Words of wisdom

Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda

When I was in India, we stayed at Chinmaya ashram in the Kerla region.  This was a poster hanging in the ashram.  Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanada is the worldwide head of Chinmaya. I happen to think this is some darn good advice! Namaste

The Power of Stillness

Ok, I must confess I have been totally uninspired lately.  I mean really, I have been riding off the pep talk of an 11 year old, Kid President, for the past 2 weeks now.  When I woke up this morning I had a slight sense of dread thinking about what in the heck I was going to blog about this week.  So I decided to meditate first and then it hit me, to be inspired means to be operating "in-spirit".  I haven't been inspired lately because I have been so half-donky with my practices lately - NO WONDER!  These last couple of weeks I have been watching a lot of Netflix, surfing the web, and really just worldly minded. A true testament to the fact that a spiritual practice needs to be continuous and constant.  I remember when I first decided to pursue my spiritual life I quit a bunch of my worldly habits and thought I that would instantly elevate me to spiritual superiority. Ha! Little did I know, that was just the prerequisite to getting in the course. The real work is my day-to-day practices.  Today's lesson.....

Be still and know that I am God.- Psalm 46:10

To be still is to relax, let go, relinquish. When we are still we relax in God.  In order for me to get inspired I first needed to get still.   Last week I was searching the web for "What is Yoga?" to gain some insight for a class that I was teaching. "Be Still and know that I am God" was the scripture one of the sites mentioned as a definition to yoga.  To be still, calm the mind chatter, and unite with the God within, is yoga.  Often I have students come up to me after a restorative class and say, "I had a problem that I was trying to work out before I came to class and now I know what I am going to do."  Resting is receiving. That is the Power of Stillness!  

Every single one of us needs stillness of some form- whether it is prayer and meditation, restorative yoga, soaking, yoga nidra, breath work or any other form of stillness. To be still  is our inherent built in technology for communicating with the Divine.  As Yogananda puts it, "The peace of absolute physical and mental stillness is the real temple wherein God most often visits His devotees."  It is in our stillness that we release the restlessness of our worldly involvement and come into God-communication.  It is in stillness that we gain insight and awareness of our Higher Self.  It is in stillness that we release the physical, mental, and emotional tensions that plague our day-to-day life.  

Just 20 minutes of stillness is powerful.  Most people find it hard to sit and be still/quiet for 20 minutes.  I tell my students you have to train yourself into stillness. For most beginners to sit ad be still for 20 minutes is nearly impossible.  That's why you have to start slow.  Maybe just 5 minutes.  Close your eyes and repeat a calm word or phrase for 5 minutes.  Try not to open your eyes.  In the beginning, just keeping your eyes shut for 5 minutes will seem nearly impossible.  This is your Jedi relaxation warrior training- as Yoda the yogi would say "no try just do".  The minute you open your eyes you are drawn back into the world and out of your stillness so do your best to keep your eyes closed (no matter what noise you might hear going on around you).  If  this is just too difficult you can practice stillness with your eyes open focused on one point- like a candle. 

Another excuse we tell ourselves is, "I just don't have 20 minutes a day to be still".  Really? It really comes down to priorities.  If we are truthful with ourselves we can find 20 minutes to surf the web, or watch a movie, or pick at a scab - it's just a matter of making stillness a priority.  Trust me on this one, once you do you will experience the power of stillness that can not fully be explained in words, only experienced in action.  See the thing is, the power of stillness will have major effects on every other aspect of your life.  It is the difference of living an INSPIRED (in-spirit) life verses just existing day-to-day.  Would you rather be inspired or just exist?  If you chose inspired - Be still and know that I am God.