Individual Wellbeing Archives - Page 9 of 11

How To Find Peace Of MindHow To Find Peace Of Mind

Peace of mind and harmony – one of the prerequisites for finding a complete and happy life. We feel more confident and full when we are in a state of inner peace! This is the state when we are balanced, attentive, and conscious. Being in critical situations or circumstances that are not comfortable for us, peace begins to leave us. But having resumed classes that help to find inner silence, life is gradually improving again. Many people pass through this circle. From this, we can conclude: “If you do not have time for rest, it means that it is necessary for you.”

What is peace of mind, and why do we need it?

Peace of mind is a state of harmony with oneself and with the whole world. But above all, the order is a balance. If we compare the soul with a musical instrument, then the inner calm state is when the strings of the soul sound harmoniously and naturally. The sound is beautiful and pleasant for everyone! But when we are tense and fussy, the music will be strained, unnatural, and unpleasant.

Staying in the peace of mind, we are full of energy and in a good mood! We efficiently manage to resist the illnesses and bad attitude of others, and we are better at doing any work. We become more creative; we analyze better and solve problems faster. When peace of mind leaves us, and we get out of balance, the energy drops, we attract depression and illness. During the internal stress, we do not get much as we would like, and we make more mistakes.

Every time as soon as we get angry, fussing in vain, or fall into depression, etc., we seem to spill precious energy from our vessel of the soul. This energy is challenging to replenish! Think twice before the next time, indiscreetly, get out of yourself, start to get nervous, angry, think negatively, think, speak, and fuss about it in vain.

Peace of mind is a natural state for a person; that is why it is so necessary and desirable for us! When it disappears, we begin to experience discomfort and uncertainty. On the subconscious mind, we want to return to this state. There is a desire to “be yourself” or take a walk in the park to restore spiritual harmony.

The inner peace of mind is confused by many with lethargy, laziness, or apathy. But it is not so! You can make an active external activity while maintaining inner peace. An event even, as a rule, turns out to be an order of magnitude better when you are in a state of inner calm. This is the state in which you are collected, aware, and attentive.

Only within yourself can one find peace and confidence. There is no peace and stability in the world around us, and everything around is in a state of constant changeability. How can we cope with the unpredictability of life? Only by accepting it! Tell yourself: “I am ready for all surprises and meet them with calm clarity.” Make a decision: “Whatever happens, I can do it in the best way possible.” What is happening around is not so important, what is happening inside is essential! The ship does not sink when it is in water, and it drops when water is in it. Whatever the fuss and chaos you are in, it is much more critical to maintain inner peace of mind. You lose if you lose your awareness, tense, angry, or hurt. What matters is not the circumstances, but how we react to them!

How to keep the mind in peace under any circumstances?

• Adoption. Take everything as it is; it will give you ease. Learn to accept people and circumstances as they are, without the desire to adjust to their standards and wishes. Also, learn to accept and love yourself as you are, with all the mistakes and shortcomings!
• Attention. Remove the focus of attention from the stimulus and focus it on yourself, on your inner world, on the sensations in the body. Abstracted from external factors and irritants.
• Deep relaxation. Remove anxiety, haste, anger, resentment, etc. If there is tension in the body, remove it. Be inner relaxed!
• Breath. Watch your breath; breath evenly and calmly, with a full chest. Exhalation should not be shorter in the duration of inhalation. Take a deep breath and exhale. Keep breathing evenly and measured.
• Awareness. Be as conscious and collected as possible.
• Think positive. Stop creating negative thoughts, and if such people have still made their way into the consciousness, then watch them, watch how they leave you and dissolve, like waves from a stone thrown into the lake. Try to think well of others, about yourself, about life.
• Respect. Respect yourself and others.
• Confidence. Be confident in yourself. Encourage yourself; tell yourself, “I will succeed.”
• Naturalness. Try to be natural, relaxed, and liberated.
• Smile. Smile often. Smile always looking in the mirror, communicating with other people. Smile from the heart and be in a joyful mood. Treat everything with humor!

Be, without unnecessary thoughts. Be present in the current moment. Be a bystander. Watch the events taking place removed; track the causes of events, without feelings. Just be.

If you want to protect yourself from all adversity, you have chosen the wrong planet. Here we are always faced with situations pushing us out of the comfort zone and unbalancing. We must always be prepared for this challenge. There is always lesson to extract, a positive experience, and an opportunity to move on!

