Julia Dencker is a multi-passionate entrepreneur and expert in inner peace and peaceful leadership. She founded The Peaceful Path, hosts a German-speaking podcast, and provides recourses, mentorship, workshops, and retreats to promote sustainable conflict resolution for a possible peaceful world.
Inner peace is like a quiet river within me, constantly flowing even in the middle of life’s storms. Sure, conflicts arise, but through my personal practices and self-awareness, I’ve built a state of peace that endures through any crisis. Over the past five years, I’ve explored and developed these practices, and now I’m ready to share them with you. So, step into my world of inner peace, and together, we’ll explore the practices that will help you unlock your own long-lasting peace.
Determine your best inner peace practices
Before we answer the question of which practices are best for maintaining your inner peace, let’s first take a deep dive into the different dimensions of your peace. This helps you to realize which areas of your life are already at peace, and which may still be conflict-driven.
Understanding this allows you to look at each dimension individually and select the practices that are most relevant to you at any given time. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to peace, just like in life. Someone who loves yoga might dislike football, and the football player might never find peace sitting on a yoga mat. You are the one who determines what works for you, and I can guide you on that journey. Let’s dive into the 8 Dimensions of Inner Peace and discover your path.
A holistic framework for lasting tranquility
Emerging from years of literature research on inner peace, I began to recognize that various scholars, studies, philosophers, spiritual teachings, and practices all focus on different aspects of our inner peace. Some examine our relationships, while others emphasize the connection between mind and body. A few delve deeply into one specific area, while others touch on multiple dimensions.
This insight inspired the creation of The 8 Dimensions of Inner Peace, a concept designed to offer clarity and guidance not only for this article but, ideally, for the rest of your life. The dimensions serve as a practical and everyday analysis tool, much like a prism, breaking down the complex whole of your inner peace into distinct dimensions.
When you apply this model, it helps you pinpoint where your current conflicts or disturbances are rooted. The beauty of this approach lies in its power to reveal which practices and techniques will have the most profound impact on restoring your peace. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by stress, trauma, or inner conflict, you gain clarity on what will truly shift you back into a peaceful state of being.
The 8 dimensions of inner peace
There are at least four internal and four external dimensions that define your inner peace or, conversely, your inner conflicts. You might have more or fewer categories, but here’s how I identify them:
Inner dimensions: mental peace, emotional peace, physical peace, and peace of the soul.
External dimensions: interpersonal peace, societal peace, environmental peace, and transcendental peace (meaning your connection to god, source, the universe, or likewise).
Take some time now to reflect on what each of these dimensions means to you. Don’t worry if some feel unclear; leave those for now. Inner peace is highly personal, much like feeling and being in love. My goal is to help you ask yourself what peace feels like for you in these dimensions. Because no one can walk the path to peace for you, that’s your job.
Taking responsibility
Walking the path to peace as I do, there is no way around taking full responsibility for everything life has gifted you, the good and the maybe seemingly not-so-good. Only when I started to take responsibility for the relationship I had with my mother was I able to find peace? I forgave her, and I forgave myself. My personal inner peace practices were the things that helped me during this time and guided me unknowingly on the way to forgiveness.
For me, journaling, embodiment practices, and yoga did a great job of helping me transmute the pain, blockages, and fears that held me back and made me feel miserable for so many years. Today, the relationship with my mother is not perfect, but it is such a huge difference from where we were before. And I am beyond grateful to have her in my life.
Why we need inner peace practices
Even though there is no general academic definition of peace, the research by Reinhard Meyers (2019) shows that beyond all the different forms peace can take on, there are four central characteristics that determine the term peace. Therefore, peace is characterized as a process, a vision, a complex of values, and a state of being. Consequently, it’s all of this at the same time.
What we learn from this is that you can experience a state of inner peace, but at the same time, a deeper kind of process underlines your state of being at peace. As a value concept, peace asks you to hold it dear to your heart, and, as Brantmeier and Lin (2008) say, be peace to make peace. Furthermore, as conflicts are at the forefront of everyday life, peace remains to be a vision, as this sometimes fleeting state comes and goes. Therefore, practices which reinforce our state of inner peace are essential for a peaceful life.
