 Not that there's anything wrong with movement! Stillness is the way to begin to become aware of the reality that we already are heavenly beings. You may want to stick with this practice and not go on to others for a while. It is that important. Being still simply gives us a point to become aware of the movement, the flow, the dance. We become still and appreciate movement. Life is impossible without movement. But in stillness we learn how to move better, how to respect the whole creation more fully, even how to control movement for useful purposes. Of course our control is always quite limited and elusive. We think we have things under control only to find out that nothing is going as planned. That's OK! God has everything under control and that's all that matters. God is mysterious, elusive and holy. We are intimately and intricately connected to God and everything God has created and is creating. It's wonderful. It's real. Be still and know God. Be still and know. Be still. Be. We are not human doings. We are human beings. Better yet, we are really heavenly beings. No, not heavenly beings but one great heavenly being which sometimes goes by the mysterious and elusive and holy name, I AM. So, when I say "I am" in this conversation, I often mean God or you or all of us. It's mysterious, elusive and holy. Be still and probe this holy mystery. Practice stillness and know who you really are. Wake up to the glorious truth that you are a heavenly being. I use the word conversation intentionally. I want this to be a dialogue. God is creating the new church for the new age which is creating the new, most holy, glorious fantastic realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom. You may want to substitute "I am" for "God is" or "you are" or "we are." This happens through an intentional effort to be in purposeful conversation about these things. The question for discussion is simply: What am I (are you, are we) learning as I (you, we) practice stillness? The first 4 practices -- stillness, silence, solitude and simplicity -- are so closely related that there may be suggestions on any one of these four disciplines which could easily be applied to the other three. Maybe even the order could be changed. I don't know! Remember: As far as I am concerned, this journey is not always orderly. It certainly doesn't follow a straight line! Nevertheless, I do believe the practice of being still comes first and is the foundation for all the rest. When we can become still, we become awake, aware and connected. We stop feeling so separated from our sisters and brothers and the rest of creation. We become one with creation. We become our true self. The switch from plural to singular is intentional. In stillness, our individual egos are overcome by the community unity of the whole universe. This is taught by all the great wisdom traditions. Some of us call it the perennial philosophy. Some of us call it mysticism. By whatever name, it is the truth. We are all one! When we are in heaven, we know this to be true and we are glad in it. "Stillness," writes Erich Schiffmann, "is a higher energy state than what we're used to." / Read more. / Franz Kafka says that when you become still, "... the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet." / Dom John Main said: "The wonderful beauty of prayer is that the opening of our heart is as natural as the opening of a flower. To let a flower open and bloom it is only necessary to let it be; so if we simply are, if we become and remain still and silent, our heart cannot but be open, the Spirit cannot but pour through into our whole being. It is for this that we have been created." / Read more. Since I do believe in the power of being still so much, I am disciplining myself to practice stillness in many situations including my writing. If this book becomes useful to a few readers, it will be because I have learned more and more about how to be still. Did I do my yoga this morning? No! So, off I go to do my yoga. As I become still I become me! More mysteriously, I become you, too ... and all creation. It doesn't make sense to anyone who remains committed to the generally accepted world view. It doesn't make sense to me. But I choose to pay attention to this impulse, this desire, this demand, this destiny. It makes no sense and it makes all the sense in the universe! It isn't logical but it is logical. Too many people have explored this territory and found it to be true. It is indeed, as Erich Schiffman says, "a higher energy state than what we're used to." It is so important to learn how to be still. We certainly can't reach heaven without achieving this "higher energy state." So, perhaps you should leave your computer right now and pick up Erich Schiffmann's MOVING INTO STILLNESS. It's a highly acclaimed and comprehnsive guide to Yoga. I don't know about you, but I resist this practice, this discipline. Putting these thoughts out on the web is one way for me to be accountable to you, to the universe, to all creation, to God. I want to be still. You are holding me accountable and I want you to do so. On my very public blog, I am reporting my progress. I will also report at the end of this book and possibly at times in the chapters that follow. I really enjoy working on my website, abundancetrek.com and the blog. It is loaded with links to all kinds of spiritual and peace and justice oriented websites and other resources for the journey. I have found that I improve it the most when I practice stillness and move into that "higher energy state." As I develop my thoughts, this practice of stillness will continue to be a major theme throughout. I intend to get better and better at it. I hope and expect that the website and someday maybe a book will be strengthened enormously as I practice this discipline. If I don't practice stillness, then I will never publish the book beyond my website because I will not have practiced what I preach. Up until now in my life, I would give myself about a B minus and that's not good enough for me or for you. Instead of asking the question over and over again, "Are we there yet?" I will ask "Am I still yet?" When I am still, I