10 Minutes On the Joy Of Stillness

Here even in a universe which is in constant motion we can create within ourselves a place of extraordinary stillness from which our best intentions can be formed and make their way out into the world. Background music is "Heaven is Here" by Narek Mirzaei of Music of Wisdom

Transcript

Dear friends,

Our ten minute reflection today is on the subject of stillness.

We live in a world of constant motion,

Constant flux.

Everything we see,

Everything we hear,

Everything we have ever seen is in a state of movement.

Not only the obviously moving things,

People,

Clouds in the sky,

Waves on the ocean,

Leaves rustling in the trees,

These are the obvious movers.

But what about the rocks and the solid objects?

Yes,

Even they are in constant motion,

Within.

Every atom,

Every subatomic particle,

All taking part in this amazing dance of the universe.

We can find our minds too in a state of constant motion,

Constant restlessness.

Thoughts and ideas flying around in a type of St.

Vitus dance which is going on inside each of our heads.

But amazingly we have the ability to bring our busy minds to a place of rest.

Here,

In a universe which is in constant motion,

We can create within ourselves a place of extraordinary stillness from which our best intentions can be formed and make their way out into the world.

Let's see if we can find this place of rest right here and right now.

So make sure you are sitting comfortably,

In your chair,

On your cushion or lying down,

Whatever suits.

Close your eyes and bring yourself into this wonderful present moment.

For these few moments you needn't concern yourself with anything except to be here.

Take a few conscious breaths.

As you breathe in,

Notice that you are breathing in.

And as you breathe out,

Notice that you are breathing out.

You might like to place your hands on your chest.

Maybe you can feel your heartbeat.

As you are breathing in and out and noticing your heartbeat,

You will come to a state of gratitude for your existence in this time and in this place.

And now for one minute with only gentle background music,

Let us be still.

Let us be really still.

Welcome back.

If your mind wandered during that moment of stillness,

Don't let this worry you at all.

In a world of constant motion,

It's not an everyday experience to feel our minds in a place of rest.

But with practice it can be done.

If not today,

Maybe tomorrow.

And if not tomorrow,

Maybe the next day.

But keep on trying.

In fact,

Don't keep on trying because trying is the wrong word.

It gives the impression that we are working hard to achieve something.

Just keep on practicing.

Sitting and gently bringing yourself towards a state of quietness.

Let's pause again for one minute.

Another 60 seconds to sit and wait and allow stillness to speak to us.

If you have any questions or other problems,

Please post them in the comments below.

Welcome back again.

So why this search for stillness in a world of constant motion?

In our moments of stillness we can redirect ourselves.

In our moments of stillness we can find time to examine the path ahead.

In these times of quietness we can examine the direction of our lives.

We can reset our priorities.

We can think about the relationships we have with the people close to us.

Stillness provides us with an opportunity for renewal.

It's difficult to change direction if you're traveling at full speed.

Traveling at full speed we have the idea that we do not have enough time.

But when we stop and become still we realize that we have all the time in the world.

All the time we need.

We have all the time we need to do all we need to do.

Then when we stop to think about it we can see how our effectiveness decreases in direct proportion to our speed.

If we slow down we give ourselves time to smell the flowers.

Time to notice the good air.

Time to undertake the good deed.

Time to appreciate the good people in our lives.

Time to express gratitude for all that we have going for us.

So the message for today is slow down and stop.

If we feel we are too busy to slow down,

Too busy to stop,

This is a sign that we need right now to do just that.

Just slow down.

Just stop.

Slow down and stop to take an opportunity to examine the road ahead.

So we need to make time in our lives for moments of stillness.

Naturally some places are more conducive to this than others.

You can imagine yourself finding stillness as you sit in a forest or as you sit in quiet reflection watching a still lake.

But not many of us spend our days close to a forest or our evenings by a lakeside.

For most of us stillness has to be found wherever we may happen to be.

And it's useful for us to remember that since stillness is within us it can be found regardless of what might be going on outside us.

We can be still in the middle of a busy city while on a noisy train.

We can be still despite the din of outside traffic.

The hustle and bustle of a shopping center.

But in the midst of all this noise,

This babble,

These signs of activity,

This beautiful noise of the world going about its business,

We can take a breath and we can come to a quiet place within.

This is helped by regularly practicing in our own space.

There there's less distraction and there we can learn the art of being still.

With practice we can put that training into effect anywhere and find stillness and renewal regardless of any external noise.

I leave you today with a quote from Lao Tzu.

Be still.

Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.

So may you find stillness.

Stillness today and stillness tomorrow.

And may that stillness reveal to you the secrets of eternity.

Namaste.

Reviews

This stillness is very much appreciated in our current times; thank you, Tony 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Stillness within, the key to peacefulness. Thank you Tony for your wonderful guided meditations!🙏🌼

This offered me a breath of fresh air as I start my day. May you also be blessed

I love my mornings of stopping and listening to you..it brings me such joy.❤️

🙏 Thank you Tom for taking me to stillness while I’m sitting outside embracing the sunshine and feeling a gentle breeze across my body. A beautiful way to start my day.🌞

I loved this! Thank you so much for this practice 🙏

You are a kind, generous and skilful artist in the beautiful art of stillness. Very much appreciated your reflections. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

How can you not feel good after listening to this. Thank you for the reminder 🙏🏻

Thank you for your skillful guidance to enjoy 10 minutes of stillness, Tony! Have a wonderful day!
Donna

Always enjoy your messages and calming voice.
Peace ☮️

What a beautiful offering! I loved every bit of it ❤️. With deepest gratitude to you for creating a beautiful experience for me🙏🕉

This meditation has meant a lot to me this morning, Tony. Perfect in every way.
Thank you so much.
🙏💖🌟🕊

Tony you bring so much peace and calm with your words! So thankful 🙏

Lovely! Beautiful words and music and useful reminders. Thank you. Nameste

Much gratitude 🙏 for this insightful and encouraging meditation. Thank you Tony

Ahh what it is to be older and wise. The rush disappears from life. Nameste

Enjoyed the opportunity to meet moments of stillness with interest 🕉

Thank you 🙏 for sharing this meditation 💗💗.
I’m leaning to find and create lovely bits of stillness every day.
This meditation is delightful, a perfect reminder that stillness is all around us. I choose to see it 💗💖💕

Thank you Tony for these wonderful words of wisdom, calmness and peace. I shall try to practice this throughout the day. Namaste.

Oh thank you so much Tony for this wonderful meditation. What an important message and practice for us all for our health and wellness. You never let me down. 🙏🏻💕💕