury Your Grudges

• Forgiveness: When you forgive someone for the wrong that they have caused you or for the wrong that you have caused them you actually have agreed to mentally "let go" of all of the painful feelings that you are holding on inside. Only then will you be able to experience permanent Inner Peace.

• Face to Face Contact: Face to Face contact is a great way to express yourself when it is done peacefully. It is possible that you may be holding on to a grudge with someone due to a lack of communication and if you get a chance to just talk through your issues you will find that you can resolve your problems and regain your Inner Peace.

• Have a Funeral : If you are you are not able to contact someone who has wronged you or you have wronged because they are no longer alive or you have lost contact with them, you can write that person a letter and tell them that you forgive them or ask them to forgive you. Next say a prayer over the letter, dig a hole and bury the letter. When you bury the letter make sure that you bury your negative feelings with the letter.
  

More Useful Tips

See Only The Good
Love Your Enemies

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 88 : Play Board Games

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 141-145 for a Spirit Booster!





Ways To Calm Your Mind
An important step when you are working on maintaining your Inner Peace and living your life full of joy is being able to calm your mind. Let's say that you are experiencing a situation such as being concerned about your finances, your family members or your future. How are you going to calm your mind if you are anxious or worried for long periods of time? How are you going to calm your mind if you are confused? It is not going to just happen by itself, you are going to have to take action to refocus and regain your Inner Peace.

• One way that you can calm your mind and return your focus back to a state of Inner Peace is by playing board games.

Why Board Games?
You are probably asking, "Why would I want to play Monopoly, Bingo or any other type of board game when I do not know where my child is, when I am trying to figure out how in the world I am going to save my house from going into foreclosure, or when I am trying to figure out my future outcome?"

Well, the reason why you would want to play a board game when you are working on maintaining your Inner Peace while you are going through a stressful situation is because when you are worried, you are not helping the situation by worrying. In fact, you are just placing more stress on your mind and body. Also when you are worried you will not be able to focus on the real issues because you are not in your right mind.

Board Games, Stress and Inner Peace
What you need to do when you are under stress is to get your mind off of the stressful situation and focus on something that will calm your mind. Playing a board game with a family member, friends or even yourself for about an hour or so will help you to take your mind off of your situation.
Board Games will also:
1. Give you a chance to relax and get your mind off of what is going on with you.
2. If you are frustrated, playing the board game will buy you enough time to calm down
3. If you are stressed, playing a board game will help you to let go and laugh

More Useful Tips
Journal
Relax

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 87: Discipline

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 131-140 for a Spirit Booster!



The New Year is fast approaching and this is the perfect time to talk about Inner Peace and Discipline. Many people make New Year's resolutions on New Years Day and before March approaches they have broken their resolutions.

The reason why so many people break their New Year's resolutions so soon is because they do not have the discipline that they need to stick to their plan.

Tips for being Disciplined
This New Year, the way that you are going to maintain your Inner Peace is by accomplishing your goals. When you are disciplined you will be mentally able to achieve your goals because you will operate according to your plan and not based on your emotions.

1. Write out your plan: Have clear and defined goals so that you will know exactly what it is that you must do on a daily basis verses operating based on your emotions. When you operate on your emotions you tend to do what you feel like doing instead of what you need to do.
2. Set realistic goals: Set goals that are attainable so that you can build your self-confidence. If you set unattainable goals, you will become frustrated and give up on your goals if you are unable to achieve them.
3. Set aside specific times to work on your goals: A daily routine will help you to have order in your day so that you will not become overwhelmed by your other daily affairs.
4.Be Flexible: Remember that your plan is only a guide and that you should leave room for change. You are not obligated to your plan nor do you have to neglect other aspects of your life in order to keep your schedule.

More Useful Tips
Patience
Get a Plan

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 86: Count Sheep

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 121-130 for a Spirit Booster!





What are Stressors ?
When you are practicing "How to Maintain your Inner Peace ", you must be able to identify what it is about yourself, people, your circumstances and places that causes you to be stressed out. Following are a few of my stressors that I have identified about myself. You are welcome to share yours.
1. Obnoxious People
2. Negative Music
3. Complainers
4. Disrespect
5. Loud Noise

When I see the signs that I am in a stressful situation, I immediately try to remove myself from the situation. Sometimes removing yourself from out of a stressful situation is not possible. For example: If I were at work and I was around a bunch of complainers or loud noises, then I would not be able to just walk away from the situation without losing my job.

