Stillness

Stillness is the most fundamental of the Great Practices of the New Message from God. The still mind can see, hear and discern. Relationship and truth can be known in stillness.

Knowledge, and on rare occasions the Unseen Ones, can be heard in a mind that has cultivated stillness. Space has been made, to hear beyond the fear, desire and assumptions of the personal mind.

"Knowledge will not arise in a preoccupied mind under normal circumstances."

"To practice stillness, let all things come to a rest except the keenness of your mind. Here your mind is all looking and no thinking. Your ears are all listening. Your body is all feeling.”

"You practice stillness not to get anything, but to learn to be still. You learn to be still so that you can feel and listen."

Knowing in stillness

"In stillness and quiet, everything becomes apparent."

"Be careful. Become present. If you are still and observant, you will be able to see what others miss."

"Silence is the experience of profound relationship, and stillness is the acceptance of profound love.

"Stillness is a wonderful, glorious experience in and of itself. It is being at peace. It is being quiet. There are no problems to solve, no answers to acquire, no situations to work out, no future to plan for, no past to fret over. Here you are, right here, right now, an incomparable experience—so vast, so pervasive, so reassuring. Only experience can show you that this is true."

Growing in Stillness

"Life gives to you as you are still."

"When your mind is still, you will know. When the mind is still, you will be able to respond. When the mind is still, you will be able to take the next step."

"Stillness of mind allows a Greater Mind to emerge and to reveal its Wisdom. Those who cultivate stillness with a desire for Knowledge will be preparing themselves for greater revelation and true insight to emerge."

"Here stillness enables the mind to become a more powerful instrument, more penetrating in its insight, deeper in its contemplation, more focused in its problem solving and more present as a vehicle for communication."

"Stillness cultivates the mind to receive. In stillness you find that things are known already that you have neglected thus far. From these practice periods your mind will become more refined and have greater depth, greater concentration and a greater focus in all aspects of your life."

"Let Knowledge be your guide and let the world tell you where it is going and what is emerging on the horizon. Be watchful. Still your mind. Set aside your desires and your constant fear by taking the Steps to Knowledge. Receive the Revelation, the New Message for humanity. You are blessed to even know of this."

Stillness practice

"To prepare for stillness, you must practice a certain kind of meditation, you must have a teacher, you must have a method and you must have a community. These are what are necessary."

"In learning how to still the mind, you must have a focus, you must be in a quiet place, you must be sitting comfortably, and you must have a passive attitude. Four things are required here. Your passive attitude means you are not aggressively trying to make something happen, or to solve problems or to engage in other kinds of mental activities. You are just there in a relaxed manner. So to sit in meditation and experience nothing but agitation or frustration, clearly means you are not meeting the requirements of the situation. You have to be relaxed; you cannot be aggressive. You breathe deeply. Let your breath take you deeper. You have to have a focus for the mind: an image, a thought, an incantation, something that does not stimulate a lot of intellectual activity, something that the mind can anchor itself upon so you can slip beneath its surface into a well of silence. Within this well of silence, deep within it, is the power and the presence of Knowledge.

Here you learn how to slip beneath the mind. "

"Some people need an image; some people need a sound; some people need a repeated breathing; some people just need to relax, but stay focused."

"One of the most simple practices is to sit quietly and repeat the word 'Rahn.' Repeat that. 'Rahn.' That practice is enough to elevate your mind to a phenomenal level, but to get to that phenomenal level, you will go through all your attitudes, feelings and beliefs about the practice. One day it will thrill you. The next day it will bore you. The practice will take you through everything that you are already going through. If you do it consistently, it will provide consistency for you. It will empower your mind over time. Not everyone can do that practice. Some people are so mentally active, they cannot sit still for anything, so they have to do something. Other people are more contemplative and more introverted. That practice is easier for them. Anything you do that consistently engages your mind with something greater will yield a result you could not produce for yourself."

"So the question is not whether you will practice or not practice. The question is what you will practice. You practice stilling the mind—that is a practice. You practice letting the mind run rampant—that is a practice. You avoid all spiritual practices—that is a practice."

"When your mind is very noisy, you practice counting or breathing or listening to your pulse. If your mind is a little unsettled and there is a possibility you may settle down, then we practice with sound. If your mind is settled down, well, you are practicing already.Then we guide your mind to the presence of the Teachers directly. The Teachers are like a reflection from Heaven. They fill your mind full of light. You cannot enter Heaven and still be in the world, but you can experience yourself as an intermediary. Overall, that is the final goal.When Heaven, your Home, has been partially established here, then you will be able to serve in a higher capacity. That does not mean the world looks any better. It simply means that you are carrying your Home within you."

"Allow your mind to be quiet, for in this you are free."

"In the training in Steps to Knowledge, one of the main things you will learn and will have to reinforce over time is the ability to be still. This ability represents a fundamental skill in life. It involves becoming observant, receptive, sensitive, insightful. Here you use your mind rather than be used by it. Here you employ your mind to scan the horizon of your mental and physical environment."

"Stillness is being truly present, either in meditation or in situations out in the world. Stillness is not dead space. It is the mind being a window and not a wall, a state of being, alert, available for Knowledge to shine through."

Practices

"Stop for a moment. Allow your mind to settle down. Breathe deeply. Go to a quiet place. Set aside your thoughts and your plans, goals and problems long enough, you do this frequently enough and you begin to experience the Presence. After awhile, it just emerges, in small glimpses at first and then, as you proceed, you will have larger experiences of it, enough to show you what you need to see and know about yourself and about your circumstances. This is the process of Revelation."

"Practice in stillness, and do not be discouraged if it is difficult at first. Simply practice and you will proceed."

"During your time of practice, find a comfortable place to sit. Uncross your arms and your legs. Give this practice your total attention, not letting your mind wander to other things."

Preoccupation and Distraction

"As you perform your stillness practice, bring yourself completely to your exercise. It is a form of personal dedication. In most cases, you will dispel anything that distracts you with this sense of dedication. In those situations where you cannot overcome the preoccupations of the mind, become a detached witness to them."

"People ask, 'Well, I want to know the answer to my great question.' I say, 'Practice.' They say, 'Well, I am looking for the realizations that will help me.' I say, 'Practice.' They say, 'Well, I have done practices before.' I say, 'No. Practice. Give yourself.' They ask, 'How long will it take?' I say, 'It takes a year to get started. It takes three to five years to become basically competent, if you practice well.' They say, 'I don’t have that kind of time. I cannot make that kind of investment.' Then I say, 'You are not then serious in your pursuit. You will spend the next five years wasting your time, looking for answers, looking for things to believe in, looking for better beliefs, trying to manipulate the personal mind so it can provide you what you want, what you need. But the personal mind cannot do it. It can only be a vehicle for a greater mind within you, and here it fulfills its purpose.'"

“People are so frightened and so driven and so compulsive, they cannot be still for five seconds. They close their eyes to begin meditation, and their mind is like a wild animal—going everywhere, like all the channels of your television running at once, going from here and there and everywhere.”

See also

Emptiness

Practices

Further study

• Wisdom from the Greater Community Book I, Chapter 26: Stillness

• Deepening Your Spiritual Practice: Going Beneath the Surface of the Mind