Israelis pray for the safety of IDF soldiers at the Western Wall. Photo: Tazpit News Agency.

For so many people, spirituality brings inner peace and allows increased serenity. For me personally, the more my mind is in the right place, the better I feel in everything I do.

Benjamin Yosef, the first Orthodox Jewish student to graduate from Princeton’s Theological Seminary since the school’s founding in 1812, recently published a book entitled Inner Messiah, Divine Character: Narrative Approaches to “Be Beyond Best,” which helps people better understand their “individual sense of holiness and unique placement within everyday creation.”

As Yosef notes, “Pop culture and social media have so accelerated the velocity of our thought processes that we have all become prisoners of the ‘self’ and look to ways to express ourselves according to our immediate desires to attract ‘Likes’ and ‘Followers’ on popular platforms. From Facebook to iPhones, we are perpetually insulating our self-expressions from direct human contact.”

I found his take and explanation to be fascinating, and as such wanted to share some thoughts from others on the importance of finding inner peace:

• “When the restless activity of your mind slows down, when your thoughts stop rushing like waves on a windy day, then you will start getting glimpses of the sweet taste of inner peace.” – Remez Sasson

• “As individuals are in a better mental state, so too can their physical illnesses improve. It is absolutely accurate to say healthy mind, healthy body.” – Harvard-trained Dr. Gil Lederman

• “Even with the world in turmoil, we can be at inner peace. To attain that equilibrium, focus on the needs of your soul.” – Rabbi Noah Weinberg

• “The essence of peace is to merge two opposites. Therefore your notions should not scare you if you see another who absolutely opposes you, and you presume that there is no chance for peace between you two.” – Rabbi Nachman of Breslav

• “There is a lot of negative energy and craziness in this world, but we can all learn to live with inner peace. If your intention is strong and comes from the deepest part of you, it will happen. Outwardly, nothing changes; peace comes from making changes inside you.” – Marilyn Briant

• “We can only make our lives and our world more peaceful, when we ourselves feel inner peace.” – Robert Alan Silverstein

• “Inner peace is impossible without patience. Wisdom requires patience. Spiritual growth implies the mastery of patience. Patience allows the unfolding of destiny to proceed at its own unhurried pace.” – Brian Weiss

• “To seek out your own inner Peace is the greatest gift you could ever hope to give to this world.” – Eric Walton

What brings you true inner peace? Find it, and make yourself – and the world – better.