About the author

Melisa Marzett is a content writer who is currently working for http://www.essay-editor.net/ and enjoying life just the way it is. She lives in harmony and peace with herself and loves what she does for a living. She loves to move around, and she cannot stand still, traveling is something that excites her. Also, she is a healthy lifestyle and a gym enthusiast, so she makes it to where she can find a sports center to go to whatever place she visits.

WE ARE THRILLED TO START EXPLORING THE ISSUE OF INNER WELLBEING IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL CHANGE MORE BROADLY – LOOKING AT “HOW ARE WE DOING?” – TOGETHER WITH IMPACT HUB AND THE FORD FOUNDATION, WHO ARE TWO KEY ANCHORS WITHIN THIS 6-MONTH SURVEY PROCESS. WE ARE THRILLED TO START EXPLORING THE ISSUE OF INNER WELLBEING IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL CHANGE MORE BROADLY – LOOKING AT “HOW ARE WE DOING?” – TOGETHER WITH IMPACT HUB AND THE FORD FOUNDATION, WHO ARE TWO KEY ANCHORS WITHIN THIS 6-MONTH SURVEY PROCESS.

By Catalina Cock Duque

Building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive country is a long term challenge which requires systemic changes to face the roots of our problems. Such changes imply transformations in politics, power, relationships, attitudes and values. In order to achieve this, alliances between the public, private and social sectors are necessary, as well as between leaders with diverse approaches who can support alliances to adopt new ways of doing things.

This may sound obvious, but working with different actors can be difficult. For instance, the building of trust is a great challenge and, as has been expressed by Katherine Milligan and Nicole Schwab in their article “The Inner Path to Become a Systems Entrepreneur”, competition over financial resources for social investment discourage collaboration, and there could be rivalries over who gets the credit within a coalition around a specific issue. How to cultivate a context where egos can be left aside, and the common interest comes before individual interest? Such question must be answered in order to achieve structural changes.

There is increasing evidence that the inner condition of a leader is crucial to achieve meaningful changes, and that it can be cultivated through a path leading to greater awareness of oneself and to inner well-being. Along the same line, great names in the field of social entrepreneurship such as Skoll, Synergos, Ashoka and Schwab Foundation, are promoting a global movement, through their “Wellbeing Project”, to support inner growth as an essential aspect of social change.

There are many options to advance along an inner path, including a deep process of self-knowledge. Getting to know ourselves in all our dimensions allows us to project our greater strengths and to work on our weaknesses. The mere fact of becoming aware of the latter may allow us greater control over our emotions, such as fear or anger, which in turn may undermine confidence and hamper the building of bridges between different sectors. Through inner work, confidence in oneself may be developed, as well as the ability to listen, empathize and follow your intuition, among other crucial skills in the construction of common projects departing from difference.

Investing in the inner well-being of leaders is a way to support the sustainability of their initiatives, or, is it possible for a leader to reach his or her maximum potential when emotional health is at risk or human relations are weak? Will it be possible for his or her impact and leadership to prevail in the long term? I don’t think so. When people invest in their personal well-being, when their deeper purpose is clear, when their greater inner connection is achieved, they reach their extended-self or their greater-self; according to Peggy Dulany, founder of Synergos, such people have an open heart, which can feel gratefulness and access more creativity; they are connected with a greater whole, they know who they are and they like who they are.

If we get closer to our extended self we can feel more confident and connected in a broader sense, and thus explore our maximum potential as human beings. This is crucial to building high potential teams, networks and movements, to overcoming egos and personal interests, and to understanding the complexity of our reality from different perspectives. Only by advancing along our individual path, will we be able to advance in the political, economic, social and cultural changes Colombia requires to build a fairer, more peaceful and inclusive society.

Creating Art and Peace in Africa with Green String Network

INTERVIEW WITH GREEN STRING NETWORK INTERVIEW WITH GREEN STRING NETWORK

What is the Green String Network?

Green String Network (GSN) is an African based organization. We are a network of like-minded individuals and organizations working on developing trauma-informed peacebuilding. We believe that there is a direct link between levels of trauma in vulnerable communities and the challenges faced with justice, reconciliation, security, and overall social wellbeing.

How does your work connect to inner wellbeing and social change?

Violence begins with a thought, yet few interventions focus on the mental wellbeing of at-risk communities, and institutions like the police. GSN concentrates on trauma as a root cause of instability not just a consequence of violence and instability. By connecting our inner wellbeing to issues of social justice and change we believe we are mentally and emotionally preparing those working on issues of violence, neglect, abuse and other difficult issues with a more holistic tool kit.

How do you believe art can be used for social impact?

