Finding Stillness in The Moment

The last post I wrote – The Power of Being Yourself – was published at UrbanMonk. It has been a week since this blog has been updated with a new topic, and this post will continue where some of the previous topics left off – how to overcome the shadow of the self to discover a place of truth and stillness.

This post will discuss introspection – the process of delving into the self to find the cause of certain actions, thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Once the reason for a certain aspect of the self is resolved we become more integrated and complete people.

The act of looking is an act of projecting the essence of truth outward when the lens of the observer is not clouded. Just by looking, a thousand lies can be dissolved, as long as we are looking at things as they are rather than as how we would like to see them. Introspection allows the role of the objective observer to take over during certain experiences to gain a deeper level of understanding about them instead of falling into the subjective mode of interaction.

To become aware, to observe, one places his or her entire focus on one particular area – I often use the forehead as the center of attention when practicing this technique. Thoughts, actions, and feelings might arise, but instead of being in identification with each thing that comes up the observer remains in the same place of consciousness in the body. From this place the outer world can be examined from a detached state of being.

This feeling is quite distinct and often brings the sensation of being much more aware of outer happenings rather than jumping right into them and losing perspective. Through this neutral awareness the overall perception of self expands, as the observer strives to see all that is in the field of perception, not just what is in the field of the self. This is the true nature of selflessness.

Looking Back

Retrospection involves using the same method of the observer, but rather than being in the moment when events occur, in retrospection we will use the current moment to look back on previous experiences from the perspective of the observer. Retrospection often involves sitting down in the evening and recalling each event that was significant in the recent time that has passed – whether that be the last few hours, or several weeks ago. This method allows the observer to be present at a desired point of a timeline.

This is a method of time travel for the soul. Retrospection allows, with the aid of perception, to go back in time to that event, but this time instead of going through it as it happened, go through it as the observer and to learn something new about yourself.

Restrospection is a good method when moment-to-moment awareness is difficult to put into practice, or as a supplement for when introspection has not been practiced on a consistent basis. Some things can be missed in introspection that can be looked at in much more depth in retrospection. In finding that place of stillness both in our present life and in the past we can gain a greater self-understanding rather than letting our past memories cloud our present preconceptions and actions.

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