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Episode 429 – we need daily stillness

https://www.tarabrach.com/faq-for-meditation2/

https://www.tarabrach.com/howtomeditate/

• Good morning friends
• I hope you are having an amazing day
• When you listen to this episode I am travelling again
• Every time I travel I get inspired for my episode content as well
  • Change of place, new people, different experiences
• It always gets my brain juices flowing
• But today I want to talk about stillness
• This week I am covering 3 key activities that make out life so much better
• And I am holding myself accountable and at the same time hope you feel inspired to start incorporating them into your life
• On Monday we talked about Reading
• Even if its only the last 15 minutes of your day, like it will be for me – reading is key
  • It challenges our brains and keeps them fresh and young
  • It gives us new ideas and knowledge
  • It helps reduce stress and increase patience
  • And it also motivates our imagination
• Whether you read on the topic that you are interested in or just for relaxation – reading always opens our minds
• It doesn’t compare to watching TV or videos online
• Reading engages our brains in a different way – not through immediate gratification and constant drama and tension
• I notice the calming effect reading has for me
• Give it a try
• And then – try stillness
• I have talked about stillness a lot on this podcast
  • Silence
  • Mediation
  • Quiet time
• These are times we need more and more as our world becomes increasingly hectic and wired world
• We are constantly looking at words and images and there is always noise around us
• All this stimulation keeps our brains running and running and running
• Without ever talking a break
• And that is what stillness and mediation are for me
• A break for my brain but also for my body
• Because we are constantly moving
• Things are never slow or boring anymore
• If they are, we cant handle it
• We have lost our ability to hold a quiet moment and just revel in it
  • Reflection, contemplation, just listening
  • the ability to sit quietly in a chair for a few minutes or wait in a grocery line without external stimulation —
• We cant handle it
• And I think we need to learn it again
• Because I think we have become a victim to our environment, which includes all our devices
  • It flashes information at us and we respond
  • It robs us of our time, our attention and our inner self
  • It controls our thoughts and our ideas
• Not all of it is negative of course
• Our brain needs stimulation
  • But not 24/7
• We need time for stillness, privacy, solitude, slowness, and personal reflection so we can absorb the information we are bombarded with
• We need to honor our inner self again and nurture our own creative capacities,
• But we cannot just respond to the world around because that means we are living to the beat of someone else’s drum
• We need times when we tune inward
• Those times are important so we can reflect on who we are
  • Our intentions (we will talk about them in our next episode)
• We need times to protect who we are
• So we can examine our lives openly and honestly –
• spending quiet time alone, away from distraction, gives our mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order
• it can sort through all the stimulation clutter and pick out what is important
• there are 2 primary ways I find that quiet time
• if you have others, please let me know
• the point of this time is not just to be quiet, but also to tune inward
• I have shared with you how I spend a lot of time in the car thinking
• Its great for that – its quiet
• But its not the quiet time I refer to here that allows us to really get to an inner peace with our thoughts because I still need to focus on traffic, hence – I am distracted
• Only meditation or true stillness do this for me

1. Mediation

• I have spoken many times about mediation so I wont go into detail
• But let me define mediation for you in the words of Tara Brach
• She is the person that inspires me and whose mediations I do when I meditate
• This is straight from her website:
•  

What is Meditation?

Meditation is commonly described as a training of mental attention that awakens us beyond the conditioned mind and habitual thinking, and reveals the nature of reality. In this guide, the process and the fruit of meditation practice is understood as Natural Presence. Presence is a mindful, clear recognition of what is happening—here, now—and the open, allowing space that includes all experience. There are many supportive strategies (called “skillful means”) that create a conducive atmosphere for the deepening of presence. The art of practice is employing these strategies with curiosity, kindness and a light touch. The wisdom of practice is remembering that Natural Presence is always and already here. It is the loving awareness that is our essence.

• There are many books on how to get started but as I have said before – its not a science
• The toughest hurdle for everyone is to see the benefit of mediation and try it
• So don’t worry about what to do and how to do it
• Call it your quiet time and sit quietly in a comfortable place of your house
  • I light candles
  • I close my eyes
  • And I often listen to Tara’s mediations
• You can find them on her website and I will link to them in my notes
• And the second biggest hurdle I hear from friends that they cannot turn off their mind and so they quit
• That’s the wrong approach
• Let me read to you what Tara Brach

At first, you may be surprised at how active and uncontrolled your mind is. Don’t worry – you are discovering the truth about the state of most minds! Accept and patiently “sit with” whatever comes up. There is no need to get rid of thoughts; this is not the purpose of meditation. Rather, we are learning to recognize when thinking is happening so we are not lost in a trance—believing thoughts to be reality, becoming identified with thoughts.

Because we are so often in a thinking trance, it is helpful to quiet down some. Just like a body of water stirred up by the winds, after being physically still for a while, your mind will gradually calm down. To support that quieting, at the beginning of a sitting it can be helpful to relax and practice Remindfulness—gently bringing your attention back again and again to your home base in the senses.

It takes practice to distinguish the trance of thinking – fantasy, planning, commentary, dreamy states – from the presence that directly receives the changing experience of this moment. Establishing an embodied awareness and letting your anchor be in the foreground is a good way to become familiar with the alive, vibrant mystery of Here-ness, of presence.

• It’s a process
• And it takes time
• And that is why I want to start mediating again
• Because when I first start out, say a 15min guided mediation – I am thinking of menial stuff 14 minutes and for the remaining minute I really have to force myself to be mindful
• But the more I do it the easier it gets and the longer I can actually tune inward
• And I feel so refreshed afterwards
• Its quite amazing
• So dint give up after a few trys
• Give it time
• And if meditation is not for you, try simple stillness
•  

2. Stillness

• Stillness is quiet time without necessarily forcing yourself to be mindful
• Still time is enjoying the silence
• carve out 10-15 minutes regularly to sit quietly without any distraction
• and just listen and breathe consciously
• relax yourself
• and just be with yourself
• nothing to do, nowhere to go
• this is your time – being time
• sometimes this happens unexpectedly
• I might be sitting at my desk at home on my laptop when I have a thought
• And I let go of typing and just sit there
• Thinking, listening to the birds outside my window
•  
• if sitting in your house is not allowing you to find stillness, try some of these
  • you can take a leisurely walk, and just be very present as you walk
    • not powerwalking, not listening to music or a podcast
    • early mornings tend to be great for this, when it still fairly quiet outside
  • Smell something soothing and really savor it–
    • maybe the flowers on your walk
    • maybe the coffee beans In the morning, which I like to do
  • sometimes I contemplate an item in my apartment
    • this is not something planned, but it just sometimes happens
    • flowers i have bought or a postcard on my wall
    • or I step out onto my balcony to watch the sunset
  • I love the stillness under water
    • When I swim I sometimes challenge myself to swim an entire lap under water without breathing
    • The silence under water is incredible
    • I only hear myself, nothing else
  • If the world around you is to noisy, invest in some good ear plugs
  • Once in stillness
  • I notice how my body relaxes
  • My forehead smoothens
  • My shoulders drop
  • My ears adjusting to the quiet
  • We need stillness
  • Our bodies need
  • Lets find stillness regularly
  • Maybe in the morning before we rush into the day
  • Or at night to end a hectic day
  • Its not unproductive time
  • It’s healing time for ourselves

Much love