“The choice of Soft Focus or Hard Focus is yours anywhere, anytime.” ~ Bev Pugh

Life can be quite a ride for all of us!! I would say that our “ride” is as much affected by what is going on inside of us as it is by outside events and people. I have gravitated to ways of quieting my mind and strengthening all the other resources inside of me… like intuition, creativity, and the tremendous wisdom in heart and body. That is one of the things I love about quieting my mind; it leaves space for my other resources to kick in. That is true for all of us.

Our bodies respond to the content of the thoughts we think. This is scientifically proven and this GIVES US A LOT OF GOVERNING POWER to influence our health and vitality.

One of my ways of navigating through the ride of life is by taking some time each day to focus on stillness. The stillness inside of me, and the stillness in the world around me. Stillness for me is quite similar to silence. It’s there waiting for us to feel it. It’s all around us and inside of us, but we don’t focus on it or go looking for it. We tend to focus on chatter and noise.

I have taught myself how to feel stillness anywhere, anytime. If we want to build vitality and a more peaceful feeling inside, we need to expand our repertoire and find ways of creating more quiet space inside of us. A great deal of our exhaustion is mental and emotional.

This is how I practice stillness:

I practice what is called “Soft Focus”. I am looking at the computer right now as I write to you. I am aware of all the space around the computer, and the computer itself. My breathing responds to the space and the emptiness around the computer.

In this space I can see an envelope, a bottle of water, a pen, a table… but I am still looking at the computer. I don’t give everything of me to the computer, I keep an imagined wide angle lens on my field of vision, and I spread my “seeingness” to what is around the object that I am looking at. This brings in a Soft Focus and the opportunity of holding perspective.

“Hard Focus” is when we totally give our attention to one thing, and loose our awareness that there is more to life and our experience. From my experience, we tend to be more reactive when we have a Hard Focus.

For me, as I allow part of my Soft Focus to include the space around things, I can feel the stillness of that space and the quiet. That is what I have a relationship with while I am doing whatever I am supposed to be doing. As I am writing to you I hear voices in another room, and am aware of the silence around the voices. I zero in on the silence in the space around the busyness. It’s a learned focus. It is very powerful and it brings more peace into our body.

Going into the woods can be a wonderful way to bring peace into our bodies. Sit quietly or walk and listen to the quiet of the woods; the quiet between or around the trees. Feel the quiet. The experience is different for everyone. For me, my breathing changes and deepens. I feel more perspective and peaceful. I can then allow another part of me (which is more intelligent) to have a say in what I think and choose. This is a healthier balance than just letting my mind rule me.

There are many ways of practicing stillness. This is one. What I like about it is that it is so portable. Here I am sharing with you and practicing connection to stillness at the same time. I am sure it increases our wisdom in the moment!!!

Our minds are experts at problem solving, yet some problems are not answered in the mind. Our minds use our habits as our reference point, and for many of us we want to move away from old habits. Expanding our repertoire of experiencing each moment brings in our other resources. It also increases our energy. Our ability to hold perspective in life is pivotal. Soft Focus and tuning into stillness while we are doing other things is a wonderful way of using all the different parts of who we are. Enjoy it.