The reason why we should do all of our thinking in the present
“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
In a world that is constantly moving at a fast pace, we have become addicted to being busy in order to relieve the anxieties that may rise as a result of our desires. There is a thirst to keep up and keep moving. As a result, we are losing the essence of truly understanding and being in touch with our internal selves. We have chosen for ourselves ways of life that do not encourage just being still and doing nothing when in fact, it is a necessity for our well-being.
Stillness simply put is being, by quieting our minds. It is not the absence of movement but the ability to not be distracted by the movements around us. It is being with our minds, thoughts and feelings. Stillness can come in many forms such as meditation, breath work or just sitting by a lake, taking in the sights and sounds. Stillness is natural to all of us but sometimes, may not be easy due to the distractions of life.
Regret comes as a result of thinking about the past and anxiety comes with thinking about the future. What needs to be realized is we do all of the thinking in the present, where we actually need to be. Why can’t we just be in the now and have front row seats to what is going on in our minds? When we are able to do so, we will have an opportunity to accept with kindness, what is happening within us.
Stillness allows us experience reality in its barest form by being brought into the now and experiencing the current moment. In this moment, you will be able to sift through your mind and become more aware of your feelings, both positive and negative, its triggers and reinforcements. I call this being aware of your awareness, the practice of mindfulness. This is not easy. It is actually easier to live on auto pilot, to mask our pains and struggles with activities – read a book, go on twitter, scroll through Instagram and when your phone tells you how much screen time you have in a day, switch off the app.
We cannot rely on escapism to be in touch with ourselves. We have to be able to spend time with our minds and also give it an opportunity to rest. Even just for a few minutes in a day. We tend to fall in love with others the more time we spend with them so why not extend that to ourselves through stillness? We will take long slow breaths and relax our parasympathetic nervous system and we will learn by looking inwards what affirming and loving things to say to ourselves.
Here are some of my favourite ways of practicing stillness:
- Taking walks in nature
- Sitting still and focusing on my breathing
- Meditation after prayer – In a previous article, I wrote about awareness from prayer
Emotions may be felt as we watch what is going on in our minds from these front row seats and that is okay. Your emotions are yours and feelings want to be felt so please, go ahead, feel them. With this observation of our minds, we can decide if there is something to be done and if we will do anything at all. Over time, we will experience mindfulness and our emotions will get lighter until they become quiet. This is required for optimal well-being.
I will find healing in stillness. I will be more in touch with my inner self, the world, my emotions and my feelings. I will increase the capacity to feel grounded, be compassionate towards myself and I will have a lot of self-love in my heart. I am inseparable from stillness.
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