There are times our mind is calm and clear. Life feels good and we feel a sense of happiness and well-being. But soon, we feel agitated within, and even though things have not changed, life doesn’t seem as good. We go through these high and low phases periodically often wondering whether lasting peace and happiness exists.

To reach our goal we must know the route. The goal of lasting peace and happiness is possible to achieve if we understand how to navigate the route – the highs and lows of the mind.

We all carry a combination of higher and lower order qualities in us. When our mind is operating under the influence of our higher qualities of love, purity, compassion and unselfishness, our world view is experienced through a clear and calm mind. And the same mind, viewing the same world through anger, fear, attachments, negativity, anxiety and ego has a different experience.

It is like viewing the world through a pair of glasses. If the lens is clear, we clearly see the blue of the sky, green in the trees and the bright light of the sun. If the lens is red, everything looks red. And if the lens is black, even the radiant sun and colourful flowers look dark.

The world is but a function of the lens through which we view it. We need to change our inner lens of the mind and our world will start looking different.

And this empowers us, knowing that we can invoke the lens we want. But we need to be careful. The mind loves its lower nature of temptations and laziness. We can only drop the lower when we hold on to the higher.

Life can be challenging. But the real struggle is between the higher and lower within us. And we know we are succeeding when we feel the calm and peace within. Because then we know, our mind has the right lens.

( Picture – Initiatives of Change (IofC) Centre in Caux, Switzerland, overlooking Montreux and lake Geneva )