What happens when you can not remove yourself from a stressful situation?
When you can not remove yourself from your stressful situation you can still maintain your Inner Peace by focusing on something positive instead of focusing on your stressor. I would suggest that you try "Counting Sheep."

Counting Sheep
Do you remember when you were a child and your parents asked you to count sheep when it was difficult for you to go to sleep? Do you also remember that once you started counting sheep, it did not take you long to doze off.

The reason why counting sheep helped you to go to sleep was because when you counted the sheep it took your mind off of focusing on not being able to go to sleep and it helped you to focus on something else. This same principle works when you are working on maintaining your Inner Peace in a negative situation.

How to Count Sheep in a Stressful Situation
When you are in a stressful situation, you are not just going to start counting sheep out loud. Instead, you should:
1. Take a seat
2. Breath in and out slowly for about a minute.
3. Breath in and out and softly say "one"
4. Now, use your imagination and picture a sheep in as much detail as you can
5. Breath in and out and softly say "two"
6. Now, use your imagination and picture a sheep in as much detail as you can
7. Repeat the process until you count "10"

The entire process of counting and visualization should take about 15 minutes. These 15 minutes should buy you enough time to calm down and refocus on maintaining your Inner Peace.

More Useful Tips
Relax Your Muscles
Patience

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 85: Challenge Your Belief System

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 116-120 for a Spirit Booster!




Are any of your beliefs outdated?
I was brought up on the belief that when you make a person a promise, you are suppose to "Keep Your Word" no matter what. Sometimes, "Keeping My Word" challenges my mental state of peace.

I am an emotional person and I oftentimes make decisions based on my emotions and not based on logic. So, when I am in a situation and I need to change my mind and not "Keep My Word" I am torn between doing the right thing and following through on my promise.

Here is what I mean:

Scenario #1
This week I was talking to a dear friend of mine and she shared with me that her sister had just died. My friend was crying and I could hear her pain in her voice as she shared with me memories of her sister.

My first instinct, which was an emotional response, was to say "I am coming home to be with you." After I had committed to come home and be with my friend, it dawned on me that my friend lives in another state and my finances are not in order to be traveling to another state. Although I wanted to be with my friend, financially it did not make sense for me to travel to be with her in her time of grief.

My Inner Peace conflict was, "Should I keep my word and go home to my grieving friend or should I tell my friend that emotionally I am with her but due to financial reasons I am unable to go home and be with her?"

Scenario #2
I was talking on the phone to an acquaintance of mine and she asked me if I had any plans on Friday. I responded without thinking "No." She then asked me to attend a party with her and I agreed. After I hung up the phone with my friend, I realized that once again I made an emotional response and not a logical one. I had to work on Saturday morning and if I went to the party on Friday I would not be at my best on Saturday.

My Inner Peace conflict was "Should I keep me word or tell her that I acted in haste when I told her that I could attend the party with her?"

Examining My Belief System
My grandfather taught me that "Your Word is equated with your Character". When I did not keep my word, I felt guilty or like I was letting my grandfather down.

What was actually happening when I made a hasty decision and then I attempted to recant my decision, mentally I was feeling guilty. And guess what, if you feel guilty for long periods of time, then you will not be able to maintain your Inner Peace. Inner Peace is a tranquil state of being unlike feeling guilty which is a state of conflictual emotions.

So here is what I had to do....
Instead of feeling guilty about changing my mind, I examined the person who I believed myself to be. I concluded that I am not a terrible person and my character is up to par even though I sometimes make decisions in haste and without thinking. Instead of feeling guilty about one aspect of my character, I looked at myself from a holistic perspective and I decided that there are some areas in my life that I needed to improve on but there are also some aspects of my character which are commendable.

I am able to maintain my Inner Peace because I concluded just because I do not always "Keep My Word" does not mean that I have poor character.

What are some of your beliefs that you need to challenge ?

More Useful Tips
Change Your Perspective
Peel Back the Onion

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 84: Aroma Therapy

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 111-115 for a Spirit Booster!





Did you know that you can extract the essential oils from plants to help you to maintain your Inner Peace?

Yes, oils from plants can actually calm you down when you are under stress and help to bring you back to a relaxed state of mind.


Here is how it works
You just take the essential oil and dip it in cotton and inhale.

