George - You can find inner peace: change your thinking, change your life

Mike George is a bestselling author of nine books, a management tutor and a spiritual coach. With a unique blend of insight, wisdom and humour, Mike brings together the three key strands of the 21st century self awareness, emotional/spiritual intelligence and continuous unlearning. A highly entertaining and relaxing speaker, he is known for his ability to unite head and heart. For the last 30 years, he has been guiding the executive development of leaders in companies and communities in over 30 countries. Whilst he coaches and mentors individuals towards their own vision of success, his corporate clients also include Mitsubishi, Siemens, Royal Bank of Scotland, Johnson and Johnson, Coca Cola, American Express and British Telecom. He lives near Marlborough in the UK. He can be contacted at

By the same author:

The Immune System of the Soul

The 7 Myths About LoveActually!

Dont Get Mad, Get Wise

The 7 Ahas of Highly Enlightened Souls

In the Light of Meditation

1001 Ways to Relax

1001 Meditations

DEDICATION

To those who find themselves in situations of extreme physical hardship, to those who have been displaced from their natural habitat by forces beyond their control, to those growing up into what seems like a strange and confusing world, to those who are suffering mentally and emotionally without the inner tools to cope, may you receive the light and vibrations of peace from all who read this book.

To those who read this book, may it also inspire you to be a source of peace to those around you, even in the darkest of circumstances it is only when we give ourselves to others that we come to know what we have within us to give.

It is only when we give ourselves selflessly that we come to know who we really are.

W e often find the idea of peace somewhat uninspiring and without real colour. Yet we live in a world where it seems harder to find people at peace with themselves and at peace with each other. We know that peace is not just the absence of war. Most treaties only disguise simmering conflicts. We know that peace is not just a state of affairs. The flaring of emotion ensures our relationships are unpredictable and often fragile. But we do know that peace is a state of mind. We have all tasted it and tend to seek it in some place with some person, or by acquiring some possession at some point in our life. We cannot seek what we have not already known and therefore lost! We also know that if we want to live in a peaceful world it behoves each of us to bring it first into our own lives.

However, that seems to be no small task. It seems there was no one in our younger years who could show us how to create a state of inner peace and sustain it within ourselves. On the contrary, we all seem to grow up encouraged into entering states of excitement and fear, anger and anxiety, sadness and sorrow. Such is the power of the media, if not our parents. Yet most of us will, at some stage, consciously focus our time and energy on our quest for inner peace, perhaps when the intensity of our anxieties crosses a certain threshold. Perhaps such a re-prioritization has motivated you to purchase this book. So where do we begin our search? Some seek peace on the mountaintop, others in the desert; some as they sit by the side of the calmness of a lake, others by negotiating oceanic storms and then languishing in the tranquillity of the achievement that follows a dangerous journey. Most of us seek it closer to home in a special relationship, a favourite pastime or perhaps in a preferred substance!

It takes some time, however, to discover that all such ways will ultimately be futile. It took me a while to fully realize that real peace, like happiness, and even love, must come from inside out and not outside in.

Its over thirty years now since I stepped into a meditation centre in my own search for peace. My first experience of meditation was profound. I didnt really understand the theory, which was presented by a charming teacher. But when, after 45 minutes of explanation, she invited me to meditate, little did I know I would have an insperience that would change the course of my life. I was obviously ready, as I was overcome by the most profound and deep sense of inner peace. It was this feeling that ultimately set me on the spiritual path which I still walk on to this day. It is the path on which the self reawakens to the realization of itself as a spiritual being, which is often referred to as the soul. Once again, this is not exactly an insight that sits at the heart of our academic curriculums!

As I continued to master the art of meditation, the fruits of my efforts were both humbling and sweet. The gradual liberation from fear and the flowering of a peacefulness from deep within was the beginning of a growing awareness of the inner beauty of spirit. I have since come to recognize that everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, are essentially seeking three things in all that they do peace in their hearts, love in their relationships and happiness in their life. However, most of us miss the spiritual paradox of our times we already have what we seek.

When we experience ourselves as we really are soul not body, spirit not matter we become awake to our innate spiritual attributes. Love, happiness and peace never leave us; we leave them when we lose our awareness of our own spiritual identity. These qualities of spirit are the source of all real wealth and true joy, and they are the greatest gifts we can give to each other. The insights and exercises in this book are designed to help you focus your search in the right direction: inwards, to the real, spiritual you; upwards, to reconnect with the source of spirit, a relationship with the One who awaits patiently, lovingly, to guide you home; and finally outwards, to share the rediscovery of your inner peace with the world.

Mike George

T he route toward spiritual awareness is a journey, the most important journey of our life; but it is not our lifetimes journey.

It has often been stated that wisdom comes with time. Our physical powers wane as our mental powers wax: we exchange youthful vigour for maturity of thought. Hence the idea of the wise old person, offering his or her teachings to the young, who continue, of course, to pursue their follies unheedingly. But this notion is a dangerous fallacy when applied to our quest for spiritual awareness. It is dangerous because it implies that we may neglect matters of the spirit until our later years. According to this view, even in middle age, say in our 40s or 50s, we do not have to worry too much if we are still carrying some of our youthful attachments around with us our ambition, our drive, our tendency to rush headlong into projects. Yet, in fact, if awareness is withheld from us until the time of sunset revelations, we will have wasted some of our potential. It can never be too late, but given the inestimable rewards of spiritual awareness, given above all that this is the only satisfactory way to live, why not make a start immediately? This book is a gentle wake-up call to do so.

Some of the associations of a journey are highly appropriate to the spiritual quest. The aim is to travel far from what has become habitual to us. There may be long periods en route when we do not seem to be making progress, when the landscape does not appear to change. We may feel tired (we are on foot, of course) and wish that we had never started. We may miss our home comforts from time to time. We will cover the ground more effectively if we choose to travel light.