Why Cultivate Inner Stillness?
Restoring Oneself
When we are truly still in mind, body and spirit we come into an inner place of peace, calm, tranquillity, self-restoration, self-renewal. A state of being where we can replenish our drained energy, bring order to our scattered agitated thoughts. "Gather ourself" together after a period of stress or a traumatic experience. This is a state where mind, emotions and body can become less ruffled, less ragged - where feelings, thoughts and physical sensations can become integrated. Stillness does not have to be created, it is our deepest essential nature, you simply have to uncover it from the mental and emotional "noise" underneath which it lies buried.
Accessing Personal Creativity & Inner Wise Guidance
To be still sounds like being in a state where nothing much happens, but this is not always true. Once we cease our mind ceases its "mental chatter" it becomes receptive to the communications of the unconscious mind - the deep well of creativity, insight and wisdom that lies within the psyche of us all.
A Safe, Skilful State for Decisions
When we are in a stressed, distressed or depressed state of mind we make poor decisions. Getting clear, calm and relaxed before important decisions (e.g. at work or in relationships) will greatly improve the quality of our decision-making. When we are under pressure and anxiety type stress, we often feel that a decision is "extremely urgent" and need to consider first if this urgency is just a symptom of our distressed state. When we are feeling low or depressed we often find that procrastination and loss of motivation get in the way of making decisions that do really need to be made. Accessing the meditative state of inner stillness will avoid these dysfunctional pitfalls.
People who have suffered, or are still suffering, a illness such as depression, anxiety states, paranoia, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness symptoms) often become "over-controlled". In other words they fear doing something crazy or having thoughts, impulses or feelings that spiral "out of control". Every decision and action can become a frightening risk once we have lost confidence in our own mental health - in our own sanity, our common-sense, rational thinking or our wisdom.
This is especially true of people who have suffered episodes of mania - i.e. overactive, over-exuberant, over-optimistic, over-confident, rash, wildly impulsive, "crazy" unwise and hasty behaviour - which they later regret. Becoming familiar with the state of "stillness" and how to enter it, can be very supportive in helping people to regain their self-confidence and self-esteem.
In situations of mental or emotional distress, it may be necessary to do some cathartic clearing of agitated internal energies before the journey into inner stillness can begin.
Reduce Medications or other Drug Addictions/Substance Abuse
Learning natural ways to tranquilise oneself can reduce the dose of, or even eliminate the need for medication with tranquilisers. The same is true of anti-depressant drugs. However, reducing or eliminating medication should only be undertaken in close consultation with your Doctor, Psychiatrist or other regular health advice source. It may be unwise, for example, to stop a medication suddenly and it is usually advisable to have an independent person to monitor your condition in the potentially unstable period when a medication drug dosage is changing.
Stillness experienced as Eternity
Sometimes we need a break from life's inevitable "Ups and Downs" / "Gains and Losses". We need a rest from the dramas of feeling "Certain and Secure" one moment then "Uncertain and Insecure in another moment. Powerful and "In-control" one minute, then Weak and Vulnerable at another time. Buddhists know this as the great truth of "Impermanence" - the reality of "The Winds of Life" blowing us hither and thither on our path through life. The great escape from the wear and tear of being human is to enter stillness and touch the greater truth of eternity - the truth that in essence we are spiritual beings and an indestructible part of the Great Scheme of Things.
One of the ways of accessing this experience is to be still close to the power and beauty of nature
- to feel a "buzz" while watching the amazing light show of a beautiful sunset or feel the warming uplift of a rising sun at dawn. Personally I can readily access this type of "religious experience" by "being still" close to a mountain stream or a cascading waterfall. The apparently endless gushing/rushing sound of water quickly puts me into that "inner knowing"/"inner remembrance" space of ETERNITY.
Stillness experienced as "The Void"
I teach techniques for actively entering and working with "THE VOID" [stillness] to my Shamanic Practitioner Trainees, but most people enter it unconsciously via a "dark night of the soul" suffering experience or by simply "losing their way" in life and reaching a place of being a "blank canvas" [loss of self-identity and/or direction - see our Empty Nest workshops].
The Void is a very important and useful place of "death and rebirth", paradoxically combining "NO-THING" [emptiness] and "EVERY-THING" [wholeness at both individual and universal levels, "oneness"]. It is the place to actually live the "To all my relations!" dream. A place where we are pure consciousness, liberated from everyday attachments so that "self"-restoration can take place yet with the boundless possibilities of life and the universe on hand.
It is not a "dreamy", "heavenly" or transcendent place of pleasure, but a place of absolute simplicity and stillness. It cannot be reached via psychotropic substances but only via self-purification and healing - the activities that naturally unfold when we actively and skilfully engage with our "dark night of the soul" experiences. In this still, simple place of the divine inner child our soul can softly "speak" to us and gently guide us forward.
THE VOID is the most powerful place for self-restoration and for finding our "Soul Purpose"/"Soul Direction" path and "The Next Step" on our life's journey.
"Stillness Speaks" by Eckhart Tolle
In the "Stillness Speaks" series of books (paperback and hardback versions) audiotapes and guidance cards, Eckhart Tolle (author of bestseller "The Power of Now") illuminates the fundamental elements of his stillness teaching, addressing the needs of the modern seeker by drawing from all spiritual traditions. FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK THE IMAGE ON LEFT.
At the core of the books and tapes are what Eckhart Tolle calls "the state of presence," a living in the "now" that is both intensely inspirational and practical. When the pressures of future and past thinking disappear, fear and frustration also vanish, conquered by the moment. Stillness Speaks takes the form of 200 individual entries, organized into ten topic clusters that range from "Beyond the Thinking Mind" to "Suffering and the End of Suffering." The entries are concise and complete in themselves, but also when read together, take on a transformative power.
"Stillness Speaks" is also available as an audiotape set, an audio CD or a pack of "Inspiration Cards" - click one of the book cover pictures aboce to access details and order pages.
Still the Mind Chatter! - A Breathing Practice for Inner Peace