GSN understands the transformative power of art. We utilize art to depict the experiences of our program participants. In using art as a source of individual reflection and communal dialogue, we strengthen relationships and raise awareness regarding violence, adversity as well as healing practices.

Please tell us about these individual stories that the artists have created.

The artists were given a summary of The Wellbeing Project’s research on “Wellbeing for social entrepreneurs.” From reading the research, the artists developed a set of stories.

The two artists were from Kenya and South Sudan, GSN has worked with both several times in the past.

David Radoli grew up in Mombasa but went to school in Nairobi. He is a graduate of the Technical University of Kenya. Radoli, as he prefers to be called, has been in the media/art industry for over 18 years. He has extensive experience in publishing, advertising, storyboarding and copyrighting. Due to his versatility in arts, he has worked for McCann Erickson, a leading advertising agency. Radoli has a strong preference for working with ink, pen, and watercolors. He has a passion for painting human figures and is an excellent caricaturist.

Deng Majid Chol Deng recalls drawing at home and enjoying pictures in the books at school. He improved his drawing skills initially by copying the picture and was encouraged by his family, who liked his drawings of daily life. Later, he gained a scholarship to study at Nasser University in Tripoli, Libya. It was a totally new environment for him and he was struck by the uniformity of opinions. After initially working using his Chemistry degree, he became connected with The Roots Project in 2011 and now displays his paintings there as well as holding exhibits in other locations.

What is the value of using artists to communicate on this subject?

An artist interprets a story based on his/her own life experiences. Images which emerge are not prescriptive and allow those who view them, their own interpretations based on their own life experiences. Two people can look at the same painting and each sees a completely different story in the painting.

What is wellbeing for GSN?

Wellbeing is an approach targeting the emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual and social aspects of the human experience. It is about feeling happy, healthy, socially connected, and purposeful.

Are there any learnings you would like to share with other organizations and communities?

1. Healing is a critical part of stabilization, development, governance, and peacebuilding processes. Finding a way to work through personal pain can support the larger communities healing process.

2. For the leaders of the social change movements, understand that what you experience continues impacting you — your ability to love, show emotions and empathy. Do not let the violence and adversity you are challenging change you to be someone you are not. Take the time for your own self-care and connect to a larger community of changemakers. Take the time you need with your family and other friends. Find joy outside of your work. And be kind and lovely to yourself.

How can people connect with GSN?

Follow our work on our website — we will be starting a new blog shortly about the stories of transformation taking place in our programs.
Or on:
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``AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS TO TAKE CARE OF OTHERS IT IS ACTUALLY TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.`` ``AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS TO TAKE CARE OF OTHERS IT IS ACTUALLY TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.``

Jose Mari Luzarraga is building a generation of changemaking entrepreneurs by re-defining education based on team learning and experimentation. He is the creator of the Leinn degree and co-founded Mondragon Team Academy, (MTA), global teams that adapt the vision of Mondragon by inserting it into the education system. Bachelor and Master’s degree students create people centered enterprises that generate economic and social impact through teampreneurship and learning by doing.

“The Wellbeing Project arrived at a crucial moment in my life. After 15 years fully devoted to serve others as a social entrepreneur, I was nearly at the edge of burnout. My life consists to reach and serve a growing number of yougsters, while dealing with many difficult issues on my own. I feel, accept pain, and suffering in my everyday life as something needed to serve better and it was having a negative impact personally and family wise.

This personal awareness of where and how I was, only came with The Wellbeing Project. Before the program I was focused on more: reach more and accept more challenges.

For me The Wellbeing Project showed me that “I could not serve and take care of others if I do not serve and take care of myself”, that we need to love others as we love ourselves. It is not about saying YES to others and NO to yourself, but the only way on the long run is to learn how to say YES to others and YES to yourself.

Throughout this personal transformation experience with great social entrepreneurs and human beings something became clear to me. On the one hand we need to accept, understand and embrace that being a social entrepreneur requires huge devotion and strength while: dealing with daily and tricky challenges, opening new paths where there are none, breaking and evolving thought models, making what is hidden or unknown to seen and understood… Being social entrepreneurs, we have the crucial, difficult and fascinating mission to “challenge the status-quo for a better world and humanity”.

On the other hand, we need to understand that the only way to do this, is to start with yourself. In the long run I cannot bring light to others if I do not light up myself. And for doing that, we need to load ourselves with the proper tools and activities to trigger the wellbeing and personal cultivation process. Wellbeing is a “life long journey”. It is a daily learning process.

