nasgrupo.blogg.se - The art of stillness paperback

I want to stay connected to my true self.If I don’t make time to be still, then I find myself in reactive mode-influenced by hundreds of little voices with big demands. Nevertheless, here are three of my own reasons for practicing the discipline of stillness: As I have shared about this topic with others, they inevitably say, “Oh, I so need that in my life! How do I start?”

I doubt you need convincing that you need some measure of what I am describing here. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”Ībba Poeman, one of the ancient desert fathers, taught his disciples, “If you are silent, you will have peace wherever you live.” Why You Need Stillness See how nature-trees, flowers, grass-grows in silence see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. Noise crowds into every empty space, leaving us spiritually, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. This is tremendously difficult in our media rich, always-on, over-communicated society. Psalm 46:10 is representative: “Be still and know that I am God.”

This is not prayer (at least not in the sense of talking to God).ĭoing nothing is being still, quieting your mind (and the cacophony of voices), and simply being.Īll the ancient wisdom literature points to the importance of this practice.

What Is Stillness?īeck’s premise is that “doing nothing is the most productive activity you will ever undertake.” By doing nothing, she means literally doing nothing. Honestly, it was one of the most transformational things I have ever done. I also practiced this discipline for over three weeks in a row. I was so challenged by this chapter, that I read it four times. The first chapter is entitled “Nothing.” In summarizing the chapter, Beck says, “To begin the Joy Diet, you must do nothing for at least fifteen minutes a day.” Intrigued, I decided to read the book on our next vacation. Gail said, “You won’t agree with everything in this book, but I think it will really challenge you-especially the first chapter.” My wife, Gail, recommended that I read The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. I seem to be more of a human doing than a human being. It means I have a difficult time turning off my mind and just being still.

This strength has served me well, but it also has a dark side. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.” “People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. The report that summarized my test results says, According to the popular StrengthsFinder assessment, my top strength is Achiever.