In order to examine where we have been, where we are, and where we are going, we need to retreat to a quiet place within ourselves. To get there, we must start by finding a quiet place we can escape to.
If you have not already created a private sanctuary, start now. Find a space in your environment that is strictly yours - not the children's or your spouse's or the cat's or dog's but yours.
Finding it can sometimes be difficult; it is not unusual to discover that you have no private space to call your own. Create one that belongs to you, even if it's only big enough to accommodate a stool.
Next, set aside a few minutes each day to go to that place. Bring fresh flowers, candles, incense, images of your favorite deities, or pictures of ancestors into your special place. Personalize it with anything that embodies love, quietness, and peace.
Start by spending a few minutes in your space each day. Work up to 30 minutes. You owe it to yourself to experience 30 minutes of peace and solitude every day. The special time you give yourself will afford you tremendous personal development.
Sometimes finding these few minutes is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Just keep in mind that you need the needle to sew the pieces of your holistic self together - it's important to balance. If you make the time a priority, it will be.
When you are in your special place, don't concern yourself with anything other than getting accustomed to sitting quietly with yourself.
It takes our minds and bodies time to adjust to quiet times. We are so busy all the time that when we finally sit quietly, the mind will start with a litany of things for you to think about: picking up the dry cleaning, what to prepare for dinner, something needed at your restaurant.
All these things and more try to enter your mind to disturb your peace. And your body will try to get your attention with itching, twitching, and other useless movements and reminders that you should be doing something else.
Such reactions are natural. Look at each of them and let them pass. As time goes on, inner quietness will occur naturally, and you won't have to work at it.
Little by little through this process you will gather peace and calm. You will also have an opportunity to think about some of the things you've encountered and use the opportunity to evaluate them. In addition, you will be giving yourself a daily healing of the body, mind and spirit.
Enter your quiet, sacred space daily with no expectations. Just be. As time goes on, you will be able to carry more and more peace and calm from your sacred space into your daily activities. Once you begin to understand your inner world, you will be better equipped to handle the stresses of the external world.
source: Gladys Edmunds' Entrepreneurial Tightrope