Present Moment Stillness and Relaxation

In a poem called East Coker, which is the first of four lengthy poems written by T.S Elliot called The Four Quartets, he wrote:

At the still point of the turning world.  Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement.  And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.  Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.  Except for the point, the still point,
there would be no dance, and there is only the dance.

We could almost think of Elliot's Still Point as the center of gravity where a surfer rides the wave.  Not really moving toward anything, or away from anything, but existing on a point of balance in the present moment.  The surfer dances atop the surfboard, but relative to it, is not moving.  And though the board stays atop the moving wave, the wave never leaves the surface of the earth.

In many Zen stories a comparison is made between the mind, and the surface of water.  A busy mind--it is said--is like the surface of rough moving water; but a still and calm mind is like the surface of calm water that has settled to the point of stillness, where--like the surface of a mirror--a bird flying above could be seen as a reflection in the surface of the water below.

But stillness is not easy to realize for many of us in today's modern world.  Trying to see the reflection of anything on the surface of our minds is getting harder and harder as people's minds are frequently distracted by the rough waters of the over-stimulating effects of technology and a busy world.

But, as Elliot said, "there is only the dance".  In other words, there is only this moment, "where past and future are gathered".  Stillness is getting more and more difficult for many who--when sitting themselves down to relax--find that the churning waters of their minds continue to move.

Finding your own place of stillness can take time, but it's important to work on it a little bit every day.  Slowing down the body in a fast-paced world isn't simple, but it facilitates the slowing down of the mind, even if it takes the mind awhile to catch up with the stillness of the body.  Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, Meditation, are all means to work towards this goal.

If you traditionally have a hard time sitting still, start by at least slowing down.  Try to slow your pace, walk more calmly, eat more slowly, or develop a slow and intentional ritual before bed or rising in the morning.  Try reading more slowly and intentionally.  Try grocery shopping more slowly.  Try everything from your morning shower to washing the car at a pace that moves your closer to stillness.

In time you may find that you become more accustomed to stillness.  But stillness is not just physical.  It's also mental, emotional, and psychological.  Stillness means to not always be looking for the next thing to do, or get, or be.

Another good poet by the name of Chris McCombs wrote in his poem, Go Deeper:

Go deeper
Past thought
Into silence
Past silence
Into stillness
Past stillness
Into the Heart
Now
Let the Love
Consume
Whatever is left of you

Thanks to Hefin Owen for his great photo - Misty Sunrise Padarn Lake

Sitting Still: The Power of Relaxation

According to Peter Russell, author of Waking Up in Time, our world continues to accelerate with each passing year, month, day and hour.  As the world’s pace gets faster and faster, humans feel compelled to find ways of keeping up with it. 

Let’s face it, if you don’t keep up, you can’t really function in some respects.  Take, for example, the need to keep somewhat savvy about computers, or to adhere to the use of credit cards and electronic banking.  Without these, most would be unable to set up the daily use of things need to function, such as access to daily news and on-line job applications, or as equally important, the ability to communicate quickly by means of cell phones and texting.

There is a growing demand on us to hurry and rush as soon as we set our feet on the floor each morning.  Yet, despite the reality of these growing demands on us—and actually, because of them—it is all the more clear that there is a need to counter balance this growing pace with useful coping techniques that can help us find balance in a world that is spinning too fast sometimes.  We can choose to create our own daily schedule that has pockets of time in which we can go at our own pace.

The increasing pace of the world has also left many people with a restlessness about them.  It's not uncommon these days for people to feel uncomfortable with sitting still.  Literally... just sitting still.  Stillness not only seems unfamiliar to many, but leads to an internal dialogue that sounds something like this:  "This is a waste of time!", "There are so many other things I need to do", "I don't have time for this", etc.

In addition, our bodies have been so conditioned at this point to go go go, and been prodded to have endless tasks, chores, events and work, that we become restless with the very thought of sitting still.

That said, it's obvious that building some stillness back into one's life may need to be taken in small bits.  Reintroducing some time to simply sit in stillness may have to begin with just 5 minutes.  That's enough to start and can always be increased if you feel your getting somewhere.  Think of it as just what the doctor ordered, as the Zen saying goes:  "For quick, fast-acting relief, try slowing down."

Thanks to Balint Foldesi for his great photo, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/