After Katie experienced Stillness (video) her inner dialogue went from thoughts of anger, blame and resentment to ‘happy’ thoughts of love, caring and good times. I didn’t speak to her about changing her thoughts or the words she spoke..this came naturally. It is our inner state. We just forget to connect to it. Once we are ‘reminded’, reconnected to it- we live our lives with more enjoyment- simply and naturally.
Hi Marlise,
I felt compelled to send you an email to thank you for your work on Thursday night in Phx at the Fresh Start center.
I went to Fresh Start and got assistance to help me leave my abusive now ex husband. I realize I am not the only one in this situation and when you said you had come from a similar background as I did and I see you with your success I gain more hope. I purchased your CD and I am hoping that my life is headed in a very different direction very soon……
I shared what I saw during our stillness exercise and wanted to reiterate that while I am not a stranger to meditation I found a very different result. I shared that I actually saw (it was 3-d) my own face as I want to be seen by myself, and others. A finished product if you will of all of my hard work inside and out on myself coming to fruition. Wow! It has intrigued me. What is so different about your work? What are the possibilities? I am speaking my thoughts out loud to you because these are some of the questions I have.
I am ready for change. I have been listening to your cd and working on putting this into my daily routine. I appreciate your time, and I enjoyed your work and look forward to seeing what unfolds.
Hello Dear Friends,
I have been getting letters from so many of you on Facebook and direct, who are wanting to go deeper, who are wanting support for this time in your life, who have questions that you’re looking for answers to, and who just want to share what’s happening in your lives as you begin doing The Practices…
I will be sharing these letters here along with my replies as i know the challenges faced by some… are faced by many… and this dialogue can be an ongoing support for discovering how to connect and live more from the infinite knowing within us all.
xxx, m
Screaming, shouting, eyes bulging, fists raised in anger. Are we at a WWE wrestling match? No, we’re in the U.S. Congress; those revered halls where we ask our leaders to create solutions to the global challenges facing us today.
Quick, bring the children to see how their elders work together to find resolution. Does the rage we see so predominantly in the news, from pundits to ‘tea makers,’ represent the highly intelligent, conscious 21st century society we’ve become? Or is there any wisdom the modern world can glean from those not-so-civilized cultures of better ways to deal with life’s challenges and each other.
I was recently introduced to another judicial system — the toguna.
Building in Mali, Africa
It’s purpose unraveled for me the mystery of how the indigenous people of Mali, the Dogon, have maintained peaceful relationships within their communities down through the ages — without any law enforcement or jails to safeguard them from the evils people have wrought upon each other throughout history.
I wondered at the architecture of this low-ceilinged ‘building,’ constructed of natural materials from the surrounding area, stones and millet stalks, stacked and woven together. Did they really have meetings there — and if so, how was it possible — since you wouldn’t be able to stand upright? My guide explained that the design was intentional, “…sometimes people get angry – they have what we call -’fire in the blood.’ Since they have to stay seated – they can’t look down on another, and they can’t hurt each other.” Brilliant!! Within the framework of this space, all disputes were handled. A select group of elders would listen as the families or individuals described their complaints.
Children were invited to attend, so they might learn how to settle disputes while still respecting the other party. Everyone is honor-bound to speak the truth, and to follow through with the elders’ decision. Once made, it was in the hopes that the grievance will soon be forgotten and left in the past — that way life can continue and families are able to move on, possibly even regaining the friendships they once had.
I found this method of jurisdiction to be astoundingly simple — and it was clearly beneficial, as it had been serving these people for as long as they could remember. How is it that the simplest practices can offer us the most insightful truths?
Imagine using this system in our judicial courts. People might have a different way of handling disputes when they are seated and honor-bound not to rage or one-up each other. Realizing you are dealing with a member of your community who someday might be the one who helps save your life when a natural disaster strikes, or is a ‘neighbor’ who takes care of you when emergency medical assistance isn’t available could make a huge difference in how we treat each other. And in a more broad view, it could re-adjust how we look for solutions with our neighbors in the U.S. as well as around the world.
A report in Time magazine stated that in major emergencies “. . . the basic tenets of civilization actually hold. . . people tend to look out for one another. That is our true instinct when the fears in our mind don’t override our natural tendencies.”
Yes, we are seeing a rise in racial tension at this time — and isn’t that again from fears in the mind where people stereotype and dismiss another human being with words of bias that cross every culture we don’t understand — including our own.
