Practising stillness

most pressing problems, and that you can return to thinking about them later. When you're being still, it's not the time or place for worrying. While approaching your stillness, consider the pleasant feelings you have about this place, or recall perceptions and experiences from your previous visits.

When you arrive, take a minute to get comfortable. Pay attention to each group of muscles in your legs, arms, back, shoulders, chest and face, and allow them to relax.

Take another minute to clear your mind of any distracting thoughts. If any persist or reappear, send them away and tell them to wait until another time.

Allow your eyes to drift over the landscape. Something new or unusual may catch your interest. This might be a bird or animal, a new flower, or a change brought on by the seasons. If something suggests itself, give it your full attention. Ask yourself what this feature means to the rest of your surroundings, what has brought the change, how it affects its environment, and what it means to you.

Once you have satisfied your curiosity about anything remarkable, pick a familiar object and study it with your senses. For instance you might pick a small tree and go over every small branch with your eyes. Learn to actually see the tree rather than just knowing that it is there. This will help you to become more aware of changes, and to notice things you previously overlooked.

Allow your thinking, questioning mind to give way to sense perceptions. When thoughts suggest themselves, know that you have the ability to dispel them until a more appropriate time. Watch them go away.

Whenever you observe something interesting, such as an animal appearing, movement in the water or landscape, or a change of weather, study it and question yourself about its significance.

Maintain this state of quiet observation for 10 minutes. On later visits extend it to 15 and 20 minutes. If you follow this practice just once a week, you should eventually try to stay quiet for an hour, perhaps shorter for more frequent sessions.

a few minutes before the end, begin writing down any observations you made, and note your responses to this experience. You might also wish to sketch something that you saw.

Finish with a moment of gratitude. You might wish to pray to God or a higher power, if that fits your world view. Or you might prefer to thank the place itself or

The copyright of the article Practising stillness in Living With Nature is owned by Van Waffle. Permission to republish Practising stillness in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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