In some Eastern traditions, individuals use strings of 108 prayer beads in their devotions. A mantra is recited as each bead is passed between the fingers, helping to focus the mind during meditation. The 108 short but substantive passages by Scott Shaw in this inspiring paperback offer rounded and eclectic pathways to peace. He is the author of Zen O'Clock and Tao of Self-Defence.

"Peace," writes Shaw, "is an inner triumph. It's not something that someone or something can give to you. To embrace peace, in all life situations, you need to develop the skills to become the eye of he hurricane — calm and still — peaceful in a world torn by conflict."

It is hard to be at peace if you are always straining at the bit, trying to possess things, or to be something you are not. Expectation is an enemy of peace for it ignores the possibilities in the present moment and runs ahead to the future instead.

Another hindrance to inner well-being and harmony is being enslaved to likes and dislikes: "With every experience in life, you have two choices: One, you can choose to enjoy and learn from the encounter, even if it is something you don't like. Two, you can struggle through the experience, blaming everyone and everything else around you the entire time." This point is well taken. We can choose the emotions that color our experiences, and the best choice is to always seek peace.

Two of the great exemplars of peace — Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — lived it every day of their lives. No matter what the obstacles or external situations, they never strayed from the path of peace. Their actions came from the calm within them. Shaw concludes: "Peace is always in you. It is the safe place at the center of your being. It is not hard to find, but it is often forgotten. Remember it — frequently. Embrace it — consciously."