An Easy Way to Acquire Mental Peace

Your physical possessions -- all of the stuff you purchase, use, don't use, store, take out, put away, re-arrange, clean, insure, worry about, clean some more, and move from home to home -- all require attention and mental activity. Not to mention the added worry and stress that you feel when one of your possessions is damaged or lost.

I am a strong believer in the idea that the more stuff you have, the farther away you move from achieving mental peace.

We continue to acquire. We are constantly buying more and more things, trinkets, decorations and possessions which takes more time, adds further congestion to our mental activity, and distracts us even more from ourselves and our family time.

When did buying and keeping things become so important?

When are we going to realize the mental burden we carry from holding on to all that stuff?

It is in our inability to let go of unnecessary possessions which contributes hugely to our mental heaviness. It is also in the constant bombardment of information flooding towards us each day, reinforcing the idea that we need to buy more in order to feel happier, that distracts us from ourselves and mental peace. It also reinforces our often unrealistic attachment to our possessions.

As many of you will already know, it is my passionate desire to detox and simplify my life at a very deep level this year. As I strive towards mental peace, I know in my heart that all my possessions are an important key.

I invite you to play the following simple game, which popped into my head early one January morning. What a blast it has been --  not to mention amazingly successful! If it gets any more real I’ll be able to touch it by tomorrow.

Here it is: Get excited, get very excited, as if you are about to move overseas. I imagine and am acting out that I am about to be offered a fabulous writing position overseas. I am thrilled with this offer. My children are excited with spending time overseas. It brings great satisfaction knowing I am about to double my life experience. It excites my passion and love of travelling and the financial rewards are a welcomed blessing. It will create the most stimulating writing environment for my creative juices to flow.

You see I am simplifying my possessions, things, stuff, and home assuming that any moment the overseas offer will arrive and I only have two weeks before leaving. Each day I have made small or big changes that have brought me closer to this reality.

I have even gone to the extent of collecting information on international schools places like Italy, Hawaii, and Bali. This makes the process more real to me.

I have gone through every box, corner, and hidden space in my home and so far have kept just a minimum of possessions whilst still allowing ourselves to live comfortably.