Almost every other doggone day of late has been down.

The Rule Breaker port is suffering a 35% loss this year. Ah price appreciation... why have you forsaken me?

The whole point of investing Foolishly is to have peace of mind. We achieve this blissful state by focusing on the potential of the businesses to which we delegate our monies. We do it in our 401(k) and Individual retirement accounts (Roth and traditional IRAs), where our hard-earned dollars can compound tax-deferred for our retirement. Then we wait and watch our dollars grow. (To find out more about how to plan for your future, take our upcoming online Retirement Seminar.)

At least that's the plan. But, these days... goodness... there's hardly an investor out there who isn't watching her gains get eaten up like a slice of pizza on Survivor Island. And, a day doesn't go by without a Tribal Council of money managers banishing another stock from its portfolio.

I've seen the bear. The whites of his eyes, in fact. He and I came face to face as he ravaged through my trash bin, just like he's now ravaging through my portfolio. We both stood frozen in terror (I know at least one of us was), until he ran away, leaving a path of garbage in his wake. He was a big, bad bear, who only stayed long enough to do some damage, then thankfully scurried away. Surely this bear market will meet a similar fate.

Fools focus on the future. We don't let the market's daily swings make us anxious. At least in theory. But heck, we're only human... what's an investor to do?

Peace of mind. If one has it, one can hold firm to her convictions and shrug off devastating losses. If one has it, the losses aren't devastating. They just are.

After reading years and years of stock market gurus, I decided it was time to consult peace-of-mind gurus. If I had peace of mind, the market's current state would be a small point as I connect the dots on my portfolio's growth curve.

I read the writings of Rabbi Noah Weinberg. "Peace of mind is independent of external circumstances" he says. "The world can be in turmoil, but a person can be at peace with himself." I see. If I am at peace with my investing methodology, the turmoil of the markets are only externally significant.

An equal-opportunity seeker, I searched the writings of Sufi Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen to find solace for my tortured mind. "Wherever we go, accidents can happen. Wherever the eye looks, there is something that can cause an accident." Has he been reading the almost daily earnings warnings?

I spoke with former Zen Buddhist monk and author, Clark Strand, who hopefully would apply some psychic balm to my investing fears. He led me to Jeremiah 18:6, where the Lord sends Jeremiah to the house of a potter who was working at his wheel. "And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to do."

"Huh?" I said, my knowledge of potters restricted to Harry.

"Don't you see, Fool," the Zen teacher said. "No one can find peace of mind when she is attached to the pot. That form won't last, because the pot will eventually break. If you identify with the form of the pot, like the form of the market on any given day, you're going to suffer. Long-term investing means looking at the process of potting, not pots.

"The only way to find peace of mind is by putting yourself in the hands of the long-term process. Peace of mind comes from being ready, willing, and able to be squashed and centered." (Ah... so he HAD seen my portfolio!)

"At any given moment," he continued, "only three things can happen. They can get worse, better, or stay the same. Peace is achieved by accepting what happens in the next moment. Deal with it."

I'm dealing with it.

Investing peace of mind is indeed attainable, even if daily anxiety tries to seduce me to abandon my Foolish tenets. I do my homework. I invest my money in industry leaders, Rule Breakers, which have the potential to provide investing returns that will help provide me with a sound retirement.

As Jeff Fischer wrote last week, when you're a Rule Breaker, "You're investing for a reward to come in the many years ahead. You did not plan on selling your great businesses anytime soon -- for at least three to five years. Therefore, don't let a volatile, currently falling stock market dampen your mood today, when what matters in your investing strategy are the years far ahead."

Fools, hold firm to your convictions. Investing peace of mind is achieved by accepting what happens in the next moment. Don't let your moments be distracted by the market's daily volatility.

Does anyone know where this Fool can purchase a bear trap?