Stillness

In the beginning of learning this work, my students always struggle with the mind. They ask for checklists, material to study, and answers to questions that cannot be satisfied by logic. Most of them take notes. The monkey mind quickly makes itself known. This is the greatest obstacle to anchoring in these teachings. The mind does not yet know its place.

Dropping down from the mind and into the body is difficult for many, but with practice, it becomes easy. It feels good. One of the best ways to shift into this level of awareness is through actively being still and calming the mind. The easiest way to get there is through the art of softening into the body.

Stillness is a softening. Those of you who have ever meditated for over 10 minutes at a time may be scoffing – stillness can feel very sharp. Your knees hurt, your feet fall asleep, you have an itch that just wont go away…

This initial discomfort of being still is a sign that your body and mind are working through interference. It is showing you all of the ways you are out of alignment. We call this the burn. It is the sudden awareness of all the things you have been avoiding or shutting out by using the mind. It is the very uncomfortable realization that the mind has stepped out of line.

The more quickly you soften into the burn – instead of resisting it – the faster your mind will still. The mind will quiet.  It will race until it can race no more. You will eventually start to drop into the body. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.

So, what does it mean to soften?

Softening is the practice of actively forgiving, accepting and knowing the self. It is an opening, a willingness to be seen and vulnerable. Softening into your body and is the greatest act of self-love and intimacy. It is an act of owning the body, your mind and your emotions, allowing them to just be as they are.

Softening yourself to stillness takes you out of a fear mentality. We all have fear that there is not enough for us – not enough time, money, love. This fear creates a restlessness in the mind. An urgency that we can’t satisfy. When you allow yourself to soften – this fear has to die. It can’t survive from a state of acceptance and love.

During our weekly Lightbody Activations this is exactly what we practice. We call in light, guides, and healing energy to be around us as we practice sitting deeply into ourselves. Since we are in a healing environment, we can move through the burn much faster, and step into stillness with more ease. Our interference is worked through and our bodies integrate into the energy with ease. We are putting the mind back into its place.