As people raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition know, the full phrase is "Be still and know that I am God" from Psalm 46. I truncated the sentence to make it universal regardless of faith.
My experience teaches that stillness expands "knowing." The gift of the God of my understanding arrives when I surrender to God's centering energy.
Yes. There's all that noise out there. No, we do not have to compulsively add to it.
Yes. Music can be calming. No, we don't need to play sound 24/7.
Yes. I have learned that when I ask any audience to close their eyes for three minutes some cannot do it. "Too scary," some say. "To many thoughts," ("monkey mind") others report.
Silence itself becomes noisy. Tasks, fears, compulsions to "do" not "be" defeat Silence.
Can the God of our understanding squeeze through the noise to heal us? Must the radio always play while driving? Can we sit, eyes closed, for five minutes every day? When did you do that last?
Here's a proven way to quiet the monkey mind: Hire security guards called Repetitive Prayers or Mantras. Let them clear your path to rest.
No one needs to be reminded to breathe. We all need to be reminded to notice our breathing. One way I "catch my breath" is to observe my breathing. To practice exhaling noise and breathing in peace.
To be still and know.
-Erie Chapman
Photo by Erie
