# Peace



## Josh (May 6, 2008)

This is taken from my personal blog. It got a few positive comments there and so I thought I'd share it here.



Peace. Peace is not a universal ideal. By that I mean that different people may have different ideas of what peace actually means to them in their lives. 

For me, peace is a strictly personal thing. You can be at war and be at peace within your own mind. Peace in my estimation is not so much of an emotion, but rather a state of being. We forget things like "peace" and "happiness" are not universal terms and thus we apply our own individual meanings to these terms. Perception is always important to remember. Nothing in nature is utterly universal except the universe. What flows, flows and what , is what is. Everything is bendable, and yet immobile. 

I've felt a bit of trouble lately containing my own internal anger. Many reasons for the anger, but again everything starts from within. Or does it? I'm unsure. Looking to your own feelings can be a very powerful thing. If you only look within however, you'll become obsessed with your own passions and desires never accepting the natural flow of nature. I think the strength we draw from within is only as good as our focus and self control. When controlling my own emotions and not having my emotions control me do I find peace. 

If you lack the focus (control) of your emotions, you will be too generic..a over passionate fool never looking outward for answers.

If you lack the ability to let your emotions flow truthfully, you will be too rigid following only your own personal mental truths.

I believe my true peace is found in the balance.


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## Xue Sheng (May 6, 2008)

I can tell you from experience that controlling your emotions... meaning trying not to have any... meaning suppressing them&#8230; will lead to a problem... a very big problem.

But being without emotions is not being at peace

And I do believe balance is very very important and, in my opinion, without it you cannot have peace but I am talking internally not global


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## OnlyAnEgg (May 6, 2008)

Agreeing with Xue, emotions are meant to be felt, letting them move through me such that I may experience them and observe their source and destination.

Agreeing with Josh, I find peace when my life is more or less balanced.  My peace, however, will be different than others'.  This I accept as truth.


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## Mr G (May 7, 2008)

Josh said:


> I believe my true peace is found in the balance.



Thanks for posting this tread.  
Peace.
It's tough to define but not hard to recognize.  I think it is definitely in the balance of things.  Emotional and reasonable.  Alert but calm.   Control and accepting.  

Om


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## Josh (May 7, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> I can tell you from experience that controlling your emotions... meaning trying not to have any... meaning suppressing them will lead to a problem... a very big problem.
> 
> But being without emotions is not being at peace
> 
> And I do believe balance is very very important and, in my opinion, without it you cannot have peace but I am talking internally not global



I agree with you. by control I only meant that they don't control you.


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## Josh (May 7, 2008)

OnlyAnEgg said:


> Agreeing with Xue, emotions are meant to be felt, letting them move through me such that I may experience them and observe their source and destination.
> 
> Agreeing with Josh, I find peace when my life is more or less balanced.  My peace, however, will be different than others'.  This I accept as truth.



I think that's a fine truth


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## Josh (May 7, 2008)

Mr G said:


> Thanks for posting this tread.
> Peace.
> It's tough to define but not hard to recognize.  I think it is definitely in the balance of things.  Emotional and reasonable.  Alert but calm.   Control and accepting.
> 
> Om




Thanks for taking the time to read it and actually reply. I appreciate that.


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## Fiendlover (May 7, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> I can tell you from experience that controlling your emotions... meaning trying not to have any... meaning suppressing them will lead to a problem... a very big problem.
> 
> But being without emotions is not being at peace
> 
> And I do believe balance is very very important and, in my opinion, without it you cannot have peace but I am talking internally not global


 
I agree with Xue Sheng.  Over controlling your emotions and never releasing them can cause problems and not just mental but physical as well.  Like stress is a big issue along with depression.  But not controlling them could also give you problems with the people around.  You need balance and when you reach that balance then you can have internal peace.


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## Xue Sheng (May 8, 2008)

Josh said:


> I agree with you. by control I only meant that they don't control you.


 
Good goal to shoot for but we will, IMO, always be controlled to some extent by our emotions. But it is how we act on those that make a big difference. We all get angry but we do not need to act on that anger you can observe it except it live with it and let it go. You can be very happy and you can do the same or you can choose to act on that happiness. You can act in anger as well but it is more likely to cause you problems if in nothing else regret.

And in some cases it is best to let your emotions take the helm and run with it. "Fight or flight" is a good one as is the "gut feeling". But there is also a decision that needs to be made then as well, especially in "fight or flight" it can be triggered by the strangest things and it may not be the proper time to run or fight but in my experience the feeling we all get "gut feeling" about 95% of the time I am better off if I listen to it. 

Basically in an effort to not try and sound like a fortune cookie we all have emotions and we need to live with them that is all.


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## Josh (May 8, 2008)

Thank you all very much for the replies.


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## Kacey (May 8, 2008)

I realize that the source of this quote may cause some people to discount it; nonetheless, I chose it because when I first read the novel Spock's World by Diane Duane (pg 93), the concept expressed struck a chord in me as something I had been attempting to articulate.



> 'Arie'mnu... The concept keeps getting translated as 'lack of emotion' or 'suppression of emotion,' which is a little better... but not much.  A more accurate translation would be 'passion's mastery.'  The word itself acknowledges that Vulucans do _too_ have emotions, but are managing them rather than being managed by them.



A website I found while looking for the above quote (I should _never_ loan books out; that's _always_ when I find a need for them) contained this definition:



> Arie'mnu- This is the mastery of emotion--controlling it to fit your needs. Instead of passion controlling you, you control it. Logic stresses that it must be controlled in order for one to keep a clear mind and to attain all peace sought after.



Likewise, there is Frank Herbert's Dune series the Litany Against Fear, as follows:



> _I must not fear.
> __Fear is the mind-killer.
> __Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
> __I will face my fear.
> ...



The above, when combined, correlated with my personal conception of "peace" - or, rather, of "inner peace", which seems to be what the blog posting was referring to (rather than "world peace").  One must be aware of one's own emotions; only then can they be understood and allowed to flow freely, without preventing action when necessary.


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## Mr G (May 8, 2008)

Thank you for the Dune Quote.  The "Litany Against Fear"  really allows me to visualize that washing over of emotions.  Allowing emotion to flow over and through you.  Sometimes, it feels like it soaks through me to the core before I can regain my barrings.

Just to throw another log on the fire: Do you apply the 'mastery of emotion' to positive feelings?  Do you allow logic to temper joy?


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