Have you ever noticed how well dog’s are at stillness? No practicing required.
We human’s, well, ah-hem, that is another story. Isn’t it interesting how we have to learn to be still? This should be something we want to do, not something as another “to-do” on our list.
In the “True Self” class I am a part of each week, we are now delving into the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success that Deepak Chopra teaches. This past week we’ve been asked to sit in nature for five minutes each day and we also to just sit in stillness for five minutes each day.
We all have 10 minutes in a day to do this, right? Well, how interesting it is that the mind will find so many other things that are just too important that have to get done.
Today I cranked up the sitting in stillness to 15 minutes. I discovered the timer on my phone and I love it because it is one less thing my mind has to “worry” about.
But as I began this “stillness sitting” today, my mind began racing. I didn’t like the quiet. Which was odd, because often times I crave it. But today, it felt uncomfortable. The thought, “I’ve got too many things to do” floated through my mind. I felt myself wanting to get up out of my chair and start “doing.” I wrestled with my urges and thoughts. I bantered back and forth in my head.
I did my sitting right after lunch as I was feeling sluggish from writing and working all morning. I gave myself permission by inwardly saying, “You deserve this. You will feel great when you are done.” As I granted myself permission, I realized my shoulders, which were just up around my ears practically, gave a sigh of relief and melted back to their right place on my body.
I had a few more anxious moments with my stomach doing a few twirls, but then it happened —this space I had sunk into without realizing it. Time had disappeared and I was but for a millisecond without thought or distraction. Though the moment I realized this, my thoughts returned. But this time more calm, more serene, more centered, and more accepting.
As my timer chimed that time was up a few minutes later, I sat for a moment more, inwardly chuckling and wondering why we make sitting in stillness so difficult at times.
I imagine if Gidget and Kylie knew I put this much thought into meditating and practicing stillness that they would raise their little eyebrows but for a brief moment and sigh as if to say, “You silly human. You make life so complicated.”
And so it is… I continue my practice and observing the lessons of two wise dog’s.