Hi my name is Nora and today we are going to reconnect to the stillness within.
From my spiritual journey so far,
Everything I have done,
All the modalities and tools and techniques into one single outcome.
Quieting the mind so we can remember who we truly are.
We are a mix of three things.
Stories,
That we keep telling ourselves all the time,
Consciously or unconsciously.
A bunch of beliefs,
What's right,
What's wrong.
And a set of needs,
Of course,
Very natural human needs.
This mix,
The stories,
The beliefs and the needs,
Shape our life,
Our behavior and our experience and keeps our mind busy all the time.
By definition Patanjali wrote in his book the Yoga Sutras thousands of years ago,
That meditation or yoga is a progressive quieting of the fluctuations of the mind so we can remember who we truly are.
So personally I believe this is it.
We don't really need anything else except quieting the mind and remembering who we truly are.
Otherwise Patanjali said we are in the mind stuff or what he calls the mind modifications,
Which is the story,
Past or future,
Our beliefs,
Right or wrong and our needs.
In a world that constantly asks us to do more,
To go faster,
To achieve more,
To be everything to everyone,
We can easily get caught in the rhythm of constant doing.
Our to-do lists grow longer and without realizing it we begin to measure our worth by our productivity.
But who we are when we are not doing?
We are not defined by our accomplishments,
Our roles or how much we get done.
Our true essence,
Our value,
Lives in our being.
Of course actions are necessary but behind every action ask yourself how am I being?
How am I feeling?
What is the quality of my presence?
In the being mode we reconnect to stillness.
Stillness recharges us,
It gives us clarity,
Insights and true inspirations.
These are all coming from within,
That's why they start with insight,
Inspiration.
This is where our creativity lives,
This is where true peace resides.
Stillness is not the absence of life,
It is the quietness beneath,
It is the silence behind the noise,
The pause between the thoughts,
The gap between your inhale and exhale.
It is the eye of the storm,
The calm center behind the chaos.
And as Rumi said,
In order to understand the dance one must be still and in order to truly understand stillness one must dance.
So let's begin by gently closing our eyes,
Allowing your body to settle into a comfortable position,
Bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath and let's move through the six stages of the present moment.
The first stage is settling.
So settling begin by noticing your body,
Let your shoulders drop,
Soften your jaw,
Release any tension,
Feel your body settling in,
Find a comfortable position,
Find that space that is as comfortable as possible and gently close your eyes.
Take a long slow deep breath in through your nose and let it go through the mouth.
This is how we settle in.
The second stage is witnessing.
Now we begin to observe.
We continue breathing slowly and gently and as our breath continues we begin to watch our breath in and out.
Simply observe it,
Witness it,
Let it come in and out.
Here comes the next stage,
Drifting.
After holding our attention on our breath,
On our natural breathing,
We may drift towards thoughts,
Sounds or physical sensations.
We may find ourselves having conversations,
Replaying past events,
Making lists or simply experiencing random thoughts.
This is totally natural.
It means that you are alive and like any healthy human walking on the planet,
Your brain is doing what it's meant to be,
Processing thoughts.
And now the next stage is judging.
Sometimes after we drift,
We find ourselves judging the experience or asking ourselves,
Am I doing it right?
Notice the judgment with kindness and you can label it,
Ah,
Another thought.
I am alive.
And when you notice that,
Simply return to your breath.
And remember,
You are not the thoughts,
You are the one who witnesses them.
The next stage is surrendering.
Allow yourself to relax,
Totally relax.
Let go of the need to control the experience.
Let go of any expectations.
Humans have about 70,
000 thoughts a day.
That means about one thought every second.
So it's completely normal.
Surrender to what is and simply drift back to your breath.
In and out.
In and out.
Then comes the last stage,
The stillness.
As you get more comfortable drifting back and forth,
You will start to spend more time in the witness land and a little less time in the thought land.
Rest in this space between the thoughts,
In the silence between your inhale.
And on your next inhale,
Make a pause between the inhale and lengthen the space between your exhale.
And that stillness that has been here all along,
The stillness between your thoughts.
Continue watching the space between the inhale and the space between the exhale.
Yogananda said,
The stillness is the altar of the spirit.
Now,
As we gently begin to return,
I invite you to take a long,
Deep breath in.
Bring a gentle smile to your lips.
And when you are ready,
Softly open your eyes.
Remember,
The practice is not about achieving peace.
It's about remembering the peace that already lives inside you.
Stillness is not a destination.
It is your home.
As you move through the rest of your day,
May you carry this stillness with you into your conversations,
Decisions,
Actions.
Return to it whenever you need.
And remember,
All it takes is noticing the space between your inhale and exhale.
Thank you for being here and now in this sacred,
Special,
Present moment.
May you continue to tap into the peace,
Joy,
And love within you between each inhale and exhale.
Namaste.
