Stillness is a Skill

Many creatives, if you ask them what they seek, will tell you that they seek flow, that seemingly elusive state where the ideas simply come, execution is effortless, and you get absorbed in your work.

Ironically, to get to flow requires us to be in the state that often appears to be its polar opposite: stillness.

Although they appear to be the two ends of the spectrum, they are really one in the same.

Stillness is flow.

Stillness is a skill, and it’s an essential skill to master in a world where we are subject to increasing loads of information, expectations, and pressure to perform.

What is Stillness?

Stillness is not about focusing on nothingness; it’s about creating an emotional clearing to allow ourselves to feel, think, dream, and question.

Brené Brown

It’s easier to define stillness by starting with what it is not.

Stillness is not simply “doing nothing.”
It is not taking a nap or sleeping.
It is not vegging out in front of the television.

All of these have their place within the realm of rest practices, but they are not stillness.

Stillness is a place where we cultivate a presence to what is moving through us in the moment.

Stillness is not the absence of movement or sound. It is the depth of presence, where every movement, every sound, and every thought is born.

Eckhart Tolle

What Happens in Stillness

In the stillness of the mind, I saw myself as I am – unbound.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

In our busy lives, we are unable to listen to ourselves. Even when we try, what we often hear is the chatter of the ego mind, spinning stories about events and what they mean.

The mind loves to tell stories. It’s adept at making meaning.

In stillness we let go of those stories. We let go of the need to make meaning out of every event.

Stillness allows us to get to know ourselves more deeply: to see what us driving us in life, to understand how we interpret events, to get clear on what we want.

In stillness, we get to see the patterns of our thoughts and behavior and how we react to the world around us.

We get clarity on the voices in our heads: which ones are ours, and which are external voices that we’ve internalized.

In stillness, we hear the still, small voice within that guides us to our path.

Stillness is the place where everything falls away and we find inner peace.

Stillness is where we find our true selves.

Oprah Winfrey

The Benefits of Stillness

Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.

Eckhart Tolle

Stillness helps us attune better to our own selves and to others.

By getting to know ourselves better, we relate to each other better.

Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.

Ramana Maharshi

When we come to an activity from a place of stillness, we are better and more effective at what we do.

Tasks actually take less time when we come to them from a place of stillness. We spin our wheels less.

From stillness, we move forward with more fluidity, grace, and ease.

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.

James Allen

The Challenge of Finding Stillness

The most difficult thing in the world is to quiet the mind. It requires effort, practice, and the ability to forgive yourself for starting over again and again.

Unknown

Our world doesn’t make it easy to come into stillness.

Hustle culture, the overload of information, and constant stimulus dissuade us from practicing stillness.

When we combine these external conditions with deeply-entrenched beliefs about work and what we must do to succeed, stillness can feel like a luxury.

Stillness is a Skill

Stillness is not the absence or negation of energy, life, or movement. Stillness is dynamic. It is unconflicted movement, life in harmony with itself, skill in action.

Eckhart Tolle

Stillness is not a luxury only for those who “have the time.”

It is not just for meditation cushions and retreats.

Stillness is an essential life skill, necessary for survival in an increasingly connected and fast-paced world.

Stillness is a muscle we must build with intention and practice.

Just like we build physical muscles to help us sit and stand multiple times throughout the day, we must build the muscle of stillness to expand our capacity to come in and out of stillness each day.

Where We Need the Skill of Stillness

We exercise the skill of stillness

• when life gets busy and overwhelming;
• when it feels like everyone wants things from you at the same time;
• when the world erupts into chaos;
• in the midst of arguments;
• when negotiating deals;
• when sitting in traffic or in a long line at the grocery store;
• when the kids are screaming; and
• in countless other moments where we tend to lose ourselves.

The Ultimate Skill: Stillness in Movement

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

Deepak Chopra

The goal is to develop the muscle and skill of stillness so that we can come into stillness not just when we pause, but in the midst of moving through life.

The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.

Bruce Lee