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Hope

Hope is a positive and potent spiritual practice with the power to pull us through difficult times. It is usually described with light metaphors — a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope; the break in the clouds; the light at the end of the dark tunnel. It is often discovered in unexpected places. Hope can be learned with practice. Certain attitudes support it. One is patience, an ability to tolerate delays, a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. The other is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unknown. A third is persistence, the determination to keep going no matter what happens. We have hope when we can say, all will be well, and we mean it.

Author Unknown

The Original Serenity Prayer

by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time,accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.

Live each moment of today as if it were the last.

Tomorrow is another day and yesterday has passed.

The all important time is now, don't let it slip away.

Use it, enjoy it, this once in a lifetime today.

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Abraham Lincoln

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them you value, love, and respect.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds.

To think just as much of your mate, and to tell them often.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”

Christian Larson

Prayers for Inner Peace

I open my heart to You, dear God, and let Your peace fill my being.

In Your presence, I am peaceful, poised, confident, and strong.
I relax in Your loving care, dear God, and release all my cares to You,

knowing that You are upholding me and sustaining me in all that I do.
As I keep my heart and mind centered in You, God, I feel Your peace infusing

my entire being and keeping me serene and secure.
To You, beloved God, I release all sense of turmoil. In the comfort of Your presence,

I am content and peaceful.
God, Your presence calms me, quiets the storms around me,

and leads me to a place of perfect peace.

As I center myself in Your peaceful presence, I let go of every concern

and relax in the safety of Your love.

Affirmations for Inner Peace

The love of God quells my thoughts and instills peace in my mind and heart.
I am poised and secure in God’s presence, and my heart is serene.
God’s presence within me is my center of perfect peace.

I am confident and calm, knowing that God is with me always.
God within me is my constant source of peace and strength.
I relax, release any anxious thought, and peacefully rest in the presence of God.

Scriptures on Peace

     Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
   Isaiah 48:18
Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
   John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your
hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
   John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart;
I have overcome the world.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Commentary on the preceding scriptures:

Peace is based on steadfast trust in God. God wants us to know His teachings and to realize that following Him will cause us to find true peace and have the best life possible. Peace is not the absence of external conflict. It is the power of internal security. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' followers can have that peace. Jesus overcame the world by obeying God despite all challenges and opposition. In a similar way, we too can be overcomers. God's peace is for anyone who lives life by letting Him take care of anxieties. Prayer is the lifeline to peace. Anxiety lessens and can eventually disappear when we take our concerns to God who has the power and wisdom to take care of them. Believe that He always has our best interests at heart.

Tips and Advice on Peace and Happiness

by Remez Sasson

What is peace of mind? It is a state of inner calmness and tranquility, together with a sense of freedom, when thoughts and worries cease, and there is no stress, strain or fear. Such moments are not so rare. They may be experienced while engaged in some kind of an absorbing and interesting activity, such as while watching an interesting movie or TV program, while being with someone you love, while reading a book or while lying on the sand at the beach. While being on a vacation, do you experience some sort of mental numbness? At this time the mind becomes calmer, with fewer thoughts and fewer worries. Even while you are deeply asleep, not aware of your thoughts, you are in a state of inner peace. Such and similar activities take away the mind from its usual thoughts and worries, and bring some temporary inner peace.

The question is, how to bring more peace of mind into one's life, and more importantly, how to experience it in times of trouble. You might also ask whether it is possible to make it a habit, and enjoy it always and under all circumstances. First, you need to learn to bring more moments of inner peace into your daily life. Later, you will be able to experience these moments in times of trouble or difficulties too, when you most need inner calmness and tranquility.
You can turn peace of mind into a natural habit, but to do so, special training is required, through concentration exercises, meditation and
# Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.
# Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.
# Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.
# Don't be jealous of others. Being jealous means that you have low self-esteem and consider yourself inferior to others. This again, causes lack of inner peace.
# Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.
# Every day we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible. We must learn to put up with such things and accept them cheerfully.

