TC 249: The Art of Stillness

In this episode of the Transformation Cafe podcast, host Robin Masiewicz and regular diner Gloria discuss Pico Iyer's book "The Art of Stillness" and the importance of stillness in ever accelerating world. As Iyer observes, there’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.Pico Iyer was recently interviewed by Ophrah Winfrey on her Super Soul Sunday series. In the excerpt below he talks about "The free health club everyone needs to join".Of course this is not a new idea. Seekers throughout the ages in all spiritual traditions have encouraged stillness and silence as a means to finding one's inner peace.Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity. ~Lao TzuI also like this quote by William Butler Yeats:We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us, that they may see their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet. ~William Butler YeatsThe quote below comes from Tolle's book on the subject called Stillness Speaks:"Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form."~Ekhart TolleStillness: Daily Gifts of Solitude by Richard Mahler makes a good case for the healing and salutary benefits of quiet alone-time. For millions of stressed out and inwardly discontent souls, it will prove to be good medicine.Clinical studies have revealed that even small periods of solitude can improve one's health and well-being by producing sharper memory, less irritability, improved concentration, deeper relaxation, an easing of depression, and better sleep. Writers Terry Tempest Williams, May Sarton, Anthony Stores, and others are quoted in Mahler's book as they bear witness to other benefits of quiet alone-time, such as access to spiritual or mystical experiences, expanded self-understanding, communion with nature, development of the imagination, and liberation from unwanted distractions.How wonderful that we have a way to practice stilling the mind as a means of dealing with the frantic pace of the world. We can use silence to get in tune with ourselves, and in the process, learn to approach the world in a new way."If you would keep quiet, clear of memories and expectations, you would be able to discern the beautiful pattern of events. It’s your restlessness that causes chaos." ~Nisargadatta Maharaj