by Izad Ithnin

In this frantic world of confusion, heedlessness, materialism, working deadlines, social activities and responsibilities, few people are able to find peace or tranquility. We have learned to chase after this and that, yet without peace and tranquility, we really have nothing. For many people, peace and tranquility seem elusive, or maybe they are too busy doing things that they don’t even have time for themselves, yet without them, our lives continue to feel incomplete and lacking in something.

One of the most reliable paths leading to peace and tranquility is the quiet enjoyment of daily spiritual practices. Even half an hour each day of sincere spiritual practice can produce tremendous changes in a person's life.

For most people, it is important to have a place set aside specifically for spiritual practices and inner awakening. It could be your room, a small corner in your garden or just a small space such as a prayer rug or a meditation cushion, where the one and only activity is your own spiritual practice. This is a good start to find that little space where you can truly be alone, with your heart and your mind. Of course, when you progress in your spiritual path, when your heart starts to beat with the Name of God continuously, whether you are eating, talking to colleagues or in a business meeting, every moment will be filled with peace and tranquility, and every place becomes your sacred space.

This sacred space is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place where self-love and self-discovery begins…At first you may find that nothing is happening there. But if you have a sacred place, and use it, and take advantage of it, something will happen...

Meditation is highly recommended by many spiritual teachers, and the end product of all the different forms of meditation is liberation from our excessive preoccupation with the noisy chatter regarding "I", "me" and "mine" (ego), leaving us free to more clearly understand who and what we really are. Meditation is not just a way of making your mind quiet. Of course that is the very first step but meditation is much more than that. It goes beyond the mind, into the different levels of the heart, into your very own soul and eventually, to God. It got nothing to do with achieving occult powers and the likes. This are all the work of the ego. To quote my spiritual master, "when we come face to face with our Creator, we leave everything else behind. Nothing remains except your soul. Even if someone tried to cut you with a sword, you would not be harmed. Nothing can touch you physically in such a state, because your physical body will have entered your spiritual being. Normally it is the opposite: our souls are imprisoned in the physical body. In a perfect state of meditation, your soul covers your physical body and you become a spirit."

There are many forms of spiritual practice, such as prayer, chanting, meditation and contemplation, yet there is only one goal, and that is freedom; freedom to follow the still small voice within, freedom to follow the greatest yearnings of the heart, freedom to discover bliss beyond description. Such bliss cannot be experienced on the level of the mind. The mind separates us from spiritual truth which is found within the heart. While the mind understands through duality, Truth is always a state of oneness: the knower and the knowledge are one, the lover and Beloved are united. And true freedom is not about having lots of money, a car, a bungalow, great food, exotic holidays, etc. They are all nice to have but true freedom only happens when you are no longer trapped by your own ego, by your own base desires. When that happens, every single moment of your life will be filled with love, peace, joy, beauty, harmony, gratitude and much more.

In the beginning you should not even think about meditation. Just try to set aside a certain time of day when you will try to be calm and quiet, and feel that these five minutes belong to your inner being and to nobody else. Regularity is of paramount importance. What you need is regular practice at a regular time.

So, if you would like to find a better way of life, a life full of love, harmony and beauty, a life full of bliss, then it's absolutely necessary to take time each and every day to visit your own corner, a place where all that matters is learning to become more aware of who you truly are and what you are becoming, a place where you discover yourself...

"He who knows himself, knows his Lord"

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