For the ego stillness is threatening, it frightens the mind because to turn off the distraction means we actually have to sit with ourselves – our true selves, which is stillness itself, and that’s not very inviting for the mind especially if that is who we think we are. 

From the space of stillness all life springs, all creativity, insights, wisdom, and activity comes from the quiet place within where everything is allowed to be and are not held on to.

It’s not something we create.

Stillness already is, so to hear someone say “I have to create some time to stillness” makes no sense to me, to crave stillness and believing that you actually have to create time for it is only the mind talking itself out of not being still for even one small speck in time, and therefor it creates excuses and distractions. 

It’s like thinking it’s a luxury that you have to plan into your schedule, but we always take time to what we value the most, just look at what you do, that reveals what you truly value.

It’s not what we say we value, but what we actually do and how we spend our time that reveals where our actions and behaviors come from.

The ego has lots of excuses to not sit still for even 5 minutes:

• Five minutes is not enough, there’s no use in only sitting for a few minutes in stillness, what good would that do. It’s a waste of time.

• I don’t have time to be still, or meditate. I have so much to do; have to solve this problem first, I have to figure this thing out first, then I can relax.

• Tonight I’ll relax with a glass of wine and my favorite TV show, that’s how I unwind.

• I can call my best friend and dump all my stuff on her – that makes me relieved from whatever goes on in my frantic mind, that makes me relaxed.

• I don’t like being still, .. hmm, I’m hungry, I’ll eat something first.

• I need to have something to soothe (entertain) me (my mind) while I sit here, I’ll put on some new age music.

• It’s not productive to just sit (I’m bored), I have to DO something.

When you first start to meditate or sit in silence, simply being with yourself (that’s all it is basically, it’s not complicated), you’ll notice thoughts coming and going, memories coming up, thoughts about something you need to do later on and you oftentime begin to sense some uncomfortable sensations where the body wants to move and so on, just let those things happen. (Observe what’s happening, don’t resist or judge).

This happens because the mind is conditioned to focus on objects, so it tries to be aware of and control even the stillness, but obviously it can’t so it can get a bit frantic in the beginning.

The mind has not learned how to not do something, it’s trained to get going right away when we wake up in the morning and for most people it’s conditioned to go, go, go! all day long, so give it some slack.

That is also why it starts to go back in memory because when there’s nothing to hold on to in this moment (of stillness) it tries to go to the past to have something to hold on to (and to have something to interpret because it can’t interpret or understand stillness), so it’s totally normal in the beginning.

It’s important to know that this is to be expected and don’t think that it’s going to be like that all the time (this is one of the minds most used excuse by the way; “it’s too difficult, I just can’t relax my mind, it’s impossible”) because eventually the mind will let go into the stillness, not by force and not by any effort, but by letting go of all effort.

Whatever issues you think there are to be ‘worked out’ in your life, whatever solutions you want to have, whatever problems that needs to be solved or questions to be answered, they will not come from the mind, but from the stillness within.

All solutions and answers come from stillness itself, not from the active, frantic mind.

It is from there all productivity and activity comes from that is actually constructive and helpful.

The mind may solve a problem (temporarily), but it always produces a new problem or issue to be resolved to replace the previous one, it’s what minds are programmed to do.

It’s nothing wrong, it’s just when we believe our minds to hold some kind of truth that it will drag us through life like a dog on a leash, from one issue to another, always frantically doing something and never taking time to just sit and actually feel life all around us, to smell the roses so to speak. (It thinks that’s something we can allow ourselves to do on holidays or weekends only).

The relaxations and peace we crave in life comes from being able to sit still and not hide from ourselves, which is the stillness itself. We are that.

That’s why it can’t be created or manufactured. It already is, it’s here for us to lean into and let ourselves be swallowed up by it.

Nothing actually needs to happen or change in order for us to be at peace, all that is needed is for us to allow it to be present in our awareness and being and to not push it to the background of life where we just pay attention to it now and then when it’s convenient for the mind.

Stillness is harmonising, it releases us from attachments, it opens up the inner eye vision and get us unhooked from the narrowness of the egoic mind that is mostly focused on figuring things out and solving problems.

Most people either don’t appreciate or truly don’t understand the value in having a mind that is still and open and thus receptive.

To even let go of the effort to be still (remember, the mind will want to control even the stillness in the beginning) and to simply be, and become aware of the mind and how it wants to manipulate and “become still” is a huge revelation in itself.

We don’t “become still”, we simply are stillness itself. Feel the difference?

There’s a relief in that difference.

One tries to either control and ‘be’ stillness, the other lets stillness be and doesn’t suppress anything that may come up, all is allowed and only seen from a witness point of view, as an observer of what’s going on.

When this happens, that’s when stillness is revealed to be our true natural state and not simply a state of mind that we visit now and then when we crave peace and quiet.

It’s then revealed that this is who we are.

And that’s why stillness is frightening, that’s why it’s avoided and resisted by the ego.

That’s why it’s underrated and not appreciated enough – because most still value the minds opinions and guidance more.  

In reality, there’s only one consciousness (which is Truth/God), and (billions) of different states of mind (programs/conditioning), and the unity all humans essentially crave can only come from not having the mind as our boss anymore, but that we instead turn our attention to the stillness within where all Life springs from.

That’s what unity with the One is. 

Peace is already present – the time to dwell and move

from stillness is always in the present moment

Here’s a few other articles you might like:

It’s so important to value the present moment and show up for life – right now!

Where to begin you ask, when the fast paced life has taken over and I have lost touch with myself?

This article may inspire you to live in the moment: Stop and smell the roses

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When we become aware of how the mind operates, we come to realize that it’s in the knowing of the false that we come to see the Truth.

And that’s where all our suffering comes from essentially, from the unwillingness to look silently without the need to analyze or figure anything out.

To not go to our minds for so called solutions because the problems we think we have are also created in the mind, by the mind!

It will always keep itself busy, always keep itself occupied so it can keep its importance alive, while in reality there’s nothing new, nothing of real value, to be found in the mind: The Mind Always Demands To Be Preoccupied

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There are many ways the mind tries to distract you when you sit down to meditate and one of the most common phenomenons that happen usually in the beginning when someone is just starting out with meditation is the sudden urge to sleep.

There you are, making yourself comfortable where you sit and you close your eyes, … and then suddenly you start to feel very, very sleepy, and you just want to lie down to sleep right where you are. It’s sooo inviting and you just want to give into it because it feels so relaxing and wonderful. 

This kind of sleep is a false sleep, and it’s not the same as “meditating” but the mind will convince you that it’s just the same.. It’s very clever: The Sudden Urge To Sleep When Meditating

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What to do to about any kind of dullness and stuckness in life where one of the ways to hinder our own spiritual development is to let ourselves be fooled into believing the minds idea of recreation and relaxation: 7 Ways Of How We Dull Ourselves Down Spiritually And What To Do About It