Lovelies, I am so excited. Max Strom, one of my favorite teachers, agreed to be the first interviewee for the new Power of Peace series, debuting this week and running through to September.
The Power of Peace series explores ideas about peace and how it can transform our lives–from the inside out. It features luminaries from all walks of life.
Listen to the full recorded interview below (12 mins).
Max: Being at peace is really ground zero. It is our natural state. When we’re in that state we function better physically, mentally. We’re the most clear-headed to make important decisions.
LL: Have there been moments where you felt that you weren’t in that state and how did that impact you and how you were able to interact with the world?
Max: Certainly, I fall out of peace several times a week, sometimes several times a day…the act of going back into peace has to be a conscious practice. The first step is recognizing that I’m out of peace.
What brings me peace is a whole little list of things.
The practice of gratitude is something I practice before every meal, but also anytime that I feel that I’m not in my center. I call it finding my center of gratitude.
Sometimes the reason we don’t have peace is bigger. Sometimes it’s a deep issue from the past or an important relationship. Sometimes if we’re sitting on unspoken truths, if we’re just holding on and not speaking something that really needs to be spoken, when we sit on that it causes anxiety.
You have to speak the truth.
One of the biggest most forgotten tools we have in our toolbox for peace is a tool called forgiveness. To ask for forgiveness or to offer forgiveness. Because when we hold anger for a long time, it doesn’t hurt the person we’re angry with; it really hurts us and our family.
and There Is No App for Happiness: How to Avoid a Near-Life Experience
. He leads trainings and workshops around the world.