My thoughts on finding inner peace and changing our reality

Greetings, fellow humans. *does a robotic like wave*

I'm posting this in the anxiety forum because I can't help but feel that anxiety is the exact opposite of inner peace. Living in a state of anxiety is wholly different from living in a state of peace and harmony, and as someone who's had to deal with anxiety many times before, I can honestly say it's one of the worst feelings in the world. Ofcourse anxiety is pivotal to our survival on this planet and it is therefore one of our most important emotions, yet when we are deeply affected by it in a negative way, it becomes a problem.
I think one of the best ways to battle anxiety is simply with peace. Below I will type out some of my thoughts and (hopefully) helpful tips - some might seem incredibly simple, and well.. they are. Do you ever look all over for something you've lost, then, after hours of hopeless searching, you decide to give up - and you find that the object you were looking for was in your pocket all along. Finding your inner peace is very similar to that, because it resides in all of us. We just have to find it. How far below the surface it is hidden varies from person to person but trust me: it is there.

Everyone needs quiet time. How can you expect your inner system to be peaceful when you're surrounded by loud, chaotic noises?
Although silence is preferred, it is not a requirement. I find that often, when the sounds around me are equal in volume and type, I can zone them out. When you've got the outside covered, it's time to take a look at the inside. How loud is your mind? What volume are your thoughts, are they soft whispers, gentle and harmless, or are they violent screams of terror?
Calming down your mind always starts with breathing and relaxing the body. Try focusing on something outside of you, like the plant your mother got you for your birthday, and examine it thoroughly, without making a judgment or labelling it. View it as you would a painting, let your eyes see, really see, and admire. So often we look, but we don't see. We're too busy thinking about the events of the day, worrying about the future or reliving the past. All the while we miss the only thing we're ever really going to have: the now. The past only exists as a memory in our brain and the future is merely a concept of our imagination. We project our expectations, wishes and anxieties on an image of the future that only exists inside of our heads, and we cling to it desperately as we completely ignore the now.
Worrying about the future is pointless by all means. We can't possibly know what's going to happen, and what we imagine will happen(the image mentioned above) rarely turns out to become a reality. We spend all this time living and reliving a moment that hasn't even happened yet, and will probably never happen exactly the way we think, worry or hope it will. So why do we continue to do this, when all we get is a lot of unnecessary anxiety?

I think it is our ego's way of staying in control, or atleast feeling like it is in control. Our mind doesn't like uncertainties by nature, and will always fill in the blanks. Depending on our personal thought patterns, past experiences, personalities, emotions and so on, it will construct an image of what the future might look like. Understand that this image, though it may seem very convincing, is heavily influenced by your own personality traits and past experiences. If you have a tendency to worry and expect the worst, your brain is likely to construct the image by those measures. Now, more often than not, this image we have of the future only causes us to worry. Or, on the flip side of things, it gets us really excited and sets us up for failure when it turns out to be different than we had hoped. Wouldn't it be simpler to just not think about the future at all? I'll give you an example.
Normally when I have to go out, I plan it several days ahead. I think about it carefully, imagine myself in various situations, weigh all the pros and cons, all the things that could go wrong and all the things that might go right, and eventually think: 'alright, I think I'm ready!'. Without this 'mental preparation', I freak out, because I honestly feel like I need enough time to think and prepare myself for the future. Yet, those thoughts only make the anticipation grow larger, and cause a lot of panic in general. The other day, I got a call about a job I applied to. They asked me if I could come in the day after, and in a moment of character-breaking excitement I said yes. Immediately I regretted it and started freaking out, I didn't have enough time to prepare myself and think about everything. I went into a state of panic and was very close to a panic attack. Then I thought, well, obviously 'mentally preparing' doesn't work! The thoughts about the interview were giving me anxiety, not calming me down! Even when I looked back at other appointments, meeting and other things I had to do that I found scary, mentally preparing didn't do much. Sure, it made me feel prepared and in some cases even more sure of myself, but the actual meeting always went differently than I expected. Plus, the days I spent preparing myself were wasted by having so many anxiety inducing thoughts.
This time, I decided to not think about it at all. Since it had never really gotten me anywhere, I decided to stop imagining what the future would look like, and went on with my day. Aside from a little route-planning I had to do the night before, not thinking about the appointment worked surprisingly well. I looked at it as if it were an experiment, and everytime I caught myself thinking (and worrying), I'd correct myself and point out that the point of this is simple: to see the effects of not thinking at all. Morning came, and I still felt great. Once the interview came closer, my body was feeling a little stressed, which stressed me out in turn, but I calmed myself down remembering that my body was only doing what I normally do when I have to go out. I noticed that I was mentally very much relaxed, it was just my body that was stressed and felt anxiety.
I felt relatively relaxed through out the interview, and ended up getting the job! Not only did the not-thinking experiment work, it got me a job and a new perspective! Suddenly I feel very silly about myself when I think about all of the hours spent 'mentally preparing' myself for the future.

How we perceive the world is how we live our lives. It impacts not only the things that happen to us, but the things that will happen to us as well. After all, if you keep on perceiving life as a terrible, punishing experience, it will be. Your perception of reality affects your reality, which is a scary yet exciting thing. Think about this: you leave for work in the morning, feeling depressed and unlucky. It rains outside and already you feel like the world is out to get you. The bus is late, as it always is, damn me, and you arrive to work already feeling like leaving. Now, let's change your emotions. You wake up and feel great. You start your day with a nice cup of coffee and leave your house. Outside you notice that it's raining, and you glance to see the plants in your garden, which you forgot to water that weekend. You think to yourself, thanks nature!, and get on the bus. It's a little late, but that's alright, as it gives you some time to enjoy the book you've been wanting to read. You get to work feeling happy and full of energy, which not only impacts your experience, but the experience of everyone around you.
What does this mean? It means that we have the power to change our reality! Our perception of reality affects our reality, and we can (with hard work) change our perception, therefore changing reality itself!

The purpose of meditation is not to completely stop thinking and numb our minds, it is to discover our true selves and get more in touch with everything around us. It is observing and reserving yourself from judgment, it's critically looking into the depths of who you are and always looking for new ways to improve. It is accepting and letting go, growing and connecting with others and the earth, and to feel compassion towards all living things. Meditation is key to finding inner peace, because it teaches you to look beyond the thoughts, emotions and fantasies of every day life. Being your own observer and taking distance from things that are susceptible to change teaches us that nothing stays the same, and that humans have limited power. We can't possibly fulfill all of our dreams and we can't avoid suffering, so we must accept the things we can not change. Resisting will only serve to keep your mind unbalanced and disorganised.

I've been rambling for quite some time now, I hope this will be helpful to some. If it is, please let me know, perhaps I'll write more of these in the future. Much love.