When you become deeply immersed in the moment such that there is no experience of time you have entered into a state of flow. This occurs when you are not identifying with any aspect of the experience you are just being with the experience. It is a place of space and stillness that is deeply alive.
In our modern hustle, many of us are caught in a cycle of constant activity, squeezing tasks into every available minute. This perpetual busyness often prevents us from being present, as we focus on what’s next rather than the current moment. There’s a common belief that inactivity equates to wasted time. However, beyond our concept of time when in a place of flow there is also no concept of wasted activity.
Interestingly, 99.99% of your body is space. Atoms, which make up everything, have nuclei that are 100,000 times smaller than the atom itself. Additionally, electrons, which orbit these nuclei, can be considered waves that occupy zero space! This spaciousness holds all that is manifested in form.
Ways to Embrace Space and Stillness
- Follow your breath: Consider the moments between breaths. There is the space after you exhale, before the next inhale, as well as the momentary stillness after you breathe in, just before the out-breath
- Engage Your Senses: Fully involve your senses to escape self-talk and mental chatter.
- Listen: Enjoy music, the sounds of nature, or the silence between sounds or the notes of a song. Listen to sounds both near and far.
- Connect with Nature: Experience elements like water and earth. Try bathing or walking barefoot in grass or sand.
- Savor Fresh Produce: Pay attention to the flavors, freshness, and aliveness of your food.
- Just be still: Stop doing anything at all for a while
- Visually Focus: Pay close attention to what you see around you.
- Engage Touch Awareness: Notice how your feet connect with the ground, how your fingertips feel, or the sensation of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
- Tense and Relax: Focus on relaxation by deliberately tensing and then relaxing different areas of your body, starting with your head and neck, then shoulders and chest, and finally your stomach, bottom, legs, and feet. You can also go from bottom to top.
- Go Deliberately Slow: Intentionally slow down your pace. Instead of rushing, move as slowly as possible. This focused pace can increase your positivity and presence.
Benefits Space and Stillness provide
The Dutch have a practice (Niksen) of setting aside time to do absolutely nothing. This practice fosters personal intimacy, creativity, and stress reduction. Taking time to reflect and enjoy space and flow can enhances:
- Self-Awareness: Deepens understanding of your energy, feelings, and thoughts, and how they interplay with your actions.
- Creativity and Motivation: Fosters creativity, passion, and motivation.
- Problem-Solving: Improves objectivity, identification of connections, and possibilities.
- Self-Management: Boosts self-esteem and choice of environments that help you reach your potential.
- Rejuvenation: Reinvigorates so that you can engage in greater capacity with life and work.
- Joy: Brings greater appreciation for life.
When you focus on the space in between and embrace moments of stillness, you unlock a world of benefits that enhance your overall well-being and presence in life.
Image by Gerhard Lipold from Pixabay
