The Art And Practice Of Stillness

Bring awareness to your breath.

As you breathe,

Take deeper inhalations and longer exhalations.

Let your exhalations be twice as long as your inhalation breath.

You do this simply by slowing the rate of your out-breath.

Notice that as you are still in your body and as you focus your mind onto your breath,

You experience breath as the only movement occurring within you.

Allow yourself to feel the flow of breath as movement in the midst of stillness.

And how quite perfect that is.

If you sit in stillness with no movement,

The mind becomes quiet.

And even when the mind is thinking about movement and getting up to do something,

If you decide you are remaining still,

The mind will obey.

The mind needs the body's cooperation for everything.

Prayatna is the natural tendency for restlessness.

Take a vow as you sit in meditation to honor the stillness that is desired,

Knowing that stillness at any time serves to bring you into the present moment,

To hold the mind in the ananta or the infinite and eternal moments of now.

Stillness in your body prepares an inward focus to practice stillness,

To live calm,

Become still in your body.

Hold stillness.

Return to the experience and awareness of your breath.

When you hold awareness of your breath,

When you focus your mind onto your breathing,

You realize that your mind becomes still.

Whenever you bring stillness to your body,

Your mind follows.

As you focus your attention on your breath,

Giving your mind a task,

You open the space further to feel the oneness of stillness as what you are.

Be the stillness.

As you continue to focus onto your breath,

Witness the mind and the body as one.

Witness the space beyond time.

The beauty and art of stillness is your sanctuary.

It is how you return inward into the moments of now,

Into the ananta of eternity.

Thank you so much.

Namaste.