Stillness As Strategy: Why I Listen Inward

Welcome back to Notes from Within,

A place for a slower rhythm,

Where listening inward is a tool for navigating outward,

A space for clarity,

Presence and expansion.

Part meditation,

Part musing,

Designed for thoughtful leaders and seekers.

It's so good to be back again.

How funny that this has actually become a thing of mine.

It has been so unplanned.

But here we are having so much fun.

In today's session,

I'll be rambling on about stillness as a strategy for leaders and seekers alike,

And talking about why I think listening inward benefits everyone who experiences our outward actions.

But first,

Before we go there,

Let's move inwards for a moment.

So we're actually going to do a little bit of meditation together to start the session.

So get yourself into a nice comfy position.

It doesn't matter if you're seated on a chair or the floor,

I think most of us will be in chairs.

And just start to feel where your body connects to the chair or to the ground beneath you.

And we'll start by taking a nice deep breath in through your nose.

And out through your mouth.

Another nice deep breath in through your nose.

And out through your mouth.

If you feel comfortable to do so,

You can gently close your eyes.

Or you can lower your gaze down towards the ground.

Now spending a moment here bringing your awareness to your breath.

Not trying to alter your breathing,

But simply being aware of your breath.

Noticing if you're breathing deeply or if your breath is shallow.

And noticing that as you breathe in,

Your belly and your chest rise.

And as you breathe out,

Your belly and your chest fall.

And as you breathe,

You notice tension being released from your body.

And you notice any tension around your forehead and your eyebrows melting away.

And you start to feel any tension around your cheeks and your jawline melting away.

And now allowing the crown of your head to reach up towards the sky gently but surely.

And allowing your shoulders to drop down towards the earth with ease.

Feeling your entire body coming into your present awareness.

And now I'd like you to listen to any sounds you can hear within about a meter of your own body.

Maybe you can hear the sound of your own breath.

Or your own heartbeat.

Or maybe you can hear the gentle sounds of your phone or your laptop humming close by.

Accepting whatever you can hear for exactly what it is.

Not judging it or wishing for it to be something else.

Not wishing for it not to be there but simply accepting it for what it is.

And now listen to any sounds you can hear in the room that you are currently in.

Within these walls.

Maybe there are people around you and you can hear them moving or talking.

Or shuffling.

Maybe you can hear a TV in the background or some music.

Whatever you can hear is okay.

And now letting go of what you can hear and bringing your awareness back to your breath.

Noticing that as you breathe in your belly and your chest rise.

And as you breathe out your belly and your chest fall.

Feeling this sensation of ease within your body once again.

And now bringing some gentle movement to your fingers and your toes.

Allowing yourself to reconnect with the space you're in.

Reconnect with my voice.

And taking a few nice deep breaths here.

Again.

And when you feel ready you can gently open your eyes.

Okay.

So I love to do a bit of meditation before I do one-to-one sessions or workshops or even when I do big presentations.

Because there's so much more to it than you feeling at ease.

When we go inwards for a moment together we find that we actually arrive in the space that we're in and we become truly present.

And we also reach into the same level of awareness as each other.

And we find clarity there too.

And our awareness is where it needs to be.

It's not where it was or where we think it will be later.

It's right here in this session.

So it's a very powerful practice to help you to actually arrive.

And so when we're present we are able to focus.

And when we're able to focus we're more able to listen.

And of course when we listen we remember and store information.

And then if we remember the information that means we're learning.

And when we learn we become naturally curious and we start to ask questions.

And this pattern or this process that can be very organic helps us to,

I suppose,

Alter our decisions.

Or to see new ideas,

To see with new eyes.

And this helps us to break down things that we see as quite complex.

Whether that's alone with our thoughts or whether it's by more effectively sharing this with others.

Sounds pretty good,

Right?

So I think it sounds pretty amazing.

And it was interesting because in many organisations I worked in they had,

Obviously,

Company values and principles.

And most of them related to innovation or teamwork.

Two very important things.

Two very common company values.

So how do we actually practice innovation and teamwork when we're rushing at a million miles per hour trying to meet targets and goals?

And how do we think differently in our personal daily lives or communicate effectively with our loved ones when we're rushing from A to B?

I think it's by dropping inward even for the smallest amount of time.

So even a simple breath can create the space we didn't know we needed.

It breaks the cycle of momentum that often keeps us locked in autopilot.

And from that space something quieter begins to speak.

A deeper clarity is what we could call it.

Or a kind of inner knowing that often gets drowned out in the noise.

So this is what I mean when I say stillness is a strategy.

It's not passive.

It's not a checked out kind of stillness.

But an active intentional pause that allows you to lead and live from a place of alignment,

Not reaction.

So stillness doesn't need the perfect setting or it doesn't really even need total silence.

But what it asks for is a willingness to listen.

Not necessarily for the answers but for that space,

That sense of space that brings you some solutions.

And in my leadership journey and in the people I work with now,

What I notice is that most of us don't actually need more information.

We're literally swimming in information.

We actually need integration and for that we need presence.

And we need,

I guess,

The courage to sit still long enough to hear what's true for us.

Rather than rushing to meet a version of success or strategy that doesn't even fit in.

So going back to the maze game in the previous rambling episode.

It was quite a moment that engaged me.

It's not just the game or is just a game.

But isn't it such a potent metaphor?

I keep thinking about this.

How often are we trying to force something,

A decision or a conversation or a strategy,

When what's really needed is stillness,

Presence and maybe a sprinkling of trust.

So stillness isn't the opposite of action,

Which is what many people might be concerned about,

The lack of action.

It's what actually informs wise action.

And I think especially for those of us who hold space for others,

Maybe leaders,

Facilitators,

Creatives or even caregivers,

Our ability to listen inwards shapes everything about how we show up outward,

Which is really,

Really quite important.

So today,

Maybe just take one mindful pause before your next meeting.

One slow breath before opening an email.

I don't know,

Maybe one quiet check in before responding in a moment that feels tense.

These are not big grand gestures,

But they do have a ripple out effect.

Stillness always does.

So thanks for joining me for this musing.

If it sparked something for you,

Maybe a thought or a shift within you or just a moment of calm,

I would really,

Really love to know.

You can reach out to me or share your reflections here or wherever else.

And of course,

Follow or subscribe for future sessions.

There'll be more random ramblings coming up.

But until next time,

May your rhythm be slower,

Your awareness be deeper and your actions grounded in what's true for you.

This has been Notes From Within.