Stillness

A stillness place: Do you need a stillness sanctuary to be still? Obviously if you’re in a wonderful place, such as a river and a Bodhi tree, a beautiful resort on the ocean or a spa it’s a lot easier to create a stillness sanctuary for yourself however we can’t always do that. In our day to day lives this might not be a realistic situation. We’re either on a subway in NY, working in a grey tall building, grocery shopping or driving in the car with 2 loud kids and a dog etc. you get the point.

But there’s a trick to creating your stillness sanctuary anywhere: here are the steps: First, find something around you that you enjoy looking at, just focus on this one object. This could be a family picture, a candle, a tree that you see, a piece of fruit, your children, a flower on the table, a pillow or a bracelet that you’re wearing. Second, notice all the details; the colors, how it feels, smells etc. Is it soft or hard? Does it have a perfume smell our does it not smell at all? What does it remind you of? Take a moment and notice the elements that make it unique. Third, how did it come to be? Did someone make it, or did it grow from a seed? There’s a journey for everything and things take time to make, be thankful for that journey your object took and that it’s with you right now in this moment.  Fourth: breathe. Take a deep breath in and out. Notice the air moving in and out of your body. Be in present with your object. Fifth:  Notice. Notice how the peacefulness feeling enters your mind and body as you are present with something you enjoy looking at. This all but takes 3 minutes! This is how you find your stillness place no matter where you are or what’s going on around you.