HOW TO USE SOLITUDE, SILENCE and STILLNESS TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
How I learned to take time daily for walking meditation in the stillness of silence and solitude on the white sand beaches of my youth.
THE DAWNING LIGHT, Volume 8, # 893 for Thursday, April 18, 2024
SPIRITUAL SOUP KITCHEN Section # 152
Lovingly written and shared by Chinmayan to inspire you to come within yourself and discover the beauty and refuge of your inner world.
Images courtesy of Pixabay
We All Need To Learn How To Access Our Own Inner World Within
Most of us spend our entire lives focused on our outer world of work, relationships, home and material concerns and making the best life we can in this outer world without ever experiencing the bliss and peace and wonder of our inner world.
I understand this because I once was living in the same way until I had an unexpected spiritual awakening that completely transformed my life through giving me the ability to enter and explore my own inner world.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
In this story, I am going to share how I learned to use solitude, silence and stillness to enter that inner world and develop higher consciousness and profound peace of mind.
My Own Spiritual Awakening As A Teenager
Ever since my own major spiritual awakening as a teenager which opened my mind and heart to the expansive brilliance of my own inner world, I have hungered for and appreciated silence and solitude.
Though my family did not understand what had happened to me to cause such radical change, and regarded me as a “black sheep”, my parents gave me a great boon in allowing me to disappear after dinner for my nightly time of solitude.
We lived on a beautiful tropical island which has miles of pure white sand beaches, which in those days were always completely deserted and perfect for my taking long walks and doing walking meditation.
Photo Credit: Chinmayan
Long Walks On The Beach In Silent Solitude Is Where I Learned To Hear Inner Guidance
On these nightly walks, which would last for two or three hours of blissful solitude in complete silence, is where I learned to hear the “still small voice within” of the divine inner guidance.
Though I had no terms to describe it, I was aware even then, that I was taking up and resuming practices from many previous lifetimes.
I simply had remembering and knowings that would come by themselves as I consciously walked beside the incoming waves in cadence with the divine’s sweet whispering within.
All awareness of the spiritual path which was rising up from within naturally was not coming from books or any outer source, for it wasn’t until a few years later that I was led to books or mentors who helped me understand that all that I was experiencing was part of traditions that are thousands of years old.
If my parents had demanded that I do “normal” things that “normal” boys do, such as watching TV with the family after dinner until bedtime or hanging out socially with other boys or even my own brothers, this process could not have happened.
If I had been denied those long nightly walks on the beach in solitude and silence, life would have been meaningless for me…like preventing a caterpillar from spinning his chrysalis and then going through the process of becoming a beautiful butterfly.
Photo Credit: Chinmayan
Silence, Solitude and Stillness Are The Three Necessary Conditions For Inner Peace and God Communion
Silence, solitude and stillness of mind are the three most necessary conditions for being able to enter our own inner world of the spirit.
Without input from anyone or anything outside of myself, I instinctively knew the importance of these three qualities and consciously cultivated them.
“Be still and know that I AM God” as proclaimed in Psalm 46 verse 10 is one of the most profound statements in the Bible.
It is true that when we take the time out to cultivate silence in solitude it will lead to a state of inner peace and stillness in which we can literally feel and experience the presence of God.
In stillness, we can know God directly in our heart and spirit…far beyond our usual thoughts and mundane mind.
Walking Meditation
Meditation is the only way we can achieve such stillness because it is a way of consciously entering solitude and silence, at least while in session.
My long nightly walks alone on those white sand beaches were a form of natural, walking meditation that I developed through listening to my inner guidance.
I was shown how to walk, to keep my eyes focused in a certain way, how to breathe and how to listen to the inner voice.
I was shown the best posture and told how to amplify the practice through not allowing myself to be distracted by anything outer…even the prettiest seashell or the ocean lapping at my feet.
I was told to watch my breath and watch my thoughts and tune into the sweetness of experiencing the divine presence.
Like A Young Lotus Flower
I was like a young lotus flower engaged in the process of unfolding my rainbow petals, as I had in many previous lifetimes.
I was told to not talk about my experiences with anyone, which is another essential element of one’s spiritual path.
Photo Credit: Chinmayan “Sunrise of Still Mountain”
Years later, after I became a disciple of Kalu Rinpoche, he gave me the same instructions…
”As you practice meditation regularly, you will have spiritual experiences as you purify and still your mind. To protect the fruits of your practice, do not talk about your experiences with anyone except your guru—not even with your closest dharma friend or your spouse.”
In the meditation training he gave us, he said “In meditation, you first cease all outer activity and bring your body to rest in stillness, and then gradually, through the actual practice, you will be able to bring your wild horse mind, which is normally constantly being disturbed by turbulent thought activity, to a state of stillness.”
We All Need Times of Solitude, Silence and Stillness
Solitude, silence and stillness.
We need solitude to simply be with our self.
We need silence, which means not talking with anyone except the divine, so that we can still our minds.
Once our minds are still, we can enter our own inner world, hear the divine inner guidance and achieve profound peace of mind.
In that state, our awareness is so refined, and our consciousness is so expansive, that healing and spiritual growth naturally happen, like the lotus flower blooming after rising through the darkness into the warmth and light of the sun.
Photo Credit: Chinmayan “Gentle Spring Rain On Still Mountain”
Original Revelations Poems and Calligraphy by Chinmayan
Image Credit: Still Mountain Meditation Retreat
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“Your greatest service to humanity is to attain your own Self Realization!” Ramana Maharshi
“When you change the way you think about things, and the things you think about change”
—Wayne Dyer
“I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” —Ram Das
“When God is the center and focus of my life, everything else falls into it’s rightful place.”
—Chinmayan
Meanwhile, may this be one of the most wonderful and amazing days of your life!
Inspiring