Stillness
Preached 12/6/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
The theme this month is stillness and we’ve heard some beautiful words on stillness today. We’ve breathed, we’ve meditated. Are you feeling good? Feeling the positive effects of stillness?
Science writer Carolyn Georgie wrote in the Huffington Post that, "In a loud and distracting world, finding pockets of stillness can benefit your brain and body." She cites four reasons as a scientific basis for this.
We’ve been regenerating brain cells this morning.
The Heart-Math Institute has found that a regular practice of stillness leads to mental clarity. They have stated “When our mind finally lets go, inner stillness is where we land... We often hear ourselves and others say, "If I had more foresight, I would have handled that situation differently." Stillness is a primary source for increasing our foresight and discernment. Inner stillness is a place that our heart can speak without our mind running it off the road. In order to "be still, and know" [as the Hebrew scriptures prescribe] we first have to be still enough to listen.”
Along the same lines, the Thai Buddhist monk Ajahn Cha has put that same sentiment really beautifully: "Inner silence leads to inner stillness, just like on the still lake one can see the reflection and when it is still enough something wonderful might show up like the delights of the wild animals who come to drink water from a still lake.”
The beautiful things that can show up in your very soul if you just let it be still. But being still can feel uncomfortable. Physically but also emotionally.
We’re often taught by our production-obsessed culture that inaction is a sin - that time wasted is a thing to be ashamed of. But in reality, stillness is an important, healthy, and often challenging task.
Today we are urged to stay home - a sort of enforced stillness, to protect ourselves and others from Covid. The universe is forcing a certain amount of stillness on us right now.
And when we are still, we see the truth. We see that all there is, is right now.
French Mathematician Blaise Pascal said in 1654 that, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
This is harder for some of us than it is for others. But I don’t think that I need to spend time convincing you that it is important. That stillness and silence are important. That we must make time, and whether you are comfortable calling it spiritual practice or not, and whether it is according to a prescribed tradition like Buddhism or Judaism or what have you, it doesn’t matter. But it is important to find a way to enter into stillness.
Our physical health demands that we slow down. Our psychological health begs us to take some quiet time. Our spiritual health requires stillness. And now even the external world has conspired to force us when we wouldn’t listen. To force us - stay still, mother earth is whispering to us, her hyperactive toddlers. Quiet down, stay home.
In Wayne Muller’s excellent book “Sabbath,” he addresses the stories that we have been told about the importance of productivity, the way we have been taught to feel guilt and shame about silence and stillness. He says: (p. 77 starting with “Progress is the road…” and going to “just out of reach.” on p. 78.)
Stillness reveals the lie in the myth of constant progress. When we enter into stillness, we confront the uncomfortable truth that there isn’t a future moment of perfection that we will attain by our own hard work. Stillness reveals that the only moment is now. The only place is here.
Stillness reveals ourselves. And in this season of December, this season of darkness and cold, nature around us pauses in stillness. The sounds become dampened under snow. The bright summer sun feels dulled, the small animals have stilled and quieted for the season. We are left alone with our thoughts.
So bringing intentional moments of stillness into our lives is vital, it is healthy. It can be uncomfortable, and it is a holy, sacred act that we are all called to. We are called to imitate our neighbors the animals and all of nature, as they settle down. It doesn’t mean that you stop being productive, but it means that you recognize that productivity has its time and place, and is not the ultimate goal of life.
Want to know what the ultimate goal in life really is? Lao Tzu said that “stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.” I imagine that one of the secrets is presence, presence in the present moment. That there is no future to worry about or past to regret. What we have is this right here. This moment.
And to bring us into one more moment of stillness, I’d like to read a poem, this was actually suggested by our Worship Associate today Rae. A poem that speaks of business and stillness and the tension between the two - finding a place for each.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
So this brings us to community. When you have miles to go before you sleep, I will be there, beside you, supporting you. Your SWUU family will be there. When you are exhausted, when you are frightened. When stillness feels like a luxury you don’t have, we are here. Let’s sing our final hymn together, When I am Frightened.
