Being present in the silence

4 February 2012 By Leave a Comment

As it’s snowing at present here and in much of Europe, people may find their activities restricted. Apart from those perhaps stuck somewhere and having difficulty, and we should keep them in our thoughts during this freeze-up, for those  of us perhaps stuck in-doors we might feel frustrated by the limitation, and then we could reflect on what it might have to teach us.

Enforced idleness, lets say, in a society accustomed to feeling driven and busy, can be a strange one. We might look round for “something to do”. Our minds could “go off on one”. And then we could just be still.

And listen to the quiet.

The snow might have dulled sound. It might seem still.

So, you could be present with the stillness, aware of it, being the observer of it. Just being still.

Just now I found this statement by Eckhart Tolle: “The human condition: lost in thought“.

We get so caught up in thinking and go off all over the place. Absorbed in ego. So here’s a good time to be still, and let the mind just quieten down and be still. They say, a watched mind becomes still. So, watch it.

As you become aware of the stillness, go into it. Be right there in it. Feel it. Let it touch your heart. Breathe it in to your heart centre. And be very aware and present.

It’s very simple really. We just get lost in thought.

Enjoy!

On being purely aware of breathing

3 February 2012 By Leave a Comment

I went to a wonderful evening about Rumi in Bath last Thursday, at an event led by people of the Sufi Way. Peter Hawkins led a fascinating session on Rumi’s life and the mystical poetry that he wrote, interspersed with readings by Kunderke Kevlin.

Rumi is frequently quoted not only by his followers and other Sufis but also very many others interested in the mystical approach both in the East and in the West. One particular poem stood out for me, Only Breath. Such a powerful reminder of that which is formless and unattached.

For me it was a great session on the inspiration of Rumi’s encounter with Unity and how his life moved into a different dimension in consequence. Listening to the story and to the sequence of poems, a calm gradually descended over me and so too did a smile. Then came the poem, Only Breath. And it felt complete.

When the meditator sits focused on the breath, and gradually thought recedes into the background or disappears entirely, the simple awareness of breath can seem like all there is. The breath comes in and the breath goes out. Utterly simple. It comes into the chest region and is often best felt in the heart centre, where at the end of the in-breath it merges with the energy of the heart centre and with the Love that is its essence. It goes out and merges with the air outside. The air is everywhere, all one and omni-present, all That. When breathed in, it connects with the whole on the inside too. It’s a powerful way to feel totally connected, unity consciousness in practice.

Practice it.

How stress can have positively life changing results

2 February 2012 By Leave a Comment

As our recession grinds on, there is more evidence of the high and rising levels of stress being experienced by today’s workforce. Stress can lead to illness, burnout and people leaving work. And it can throw into question their whole future. For example one survey of several larger industrialised countries placed the UK top for [...]

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Why we also need to look for meaning

1 February 2012 By Leave a Comment

People can get confused between the need to focus on goals, direction and purposeful action, and the the needs of the moment. “Be more in the moment”, people say, “live in the “here-and-now””. So, which is it? Being in the Now has great power to it, if you truly live that. Pausing, breathing, bringing our [...]

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Where are we all going?

31 January 2012 By Leave a Comment

When we’re stuck and “down in the dumps” it’s an important question, what’s the point of all this, where are we going? Apart from the stock, usually religious, “answers” which are other people’s ideas anyway but which you get invited to believe in and which you’re perhaps struggling with, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking…and (huge, [...]

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When adversity can divert us from our purpose

30 January 2012 By Leave a Comment

We have a grey, cold late January day, with a wet sleet falling. It’s the sort of day people dread, as what’s outside seems to reflect what’s inside, or it may be felt that what’s outside impacts what’s inside. A drab, cold, wet day and a cold, drab spirit. It’s hard on days like this [...]

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