One of the biggest discoveries I’ve made in meditation is that we can experience a deep sense of inner peace while feeling unpleasant emotions at the same time.
This paradox was rather intriguing, so I decided to find out how I could consciously achieve a state of tranquillity.
The question was wrong from the start. The harder I was trying to attain peace of mind, the more agitated I would become.
Everything changed when I acknowledged that my attempts were futile. The moment I stopped looking for peace, it somehow found me. I felt it in the body. Contractions and tension that had accompanied my ‘striving mind’ gave way to softness and ease. I suddenly felt bigger than any of the thoughts and emotions that kept coming and going. I felt in charge of a vast open space where there was enough room for all of them. I could accommodate the energy (of fear, anger, anxiety, frustration etc.) they were trying to discharge, and even make it dissolve to a large degree.
