Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. Hermann Hesse
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
There was once a simpler, quieter time. There was a time before your cell phone would regularly light-up with text messages, email notifications, Twitter updates or Facebook statuses. This time has been taken over by the seemingly urgent, but it has not fully disappeared.
Somewhere waiting on the other side of Smartphones, televisions and the internet is a place called stillness. In this place, you will find peace, relief and a chance to re-focus. Finding stillness is not a science, but it is becoming a lost art. Once reclaimed though, stillness can add more value than any modern-day communication device.
What is stillness?
Stillness is a state of complete awareness. It is a place to reconnect with the knowledge and truth of your own spirit. Stillness allows you to search for the answers and it's a place of calmness and certainty. However, in addition to the contemporary forces working against stillness, there are some traditional ones, too:
- anxiety
- stress
- selfishness
- depression
- anger
- regret
- hopelessness
- greed
- envy
- fatigue
- guilt
Recognizing the signs and symptoms associated with each one is the first step to finding a place where serenity, along with some self-healing, can be found.
Finding stillness
Breaking through the noise requires conscious effort – and practice. The following techniques will help you begin learning how to move into a place of sustained and nurturing stillness.
- Practice being dead quiet.
Doing nothing might feel uncomfortable because your habit is the opposite. Staying connected is the new expectation. But to find stillness, complete and dead quiet is needed. Rather than just shutting down without first telling your co-workers, friends and family, consider setting an auto-responder on your email and changing your Twitter and Facebook statuses to let folks know you will be out-of-pocket for a while.
With these strategies in place, it's time to turn off you phone and power down your computer. Practice sitting and doing nothing. Allow thoughts to come to you without pushing them away. Sit with your feelings, memories and daydreams. Take-in the dead quiet and then listen for the truths it will be whispering. These truths will be things that will touch you deeply because they will feel natural and right.
Stillness provides the opportunity for you to reconnect with you. Behind the cleaver Facebook statues is someone who wants to get it right and have your heart's desires. Sometimes a small dose of connection is needed so you will not forget who the real you really is.
- Recognize the signs working against stillness.
The traditional obstacles to stillness (listed above) are warning signs that your mind and body are not in alignment. When you mind is at unrest; so is your body. Pay attention to the nights when your sleep is interrupted; the days you are irritable and the times you fall into a rut and can't seem to pull yourself out. All of these are signs pointing to the need for finding stillness. A word of caution: If the conditions noted in this list continue to worsen and thoughts of self-harm enter your mind, contact a spiritual or mental health care counselor immediately.
- Look for balance.
Understanding that your responsibilities may prevent you from disconnecting on a regular basis, look for a balance of what you can achieve, and when, as it relates to finding stillness. You may not be able to step away from your email during the day, but what about for 30 minutes in the evening? Your expectation to be available at all times may not be shared by others. In other words, it's perfectly reasonable to have some down time each day – but it's your responsibility to give yourself this.
Look for balance. Look for the appropriate times when you can sit and do nothing; even if it's for only a few minutes. Balance is about reasonableness and looking for the gray in a world that is not always black and white. And in the gray, when you close your eyes, stillness is waiting.
- Take advantage of the ordinary.
Stillness can be found in ordinary daily events. While it's optimal to put yourself in a state of dead stillness (as note above); this may not always be practical. Instead, look for opportunities to practice stillness as you go about your day. For example, during your commute to and from work, turn off the radio or eject the CD and allow your car to be filled with silence. Use this time to center yourself and reflect on the day to come or the day that has passed. When standing in the grocery store check-out line, capitalize on the fact you can't do anything but wait and then focus on the preciousness of a still mind.
Your day will present ordinary moments you can turn into extraordinary moments of stillness when you make the commitment to see these opportunities in a quieter way.
- Stillness as the antidote.
Recently I had a bout with a nasty stomach flu. The day the flu hit me, I was already at work. I had no choice but to leave and return home where I climbed back into bed. With my laptop still in its bag and my cell phone left in another room, my body found the rest it needed to begin healing. The next day was not much better. Anticipating this the night before, I sent an email to my co-workers informing them of my condition. I didn't sleep as much the second day because I discovered that my body wanted the most was stillness.
The past few months have been difficult ones. Commitments to my family, commitments at work, and commitments to my blog have left little in the tank for me. Though I do allow myself to become overly-connected to email, social media websites and to the internet, the traditional barriers to stillness have been taking a significant toll, too.
Fatigue, anxiety and stress have kept me from finding some nourishing peace. As is typical with my body, it shuts down when I don't pay attention to the warning signs. Last week, it said no more. It said stop and re-group. Resting in bed allowed my mind to focus on what I was missing and what I needed.
There in the quietness and with the afternoon sunlight streaming through the opened blind and onto my bed, I was able to find stillness once again. In that moment, I knew the antidote to my flu symptoms wasn't the anti-diarrhea medication I was taking, but allowing the light of love, gratitude, awareness, certainty and peace to wash over me again.
Finding stillness has reenergized me and has given me the strength to see my world in a different way. While my family, career and blog are important to me, they really don't mean much if I'm not in a place to enjoy them. Remembering to turn down the volume in my life is helping me focus on something just as important – the well-being of me.
A place called stillness
In this place called stillness a simpler, quieter time is restored. Your focus shifts from the immediate and to the permanent. You are given the time to explore more than just what's in front of you.
In this place called stillness you can look beyond your email's Inbox or Twitter feed and all the way to your heart. Once you get there, stay for a while. Ask questions, think through problems, and dream anything you wish.
Stillness provides knowledge and the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the life you are creating without the expectation to reply right away. In this place called stillness you will find a resting place for your soul.
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