# Learn to be more patient and tolerant with people and events.
# Don't take everything too personally. Some emotional and mental detachment is desirable. Try to view your life and other people with a little detachment and less involvement. Detachment is not indifference, lack of interest or coldness. It is the ability to think and judge impartially and logically. Don't worry if again and again you fail to manifest detachment. Just keep trying.
# Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and concentrate on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and immerse yourself in them.
# Practice some concentration exercises. This will help you to reject unpleasant thoughts and worries that steal away your peace of mind.
# Learn to practice meditation. Even a few minutes a day will make a change in your life.
Inner peace ultimately leads to external peace. By creating peace in our inner world, we bring it into the external world, affecting other people too.

My Happy Place: Beach outside the Kuleana Resort in Maui, Hawaii

Happiness in Daily Life

by Remez Sasson

    Daily life can be made happier. It is a matter of choice. It is our attitude that makes us feel happy or unhappy. It is true, we meet all kinds of situations during the day, and some of them may not be conducive to happiness. We can choose to keep thinking about the unhappy events, and we can choose to refuse to think about them, and instead, relish the happy moments. All of us constantly go through various situations and circumstances, but we do not have to let them influence our reactions and feelings.
    If we let outer events influence our moods, we become their slaves. We lose our freedom. We let our happiness be determined by outer forces. On the other hand, we can free ourselves from outer influences. We can choose to be happy, and we can do a lot to add happiness to our lives.
    What is happiness? It is a feeling of inner peace and satisfaction. It is usually experienced when there are no worries, fears or obsessing thoughts, and this usually happens, when we do something we love to do or when we get, win, gain or achieve something that we value. It seems to be the outcome of positive events, but it actually comes from the inside, triggered by outer events.

For most people happiness seems fleeting, because they let changing outer circumstances affect it. One of the best ways to keep it, is by gaining inner peace through daily meditation. As the mind becomes more peaceful, it becomes easier to choose the happiness habit.

Here are a few tips for increasing happiness in daily life:

1) Endeavor to change the way you look at things. Always look at the bright side. The mind may drag you to think about negativity and difficulties. Don't let it. Look at the good and positive side of every situation.

2) Think of solutions, not problems.

3) Listen to relaxing, uplifting music.

4) Watch funny comedies that make you laugh.

5) Each day, devote some time to reading a few pages of an inspiring book or article.

6) Watch your thoughts. Whenever you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, start thinking of pleasant things.

7) Always look at what you have done and not at what you haven't. Sometimes you may begin the day with the desire to accomplish several objectives. At the end of the day you might feel frustrated and unhappy, because you haven't been able to do all of those things. Look at what you have done, not at what you have not been able to do. You may have accomplished a lot during the day, and yet you let yourself become frustrated, because of some small things that you did not accomplish. You have spent all day successfully carrying out many plans, and instead of feeling happy and satisfied, you look at what was not accomplished and feel unhappy. It is unfair toward yourself.

8) Each day do something good for yourself. It can be something small, such buying a book, eating something you love, watching you favorite program on TV, going to a movie, or just having a stroll on the beach.

9) Each day do at least one act to make others happy. This can be a kind word, helping your colleagues, stopping your car at the crossroad to let people cross, giving your seat in a bus to someone else, or giving a small present to someone you love. The possibilities are infinite. When you make someone happy, you become happy, and then people try to make you happy.
10) Always expect happiness.

11) Do not envy people who are happy. On the contrary, be happy for their happiness.

12) Associate with happy people, and try to learn from them to be happy. Remember, happiness is contagious.

13) Do your best to stay detached, when things do not proceed as intended and desired. Detachment will help you stay calm and control your moods and reactions. Detachment is not indifference. It is the acceptance of the good and the bad and staying balanced. Detachment has much to do with inner peace, and inner peace is conducive to happiness.
14) Smile more often.