Different states of inner peace
But despite the pressure which may come with this necessity, there is a great relief attached. I witnessed it in my own life and some interviewees in my qualitative research study told me the same: once you reach a certain point and connection with yourself a higher form of peace starts growing inside your chest. It’s permanent and despite life's experiences remains present. It reassures me daily, that I am good, I am peaceful and that I am exactly where I need to be. And thanks to this higher state of inner peace, my life is just this, peaceful.
The power of peace practices
That’s why it’s crucial to choose the practices that resonate with you and follow them whenever you feel the need. Because peace is like a muscle. We have to train it and strengthen it. But once we reach a certain level, the effort to maintain it is quite low, because we shifted our life in a way that we are at peace, thus do peace, and so we experience less conflict and can handle conflicts which still occur in a much easier way than before.
Shift your perspective
One of the most important things your inner peace practices gift you is a shift in perspective. Because everything starts within the mind, right? Think about a soccer player.
Now, you might ask, “How can I find inner peace while playing soccer?” Well, it’s not the game itself that brings peace, but the lessons it offers. Soccer is about teamwork, which helps with interpersonal peace. Conflicts or disagreements with teammates can teach you what peace is not. Plus, the physical activity relieves stress, benefiting both your mental and physical peace. Even the joy of playing, the adrenaline, and the teamwork support your emotional peace.
The example of playing soccer shows how many dimensions of inner peace one practice alone can touch. So, done with the right intention, any practice can become a beacon of peace for you, strengthening your ability to navigate life peacefully.
What are your best practices?
Now, after you’ve defined each of the 8 Dimensions for yourself, it’s time to make your own list of practices. What brings you a sense of peace during or after doing it? Write down everything that comes to mind. Whether it’s rock climbing, archery, flying, journaling, painting, soccer, hiking, or sitting still in meditation, everyone’s practices are different. Once you have your list, organize these practices by which dimension they affect most. Remember, one practice can fall into multiple categories.
Now you created what I call Your Inner Peace Tool Box. It’s like a first aid kit for conflict resolution! This document will be your guide. Life is full of conflicts, but your unique peace practices help you navigate them by allowing you to act, not react. That’s the key difference between merely surviving a conflict driven life and thriving in a state of peace.
Be open to explore more
At the end of my study program in Peace and Conflict Studies, I struggled to find mental clarity. Thanks to my universities sports program I was able to try out new things. So, for my last semester – where I was doing intense qualitative research – I started to take archery classes. And you don’t believe it, but it was amazing! I could’ve never thought how great of an influence those weekly classes had on my mentality. The practice of mind and body coherence together with the eye focus and the breathing, brought so much clarity to my whirlwind of thoughts and tasks. That’s why I am here to encourage you to try out new things, step outside your comfort zone and give things a chance. You never know what it does to you until you experience it with your own senses.
Start your peace journey now
Are you ready to dive deeper and explore what true inner peace looks and feels like for you? Join me at my 7-Day Inner Peace Retreats, where we’ll delve into these dimensions and practices, giving you tools that will last a lifetime. Plus, you’ll get exclusive access to my Inner Peace Tribe membership, where we continue this journey together with ongoing support and resources.
Imagine waking up every day feeling calm, centered, and in control, no matter what’s happening around you. Let’s start that journey together. Secure your spot at the retreat and take the first step toward a life of unshakable inner peace.
Read more from Julia Dencker
Julia Dencker, Inner Peace & Conflict Transformation Mentor
Julia Dencker is an expert in peaceful leadership and inner peace, focusing on fostering holistic well-being in personal and professional environments. With a background in leadership from a young age, she combines her experience with her MA in Peace and Conflict Studies to help others find peace holistically. As the founder of The Peaceful Path and host of its German-language podcast, she explores the transformative power of inner peace. Julia is currently writing two books: a memoir on her journey to inner peace and a guide to the '8 Dimensions of Inner Peace,' a model she developed after four years of research. She provides mentorship and conflict-resolution strategies to individuals and organizations worldwide.
Sources:
Brantmeier, Edward J.; Lin, Jing (2008): Introduction. Toward Forging a Positive, Transformative Paradigm for Peace Education. In: Jing Lin, Edward J. Brantmeier und Christa Bruhn (eds.): Educators as Peacemakers: Transforming Education for Global Peace. Charlotte: Information Age Press, p. xiii–xviii.
Meyers, Reinhard (2019): Krieg und Frieden. In: Hans J. Gießmann und Bernhard Rinke (eds.): Handbuch Frieden. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, p. 1–44.
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