Crystals for Peace: How to Get Your Om on

Peace is a nebulous concept, one that shifts and shakes up depending on the times and the context. A lot of people, institutions, and entities are calling for peace out of one side of the mouth and screaming for war out of the other.

What does it mean to want peace? And how can crystals for peace possibly help.

This is an important question to ask yourself, and answer, when you find yourself wishing for peace. It took me years to realize that I was not at peace within myself, that I was a social justice warrior turned keyboard warrior, railing against anyone intolerant in my best self-righteous voice.

When I began to fall apart from the inside out, shaking with anxiety, I realized that I was trying to force peace on people.

That I was doing work that was simply not my work to do.

Table of Contents

First Put Your Own House in Order

No, I did not become a born-again Christian and start bible thumping (no offense to bible thumping born again Christians), but I did start seeking ways to find internal peace.

And I’ll take wisdom wherever I can get it.

Ancient texts are great places to find lasting lessons on human universals like peace, love, and rules for living a good and purpose driven life. And the bible happens to be just one of those ancient texts. We take what works, the wisdom that has remained for thousands of years, and we discard what no longer applies.

Like the no eating pork, thing. Who are we kidding? Bacon is non-negotiable.

Look, there will always be a country at war, maybe our own. There will always be people suffering human rights abuses. There will always be victims of assault. There will always be the weak and vulnerable and there will always be those who prey on the weak and vulnerable.

What can you possibly do to save everyone? How can you instill peace on the entire world? Even on your country? Or on your small community?

You begin at home.

You begin within.

Clinical psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has recently popularized the expression “first put your own house in order” in his book 12 Rules for Life.

But the expression is one that began with Jesus.

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment, you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”
~Matthew 7:1-3

The idea here is that if you are not at peace, how can you possibly hope to spread peace in the world?

If you are at war, how can you spread peace?

If you are angry, how can you be calling for peace?

Put your own house in order.

This lesson is a gravely important one, and one that can take a lifetime. Finding inner peace is an ongoing, spiraling journey that will test and try you again and again.

So, if you are looking for peace, make absolutely sure that you are looking for peace inside of yourself, and not outside of yourself.

As you become ever more peaceful, your peace will ripple out across the universe exponentially.

Finding Peace Within

So, how do you do that? How do you find peace within?

Grow Self Awareness

“I’m not angry!” Quite often, we find ourselves at war within without even realizing it. Someone will ask why you are so upset, and we will shout about how not upset we are. The first step to finding inner peace is to look at ourselves, clearly and lovingly. “Oh.” We might say. I am really angry.” Sure, there’s a lot to be angry about, but unless you have a healthy channel for your anger, you will only end up hurting yourself or someone else, or both.

Get clear on who you are, on how you behave, and on how you channel your anger. Do something productive with it, talk about it with trusted friends or family members, journal about it. And ask yourself if you can even do anything about the things you are so angry about. If not, you will have to let them go.

Check Your Ego

For the super strong, warrior defenders among us, it can be hard to imagine that we do not have the strength or ability to control the entire world. Self-righteousness is an ego trip that will end in disaster and exhaustion. Check your ego. It will always keep you out of alignment with your inner peace.

Sit With Yourself

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you are used to being angry, to trying to fix others, to trying to change the world, you will have to get comfortable just sitting with yourself and asking, “what can I work on here?” Trust me, there’s a lot. Most people are so outwardly focused that they never take time to just sit with themselves and look at where they can improve in their own homes.

Meditate

Remember that you are never alone. You are always being held in divine love by an infinitely wise and loving universe. Sit in meditation and trust that feeling. You are loved. You are not alone. Peace is always available to you.

Fail without Shame

You will fail again and again. This is normal. We don’t shame a baby learning to walk for falling down. Likewise, don’t shame yourself for failing at finding peace. If you are used to being angry, peace will feel foreign. If you are used to reacting to triggers, not reacting will feel wild. Fail again and again, and do not shame yourself for it. Just get back up and try again.

Learn from Your Mistakes

And use those failures as opportunities to learn. Each time you fail, reflect on how you could have behaved differently, what you could have done better, and commit to doing better next time.

Set Boundaries

Quite often, we feel ourselves out of peace and into angry and frustrated spaces because of people in our lives. If it is people out of our lives, send them compassion and stop paying attention to them. But if it is people in our daily lives, it is time to set boundaries. Learn to say “no.” Learn to cut toxic people out of your life. Learn to establish firm boundaries with them. Yes, even with your kids or your parents or your lover. “This is not okay” is a perfectly acceptable statement. You deserve peace, and you will have to work for it.

Let Go and Walk Away

Know when to let go. You do not have the capacity to pay attention to all the things, care for all the people, take on everyone’s energy. Learn when to just let go of things, people, and problems you cannot change, and walk away. You will find peace almost instantly when you do.