5 Strategies for Keeping Your Sanity in This Insane World

Dylan Charles, Editor
Waking Times

Some of us have achieved a balance of sorts in these dark times, and have grown to be able to view the world as it is, honestly acknowledging all of its suffering, yet somehow maintaining a healthy connection to happiness and inner peace. In part, that’s really what this website is about, developing the grace and strength to ride out that often times thin line between terror and joy in a world that held hostage by chaos, confusion, fear, destruction and madness.

The recent suicide of the renowned investigative reporter Michael C. Ruppert is a shocking reminder of just how thin that line can be at times. Michael Ruppert was a figure who, for decades, had tirelessly exposed the corruption in government, and the horrifying truths behind the environmental calamities we are facing. He was a person who helped to expose 9/11 truth, and someone who was compelled to gather a set of facts and not permit delusion color his interpretation of them. For this, he will be missed amongst the alternative media, and the fact that such a leader in the truth movement could crack under the pressure and take his own life is a reminder of just how devastating truth can be on the human psyche.

  • The earthly world is a cauldron for the soul, and the spiritual side of human kind is being sincerely put to the test these days. Some say these are the end times, others say this is the Kali Yuga, but, as people who feel concerned enough with truth and refuse to engage in denial, it is essential that we restructure and maintain our personal lives in such a way that inner peace is the norm, not the exception.

    The last podcast that Michael Ruppert hosted, recorded just hours before he took his own life, can be listened to here. It is rather dark, in retrospect, as you can feel the despair in his words and in his voice. He says conceals his good-bye, offering his gratitude to many of the truth seekers that he had met on his path. He also speaks directly about how his life had absorbed so much ugly truth that he could no longer awaken each day without experiencing complete terror, and how he could no longer sit in public watching people go by without projecting onto them only all of the horrible things he had come to learn of the world.

    He is not alone in his dark perceptions, and it is easy to forget how common it is for people to find themselves in similar frames of mind, filled with dread, doom, gloom, despair, sorrow, worry, fear, often just underneath a veil of feigned happiness.

    For those out there who may be experiencing life in a similar manner these days, fully consumed with the bad news out there, seemingly completely disconnected from source, felling totally at the whims of dark and powerful forces, it is crucial to remember the value of life and the value of our precious personal time in this cauldron. As a practical matter of achieving this awareness, there are things that people can consider and focus on to alleviate the fear, anxiety, and concern of living in these interesting times.

    1. Tune out, take a break – If things are seeming dark, unrelenting and hopeless, and all that you can see is the bad news happening in our world, take a break. Turn off the TV, the computer, stop talking about it all, and find something else entirely to occupy your attention, at least for a bit.

    2. Re-connect with nature – Get outside, leave the city, take a vacation and visit some place beautiful. Mother nature, although she is under duress right now, still has plenty of beauty and joy to give, and there are many places still to get away and re-connect to the natural rhythms of the earth and the plant and animal kingdoms.

    3. Re-build your routines – The mind is a creature of habit, and a persistent dark mood is as much a matter of habit as anything else. The mind can become addicted to negative thoughts and grim ideas, and what we think, we find, so when the mind is in a serious negative rut, one will attract news and sentiments that reflect and support this. Change your habits to give yourself some space to alter your routines. Take a break from hanging out with the same people, change your homepage on your internet browser, listen to new music, get up earlier than usual. Any way that you can shock the mind into having to adopt new patterns will help to overcome the despair and fear that our society encourages.

    4. Practice inner peace – There are many tools one can quickly learn and play with in order to cultivate a sense of peace and overcome the darkness that can so easily overcome us. The best approach is to consider that each day is a new and unique opportunity to achieve peace, and as such, starting early with a practice before you do anything else has the power to affect your whole day. Give yourself at least a few minutes each morning to re-program your mind for inner peace. Find a simple meditation practice that you can do before you start your normal day, teach yourself how to express gratitude for life before you set off to your work, learn to give thanks for whatever you can think of, no matter how insignificant seeming. Doing this before setting about the business of this world will help you to attract an entirely different energy into your life.

    5. Join a new positive group of people- The power of being around positive, honest, and hard-working people is unrivaled. In my case, joining a martial arts school completely healed me of the despair associated with constantly acknowledging the hard truths of our world. Yoga, meditation, or any other kind of interesting group of non-dramatic, positive, energetic people can help you to recalibrate your sense of well-being.

    These are just a few things that came to mind when pondering the value of life, and the practice of life, after hearing the discouraging news about the fate of Michael Ruppert. Ideas have the power to change people’s lives, and these are just a few ideas I’m offering to the world with the hopes of helping someone to mitigate the pain and suffering of being in and of this insane, yet, breathtaking world.

    I know there are many more things that can and should be added to this list, so, what do you recommend? Please leave your ideas in the comments section below.

  • About the Author

    Dylan Charles is the editor of Waking Times and co-host of Redesigning Reality, both dedicated to ideas of personal transformation, societal awakening, and planetary renewal. His personal journey is deeply inspired by shamanic plant medicines and the arts of Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Yoga. After seven years of living in Costa Rica, he now lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and enjoys spending time with family. He has written hundreds of articles, reaching and inspiring millions of people around the world.

    This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.


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