Each year an International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The day was originally introduced by the General Assembly of the United Nations, who declared it as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
Finding peace is an incredibly complex process to get your head around and setting a few minutes aside today to try and think about the way your look at your own life can make a big difference to your mind set.
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Ondy Willson, an internationally-acclaimed mindfulness trainer, writer and Buddhist teacher, who is currently based in Haverthwaite, will soon be taking groups of Cumbrian people to help them focus on Mindfulness, emotional intelligence and ethics.
Ahead of her weekend mindfulness course, which will take place in November, Ondy spoke about the idea of leading a more peaceful life. She said: "Mindfulness comes from the principles of Buddhist psychology but you do not need to commit to the religion to practice it.
"Mindfulness comes from Buddhism and Buddhism is always considered the most peaceful of all religions because it is fundamentally non-violent. However, I think that all religions are built on a foundation of non-violence and whether you have a different faith or no faith at all mindfulness is still something that can be practiced."
Ondy, who lived for 13 years in the Manjushri Meditation Centre at Conishead Priory, near Ulverston, has been a practicing Buddhist for 36 years. She met her husband, a German Buddhist artist, while she was living and working there. She now guides people to live a more peaceful life by teaching them the values of meditation, how to develop constructive emotions and thoughts and how to recognise destructive thoughts and therefore discourage them. Ondy said: "Now is an amazing and exciting time to be involved in the teaching of mindfulness, as there is now scientific proof regarding the power of meditation.
"When I converted to Buddhism back in 1980, there was a lot of scepticism around the idea of meditation. People just thought it was mostly hippies and weirdos who spent their time meditating but now there has been official research by neuroscientists to show that the brains of people who meditate actually work differently.
"To be at peace with other people, you first have to be at peace with yourself and meditation can help you achieve this. It can also be just as effective as a drug for treating stress and insomnia."
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In her mindfulness teaching, Ondy encourages people to let go of feelings such as anger and jealousy, which are really two of the most poisonous emotions a person can feel. She said: "If you are slower to anger and feel happy for people instead of envious of their external possessions then you will be infinitely more peaceful person because you are no long grasping at what 'should be'."
Ondy has previously been head of belief, philosophy and ethics at Ulverston Victoria High School and has recently agreed to teach mindfulness within the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. She has previously taught courses in Russia and India and hopes to do more in the future. She said: "Meditation and mindfulness is no longer for hippies, it has been proved so effective for achieving a peaceful life that it has become one of the foremost training skills in the Western world.
"Of course in places like India and Tibet, meditation has always been of the utmost importance, but now with an ambassador like the current Dalai Lama, who is inclusive of all religions, it has now become a firm fixture in European countries."
Ondy is currently working on a new book, which is to be called 'Living Mindfully' and due to demand will be running a weekend course in minfulness on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November at Stonecross Manor in Kendal.
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