Seeking peace of mind is not peaceful – in fact, if we truly want it, we must be prepared to get disturbed. Peace is only possible when we face our demons – the flaws in our character, the anxieties we live with, the self-destructive behaviors we’ve come to rely on. Ready to get disturbed? Ironically, [...]

Many of us walk around every day full of anxiety, not realizing that it stems from beliefs so engrained they’ve become our own personal myths. These myths develop early as teachings from our elders – lessons they believe will help us survive. Unfortunately, it turns out that while they might appear helpful, at least at [...]

If someone is making you crazy, there is one sure way to make it stop. It does not involved throttling the hostile bus driver, nosy neighbor, or aggravating boss. Nor do you have to hide in your house and never interact with anyone ever again. No, the secret to stopping a crazy-making situation is this: [...]

A Letter to My Fellow Seekers Dear friends, If peace of mind is your goal, you must be determined. Tenacious. Persistent. Fierce. You must want it more than anything else because with it, you can face and deal with everything else. How do you define peace of mind? Relaxation Inner peace Serenity Mental ease Zoning [...]

Self-love – treating the self with care and respect – is one sure-fire way to improve serenity and peace of mind. But any time we move toward self-care, we must watch out for that enemy of serenity – self-hate. Not only that, we face a cultural paradigm that values self-sacrifice and caretaking of others. Taking care of [...]

For years, my answer was “Less anxiety, more peace of mind!” All my energies went toward finding a way to lower my anxiety levels and increase my peace and serenity. That’s how I knew how important it was. What ONE thing do you most want to change in your life? Is it switching to a [...]

This week I asked readers to list the main obstacle to their peace of mind. These were the winners, in order of “popularity.” Anxiety Not accepting everything exactly as it is – a.k.a: Believing “I” am in charge Uncontrolled reactions Insanity (however you define it) Dissatisfaction with circumstances Negative self-talk Obsessive thinking Not living in [...]

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.” —Jawaharlal Nehru The journey from insanity to serenity is often long and [...]

It doesn’t seem to make sense, but when we desperately want relief from stress and anxiety, the thing to do is dive straight into our emotional pain. It’s so counterintuitive – we’re trying to get rid of pain, why would we jump right into it? Because: Avoiding pain means we get to keep it – [...]

This week Insanely Serene joined Facebook. I felt an urge to engage on a more regular basis with serenity seekers, and I’m just not writing enough blog posts (so sorry, my dear readers)! It was such a good idea. It’s like the creativity dam broke and serenity started flowing! The page invites commentary, video, images, [...]