Inner Work

For the week of: September 20, 2004

Walking in Stillness

A sacred ocean of stillness surrounds us constantly. And the way toward the Divine leads through that. Yet we remain unaware of it. Even if we have had a taste of that sacred stillness, say in meditation, we lead our life as if the stillness, the sacredness were reserved for and only accessible on special occasions. To bring that sacred stillness to our ordinary, daily life would constitute a profound transformation of our being. We can embark on that transformation, simply and directly.

Perhaps we have practiced opening to the silence, the stillness beyond thoughts, during meditation. Now we practice opening to the stillness during activity. Take the example of walking. Our body well knows how to walk and requires very little attentiveness on our part to maintain the walking. That leaves us with excess attention available as we walk. We open our attention to the stillness underlying experience. Behind all we see, hear and touch, a warm, loving and boundless ocean of silence intimately embraces and supports everything, including us. As we walk, we relax into the utter peace of that stillness. When we notice that our attention has collapsed into some feature of our ordinary physical or mental world, we reopen ourselves to the sacred ocean of stillness.

This opening is easier to catch than we might expect, at least for brief moments. It takes practice and persistence to begin to recognize the all-pervasive expanse of stillness. But that practice pays enormous dividends in lightening our load, warming our heart, and offering fulfillment. The stillness brings us to the fullness of our being and to contact with the sacred.

The practice of opening to stillness need not be limited to walking, or to meditation, but can be brought into any activity, except for safety-critical ones, like driving, that require our full attention.

For this week, practice opening to the sacred ocean of stillness while walking.

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