WAR IS OVER (if you want it) - Finding Peace Through Insight Meditation

There is a silent war raging within us. It’s not fought with weapons or armies, but with thoughts, emotions, and habits. It’s the battle of craving versus aversion, desire versus denial, pleasure versus pain. Every moment, our mind picks a side: I like this, I hate that. I want more, I want less. This should change. That should stay the same. We are constantly swinging between wanting things to be different and fearing what might happen if they are not.

But what if the war could end—not with victory, but with peace?

The Buddha pointed the way through what we now call insight meditation, or Vipassana. It’s a practice rooted not in escape, but in presence. At its heart lies equanimity—the ability to remain balanced in the midst of it all. Not indifferent. Not numb. But awake and open, no matter the weather of the moment.

This might sound simple, even passive. But in truth, equanimity is a radical act. It’s a choice to no longer be dragged around by the mind’s conditioned reactions. It’s a choice to see clearly how the mind chases pleasure and resists pain—and to soften that automatic push and pull.

In meditation, we begin by watching the breath. Just that. In and out. The mind wanders. It plans dinner. It replays an old conversation. It criticizes the body. It wishes the room were warmer, or quieter, or that the legs didn’t ache. Each time, we gently bring it back to the breath. Over and over again.

This simple act of returning is the beginning of freedom. Why? Because we’re learning to see our impulses rather than obey them. We start to notice how much we grasp at comfort, how much we flinch from discomfort. We see how our minds endlessly generate likes and dislikes—and how exhausting that can be.

The Buddha called this dukkha—often translated as suffering, but more accurately understood as dissatisfaction or unease. It’s the background noise of the war within. And he taught that this unease arises not from the world itself, but from the way our mind relates to it. Our suffering is not caused by pain; it’s caused by our resistance to pain. Not by impermanence, but by our refusal to accept it.

Insight meditation invites us to sit with things as they are. To watch sensations arise and pass away. To feel emotions without becoming them. To know that everything changes—and to make peace with that truth.

Over time, this practice reveals a profound inner stillness. It’s not that pain disappears, or that joy no longer matters. It’s that we stop clinging to one and pushing the other away. We meet life as it is. And in that meeting, the war quiets. Not because we’ve won, but because we’ve stopped fighting.

Equanimity doesn’t mean we stop caring. It means we stop reacting. We respond instead—with wisdom, with compassion, with presence. We make space for what is true, not what is comfortable. We find the peace that doesn’t depend on conditions. The peace that cannot be taken away.

This peace is not somewhere else. It’s not after you fix your job, your relationship, your body, or the world. It’s here, right now, in the simplicity of being aware. In the breath. In the body. In the willingness to stop, sit, and observe.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono famously declared, “War is over, if you want it.” The Buddha might have said the same—only, the battlefield he pointed to was within. If we want peace, we must stop feeding the flames of craving and aversion. We must stop believing every thought and start watching them instead.

This is the invitation of insight meditation. Not to become perfect, but to become free. Not to win the war, but to step out of it.

How to Practice Insight Meditation

1. Find a quiet place. Sit comfortably, either on a cushion or chair. Let your spine be upright but not rigid.

2. Bring your attention to the breath. Feel the natural rhythm—wherever it’s most noticeable: the nostrils, chest, or belly. Don’t change it. Just observe.

3. Notice the mind wandering. When it does (and it will), gently acknowledge it—thinking, planning, remembering, judging—and then return to the breath.

4. Open to body sensations. After a few minutes, expand your awareness to include sensations, sounds, emotions, or thoughts. Just observe them as they arise and pass.

5. Stay with the flow. Allow all experiences to come and go like waves. Pleasant or unpleasant, don’t cling, don’t push away. Just know: this too is happening.

6. End with kindness. Before rising, take a moment to thank yourself for practicing. Offer a simple phrase like, May I be at peace. May all beings be at peace.

Start with 5 to 10 minutes a day and increase gradually. The practice is simple, but its fruits are profound. Through observation, acceptance, and return, you train the heart in the art of peace.

You step out of the war. You come home to yourself

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Paul Larmer is a mindfulness coach, personal trainer, professional speaker, and spiritual guide. Book a consultation today, optimal@livunltd.com.