In stillness, you come to yourself. You claim your autonomy. I don't mean the drugged stillness of someone hypnotised by a TV. I mean an alert stillness as practiced in mindfulness.
You can practice stillness by sitting on a chair or a cushion and setting a period of time aside for this work. Or you can watch out for what might be called accidental opportunities for stillness. You might be sitting on a bus or a train, at your desk or in a waiting room and use this as an accidental opportunity to cultivate stillness.
In stillness you step out of the conversation in your head. You place your attention on the feeling of your body at rest. In particular I think it is helpful to notice your hands. Let your hands be still and just notice them. Notice their warmth. As you notice them, they will almost certainly become warmer. And notice your breathing. Notice your tummy, your diaphragm as you breathe. Through this noticing you cultivate stillness.
That is all you have to do. Stillness is so simple and yet many of us fail to benefit from it. In a busy world it is possible even to feel you are doing something subversive when you practice stillness. Perhaps the stillness police will to tap on your shoulder and issue you with a fine for failing to be busy enough!
Yes, stillness police exist - mostly inside our own heads. Our own anxieties, allowed to scamper around our minds like chattering monkeys, assure us that the world will end if we practice stillness in the middle of the day.
At times, we fall very naturally into stillness. People who are in love can be still with each other, look into each other's eyes for ages and find the whole experience very agreeable indeed. A parent can experience a wonderful sense of stillness holding a sleeping baby.
Even crowds can be still. Think of the crowd at a football match when a crucial penalty is about to be taken. You may have experienced stillness in the theatre or at a concert. So stillness is not a strange, esoteric thing. Stillness is your heritage. Claim it in mindfulness.
Practice: From time to time, notice opportunities for stillness. In particular notice the stillness in your hands. Step out of the conversation in your mind to practice stillness even if only for half a minute.
My book Light Mind - Mindfulness for Daily Living is published by Veritas. Click on "more details" to read a sample chapter. For monthly mindfulness exercises, email me at pomorainATgmx.com (replace the AT with @) and I will put you on the mailing list for my free newsletter.
