SRS Session 7 | Stillness

In session 7 we explore the natural world as our entry point for inner stillness. This session includes a visualization as well as an affirmation practice. The Spiritual Recalibration Series is designed to help you expand your awareness into a new, more open, curious and expansive way of being in daily life. This impactful series comprises 33 sessions, each with a short topic (the recalibration) followed by guided meditation. Meditations include affirmations, visualizations, and brief periods of quiet, musical stillness.

Transcript

Okay, Welcome back to the Spiritual Recalibration Series. Thank you for embarking on this series and opening yourself to a new way of being. My name is David, And this is Session 7, Stillness. Find a comfortable seat in a space where you can allow yourself 20 minutes or so, Undistracted, To focus just on you. A quick reminder, To get the most out of this series, Please be sure you've listened to the Welcome Session, Session Zero. Here we go. I think we've actually maybe even touched on stillness before. But I had, So I don't know if it was, It was a couple Sundays ago, I think, I was sent on Sunday morning, I make it a habit to do a nice long yoga and meditation practice without any time constraint. So Sunday morning is kind of my time to do that. And that happens sometimes on other days as well. But oftentimes on other days of the week, There's a certain time at which I need to stop and do other things throughout the day, Family things, Professional things, That sort of thing. So, But Sundays, I allow to just go until I want to stop. And so I was doing that. And then I was in, So I was in meditation, I was sitting, And I heard some rumbling around my, Where I sit, There's a bathroom just on the other side of the door. And my wife was in there cleaning. And she started, So there was knocking around and there was running water and that sort of thing. And I noticed, So I noticed a little bit of what, Why, You know, You know, This is this is this is the time, This is the one day a week, You know, Why is, So I watched myself kind of create this story and this little, This little drama began to unfold. Thankfully, I wasn't terribly invested in it. So I, I, Sometimes I do invest in that just for the record, That drama, But I didn't at this time. I remembered that, That her, Her parents were actually coming over there, Her parents hot water had gone out. So they were actually coming over to like use the bathroom and like shower and do all do all that stuff. So she was just cleaning it to prepare for that. So that was, That was happening. So, So I, But still the, The, The, The ruckus over there was not what I was, I was not wanting that at that time. So I said, Okay, What can I do differently here? So I stood, So I, I got up and I got dressed and I went out for a morning walk. It was cold and it turned out to be excellent. And I was walking and I do this one particular loop in my neighborhood. And so I know the loop well, And for some reason, My attention was drawn over this, Over to this cluster of trees. And I'd never really, There was nothing special about these trees. They're not particularly beautiful or particularly or, Or the tallest ones in the neighborhood or they didn't have any wonderful leaves on them. I just, My attention was drawn to them. And I, I stopped and I paused and I looked at them and then I didn't keep walking. And I just, For some reason, I found myself standing there, Just taking in this particular cluster of trees. There was just a nondescript house nearby it and it felt still is the point. Everything felt still. And so I noticed that, Which I was so grateful for. And I chose to allow myself to experience whatever that was, Just in these natural structures, These tall trees that I was somehow sharing in their stillness. And I enjoyed that. And the reason why I bring up this particular story is because it seems that the natural world is our place to tune into stillness because as a human, As human beings, Stillness is elusive. We're movers and shakers or doers, Just, You know, With our body and with our mind. And even when we try to choose to be still, We still have our mind, Which is, You know, This is, You know, Kind of the difference, This is what it is to be a human. And I was listening. So I was listening to a sample of an audio book just the other day. And he was talking about his bird feeder. So he has a bird feeder and he puts it out and sometimes he forgets to put feet in there. So sometimes birds come and when there's feet in there, They eat. And when there's no food in there, When he forgets, They go somewhere else. And he found himself. And so he wondered, Do the birds know? Do the birds visit the feeder and not see any food, Whether it was food before and think, I wonder if it was something I did, I wonder if I wonder if I did something to make him not put the other food out. Well, No, He, His hypothesis was that, No, The birds noticed there was no food. So they flew on and found food elsewhere with not a second thought to why there wasn't food, But to be a human, We create stories and we get invested in those stories. And that's the, That's the nature of our mind and that's fine and that's good. And, But it's not like being a bird, Like that, Like that little story. I almost, You know, I, I noticed create, Come up with, You know, I was in meditating and my wife came to clean the bathroom. So the natural world gives us an example, I guess. Now this is, I'm going to throw myself under the bus here a little bit. I have teenage daughters and they want, They, I think that they worry when we go out for walks in the woods, Because every now and then I will, I will follow the impulse to hug a tree. Sometimes I'll just place my hand on there. But every now and then I just feel like I need to give this tree a hug. Now, If you're giggling, Just try it sometime. Maybe try it when no one's watching, If you feel self-conscious, But you know, The idea of hugging a tree, But whether you hug it or just place your hand on it, Allowing yourself to experience that tree has no stories, That tree is not wondering about anything or worrying about anything or thinking ahead or thinking to the past. So, And I know we spend a lot of time with meditation and, You know, Realizing the benefits of reduced stress and improved health and better relationships and generally happier and smiles coming easier. And that's all the wonderful benefits of a meditation practice. And beyond that, If you're curious, If you're not, That's okay. But if you're curious, There's a Paramahansa Yogananda said that stillness is the altar of spirit. So there's that. All right, So let's go into a short practice here. Place your, Place your feet flat on the ground, Sitting nice and upright, Drawing the shoulder blades together gently. Placing the hands, Palms up or palms down, Your choice, On the thighs, At the juncture of thighs and abdomen, Or a little bit further forward, If that's more comfortable for you. Having the eyes closed gently, Eyes soft behind the eyelids, And tune into these words of this affirmative statement. My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. A few more times. My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. Now if you've begun to memorize the statement, You can allow yourself to say it out loud, In a regular speaking voice or just in a whisper. My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. And now if you're saying out loud, Just in your mind, My natural state is still and serene. I tap into my stillness at will, For I am stillness. Allow those words to flow through your mind, For just a few moments. Allow the feeling behind the words, Still, Stillness, And you can let the statement go, Tuning into your breath, Beginning to watch your breath for just a few moments, Seeing if you can find the place in your nostrils, Where you can feel the air passing. Good. If you notice the mind wander, You can bring it back to your breath. The watching of the breath is the meditation technique, That is the concentration technique. And at some point, With the practice of a meditation technique, To experience stillness, At some point we let the technique go, And then allow yourself to experience whatever there is to experience as a result of practicing. So now, Take an inhale through your nose, And a gentle exhale through your mouth. You don't have to watch your breath anymore. For just a few more moments, Draw your gaze behind closed eyelids, Gently upward to the point between your eyebrows. Allow yourself, Sitting on a dock that extends just a little bit out into a lake, A broad lake, A big lake, On a warm day, With a clear blue sky, And a warm sun up ahead, Up above. Reach this lake as far out to the right as you can imagine, As far out in front of you as you can imagine, And as far out to the left as you can imagine. On this lake, There might be some ripples, These fluctuations of the mind. Allow your inherent stillness to flatten out those ripples, So that the lake is completely still, Clear as glass. Any little ripple that shows up, You know, Can be instantly flattened with your stillness. You can always look to the sun. Allow the sun to help up above. Allow yourself to experience this clear, Clean, Smooth stillness. And now, I invite you to take an inhale through your nose, And an exhale through your nose. Prepare to come back to the room where you are, When you're welcome to stay here for as long as you like, And when you're ready, You can flutter open your eyelids.