Center.

4 Ways to Remain Centered Amid All of the Chaos

“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~Joan Borysenko

Right now I am in a tight squeeze. I am in the process of making some big changes, and it’s bringing quite a bit of chaos—uncertainties, insecurities, and fears—into my life, as changes will do.

A deep desire of mine is to be able to look chaos in any form, of any magnitude, square in the eye and levitate up to the next level of not letting any of the anarchy affect my inner homeostasis. Whatever the drama—work, family, friends, worldly, financial, school, natural disasters—I don’t want any of it to harsh my mellow.

My desire is for peace or bust, on the inside and all around me.

When we recognize that life is our mirror, we begin to understand that the outer chaos merely represents our mental state. It is the mime of our mind. If we can quiet our inner chaos, our outer chaos will simmer.

However, too often we get this process backward, and that is why it takes us so long sometimes to tame all of the ruckus: We don’t take the time to first quiet our mental noise.

I often say that I desire to be the glowing yogi in a mosh pit, untouched and at ease. My biggest fear is someone knocking me off balance and getting trampled.

So, my fantasy is to be just kind of floating there in the lotus position in the middle of it all, with pushing and shoving going on all around me, yet I am untouched. I remain at ease and guarded by my peaceful light.

I crave that kind of serenity in my day to day. When situations arise that aren’t going according to my plan, I want to transcend into the glowing yogi in the mosh pit and remain perfectly centered, unfazed by the drama going on all around me.

Keeping this vibe of peace is hard to do sometimes when we are faced with the challenges of life.

Winds of change blow through our lives daily, and unpredictable circumstances happen on the regular that are beyond our control. How do we handle it all?

Personally, my brain rushes to “fix” everything. If something comes up that doesn’t go according to my plan, I spend sleepless nights trying to figure out “what to do.”

I will solicit advice from friends, loved ones, colleagues, my dog. I will scour the Internet for any hints and solutions I can find. I do anything other than assimilate myself as the peaceful yogi who doesn’t worry, and again that is approaching the issue backward.

It is only from cultivating an inner calm and centeredness that we are able to transcend above any outer chaos.
So how can we do this? How can we transform any chaotic situation into one of inner and outer peace?

How do we sit calmly and not get caught up in the hype? How do we not worry? How do we stay centered and grounded? How do we remain connected and rooted?

These ideas may help:

1. Visualize.

This is the first thing I do. I try to calm my mind down, and I start envisioning the outcome I’d like to see happen. I don’t get attached to these ideas; I simply start imagining myself happy, healthy, safe, and loved, and I begin to visualize a friendlier situation and outcome.

Then I can rest in those good vibes as I remain cradled in my center. Thoughts have power.

2. Train your subconscious brain to have a different default thinking than it does now.

Wishful thinking for different circumstances isn’t enough to transcend us; we’ve got to feel it. If we wish for things to be better or different, but underneath it all we feel that we are doomed no matter what, then nothing will change.

It takes us retraining our subconscious mind to have a different belief system.

I personally like to use affirmations to help me improve my mental and emotional fitness. In Ayurveda we call this a mantra. It’s a positive, uplifting thought that is to be repeated many times throughout the day until it becomes an inner truth and belief system.

An example of a mantra is, “Everything always works out,” or, “Only what is best will happen.” When I’m stressed, repeating these two mantras throughout the day instantly pulls me back into my center and eases my mind. Words have power.

3. Develop faith that things always turn out okay.

In order for us to transcend our situation and create more peace in our lives, we have got to feel it. The best way for us to succeed at levitating above the mosh pit is to have faith.

To have faith, we must believe with conviction that everything will be okay, even if we can’t currently see exactly how.

When we possess faith, that inner knowing is a feeling that we have. We know. And we cannot evolve fully into the know until we have unrockable faith. Feelings have power.

4. Keep your eyes and heart focused on how you can add value to the world each day.

In Ayurveda we call this our Dharma, and it means life purpose. It is our own unique mission in life, the reason we are each here. It is our individual gift we were born to share with others. It is what we are here to serve and dazzle the world with. It is in our DNA and a part of us. It is scripted on our souls.

In moments of mayhem, cling to your purpose in life. Stick with what is true to you. No matter what is going on in our lives right now, our only guarantee is our life purpose. It will never leave you because it is a part of you. You need your purpose, and your purpose needs you. It is the yin to our yang.

So in my moments of panic and confusion, instead of pumping my brain for answers, I have learned to continue to focus on my purpose. We are here on this Earth for one purpose alone: to be and spread unconditional love. It’s how we do it that differs. And it’s these differences that paint the mosaic of life.

When all else fails, focus on how you can add value to the world. If you are wondering what your own personal life mission is, follow your dreams; they will lead you there.

When I know I have contributed value to the world each day, I feel centered, grounded, and at ease. Action is power.

Remember, the outer world is a mirror of our inner world. If we can tame the inner beast inside, the dramas in our outer worlds will subside. And when events occur that are beyond our control, we can use these four tools to remain rooted in our center, and at peace.

We will become one with the yogi floating in the mosh pit, glowing and untouched.