We Need Stillness Now More Than Ever!
The world feels a *bit* chaotic right now. I wonder if you noticed!
In times like these, things can get hard because while there's SO much on our minds and hearts from what's happening all around us, we still need to get everything else done too - just like at any other time.
I'm extremely grateful to be on a bit of a sabbatical from preaching at the moment so that I can practice some restoration, and I'm looking forward to our Daoist Meditation Retreat next month for the same reason! I personally NEED this stillness if I'm going to bring my best self forward to serve.
We NEED stillness, compassion, quiet, and peace to balance out the division, complexity, and danger we may feel in the world around us.
I've noticed myself getting a little extra irritable over some pretty small-potatoes issues lately, have you? It took me a minute to recognize that no matter what the tiny irritation was - it wasn't really the cause of my disproportionate annoyance. My real problem was the backlog of worry and frustration underneath, built up from the long-term stressful circumstances around me.
In times like these it is tempting to keep our brains on overdrive to look for answers.
The issues seem so pressing that we feel ought to constantly be working hard at finding solutions.
To rest amidst this type of vigilance is difficult, as it requires getting our brains to "change channels" from the stress circuitry of fight-or-flight, to the integration circuitry of rest-and-digest.
The problem is this: if we don't take time to integrate, continuing to stress out about the problems that face us will not bring us any new insights.
The stress centers in our brains are geared to short-term solutions - usually based on what we already know. In order to think outside the box and be most creative, we have to train ourselves to relax and surrender. Paradoxically, if we want to bring our best selves to the problem solving table, we have to learn how to let go of the problem for a time.
How do we do this? This is the main reason for the meditation techniques developed by the traditions of old. M
Masters down through the ages have catalogued methods that help our bodies, brains, and minds shift gears - from the tunnel vision of our stress response, into the wider and calmer perspective of our relaxation response.
They hack the body through breathing techniques, qigong and yoga movements, mental inquiry, visualization, and more.
You can learn a lot of these very easily at home from Youtube, or programs like my 'Alchemical Immersion' or seasonal Buddhist retreats. (Obviously follow me on Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram!)
You can also get signed up for the Autumn Daoist Meditation Retreat online next month (Sept 24-26)! I think we all need it more than we may know!
We'll be going through the major techniques of helping the brain and body shift from agitated and overwhelmed into quiet and open. Even if you're not overwhelmed, these methods take us from basic stability into even deeper states of insight, peace, and wisdom.
We'll be studying the Seated 8 Brocades qigong, as well as reviewing many of the techniques in the Templestyle Integrative Arts curriculum. We'll learn the Daoist practice of Dan Tien meditation, and the art of "Sitting and Forgetting". Find more info here: https://templestyle.mykajabi.com/daoist-retreat
An interpretation of Rumi reads:
'In this world of trickery, Emptiness is what your soul wants.'
Emptiness here doesn't mean a nihilistic void, it means we've got too much STUFF! We need to empty out so that we can open up once again. However you find it, I hope that you have access to this deep ease and rest.
