”I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.”
~Alan Watts
Are you afraid of stillness? Are you afraid of being quiet, of relaxing into yourself, of being intimate with your own experience?
I understand this fear. In our culture today, we’re highly conditioned to avoid our inner experience and just keep going. Have you noticed?
We thoughtlessly carry on with our busy lives and cluttered minds. We pick up our devices way more than we need to, and we move fast (going where?), so that doing something radical—just being still—seems intensely uncomfortable.
Then we complain about being anxious and unfulfilled while we search for the relationship or material possession or exciting life circumstance that we think will make us happy.
We’re afraid of what we might find if we stop all the distraction.
Choosing the conscious life is profound and sacred. You just know there’s something more than your everyday material existence. You long for deeper connection in the here-and-now.
You won’t find what you’re looking for by searching “out there” in the world. The call of the conscious life is to stop the effort of searching…and be still.
Stop…and take a breath… Stop…and be… Stop…open and expand…
This is the gateway into intimacy with yourself and all of life.
Then you’re poised to meet what arises in a vast space of unconditional acceptance. Because this is where peace lies. The still openness of your true nature holds everything in love with no resistance.
Finally in this stillness, whatever you find is naturally welcomed—sensations in your body, places where you’re shut down, the fear and grief of your inner child, old stories that no longer fit who you are.
What an insight to realize all that’s appearing that you were too busy—or afraid—to see! This is the movement of turning inward toward yourself that sets you free.
Settling into the stillness beyond the thoughts and feelings that you notice is an undefinable sense of well-being, a silent boundless field that effortlessly is.
It feels like coming home. It’s pure being you can’t find in your feelings or in situations in the world. And it can’t be figured out in your mind.
Rest here in this boundless open space that resists nothing.
Then bring this inner stillness into the activities of your daily life, being intimate with what is.
- Slow down and be aware of life through your senses as you wash the dishes or walk down the street.
- Feel into the experiences of beauty, gratitude, or tenderness when they appear.
- Take the time to listen deeply with your whole heart.
This is action infused with stillness…the sacred path of the conscious life.
Are you afraid of being still? Gently turn within. There are treasures just waiting to be discovered…