I recently had a moment where I felt for the first time how there could be absolute stillness within me amongst the many sounds of life: cars, trucks, planes, television, people, children, animals, you name it, there is constant sound that goes on around us.
This feeling of being in stillness is something that most of us rarely get to feel or experience because of the busy-ness of life. It was not until recently that I got to feel there could be absolute stillness within all that goes on around me.
At first this was one of the oddest experiences I had ever felt: children playing around me, friends having a conversation and a pot sizzling away on the stove. All of this and yet, whilst I stood there amongst it all, there was a sense of complete stillness within and around me.
I had not ever truly stopped to appreciate this before. Sure I had felt it briefly but never had I actually stopped to allow myself to appreciate it to the level that I did that morning.
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever felt. A complete stillness, as if the whole world had stopped, as if time stood still and was no longer a factor in life, as if I had all the time in the world.
I realised in that moment it had been the appreciation I had been missing, something I had chosen to overlook and ignore for such a long time.
It was not something I had given a lot of thought to: life just happened, how I was or lived simply was. It was from this level of appreciation I was able to feel something I had never felt before – the stillness both within and around me.
In my body there was a relief, a letting go, and a complete surrender to all that was and is. The stillness I felt within me had been there all along and is always there, I had simply chosen to ignore it and fell into the traps of life – traps that kept me in a momentum where I did not allow myself to “stop and smell the roses” you could say. And wow, what beautiful roses they are when we truly take the time to stop and appreciate.
In this stillness came a new appreciation for myself and all those around me: being able to feel the absolute joy and beauty in people, children, animals and nature, blessing me in every way.
No longer pushing through, looking past what was directly in front of me, but now feeling how the appreciation in all that is supports me to hold, deepen and develop further the amazing connection I have with myself.
Allowing me to appreciate myself is to love the woman I am and to love, understand and appreciate all others. We are all unique in our own way, but what we all have in common is the absoluteness within that we hold in our hearts.
No matter how we choose to live, the inner quality that lives within our hearts never leaves, it is always with us, supporting us no matter what, without judgement or criticism.
Within this stillness I could feel the strength of this inner quality, the inner being that supports us to be all that we are, if we so choose. And yes, it is a choice, a choice we must make for ourselves, one that no-one else can force us to make, a choice that needs to be made by and from us.
The appreciation has since supported me to live in a way that is free from complication and overwhelm, forever bringing ‘stop’ moments to my day, even though they may be only for a second, constantly reminding me that the stillness is eternal: it never stops and it never leaves, no matter how busy or noisy we may think things are, there is a stillness within that outweighs whatever it is that goes on outside of us.
A stillness within, where time has no measure, with the inner heart making the decisions – decisions that are in line with and supportive of the body: a body that now feels soft, supple, tender and delicate and yet at the same time stronger than ever before.
As I sit here writing this, the sound around me goes on: a television, an electric saw and a cement truck in a backyard, a toddler singing, a baby eating and our daughter playing piano, and yet the stillness within is stronger than all else.
It is with the loving support and sharings of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon that I have been able to reach this level of appreciation for myself and all that I am surrounded by. I know this appreciation will continue to develop and deepen as my own level of self-appreciation does.
It is time, time to stop, feel all that we are, all that we are surrounded by and appreciate the stillness within the all.
By Nicole Serafin, woman, wife, mother, hairdresser, Tintenbar NSW
Further Reading:
Stillness
Anxiousness, Stillness, God, and Me
Appreciation – A Pathway to Love
What is the Science of Appreciation and How Does It Evolve All of Our relationships?
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
I love this statement, “a stillness within, where time has no measure, with the inner heart making the decisions – decisions that are in line with and supportive of the body”. This to me says the body is the focus and a lead in living our life from this place than something we become too reliant upon, the exterior.
So there could be a tornado occurring outside of us, but what is occurring inside of us, is the key to the kingdom of life that God continually presents to us. It is that simple…
“Allowing me to appreciate myself is to love the woman I am and to love, understand and appreciate all others.” An ever-deepening blessing for all.
I searched for an article about stillness today and came upon this one. The opening paragraphs were everything I needed to read. A sense and reminder of the absolute and exquisite stillness within us all, that is always there. To connect to and appreciate it in amongst a whirl of activity and noise is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Thank you for sharing this Nicole.
The funny thing is that the stillness is there all the time, it is just a question of whether we are aligned to feeling it and living from it or if we are allowing ourselves to be caught in all else that is there pulling us away from it.
Henrietta essentially stillness is all around us. It’s being in the middle of the merry-go-round and everything is a blur whilst you’re stood still, unaffected by it all. The madness can continue, but you remain with you and this offering is always there.
Nicole I love how you have talked about appreciation being the bridge to the stillness. This is such a simple and practical way of finding our way back to that part within us that holds us all so steady.
Yes I understand that appreciation is key to realising the significance of connecting to the stillness within when everything is going on around us and to then move with this quality. I reckon if we could master this… wowzers.
Thank you Nicole for your sharing – I too have experienced this one point where everything seems to open up and time ceases to exist. Like that split second between the in breath and the out breath where there is a lull and a moment of stillness so pure and so expanding. Like the waves breaking on the shore and that moment just before they begin to recede again. These are all split moments, microseconds really, but are the doorway to a deeper stilness that lies within simply waiting to be discovered.
Thank you Nicole, appreciation of our divine essences develops a way of letting people in or intimacy or an open-ness and transparency that we share with everyone and this is allowing us to deepen in our evolutionary path as we expand and reconnect to humanity.
These days I find it more than ever simple to connect to my heart and surrender to the warmth within. Appreciation of this feeling isn’t about mentally going “Oh yeah this feels nice” it feels like a settling into the feeling.
“And wow, what beautiful roses they are when we truly take the time to stop and appreciate.” Beautiful Nicole, and it’s as simple as taking small stop moments during the day, moments to pause and appreciate the many qualities of our essence and all the blessings around us.
Yes, the stillness is always there it is only a matter of allowing this stillness to be our living way, then life can be busy as it might around us and we in it but it won’t be in us, instead there is a deep steadiness within.
And connecting with this stillness feels so beautiful, ‘It was the most beautiful thing I had ever felt. A complete stillness, as if the whole world had stopped, as if time stood still and was no longer a factor in life, as if I had all the time in the world.’
Stillness is a quality that is deeply healing, and when we connect and express from stillness, it also inspires others to connect to stillness too. How this works is through the power of reflection and through the power of our movements and livingness.
I love the connection between stillness, space and appreciation. Reconnecting to stillness is spacious and allows the depth of appreciation that can be overlooked when we get caught in the busyness and distraction.
In stillness I have a deeper connection to my wisdom and truth, at times when I am in the busyness of life it is a simple choice to reconnect back, if needed I use the powerful Gentle Breath Meditation to guide me back to this quality.
The Gentle Breath Meditation is a powerful tool that supports us to reconnect to stillness. It is always great to be aware of what takes us away from stillness and be open and willing to discard them so we allow ourselves to be who we are, in stillness and in love.