To treat stress, anxiety, tension or mental fatigue try one or a combination of the following:

• Basil: Anger, Anxiety, Insomnia, Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
  
• Bergamot: Anger and Anxiety
  
• Chamomile: Reduce stress, Anger, Anxiety, Insomnia and Nervous Tension
  
• Clary Sage: Useful for relaxing, Depression, Anger and Anxiety
• Lavender: Release and relieves stress, Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
• Rosemary: Stimulates and sharpens the mind, Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
• Geranium : Reduce stress, Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Sandlewood: : Insomnia and Depression
• Frank Incense: : Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Juniper Berry : Anxiety and Anger
• Basil : Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
• Ylang-ylang: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
• Sweet Marojam: Anger, Anxiety, Insomnia and Nervous Tension
• Jasmine: Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Bergamot: Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Cinnamon: Nervous Exhaustion and Nervous Tension
• Peppermint: Nervous Exhaustion
  

More Useful Tips:
Relax Your Muscles
Take a warm bath

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 83: Relax Your Muscles

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 106-110 for a Spirit Booster!





I work with high-risked adolescent boys and today we worked on teaching the boys how to maintain their Inner Peace through muscle relaxation. The exercise that we used is called "Progressive Relaxation" and was developed by the renowned physician Edmund Jabobson.

I wanted to share this exercise with you because it is a great technique that you can use to help you can calm down and refocus when you are stressed

Muscle Relaxation Exercise To Help You To Maintain Your Inner Peace

Part I.
The first part of this exercise will help you to with maintaining your Inner Peace because you are going to learn how to relax.

1. Sit in a chair and breathe in and out slowly
2. While you are breathing in and out, count slowly from 1 to 10
3. As you breath in and out slowly pay attention to your hands
4. Clench your fists as tight as you can
5. Let go and relax your hands


Part II.
The second part of this exercise will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because you are going to pay attention to the tension that you have stored up in your body and then you are going to learn how you can release it.

1. Imagine all of the tension leaving your hands down to your finger tips
2. Notice the difference between the tension in your hands and when you are totally relaxed
3, Now bring your awareness to your arms
4. Curl your arms like you are doing a bicep curl
5. Tense your fists, forearms and biceps
6. Hold the tension and release
7. Let your arms unfold and your hands float back to your thighs
8. Feel your tension drain out of your arms

More Useful Tips
Pay Attention To Your Thoughts
Relax

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 81 : Give and Receive

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 91-100 for a Spirit Booster!

As a child growing up in the Southeast I was taught that it is better to give than to receive. It did not take me long to realize that giving more than I was receiving was not a balanced equation. In fact, whenever I gave more than I received it usually caused my Inner Peace to be off balanced. The following two case scenarios will illustrate how giving more than you are receiving can cause your Inner Peace to be off balanced.


Case Scenario #1
I want you to picture a person who goes to work every day and they give 110% of their time. This same person brings new and prosperous ideas to the company. It is obvious that this person is a giver and goes beyond the call of the expected duties of their job yet the person does not receive any recognition nor do they receive a monetary reward for their efforts. In a case such as this, that person's state of peace may be impacted negatively by the actions of the company.

• If you were in this person's shoes would you feel unappreciated and or undervalued?

The truth of the matter is, if you continually feel undervalued and unappreciated for long periods of time then you are not at a mental state of peace. When you are in a state of Inner Peace you feel good about who you are and what it is that you do.


Case Scenario #2
In this case a parent gives their all to their spouse and to their family. This particular parent cooks, cleans, works and attends all of the extra curricula activities of their children yet they never receive a "thank you" from their family members nor do they receive any genuine signs of appreciation for their efforts.

• It is easy to understand how this parent's state of Inner Peace could be impacted negatively by the actions of their family members. This parent probably believes that they are not appreciated and they may also believe that their family takes them for granted.

If this parent continues to feel unappreciated and to feel like they are being taken for granted then they will not be at a state of Inner Peace. The reason why is because when a person is at a state of Inner Peace they have a positive self image about who they are and they believe that they do make a difference in the world.

Do You Know How To Receive?
Before I started practicing how to maintain my Inner Peace and live my life full of Joy, I use to have a problem with excepting gifts from other people. Whenever someone offered me a gift, my response was usually "No thanks." I would get a guilty feeling whenever I accepted gifts from others. This guilty feeling stemmed from my belief that is was better to give than to receive.