Even so, I believe Martin Luther King’s dream of a nation where people respect one another is closer to reality today than when he first spoke it. I believe each of us will one day value and respect each other as individuals living in a world community that has been given the stewardship to take care of this earth and its peoples. One day, I believe we will learn how to resolve our problems through peaceful communication — instead of the barbarous dialogue we resort to. We have much to learn from the simple people of this world .
Waking up feeling really bad, knowing you crossed a line, being angry with yourself… I remember those days… Or should I say years. No matter what form we find it in — addiction is not fun; drugs, alcohol, overeating, overworking, smoking or sex. It never fills the hole inside that is silently crying out, ‘I want to feel good, I want to be happy, I want to know that everything is going to work out okay…‘
Stillness can take you to a place where you find answers to unsolvable questions, where previously unconcealed walls — disappear.
The Prisons of Addiction
At a very early age, my abusive father told me who he thought I was — that left me feeling small, with no love for myself and a belief that I would never find that security we all long for. His words locked me in a prison of new-found addictions I felt would free me.
A CEO in Amsterdam who gave up drinking a quart of whisky a day, an angry teen in Los Angeles who walked away from an abusive relationship she’d been in for years, a college student in Mississippi who signed up for an overeater’s clinic within a month, and a Maasai warrior who gave up alcohol overnight — they are just a few of the many people living with addiction who found that practicing The Simplicity of Stillness supported them in filling that insatiable hole.
As the restrictive borders of our unconscious habits are brought into clarity, we begin living with a sense of true freedom. By taking just a bit of time to reboot ourselves, we become more in balance with all of life, where we discover quite naturally that love and security we were always searching for… is coming from within.
1. The Practice of Stillness: Take a bit of time each week to reboot your system. Find a quiet space, breathe deep, listen to a Stillness Session CD Allow the energy of stillness emanating through the music and the words to assist you in connecting to your true nature. Feel the power of the moment… of pure peace… and bring it with you into your day.
2. Recommit: When you fall down, get up, don’t beat yourself up, get clear on what you want and recommit to it again. What will you no longer do? When you know – write down your commitment – to what you will do. Add to your daily regime whatever gives you greater health and well-being – start with a week, then make it two, then three. Too many restrictions will strangle you. Find what works, and then expand on it once you have tackled it with ease.
3. Slow It Down & Step Away: Sometimes old patterns try to rob us of our happiness. When someone comes at you in anger — or fear and worry over a situation makes you want what isn’t good for you — slow it down & step away. Imagine everything moving in slow motion and step away from the situation. (If with someone, let them know you will return) Give yourself breathing room to see clearly — and you will.
4. Contemplate: We can create our lives to be more in balance and one that we really enjoy when we see what it is we value. If you’re unhappy — ask yourself — what do I really want? Based on how you want to feel in the long run, will guide you to knowing what it will take to get there, starting now. Step 1 helps find the answers; step 2 brings them to life.
5. Daily Intention: Create an intention to guide you and set the tone for the day. Here is one I enjoy:
Today is a new day… doors close… and doors open. Today I can create more ways to bring Stillness into my life. I can live with more peace in my heart, more love and compassion for those who can’t see it, can’t touch it, don’t know it exists. Today, walls will crumble… and new ones will be built. Today is a great day…
Stillness connects us to a state of peace that dissolves worries. It allows us to tap into our very essence, where we find a core of strength. It can shift our very perception of life… and the role we play in it.
How we view life’s events and challenges is what makes up the quality of our lives. If you feel poor, even if you have millions, you will live like a pauper in your heart. If you feel abundant, although you might have little to your name, you will live like a king.
If we feel unloved, no matter how many people profess their love to us, we won’t believe them. If we feel disrespected, no matter how many people sing our praises, we will feel that no one knows our value.
We all want to know how to deal with the daily challenges of life without getting tossed around by every big wave. We want to discover how to find that core of strength and balance in the midst of raging waters, so even when the world around us is in crisis, we won’t have to dive into the middle of it.
We can find balance. We can find what we really want out of life. When we connect with our true essence that guides us ceaselessly, we will look at life’s challenges through different lenses and see which road to take that can get us where we want to go.
When you tap into stillness, the source of wellbeing, you will have found the well that never runs dry. And even when life gets tough – you will know how to ride every wave.