am awake. Waking up to the greater reality is, as Kafka points out, nothing less than ecstasy. A COURSE IN MIRACLES contrasts our ego state of sleeping to our true self state of wakefulness. Buddha means the awakened one. He woke up under the bo tree when he realized a stillness or higher energy state which is attainable by everyone since we are all born with Buddha nature. Christ offers us the peace which is "beyond our understanding." To be awake is to reach a whole new state of awareness. When I am still, I am aware. The Buddhist concept of mindfulness comes to mind! I don't miss all the things I've been missing. We resist this state of mind for many reasons. We are afraid of becoming aware of so many things that bother us, threaten us, confuse us, even hurt us. It takes courage to continue moving toward this stillness, this higher energy state, this greater reality of heaven. Become aware of all the help there is when your awareness encounters discomfort and pain. There are friends and guides and colleagues who want nothing less than to offer assistance. They can't take away the pain, but they can help us deal with the pain. These guides and friends are both living creatures (usually human!) and mysterious heavenly beings in various forms. I believe that even the entities which seem to oppose us are our friends and guides and colleagues! When I am still, I am connected. I like to call this earthly and heavenly support system the Heavenly Council. It is everywhere and it is setting things up for our success in all things. Most of us pay far too little attention to this support system. Coincidences are always happening and we miss most of them. In THE CELESTINE PROPHECY, James Redfield calls the awareness of coincidences the first insight. When I am still, I am awake, aware and connected. I am new and fresh and spontaneous. I am really alive. I am amazed. I am grateful. I am awash in amazing grace. It is wonderful. All my complaints vanish into thin air. There is nothing left but blessing upon blessing. I no longer perceive the earth as a place of scarcity where there's never enough. Instead I perceive abundance everywhere and there's always more than enough. I am satisfied. I am always satisfied. Wonder upon wonder. Grace upon grace. Are you still yet? Are we still yet? Am I still yet? This is the heavenly state, the blissful state, the real state. Let's go. Let's get there. Stillness is so closely related to prayer that I would like to say they are one and the same! To be still is to be in prayer. To be in prayer is to be awake, aware and connected. Centering prayer as taught by Father Thomas Keating is an excellent method. It is an updated method continuing the Christian tradition of contemplative prayer, or "resting in God." The foundation for effective centering prayer is Lectio Divina. Keating writes: "Lectio Divina is the most traditional way of cultivating friendship with Christ. It is a way of listening to the texts of scripture as if we were in conversation with Christ and he were suggesting the topics of conversation. The daily encounter with Christ and reflection on his word leads beyond mere acquaintanceship to an attitude of friendship, trust and love." There are many other great practices for prayer. I have already mentioned yoga as taught by Erich Schiffmann. I will point out other practices as we go along. This is so important. Praying is the gateway, the road, the key to heaven. But it is important to say that prayer is a gift from God. We practice prayer as we simply pay attention to God as often as we possibly can and with as much mindfulness as we can possibly muster. The achievement of constant prayer means that praying is more than something we need to do in the morning or evening or mealtime or at other selected times. It is something we need to do all the time, at this time, at all times. I suggest that when you catch yourself not praying, that's the moment you are praying in the now moment (at this time). Don't judge yourself for not praying in the past or future, but rejoice that you are now praying! Sooner or later the moment will encompass all moments. That's when you have arrived n heaven. Heaven is being aware, aware and connected right here, right now. There is no past or future in Heaven. It is always now and it is always complete. How do I know this? I don't know. I believe. I hope. I am creating the new, most holy, glorious, fantastic realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom. So are you. We all are. God is. The name of God is beyond our knowing. But heaven invites us to use a name and receive heavenly wisdom and power. One name that is very powerful and well attested as a divine name in many traditions is I AM.. One way to use the name I AM is to say I AM and then finish the sentence in an endless variety of ways. I believe there is no limit to what we can do under the powerful name of God. The possibilities are infinite. I AM is a powerful name because it is so open and creative. When I am still, I am. When I am still, I am creating the new, most holy, glorious, fantastic realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom. Stillness requires enormous courage and endurance. Heaven is out of reach unless you are willing to make a commitment to a new life. Take up your cross. Take the leap of faith. Begin again. Let go of your addictions and false securities of all kinds. Trust God. Trust the divine rhythm. Regard heaven as your true home and not this world. Enjoy this world but not as your home. Enjoy it as a journey of discovery and adventure. It is a paradox that those who attach less significance to their worldly accomplishments usually accomplish the most! Hmmm. I will write more but I intend to write with more wisdom gained through conversation with you and others. We are in this together. Love is the way. God is love. Stillness is the language God speaks and everything else is a bad translation. Stillness is really another word for space. To be still is to be conscious without thought. You are never more essentially, more deeply, yourself than when you are still.
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