The Ocean in Your Chest: A Daily Inner Peace Practice for Sustainable Wellness

You can build a quiet sanctuary right where you sit. Karen Lee Cohen’s Let’s Be Peace: 20 Unique Paths to Healing Yourself and Spreading Peace in the World treats inner steadiness like a daily practice that helps you, then gently helps the world, one person at a time . I have watched this work in real lives. It starts small, it grows, and it lasts.

What the “ocean in your chest” feels like

Authenticity coach Kellee Ratzlaff says the peace in your heart is like an ocean, vast and steady. In that space you can feel peace, then let it flow through your whole body, and even beyond you. You begin to see your own patterns from a calm, “Oh, isn’t that interesting?” point of view, then you release what is not loving . This is not in the head. Peace is anchored and expressed from the heart, not the mind, and a few quiet minutes a day can open that door .

When you sit in this ocean, choices get kinder. You say less that you later regret. What does not fit starts to fade on its own .

The real aim of the book, and why it works

Let’s Be Peace reads like a warm conversation. Cohen brings many healing voices together so you can learn to listen to your own. She offers simple tools you can test in your day, like breath practices, gut checks, gratitude, and self-forgiveness . The goal is steady agency. You learn to feel for what fits you, and you keep what works.

This is the part many people miss. The point is not to try every method. The point is to notice what your body says yes to, then repeat it until calm becomes normal for you .

A 7 minute sanctuary you can start today

Here is a short, friendly way to sit in your ocean. Treat it like brushing your teeth. Small, daily, and kind.

• Minute 1, Arrive: Sit with your feet on the floor. One hand on your chest, one on your belly. Breathe in for 4, hold 4, out for 4, hold 4. Do two rounds. You can also do 4, 7, 8 if that feels better. You will know which one your body likes .
• Minutes 2 to 3, Soften: Scan your jaw, shoulders, and low back. On each exhale, let one small thing drop.
• Minutes 4 to 5, Gentle witness: Bring to mind a recent irritation. Say, “Oh, isn’t that interesting.” Ask, “What is the kindest next step I can take right now?” Keep it small. Keep it real .
• Minute 6, The gut check: Ask your body one simple yes or no about today, for example, “Is a walk better than another email right now?” If you feel settled, that is a yes. If you feel off, that is a no. Trust that signal and act on it .
• Minute 7, Seal and schedule: Pick one loving micro action, then put it on the calendar. A short walk. Water before coffee. No messages during lunch. Simple wins stack over time .

Seven minutes, once a day. Wellness is not a sprint. It is steady layers that build on each other.

A story that shifts your view when life feels heavy

There is an old farmer story in the book that helps on hard days. Neighbors call events good or bad. The farmer simply says, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?” Then life reveals a wider view. What looks hard may hold a gift you cannot see yet. This simple stance keeps the heart open while change unfolds .

Try asking yourself: If I could see the bigger picture, what might this be teaching me, and how can I move through it with care for myself and others ?

Quiet tools that calm stress fast

Cohen shares simple tools you can use today. They take minutes, and they work best when you repeat them.

• Two breaths you can count on: 4, 4, 4, 4 or 4, 7, 8. Use them when you wake and before you sleep .
• The gut check for choices: Ask, feel, and follow your body’s yes. If the answer feels off, wait or choose another path .
• Forgiveness as a daily reset: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.” These four lines help free what is stuck inside, without agreeing with the harm that happened .
• Gratitude before feet hit the floor: Name what you are grateful for in the morning and at night. Write why it matters. The why makes it stick .

These tools are small. Your life is big. Small, steady tools can hold a big life.

Build your simple peace stack

You do not need twenty practices. Choose two or three that you will actually do.

• One breath you like. Use it twice a day .
• One micro ritual. For example, a 30 second release: “I let go of what is not mine to carry today” .
• One monthly self check. Ask: What brings me comfort, what drains me, and what will I gently stop for now ?

If a method or a practitioner leaves you tense during or after first contact, that is information. Thank them, then move on. Your inner sense is the guide to follow .

When your peace changes the room

Energy workers in the book describe homes and gardens that feel calm, where even animals relax and stay near. People notice the field of safety. Peace spreads without words when your own system is steady and kind . You do not need to teach peace to share it. Your presence does the work while you live your day .

What to remember on the days you want to quit

On hard days, sit anyway. Five minutes in the bathroom if that is all you have. Set the intention to be the expression of peace, then give yourself one quiet pocket of time. You do not have to do it perfectly. “It is an inside job,” and it starts with gentle time in your own heart .

As Kellee puts it, keep offering yourself love, witness your patterning with curiosity, then release what is not loving. The people and habits that pull you away from your wellness will fade, and the ones that help will show up more and more .

Your next small step

Right now, schedule tomorrow’s seven minutes. Choose your breath. Pick your micro action. Ask one yes or no question to your body, then follow through. Let your ocean do what oceans do, reshape the shore, one gentle wave at a time.

If you try today’s practice, what is one loving change you will make by sunset? Name it, schedule it, and as Karen Lee Cohen writes, use the tools that help you be peace and spread peace, one person at a time .