by Diane Hageman |
Peace of mind is something we all strive for and yet it often seems to elude us. How does one find peace within ourselves living in a busy and seemingly chaotic world? The answer is stillness.
When we align ourselves with our inner most stillness, we can move beyond the chaos into a place of peace and harmony. Stillness can be a gateway to bring balance to our mind, body and spirit. How can stillness be defined and how can it bring peace and balance to our lives? Stillness is being. Stillness is the gap. It is the gap between thoughts, emotions and noise. From that gap we can discover our true essence.
This beautiful place of stillness is in each one of us, though quite often we ignore it or avoid it. We ignore or avoid it for a myriad of reasons—everything from not having time, to not knowing how to connect with this part of ourselves. If you take the time and get to know this inner world you will have given yourself a great gift. Opportunities arise for gaining greater clarity in your life about whatever it is that concerns you in the moment—to release the fears, and to begin to co-create from a positive space of all possibilities.
It is not difficult to connect to the stillness; just a little practice is required. There are many different ways to do this, all of them good. Observing nature is a wonderful place to start. Eckert Tolle reminds us “Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness. When you look at a tree and perceive its stillness, you become still yourself. You connect with it at a very deep level. You will then feel oneness with whatever you perceive through stillness. Feeling the oneness of you with all things is true love!
Meditation is another way of experiencing stillness. As you enter the silence of meditation, you open the pathway to stillness. It is a place of being fully present in the moment of stillness. You move beyond the constant mind chatter, thoughts and emotions. It is through silence that stillness comes and through the stillness comes peace.
It does not take complete silence or a walk in nature to experience stillness. You can experience it any time. As Eckert Tolle says” Any disturbing noise can be as helpful as silence. Drop the inner resistance to the noise, by allowing it to be as it is, this acceptance also takes you into that realm of inner peace that is stillness. Whenever you deeply accept this moment as it is — no matter what form it takes — you are still, you are at peace.”
We are quickly approaching the holiday season, and here are a few suggestions to help experience stillness so that it may be truly a time of peace and joy.
- Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Take time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
- Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: I am thankful for___. Remember you are too blessed to be stressed.
- Let stillness direct your words and actions.
- Get outside as often as possible. Take a walk in nature and feel the stillness.
- Do an electronic fast for a day—no radio, no TV, no computer, no ipod or mp3 player. This enables you to pay attention to the gap where stillness is found.
When we find that we are able to locate ourselves in the deeper waters and less on the tumultuous surface of our being, we discover a lasting relationship with peace, and this will enable us to inspire peace beyond ourselves.
References:
- Eckert Tolle –Stillness Speaks, Published by New World Library and Namaste Publishing, 2003
- Eckert Tolle- A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” Published by The Penguin Group, New York, NY 2005
- www.DailyOm.com
- www.soulfulliving.com/stillness_speaks.htm
- www.bestillnow.com/Creating_Stillness.htm
For more info contact Diane at The Om Home, (775) 250-7756.
