‘Peace chaser’ is what I sometimes refer to the phenomena of someone seeking for the outward to always be peaceful so that THEY can then feel like a peaceful and spiritual person (I was one of those trust me….big time…). Spoiler alert: It’s a trap, it’s a red herring, it’s the opposite of freedom, of liberation. It’s a gilded cage of maintaining and trying to keep hold of peace as a ‘thing’. It’s mood making rather than a sign of true spiritual awakening. True peace is not a ‘thing’ to be maintained, it’s not a persona to adopt or a lifestyle to achieve.
It’s a natural misunderstanding, that yearning for peace and looking for it as an experience. It’s not wrong – the intention is good, the search for lasting peace and happiness. It’s where someone’s had a taste that that peace (non-suffering) is possible and so there’s a perfectly natural sense of “I want that, that’s what I’m after – peace”. But unfortunately it’s trying to put the cart before the horse and create what the mind THINKS is peace in the environment rather than ACTUAL abiding peace in the heart.
It’s looking at peace as a prescription to fulfil, not peace as a description of life when lived in and as your nature.
Because peace isn’t quietness and literal silence, peace isn’t calmness and non-action, peace isn’t about not rocking the boat ever again. Peace is not true abiding peace unless it’s there even in the midst of a heated fight, or even when there’s disturbances and constant change. Can you be at peace WITH these moments and what is being fully experienced? Can you be at peace even when the entirety of your life seems messy and complicated and falling apart at the seams? Can you discover the kind of peace that is not dependant on anything in life looking a certain way? Can you discover the kind of peace that doesn’t come and go? (Don’t get me wrong, if temporary peace is all that is available it’s not to turn our noses up at that either… it just will ultimately be unsatisfactory and transient)
True peace isn’t something you can attain and maintain. True peace is a description of something you ARE when you recognise your nature and you recognise the nature of life. It’s a description of the discovery of acceptance and love for WHAT IS – yes ALL. OF. IT. (even if it’s only on a bigger picture level with non-acceptance and resistance showing up in your experience too).
“What? So should I ditch the meditation/practice/technique that makes me feel more peaceful?”
No, not at all – Meditation or spending time quietly, silently, looking inwardly, practicing non-attachment, helps us to see our nature; Awareness that knows all of this, awareness that experiences the mind and all phenomenal content – thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, ‘outside world’ – all of it. Meditation etc. parts or clears the clouds enough so we can see the sky (ourselves – awareness/consciousness/divine nature/god). This feels peaceful not because we’ve gotten rid of the content but because we aren’t grabbing on to said content – we see that we are PRIOR to that content, aware of that content, and we accept that it IS coming and going as this is its nature and we see that WE (awareness) are the only stable constant. We are then able to enjoy (love) this content again because we’re not trapped in the grasping and wanting it to be different than it is – than its nature is.
So peace is a natural byproduct of what happens when there is a deep deep deep surrender and genuine love and acceptance of life in all its forms. Peace is the fragrance of life lived in alignment with the nature of life. Peace is the flavour when we (ego-mind) are not at war with life. Peace is the love and celebration of life – yes even the celebration (acceptance) of the yucky difficult stuff – awareness makes no distinctions! Peace is NOT just a peaceful experience.
So if you’re going to chase something… don’t just chase peaceful experiences… use that opportunity to discover who is the one that experiences this all.