The Wellbeing Project supported me with: “the understanding and awareness shift”, “providing the proper needed tools and activities” to start and nurture wellbeing, while not living this alone but “team learning” together with peers sharing the same learning journey.” JML

``LEARNING TO LOVE AND TREASURE BREATHING HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.” ``LEARNING TO LOVE AND TREASURE BREATHING HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.”

By Kildine de Saint Hilaire and Andrea Coleman

“I am English. Very English. We were taught, as we grew up, that showing your feelings drew disapproval. You must be strong, put on a brave face, show no weakness. The environment was tough for earlier generations. Not enough food, horrible cold, world wars, families separated and people working unreasonably hard during the industrial revolution. It was the way, those earlier generations thought: to make the young tough, resilient and they will survive. Provision of health care then was poor and mental health was treated by the expression ‘pull yourself together’.”

Andrea Coleman is a woman who inspires both admiration and motivation. Her achievements reveal her strengths, and her personality encourages kindness. Her journey has led her to develop Riders for Health, the organization she co-founded with her husband Barry Coleman in 1996. Andrea grew up believing that motorcycles were synonymous with the possibility of escaping. She embraced the motorcycle world to leave the place that she was in. “It was my route to freedom”, she explains when reflecting on her upbringing. Her first husband was a motorcyclist who had an accident while competing. After the accident, Andrea explains she was lost and did not know how to grieve, “I thought how to deal with grief was to be very busy and create something else.”

Andrea put all her effort and means into the creation of Riders for Health, an organisation that uses vehicles to deliver healthcare within multiple African countries. It defies a persisting status quo: the neglect of the use of vehicles in the field of development. With Riders for Health, vehicles are the pillar element. They bridge the distance between rural communities and health care. To say that building an organisation is a challenge is an understatement. It becomes a life mission that takes a lot out of those involved. “The last thing that I was doing was listening to myself,” explains Andrea, who suffered from anxiety and exhaustion. The more out of tune she was with her inner-self, the more Andrea was pushing her mind and body to exhaustion. Burnout has become the great epidemic of our generation, one that can have extreme consequences on individuals and their surroundings. Always pushing more and further can only last for a certain time and to a certain extent.”

“During The Wellbeing Project I realised I have been holding my breath for my whole life. Learning to love and treasure breathing has changed my life.”

As a participant in The Wellbeing Project’s Inner Development Program, Andrea decided to learn how to confront and deal with her internal angst. First, Andrea approached the language of wellbeing. Second, she delved into a research and understanding of the meaning behind the dialect of wellbeing. By giving herself the time to reflect on these concepts and how to adapt them to her life, she gained confidence and a significant change of attitude towards others. Andrea took part in a journey of self-exploration starting from within that came to have an extensive reach towards her outside world.

“I had no idea if I would be accepted onto the program and I had no idea what it would mean or if it would or could be helpful. But I knew I had to find some way to manage the pain I was experiencing. With my English background I found it hard to accept the idea of loving myself but I found out how to love the gifts I have been given, to know that caring for myself is not something to be ashamed of and to feel the same sympathy for myself as I would for others. I was taught the mechanism to find peace in looking at the sky at night, in the trees around me and to rest into the knowledge that there are people who love me. And I am worth being loved.”

Regarding her learnings, Andrea comments she discovered, “how to relate to people in a way I didn’t know how to before.” In addition, she has learned to let herself do things she enjoys and that make her happy. The emotion of guilt is no longer part of the equation. Andrea gives her personal take on wellbeing as a process that enabled her to feel capable and acquire a balance between responsibility and self-care.

“I hope I will always be open to accepting new ways of being as a result of my experience and I hope that I can continue to help others to be open to it too.“

Since her experience with The Wellbeing Project, Andrea has developed a new project: Two Wheels For Life. The organisation aims to develop and fundraise for Riders for Health and focus on motorcycles to ensure that life-saving healthcare reaches those in need. Wellbeing is a constant learning for Andrea. It offers her alignment and confidence while she remains the ambitious change-maker she is at her core.

“I DON’T THINK THAT THERE IS ONE PERFECT TIME FOR SOMEBODY TO UNDERGO A PROCESS OF WELLBEING.” “I DON’T THINK THAT THERE IS ONE PERFECT TIME FOR SOMEBODY TO UNDERGO A PROCESS OF WELLBEING.”

By Kabir Vajpeyi and Jacquelyn Salvador

There are moments in life when we become acutely, almost obsessively focused on what we’re doing. This focus can be useful for making progress in specific areas, but it can also cause us to forget about the context and other areas that are just as important. This is the issue Kabir Vajpeyi ran into when he became enveloped by his work with learning and child development. He’d been neglecting the human element — both within himself and for others. Slowly but surely, the pressure that he put on himself began to make it difficult to relate to people, and left him feeling rushed and worn down.

