Stillness is not about focusing on nothingness; it’s about creating an emotional clearing to allow ourselves to feel, think, dream, and question.

~ Brene Brown

A situation arises, something sets you back, brings you down. Maybe you’re in a relationship or job that seems to be going nowhere. You feel stuck, unsure what decision to make or what your next move should be. You are looking for clarity.

We propose that the pathway to clarity (and expansion) begins with stillness, the absence of movement or sound, a state of being calm or tranquil.

Isn’t stillness just meditation? For some, yes. For others, no. To some, meditation sounds like effort: sit with your legs crossed, close your eyes, don’t move, try not to think, focus on your breathe, do it for 15-20 minutes. Don’t get us wrong, we think meditation is great, extremely beneficial, and can also be pathway to clarity. Our purpose here is to present a different word with a softer (more freeing) approach to those who are looking.

Say the word meditation, then say the word stillness. Right away you can feel the vibrational difference between these two words: stillness feels light, effortless, and freeing, whereas meditation feels heavier, with effort, and more controlling.

“The absence of movement or sound, a state of being calm or tranquil.”

~ Stillness

With stillness, you let go, you open up your heart, mind, and inner being to all that’s you, with whatever approach or technique feels good and helps you to achieve that state of being calm or tranquil. In stillness you free yourself from taking a specific action or trying to find an immediate answer.

As Brene Brown proposes, stillness is about creating an emotional clearing to allow ourselves to feel, think, dream, and question. Creating an emotional clearing, that open space within, is where the clarity and expansion will begin to emerge.

You find stillness at the center of our 7-Level Emotional Scale, with positive and negative emotions above and below. In the calm of stillness, that open space within, you allow yourself to be the observer of what’s transpiring, developing, and evolving, including whatever emotions (positive and/or negative) that you are feeling. You do this without judgement, without a need to take specific action (movement) or find an immediate answer (sound).

Because you approach stillness without any rules, you are free to find and define what stillness is for you. Maybe it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the woods, a long drive alone, writing or journaling, or even lying on your floor listening to music, and yes, it can be sitting with your eyes closed focusing on your breath for 15-20 minutes. Stillness is YOUR calm and tranquil, so do what works for YOU!

In stillness, you are just present, letting thoughts come and go as they do, not pushing or pulling, not trying to solve or figure things out. Maybe you’re not even contemplating the situation at all and your thoughts are elsewhere, focused on something good, something positive.

In time, as you practice your stillness, experiencing those feelings of calmness and tranquility, you will begin to find clarity. A clarity that feels right and true because it came from within, it’s your feeling of what’s right and it’s your truth. When you achieve clarity (and answers) from within yourself, and not from the opinions of others, it increases your confidence and trust in the decisions you make and actions you take.

This confidence and trust is your growth, it’s your expansion. When stillness leads to clarity which gives you the confidence to trust your own internal guidance, you experience expansion, the desire to look inward, not outward for the answers. This expansion leads to more confidence and trust in the process, which means you’ll look to stillness more often to find the clarity you desire!

Until next time…allow the open space of stillness to bring forth the clarity you desire.