Welcome To Stillness…

There’s a quiet weight to it that feels so comforting to me - like I’ve landed. Now that the holidays are nearly over, we can sink into stillness. Even in the midst of doing, we can infuse BEING in all that we do. What a relief. And, it’s a practice. Our society’s mindset and technology addiction keep us from BEING in stillness. Stillness is where our wisdom is accessed. So we need to intentionally create space for stillness, which is easiest to achieve in the winter.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the winter time corresponds to the element of water, as water’s quality is clear and travels downward and inward. This time of year the natural world’s energy is traveling downward and inward to conserve the chi in the roots of plants and the storage of chi in the kidneys of animals and humans. Wintertime is known to be the summertime for the soul, as there is deep inner work that’s happening, which appears as stillness.

Meditation teacher, Kim Moriyama, led the following contemplation which helps us find our stillness.

At this moment, just stop. 

Could you inwardly stop and allow yourself to be?

And BE.

Notice that simply allowing ourselves to stop and be what we are shifts our view. Our perception of what’s being experienced begins to shift. We start becoming more aware of the choices we have at this moment. For now, can you welcome the breath and the experience of breathing?

Notice the flow and movement.

Notice the points of suspension between the inhale and exhales.

When noticing the still points between the inhales and exhales, our experience begins to shift.

Notice the space in silence that’s in between sounds.

Listen for the silence, and notice how your experience of sound begins to shift.

Notice images internally and the space on or in which they appear.

Noticing the space allows what we see to begin to shift.

Notice experience of sensations. The clothes touching our skin, what we are sitting on. Notice the space in and around that penetrates all sensations. As we become more curious about space, the sensations begin to shift.

Can we relax in the silence and the space?

Can we relax into that which allows hearing, seeing, and feeling and just welcome this pure presence of awareness? Open to it, notice the underlying sweetness of just being aware.

By shifting from fear to fearlessness, check out any fear arising in your consciousness. Fear about what’s happening currently, maybe physically or emotionally, in a relationship or fear for the world at large. Typically we resist and reject our fears, to make them go away. But the more we resist our fear, the more we get entangled in it.

Right under the sensation of fear is the feeling of courage. The two actually come together. Being courageous brings up fear, and fear also has courage on the flip side of it.

Can we welcome how both fear and courage dance together? Give space to the pictures, sensations, and sounds of fear. Notice that you’re still breathing. That which we truly are, still exists. Even in the face of fear, can we welcome fearlessness? Synonyms for fearlessness are courage and aliveness.

Welcome the inner knowing that is effortlessly fearless. It just is. Standing in the light of fearlessness, could we welcome and treat honorably the feeling of fear?

Could we turn towards and be the embodiment of Ahimsa, non-violence within, with a kind inner atmosphere? And decide at this moment to end the suffering and turn towards kindness? Just by welcoming kindness, there is a sensation of fearlessness, because that is our true nature.



Could we allow that kindness at our core to shine?

And SHINE.

That which allows our thoughts and feelings but which is controlled by none. Can we take our stand as what we truly are, effortlessly and choicelessly be what we are? 

And BE.

Notice where there is flow in our lives. Notice when we are so afraid and avoid what we are afraid of. Once we do, it becomes empowering and effortless, and fun! Step out of how we limit ourselves with our narrative and allow flow.

Curiosity, compassion, and kindness are all thresholds to courage. We often think that to be courageous we have to be upfront and center, but there is an element of true courage that’s very sweet and gentle like water, as water melts and flows over and around a stone. That’s soft, powerful, feminine courage. A deep, powerful, noble, regal, dignity of courage.

Connecting to our softer fearlessness brings it forth. It’s known as Shakti coming to heal the consciousness. This ignites the softer side within, the depth of the water, the Yin.

The heart has 100 times the electromagnetic energy than the brain, so to feel from the heart, rather than the brain, encourages that flow from the heart. The soft powerful energy emanates from our hearts into our auric field and embodies the consciousness of Quan Yin, the goddess of compassion. When we help others it brings us joy. When giving to others we give to ourselves. 

How much do we have inside of us to be shared with others? The French word for courage is enlivening the passion and rage of the heart. This rage is passionate and courageous.

Listen to your heart, what really lights you up? Could you love love love, love others, and love yourself?

Saint Francis of Assisi states, “No amount of darkness can extinguish the light of a single candle“. At this moment can we welcome our light? The light that shines through you? Can we let that light embrace any challenge in our life?

Challenges are part of life, but what changes is our perception of them.

We can hold in our heart’s light anything that appears to be a challenge, for ourselves, for others that we know are challenged, or for the world, and bring a sense of presence to what we are challenged by with kindness and softness as the unfoldings of life.

When our bodies shake in our yoga practice, it’s Shakti or chi rising. Same with our thoughts, when our minds and thoughts are shaking, we can shake them loose when we meet them with love and soft courage. When we train the muscles, it’s the same thing when we train our neural pathways to strengthen our sense of discernment. It doesn’t happen right away, it takes discipline and regular practice, and the rewards provide so much freedom.

The light of success feeds others' success. We are held in that light of community. Be bathed in the sense of connection. The sense of one light, the sense of one success. Others' success is our success, our success is feeding others' success. Our success and flow are feeding everyone else’s flow and success. See our tribe, and welcome togetherness, freedom, and sweetness just as it is. Ask yourself, are we separate from this light? Can we find where we end and the light begins? Or is there only one light? Is there only one love? If there’s any wanting to be separate, could you let that be free and open? And let the heart naturally radiate as it does. Can that which flows through the heart be separate from anything or anyone?

Visualize a sense of community, I am you, you are me. There is only one.

There is no you, there is no me - there’s only one.

Visualize a hive, a hive mind. This is a really thriving hive, creating very sweet honey and going out to pollinate many flowers in the world. Everyone's success creates that honey, one consciousness.

If you feel called towards these seasonal teachings, meditations, and meridian flow practices, which help us heal naturally from chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune issues, or if anyone you know, would like to learn meditation, yoga, and chi gong, come join our Meridian Flow program to find relief and freedom.

If you're a seasoned yogi or yoga teacher and would like to learn and implement these practices join the Master's Path or 300-hour Teacher Training course.

From my heart light to yours~

Namaste,

Maggie