“If someone said they weren’t feeling well, my thought wasn’t how to take care of them,” Kabir explains, “it was ‘who’s going to finish this job.’”

His self-imposed drive to work and make progress also prevented him from spending time and connecting with his family. He worked late, and he noticed his personality taking a turn for the worse as the demand increased and took a toll on his energy and emotions. It was Kabir’s wife who finally expressed her mounting concerns for his wellbeing, which led to Kabir’s participation in The Wellbeing Project. Within the program’s community of support and wellness-centered retreats for entrepreneurs and changemakers, Kabir came face-to-face with the importance of taking care of his own wellbeing. He realized that it was critical in order to make a greater impact through his work.

“I was spending something so precious and tender, rather ruthlessly – life.

To me, the well-being journey has been literally a poignant, beautiful pause. A pause to stay still, sit down, look inside, feel, become aware and nourish my inner-being. And moving on with heightened self-awareness, repose and quietude, profoundly more sensitivity and responsiveness in life.

It made me focus on myself, without any guilt. I understood that working on self is not being self-centric. In fact, it is the most unique and beautiful gift to oneself and everyone around.

Earlier my work was my only identity. Now, this is no longer true. Now, at first, I am human being – a son, a brother, a classmate, a husband, a father…a friend.

Earlier my relationship with everyone was largely functional or work-centric. I would find myself helpless and even hopeless on matters related to relationship. With uncompromising support of some of the most outstanding resource persons at the Well-being project, I was able to work on almost all my significant relationships – with my own self, my attitudes, with my immediate and larger family, my friends, my neighbours, my colleagues at work, my work.

Later, on my own, I worked with my clients and everyone whom I meet every day. I discovered the value of being humane, kind and compassionate with everyone. I now practice it. It has made a huge difference in the quality of my relationships with everyone. This is now positively impacting not just me, but with almost everyone whom I am engaging at personal, social or professional level.

I discovered that I cannot change the world at all. Unless I change, nothing will change around me. I must be able to take responsibility and not blame others. To begin with, the one thing I can immediately change is, how I respond to what is going on around me. Matters may not have changed much in substance around me, but now, rather than reacting, I am able to sensitively contemplate and respond to it. I have become better at it. This has reduced my stress and anxiety substantially and I am able to respond to most difficult situations rather calmly – with greater sensitivity and patience.

I took upon a meditation practice and this has qualitatively changed the way now I feel and think. This has fundamentally changed my state from being anxious and stressed to being aware and peaceful. It has also changed how I engage with different people; how I work – how I am able to find solutions, contemplate and deliver them to the society and the government.

I realized that well-being is not just for me. It is everyone, everywhere in the nature. I cannot keep it to myself. If I am able to experience and live it, so could everyone around me too. I am striving for this at my own level.

I know that it’s a journey worth continuing…”

In looking back, one of the most interesting revelations Kabir had from The Wellbeing Project was that the greatest work and progress was made not by focusing on the work itself, but by shifting toward a focus on the participant’s deeper needs and elements. In fact, even though he and the other participants were all deeply involved in and committed to their work, they rarely ever talked about work during their participation in The Wellbeing Project. That’s what created such a nurturing atmosphere for change and growth. The ability to slow down and really focus on the human element created a powerful foundational shift within Kabir. He’s now seen firsthand the importance of inner wellbeing, which enables us to do our greatest good. That element has created positive effects in his personal emotions, his relationships, his work interactions and his overall work.

Kabir is now a strong advocate of taking action to set the process of wellbeing into motion, whenever and wherever we notice that need. “You don’t need to first burn out and then get into [wellbeing],” Kabir offers as encouragement, “whenever you realize its significance, that’s when to start realizing who you are, what is inside you, what you can offer.”

WELLbinar: Nurturing Wellbeing for Leadership, with David Simas, President – Obama Foundation WELLbinar: Nurturing Wellbeing for Leadership, with David Simas, President – Obama Foundation

Hosts: Sharon Salzberg & Parker J. Palmer

Guest: David Simas, President – Obama Foundation

February 8, 2022

David Simas, President at Obama Foundation, is joined by Sharon Salzberg and Parker Palmer to explore the links between wellbeing and inspirational leadership. Visit our website to find out more about The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change from June 1-3, 2022, in Bilbao-Biscay, Spain.