My outlook has long since changed and I now look forward to receiving. In fact, I expect to receive gifts. These gifts are in the forms of smiles, kindness and love. I also learned that my Inner Peace is impacted positively by my willingness to accept gifts from others. It feels good to receive love, kindness and smiles from other people.

More Useful Tips

Change Your Perspective

Learn From Life's Lessons

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 80: Notice God's Natural Beauty

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 86-90 for a Spirit Booster!


Whenever I am feeling stressed out and I need a Mental Booster, I look at God's Beauty f0r inspiration and encouragement.

The Sky
Too often I get so caught up in my life and my affairs that I forget to see that there is a bigger picture at work. What helps me to regain my focus is when I look up at the sky and I see so many stars that I can not even count them or when I attempt to measure the length of the sky with my eyes but I can not because the sky stretches as far as I can see.

When I search the sky and count the stars, I am awed by God's awesomeness and I reminded that I too am a part of God's plan. In fact, my Inner Peace depends on me learning how to get in line with God's plan for my life.

The Moon
I also like looking at the size of the moon and how it changes phases from full moon to a half moon and then to a new moon. The moon is so huge and although it seems to be so close to the earth, it is so far away. When I look at the moon and how all of this great mass is suspended in the sky I am awed. I say to myself, that their is a Higher Being that is at work and this Being has a good plan for me and the world.

Looking at this marvel, helps me to regain my Inner Peace because surely you and I play a part in God's plan. It's just a matter of me slowing down and getting in tune with God so that I can hear what God is trying to say to me.

Flowers
I love looking at flowers because they are so colorful. Whenever I have had a stressful day, I like going for a long walk in the park and admiring the different types of flowers that bloom during the different seasons. My favorite season is Fall because I get a chance to witness so many beautiful colors.

When I look at the all of the beautiful colors that God has provided for my enjoyment I am able to release my stress and focus on how awesome God is. Anything that puts my focus back on God and off of me helps me to regain my status of Inner Peace.

Ocean
Out of all of God's natural wonders, the ocean is my favorite because of it's roaring waves and it's smell. There is something about the ocean that captivates me! I actually go to the ocean to pray and mediate.

If you have ever been to the beach, you can bear witness that it is a marvel how the ocean roars and yet it too is under God's command. The ocean stops on point and does not cross the shore line. The ocean also helps me know that I am a part of God's plan and that God's plan is a plan of order. When I look at the ocean, I am reminded that my Inner Peace is going to be based on my ability to get in order with God's plan for my life.

Summary
When you take the time to witness God's natural beauty it will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because you are reminded that there is a Higher Power at work in your life and all you have to do is align yourself with God's plan.

More Useful Tips
Pray
Read Your Bible Daily

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 79: Change Your Perspective

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 81-85 for a Spirit Booster!





Your Inner Peace is going to be based on how you see "Your World".

Here is what I mean, if you are content and you see the people who are in your life as kind and loving then you are more likely to be calm and at a peace within yourself.

The opposite holds true for the person who believes that they have been dealt a bad hand in life and they believe that people are bad. More than likely that person is going to depressed and they will not be able to experience inner peace on a daily basis.

Here is What You Can Do To Change Your Perspective
Do not wait for changes to occur in your life before you change your perspective. Change how you see life right now.

1. What helps me is to count my blessings
I had to learn that as long as I am focused on what I do not have I will remain in an up roar. Instead I began to look at all of what God has provided for me. When I began to think about the goodness of the Lord, I smile and I am peace.

2. Stop comparing who you are with everyone else
I had to learn how to be happy for other people's success and not compare their success with my own because as long as I was comparing their success with my own I stayed upset. I had to learn to celebrate my own accomplishments.

3. Find the good in every situation
There is a saying about a particular lady who was known for finding the good in everybody and every situation. One day a man approached this woman and he was determined to get her to say something bad. He asked her "What do you think about the devil?" This guy actually thought that he was going to get the lady to say a bunch of negative things but instead the lady's response was "The devil is persistent!"

You have to get this one in your head, your perspective on life is going to determine your Inner Peace. I know that some times it may seem like life is not going your way but in order to maintain your inner peace you are going to have to dig deep and find good in your situation.

Try to find something about your situation that will make you smile, that will give you the feeling of gratitude or that will bring you peace. If you are able to smile, be grateful or be content you will be able to maintain your inner peace because you will be able to respond to your situation in a peaceful and calm manner.

More Useful Tips
See Only The Good
Celebrate You