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When you look at people around, rarely do you see human beings in stillness. People are endlessly in motion and this endless motion seems to gain speed every year. We cannot be still. We are on the go, with no breaks. We all know how hard it was to still the body when we first started practicing meditation. Maybe you still struggle with this simple, but yet often almost impossible, action of sitting still.
The legs were falling asleep, the back muscles were aching, we felt itchy everywhere…and much more. Once we were settled with the body we faced even bigger challenges by trying to still the mind. Who said nothing can go faster then the speed of light? We know how fast the mind races when we force it into stillness. We can be in different parts of the world in one moment, we can travel through time in a second, we can move between extreme emotions in an instant.
So why, for most of us, is being still so difficult? Because nothing, inside or outside us, is still. Every molecule in our body is a trace from the dust of the stars. The stars were born from a powerful explosion known as the big bang. Since the big bang, the universe never stopped moving. Every thing is in constant motion: from the largest objects in space, to the smallest subatomic particles that form our bodies.
We exist in a world that is in continuous motion. Even when you look at an unmoving object, it is an illusion, as it moves with the motion of earth. Space itself keeps expanding rapidly, moving everything within it. As in space, everything in your body is in constant motion. Your muscles, joints, organs, nervous system, blood and cells are all in continual movement. So here we are, vibrating entities, composed of particles in motion, hovering in an environment in perpetual motion. If everything from the largest objects to the smallest particles moves constantly, where is the stillness we are trying to achieve on the path of spirituality? Is it possible to reach such a state? Stillness exists outside of the mind’s dominion, where all concepts cease. Stillness is present where the fragments of reality unite to be the whole picture in no time or space. In other words, to exit the boundaries of the mind and the universe it shapes, we have to unite with the higher self, the Source of stillness.
Imagine the higher self as a complete picture of a still reality that has been reflected by an infinite mirror. Imagine the immeasurable mirror exploding to endless pieces (each piece is a metaphor for you and me and everything you see around you). Each piece reflects only a fragment of the whole picture. All pieces are in constant vibrating motion towards unification that will bring them into their original state of oneness. Each piece captures the sparkle of the original stillness from the original unbroken reflection of reality. This is the sparkle we are connecting with in our meditation.
Learn more about shakti mhi and her Yoga Teacher Training by visiting her website www.pranayoga.com This article was reprinted with the permission of Prana Yoga Centre Inc. This article is the Copyright of Prana Yoga & Zen Centre and may not be reproduced without prior written permission. |
