The challenge of finding time for stillness in our modern life is a real one, not to be underestimated.

The world doesn’t value stillness. It values power, possessions, money, self-aggrandizement, and so forth. We are rewarded for hard work, winning the championship game, graduating with honors, becoming a corporate president, but not for taking time out for stillness. 

Nevertheless, knowing that stillness is so helpful when it comes to enjoying higher consciousness, how can we not find time? If we are truly dedicated to growing in spiritual awareness, how can we not make it a priority in our life?

We make appointments with the hairdresser, go out for dinner, take in the ball game. Why not schedule a daily tryst with stillness?

There are many rewards for practicing stillness, but they are given privately; they are personal and known only to ourselves as we experience our life becoming lighter, easier, more joyful. However, these felt personal rewards benefit everyone we come in contact with and every task we set our hand to because we are bringing a higher vibration to everything.

If we are in a relationship, it’s easier to make room for stillness if our partner values stillness. When the whole family values stillness, each member will be supportive of making time for stillness both for themselves as individuals and for the family as a unit.

For this reason, as we introduce stillness into our life, it’s helpful to introduce it also to those we love and share our time with, if they are open to this. There’s no stronger form of bonding than sharing times in stillness. If those in our life aren’t yet ready for stillness, we can let them know that it’s a priority for us and that we want them to honor this.

Studies have shown that when people meditate, they affect the behavior of those around them for the better. If only one member of the family meditates, the whole family benefits. So don’t think that taking time out for stillness is a selfish thing. It’s one of the most caring things we can do for ourselves and those around us.

Let us dream of a day soon when it will be an automatic thing to have daily stillness breaks in our schools and our places of work. What a simple and peaceful way to transform our world.

Besides our regular periods of sitting in stillness, it’s important to anchor ourselves in stillness throughout the day. This can be done by pausing several times a day, taking a few moments to go inward and feel the stillness at our center. This is the kind of practice we can all find at least a few minutes a day to engage in.

Opportunity for Self-inquiry and Sharing:

A.    With it often being challenging to find times for stillness, have you found some creative ways to do this?

B.    Can you remember a time when you felt it was all but impossible to find time for stillness, yet you found it anyway? If so, describe the difference it made in your day.

Comment: When we become excited about an aspect of our life, we have a tendency to try to enlist others in what we are doing. This can backfire if we attempt to get our family or close friends to sit in stillness before they are ready to do so.

There is a better way. As we grow in consciousness, we automatically invite those around us to become more conscious. When we are still on the inside and this reflects in external stillness, so that we no longer feel a need to talk others into joining us in our practice, consciousness functions like a magnet, drawing the divine in others to the divine in us.