The Power of Stillness and Attention

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“It is a secret which every intellectual man quickly learns, that, beyond the energy of his possessed and conscious intellect, he is capable of a new energy (as of an intellect doubled on itself), by abandonment to the nature of things; that, beside his privacy of power as an individual man, there is a great public power, on which he can draw, by unlocking, at all risks, his human doors, and suffering the ethereal tides to roll and circulate through him: then he is caught up into the life of the Universe, his speech is thunder, his thought is law, and his words are universally intelligible as the plants and animals.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Poet

No matter what your current situation may be, whether it be pain or pleasure, in this moment you can choose to harmonize with the underlying deep essence of life itself, or you can continue to fight what is and lock yourself into your limited perception of what you think should be. Your habitual mind will want to stay in a trance of old thoughts and comfortable definitions. When you become aware that conventional thinking can lock you in a prison and limit your options to the known and defined, you are taking the first step into a new kind of awareness, and a larger world than you have yet imagined. And it is right here, right now, always available in the present moment. It is the nature of life Itself, the very essence of your being peering at you between the lattices of the limited life you have been living.

It is easy to dismiss the subtle influence of this new awareness because very few people are willing to do the work to change their awareness. Yet if you are willing to walk the “narrow way” that leads to life, a world of possibilities awaits. There is a greater reality waiting for you, an adventure to discover subtle essences and potentialities that will reward your willingness to explore. Trade your maps and charts for the actual territory. A simple moment of attention and awareness can reveal hidden riches you were not aware existed. Jiddhu Krishnamurti said, “If you can just observe what you are and move with it, then you will find that it is possible to go infinitely far.”

No words can describe this understanding, but when you have recognized it, you will realize that you have always known this to be true. You knew it as a child, gazing up at the stars with wonder. You find it in the heart of a flower, its petals unfolding like galaxies whirling through time and space. You see it in the eyes of a beloved, in the birth of a child, in appreciation of an artist’s creation. You have felt it in the purr of a kitten, the playful puppy’s enthusiasm, or a laughing child’s unselfconscious joy. You hear it in symphonies and the sigh of the wind in the trees. You smell it when the rain has washed the world clean, and savor it in the sweetness of life. By accepting the moment and becoming aware of its essence, you have tuned into an inner radar that navigates its way to the hidden heart of everything that is. 

Transformation comes moment by moment, and you can never predict what a moment will become. It is always your experience, something that cannot be contained by the definitions of other human beings, but only known in your heart, your soul, and your body. It is simple, subtle, and without need for fanfare. As you develop sensitivity and an awareness of subtle realities by training yourself to live fully in the moment, you’ll discover new frontiers of growth and possibility.

Meditation practice helps move you into stillness. Stillness is about being fully in the moment, in total harmony with yourself and with the world around you. A simple and ongoing commitment to meditate can be a gentle tool for transformation. As you learn to still your mind and body, you ease yourself out of time-bound restrictions and reactions into the peace and beauty of the eternal here and forever now.

As I have been sheltering at home, I’m discovering that spending more time in meditation, or just being (especially with my Zen Purr Master, Kitty Emma) helps me stay grounded and think more clearly. I’m learning new ways to move beyond the conventional thoughts of fear and bewilderment into the freedom of releasing expectations, and entering into a deeper sense of rest and stability.

Accept that this moment is as it should be, because the whole universe is as it is. Recognize that the way you are in this moment can be chosen—open to harmony and flow, or resistant and unable to change. Meditation is a practice that helps you release all preconceived notions and opinions, freeing you from your armor of fear, anger, and judgment. Pay attention. Be mindful and observe life as it is, right now, without projecting into the future or regretting the past. Mindfulness in the moment is your training in awareness, and your point of creative power for transformation. Things may not be as you wish they could be, but they are more than you imagine. 

Petey, Zen Purr Master in contemplation

Exercise

Try this to get a sense of stillness in the moment. Concentrate on a flower, a sunset, or an ordinary natural object, like a stone or a tree. Just allow your eyes to notice, to be present with an unfolding rose, the colors of a changing sky, or the hard beauties of a stone held in your hand. Just be with it. No stories, no judgments. Just observe. Just be. Breathe deeply, relax into the moment. Let the flower, tree, sunset, stone speak to you about your own nature, your own situation today. 

“Meditation has nothing to do with quiet reverie or passive stillness, but with wakefulness. We awaken our nearness to God. We realize that the power of creation, the energy of creation, flows in our hearts.”

— John Main

Zen Purr Master Kitty Emma is totally in the eternal moment

“We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas... As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our beings.”