Preached 12/6/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
The theme this month is stillness and we’ve heard some beautiful words on stillness today. We’ve breathed, we’ve meditated. Are you feeling good? Feeling the positive effects of stillness?
Science writer Carolyn Georgie wrote in the Huffington Post that, "In a loud and distracting world, finding pockets of stillness can benefit your brain and body." She cites four reasons as a scientific basis for this.
- Silence relieves stress and tension.
- Silence replenishes our mental resources.
- In silence, we can tap into the brain’s default mode network.
- Getting quiet can regenerate brain cells.
We’ve been regenerating brain cells this morning.
The Heart-Math Institute has found that a regular practice of stillness leads to mental clarity. They have stated “When our mind finally lets go, inner stillness is where we land... We often hear ourselves and others say, "If I had more foresight, I would have handled that situation differently." Stillness is a primary source for increasing our foresight and discernment. Inner stillness is a place that our heart can speak without our mind running it off the road. In order to "be still, and know" [as the Hebrew scriptures prescribe] we first have to be still enough to listen.”
Along the same lines, the Thai Buddhist monk Ajahn Cha has put that same sentiment really beautifully: "Inner silence leads to inner stillness, just like on the still lake one can see the reflection and when it is still enough something wonderful might show up like the delights of the wild animals who come to drink water from a still lake.”
The beautiful things that can show up in your very soul if you just let it be still. But being still can feel uncomfortable. Physically but also emotionally.
We’re often taught by our production-obsessed culture that inaction is a sin - that time wasted is a thing to be ashamed of. But in reality, stillness is an important, healthy, and often challenging task.
Today we are urged to stay home - a sort of enforced stillness, to protect ourselves and others from Covid. The universe is forcing a certain amount of stillness on us right now.
And when we are still, we see the truth. We see that all there is, is right now.
French Mathematician Blaise Pascal said in 1654 that, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
This is harder for some of us than it is for others. But I don’t think that I need to spend time convincing you that it is important. That stillness and silence are important. That we must make time, and whether you are comfortable calling it spiritual practice or not, and whether it is according to a prescribed tradition like Buddhism or Judaism or what have you, it doesn’t matter. But it is important to find a way to enter into stillness.
Our physical health demands that we slow down. Our psychological health begs us to take some quiet time. Our spiritual health requires stillness. And now even the external world has conspired to force us when we wouldn’t listen. To force us - stay still, mother earth is whispering to us, her hyperactive toddlers. Quiet down, stay home.
In Wayne Muller’s excellent book “Sabbath,” he addresses the stories that we have been told about the importance of productivity, the way we have been taught to feel guilt and shame about silence and stillness. He says: (p. 77 starting with “Progress is the road…” and going to “just out of reach.” on p. 78.)
Stillness reveals the lie in the myth of constant progress. When we enter into stillness, we confront the uncomfortable truth that there isn’t a future moment of perfection that we will attain by our own hard work. Stillness reveals that the only moment is now. The only place is here.
Stillness reveals ourselves. And in this season of December, this season of darkness and cold, nature around us pauses in stillness. The sounds become dampened under snow. The bright summer sun feels dulled, the small animals have stilled and quieted for the season. We are left alone with our thoughts.
So bringing intentional moments of stillness into our lives is vital, it is healthy. It can be uncomfortable, and it is a holy, sacred act that we are all called to. We are called to imitate our neighbors the animals and all of nature, as they settle down. It doesn’t mean that you stop being productive, but it means that you recognize that productivity has its time and place, and is not the ultimate goal of life.
Want to know what the ultimate goal in life really is? Lao Tzu said that “stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.” I imagine that one of the secrets is presence, presence in the present moment. That there is no future to worry about or past to regret. What we have is this right here. This moment.
And to bring us into one more moment of stillness, I’d like to read a poem, this was actually suggested by our Worship Associate today Rae. A poem that speaks of business and stillness and the tension between the two - finding a place for each.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
So this brings us to community. When you have miles to go before you sleep, I will be there, beside you, supporting you. Your SWUU family will be there. When you are exhausted, when you are frightened. When stillness feels like a luxury you don’t have, we are here. Let’s sing our final hymn together, When I am Frightened.