What is stillness and why is it important?

The majority of us have a constant voice, a never-ending stream of thoughts going on in our heads. These thoughts tend to be repetitive, are often negative and completely unrelated to what we are experiencing in the moment.

Thinking is useful and has its place of course, so we are not suggesting here that you shouldn't think at all. The problem is that all of our attention gets absorbed in thinking and we are not able to stop this inner mental chattering. Thinking has enormous momentum and it is not easy to have a sustained period of mental quietness.

As a result, we live our lives through a screen of thoughts. For example, rather than truly hearing the song of a bird, we mentally label it rather than experiencing it fully. Thinking also takes us away from living in the present because the vast majority of thoughts are about the past or the future. So we feel regret, guilt, loss, anxiety, stress, worry or fear, in the middle of a perfect, beautiful day.

The worst part is that thinking stops us from being in touch from the deepest part of ourselves. Our very being, our true nature is peace, joy, love and kindness. But we lose touch with this inner dimension, which is inside every one of us, deep within the body, by having all of our attention out of it, in our heads. Life is then perceived to be difficult, boring, heavy and tough.

To live a more fulfilling life, it is essential to cultivate stillness. Stillness, the way we use it here, means inner silence. It is about creating a gap between thoughts, which allows you to experience the present moment directly. It is about creating space inside your mind, and in this space you are fully aware, fully present.

Practicing stillness is simple. Anyone can do it and all it requires is your willingness to bring your attention back to the present moment. So it is not about being zombie-like or going mentally blank.  It's about being fully attentive to the here and now, which is the only thing we really have. 

As you gradually become still and mindful in your every day life, you will feel more alive, joyful and in touch with an unmistakable sense of peace. More and more, you will really "be there", present to the beauty and uniqueness of the moment. 

You will also be able to see things with more clarity and perspective. Stillness allows you to tap into your natural creativity, intelligence and wisdom. And amazingly, the mindfulness that you develop, by itself, gradually transforms you and everything around you, for the better, without you needing to try to change anything.  

The most important discovery that stillness helps you to make is knowing that there is a deeper dimension within you. That you are not your thoughts but rather, the consciousness, the awareness behind it all. This is one of the reasons why all spiritual traditions teach one form or other of cultivating stillness.

Perhaps you may be thinking, "This all sounds very good but I just don't have the time to be still and mindful." This is definitely not true. Even in the mist of a very busy day, you can always take a short moment to reconnect with the peace within you and then continue afresh. This is the premise behind Stillness Buddy, that with very short but regular moments of stillness and mindfulness pauses, you can be still even during a busy work day.

You may now want to read in more detail how Stillness Buddy works.