— Father Thomas Keating

Breathing Prayer

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Breathing prayer © 2020 Candy Paull

I have been using this Breathing Prayer to help me as I pray for others in this pandemic. Inspired by the mindfulness prayer of Thich Nhat Hanh, I made it personal. You can also pray for someone by name. Deep breathing, with long slow inhale down to the belly, and long exhale releases tension and makes what is usually unconscious (breathing) into something you pay attention to with conscious awareness. When I am praying this, I take time to breathe deeply, knowing it calms and grounds me. I also feel I am breathing for those who are having trouble breathing, asking God to breathe the breath of life back into their lungs. I am making myself available to the Universe, sharing in the life we all share. 

The photo is of Mt. Rainier, with Mt. Adams in the background. It was taken from an airplane window on one of my Seattle trips. 9/24/2011 

Simple Sensory Rituals

Morning Teatime

The ordinary is the extraordinary
Gustav Flaubert

Simple sensory rituals bring comfort and grounding to daily living. They nourish the soul. To observe the ordinary and become mindful of the sacredness of life itself, whether handling daily chores or taking time out for small innocent pleasures, is a statement of profound spiritual power. You wed Heaven and Earth as you focus on the beauty and meaning of even the most mundane task. 

There are many routine activities where I can focus on mindful awareness and a sense of the sacred. Some are simple chores like dishes, laundry, cleaning, and preparing food where I can consciously practice the Presence of God. Others, like emails, writing, financials, and things that take focus and concentration, just have to be made sacred by setting an intention and then doing the work. I don’t make a big deal of rituals for most of these things, though I do love to make time for some kind of ritual in my life.

One of the tasks that can feel like a cleansing ritual is doing the laundry. From dumping the soiled clothing into the washer, and adding soap and warm water, the alchemy of cleansing begins as the soil, stains, and dirt are released and washed away. Drying the clothing is an act of returning to form as the twisted wet cloth relaxes and releases back to a soft and original shape. Then the ceremony of returning the garments to their proper places in closet and drawer makes the clothing accessible, returning them to beauty and usefulness once again. 

Bring the muse into the kitchen.
Walt Whitman

The very commonplaces of life are components of its eternal mystery.
Gertrude Atherton

You are to gather up the joys and sorrows, the struggles, the beauty, love, dreams, and hopes of every hour that they may be consecrated at the altar of daily life.
Macrina Wiederkehr

Some other sensory rituals that lead me to a sense of safety and expansion:

• Cleaning the planters on the first warm day after a long cold winter (or planting, or trimming back, or digging my fingers in good brown dirt).
• A bouquet of roses—and when the timing is right, sunlight and a digital camera to photograph their glorious beauty
• Writing poetry or a song lyric
• Beeswax candles lighting the room and scenting it with honey sweetness
• Essential oils of desert sage, pinon pine, and spruce releasing a high desert fragrance in my home
• Early bed for much needed rest
• Meditation, especially helpful when I’m feeling overwhelmed
• Bells, chimes, rattles, drums
• Colored pens or pencils, a notebook/ crayons and a coloring book
• Singing, especially singing my own songs
• A cup of hot jasmine oolong tea in my hands as watch a sunset 

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn offers many ideas for ways to be mindful and aware in his books and writings. Here is one suggestion:

Prepare a pot of tea to sit and drink in mindfulness. Allow yourself a good length of time to do this. Don’t drink your tea like someone who gulps down a cup of coffee during a workbreak. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves—slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.
Thich Nhat Hahn, The Miracle of Mindfulness

The Wisdom of Silence

Spring Beauties

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Lao Tzu

Silence enriches and changes us. Learning to be in silence on a regular basis brings a greater flow and ease to life. We access body wisdom as well as inner wisdom. We find rest, refreshment, and an expanded awareness that is more sensitive to life. We discover a new playfulness and childlike receptivity. We become more at home in the universe and in our own bodies. 

The time spent in silence spreads its influence beyond our practice of silence and stillness. The moments of silence radiate out into our days, gradually transforming our experiences of life. Drawing on the deep wisdom of the timeless and eternal, we discover that our daily round of errands, laundry, meetings, work, relationships, and social obligations begin to partake of the attributes of timelessness, peace, and even eternal bliss. The living listening presence that is at the core of who we really are as human beings becomes the center around which all the rest of life orbits.

• Exercise: Share silence intentionally with others. Setting aside silent time as a group is a powerful way to be together. Be silent with others consciously, setting aside an agreed upon time and place to be in quiet together. Enjoy a discussion afterward about how it felt and what you learned. Or leave in silence, connected to the energy of the group without needing words.