*Is Physical Relaxation The Road To Peace?*


It’s a common notion (idea) to think of peace as being closely related to
the beauty of nature - the play of waves on a beach, the blowing of wind
through a forest, the soaring and swooping of sea gulls; in short, anything
away from the rush and hurry of the city. We also associate peace with some
physical form of relaxation like headphones plugged into soothing music, a
hot bath after a hard day, a brisk walk in the park, etc. *In meditation we
realize peace to be our very essence (nature); we realize very
quickly,* *trying
to extract peace from the world around us or even from some physical
sensations in our own bodies gives us only a temporary experience of i*t.


Once we start meditating, we start to see physical relaxation as an *escape
*from tension and not a *solution *for it; we no longer see the beautiful
scenes of nature as sources radiating *permanent *peace. But in fact it is
their mere absence of conflict, their harmony of colours, forms and sounds
which temporarily appeal to us. There is something in each of us which cries
out to be free from conflict. *We discover that "small voice" or need is
only our true nature demanding to be recognized. *We realize that neither
the body nor nature can give the peace that the soul was longing for, but it
has to be tapped from within. Having found it, it remains constant, whether
in the city or countryside, in comfort or discomfort. In the midst of noise
and confusion, peace is really our own.