The Signs of Inner Peace

I came across this in my wanderings, liked it, and thought you might enjoy reading it too. I found it at curezone.com.

THE SIGNS OF INNER PEACE

Frequent Attacks of smiling.

A loss of interest in conflicts.

A loss of interest in judging self.

A loss of interest in judging other people.

An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

Contented feelings of connecting with others and nature.

Loss of ability to worry.

Increased tendency to allow rather than force things.

Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

A tendency to think and act spontaneously.

An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others.

The uncontrollable urge to extend love all around.


I liked this list. It reminded me of something similar that I'd often heard at church:


When you have the Spirit:


1. You feel happy, calm, and clear-minded.

2. You feel generous.

3. Nobody can offend you.

4. You wouldn’t mind everybody seeing what you’re doing.

5. You are eager to be with people and want to make them happy.

6. You are glad when others succeed.

7. You are glad to attend your meetings and participate in church activities.

8. You feel like praying.

9. You wish you could keep all the Lord’s commandments.

10. You feel in control—you don’t overeat or sleep too much; you don’t feel
uncontrollably drawn to sensational entertainment, lose your temper, or feel uncontrollable passions or desires.

11. You think about the Savior often and lovingly; you want to know him better.

12. You feel confident and are glad to be alive.


When you don’t have the Spirit:


1. You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, and frustrated.

2. You feel possessive, self-centered, or resentful of demands made on you.

3. You are easily offended.

4. You become secretive and evasive.

5. You avoid people, especially members of your family; and you are critical of
family members and Church authorities.

6. You envy or resent the successes of others.

7. You don’t want to go to church, go home teaching, or take the sacrament. You wish
you had another church job or no job at all.

8. You don’t want to pray.

9. You find the commandments bothersome, restricting, or senseless.

10. You feel emotions and appetites so strongly that you fear you cannot control
them — hate, jealousy, anger, lust, hunger, fatigue.

11. You hardly ever think of the Savior; he seems irrelevant to your life, or worse, part of a confusing system that seems to work against you.

12. You get discouraged easily and wonder if life is really worth it.


I've experienced probably everything on all of these lists at one time or another, and I can tell you that it's a lot more fun to have inner peace and feel the influence of the Spirit, rather than the other way around.

It's not that hard, either; it's simply letting go of yourself (humility) and thinking more of other people than yourself (the Golden Rule), and wanting to be more of what God wants for you than what you could come up with for yourself.

It's surprising how good things just seem to flow to us effortlessly when we live life this way.