All life is composed of cycles – expansion/contraction, opening/closing, going outward/going inward. Since the beginning of human existence, the most basic cycle has been that of waking and sleeping – the division between day and night. The sun rose. We got up to work. The sun set, we lay down to rest. And each period of work was followed by a time of rest and repose.
In modern times the balance of work and repose has been lost. We rarely stop to rest between tasks. This has led to a state of chronic contraction of body and mind and when body and mind are contracted, the life force energy is contracted. Ugg! Not fun. We push, push, push, all day and into the evening, then fall to bed in a state of exhaustion and contraction and sleep fitfully.
Technology has taken its toll on us. We rarely get away from all our devices. Repose does not occur while checking email. Resting is about replenishing. Do we really want to live like that? “Being undead is not alive,” ee comings once said. We tell ourselves we don’t have time to rest but is that true? The truth is we don’t know how to rest in a way that deeply reconnects us with Source, with the source of all energy and aliveness. The good news is we can learn.
The first step is giving permission to stop and rest. This seems obvious but isn’t. When we give permission, we speak directly to the unconscious part of ourselves – the part that is programmed to stay busy and we suggest another way.
The next step is stopping. Again this seems obvious but who has time to stop, right? We are programmed to go, go, go. Balance is not part of the program and stopping and resting is no longer automatically wired into our brain. Stopping means stopping. We pause the body whether sitting or lying down. We give the mind permission to take a break.
Next we turn within, intentionally letting the outer world go. Inside is a vast territory which is mostly unexplored. We can bring our attention and our curiosity to this rich inner world of infinite depths.
This leads to the next step which is coming into the present moment. We stop and notice that we are here now in the body and in the breath. We let everything else go and we relish the body, noticing how the breath is moving. We simply breathe in and out. Now we begin to notice sensation in the body – an ache or pain, a congested or tight area, a place that feels numb, places that feel ok or even spacious. We notice our mental activity, witnessing thoughts without attachment. We tune into our feelings/emotions, allowing what is present to simply be. This is a very deep practice. We learn to surrender to the body as it is right now. We watch the mind. We allow the feelings and emotions to arise. We observe with curiosity, without judgments.
Allowing ourselves to be as we are already begins to move us to the next step in cultivating deep stillness which is settling. The nervous systems begin to balance, the muscles start to relax, the fluids flow with greater ease, the mind becomes still, we let go of thoughts of ‘doing.’
Now we are opening into a greater spaciousness. We notice the thoughts are beginning to settle. The body is giving more weight to the floor. The contractions are softening. There’s more breath, more possibility for ease. The breath is flowing in a natural, rhythmic pattern.
We keep on exploring the body and its sensations. We are experiencing more and more stillness and more peace. At some point we realize the physical body is a portal to a greater body, a much bigger existence, a bigger self than we imagined, a bigger life than we had dreamed. Now we are moving into the territory of deep stillness. In the words of the 20th century mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan:
He who has ever had a glimpse of greater worlds….will probably remember that apart from a feeling of freedom, space, and light, there is a luminous stillness, not fixed or rigid, nor motionless, though the motion is hardly perceptible. This luminous stillness is dynamic and it is the Source of all life and energy. Once we connect firmly with Source, our lives expand exponentially.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back to stopping, breathing, sensing, coming to presence, settling and becoming more spacious. All these steps require practice. We want to create new brain pathways, new patterns of being. This takes repetition and practice. And it pays off, one breath at a time. What’s the hurry?
This series of articles on Resting in Stillness will continue. Stay tuned. Next time we will explore in greater depth the Three Gates to Stillness.
In the meantime,
Wishing you well.
Paméla
The Healing Breath of Life 