{"id":677,"date":"2023-12-01T00:32:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T08:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/buddhistinthecity\/?p=677"},"modified":"2025-02-06T11:07:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T19:07:31","slug":"be-still-and-know-is-it-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/buddhistinthecity\/2023\/12\/be-still-and-know-is-it-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Still and Know. Is It Possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Be still and know. Is it possible?<\/h2>\n Yes, it is!<\/p>\n Every life-changing \u201caha\u201d moment that has changed the trajectory of my life for the better has happened while I was sitting still in meditation.<\/p>\n Photo by K A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n**\u201cBe still and know\u201d ties in nicely with a practice known as Mahamudra, a profound but simple method to uncover the real you.<\/h3>\n** Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Would you like to unravel layers of conditioned beliefs about yourself that prevent you from feeling at home with yourself and others?<\/p>\n Sound good?<\/em><\/h4>\n You may think, \u201cOkay, let\u2019s get down to it!\u201d But I must warn you that you must do something very challenging to unravel all that.<\/p>\n You must do\u2026. (hear the trumpets)<\/p>\n Nothing!<\/p>\n What? How hard could that be?<\/p>\n Have you ever really tried to do nothing? I dare you. It is very healthy and very revealing.<\/p>\n Non-doing is the way<\/h2>\n Lama Marut<\/a> used to prescribe doing nothing as a daily practice. He would say, \u201cGet home from work, flop on the couch and ponder how awesome it will be when you are a Buddha.\u201d He called it the couch loll meditation. Not many of us could do it.<\/p>\n Here<\/a> is a link to a previous post on meeting Lama Marut<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photo by K A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n******* ** But this is a special kind of doing nothing<\/em><\/strong>. In Mahamudra practice, we are not REALLY doing<\/i> NOTHING exactly<\/i>, but it will be the most productive nothing you have ever done. It will bring you inner peace. You will know what it means to \u201cbe still and know<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n ** To practice the art of non-doing, it\u2019s crucial to focus clearly while preventing the ego from getting whipped up and goal-oriented. This is the most critical aspect of non-doing.<\/p>\n ** This will allow you to:<\/p>\n ** *******RELAX.<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo by K A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRelax Into Knowing<\/h2>\n*********** ** Observing the mind without getting caught up in its contents requires profound relaxation and radiant alertness, enabling you to \u201cbe still and know\u201d your true self.<\/p>\n ** And guess what? If your experience has been anything like mine throughout my life, then the real you is not what you think it is. Your belief in a specific identity can significantly hinder achieving true inner freedom. It\u2019s a real roadblock.<\/p>\n ** ***********\u00a0<\/p>\n**** Photo by John Buchanan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSpacious Freedom<\/h3>\n************* ** By learning to let go of everything and simply observing with patience, a previously concealed space becomes visible to us. This space of awareness is who we are and is not an intellectual concept. It can recognize the ego, but it is not a \u201cself\u201d in the way that we would typically think of.<\/p>\n ** So, what becomes enlightened? Nothing. Nobody. It is just that you know<\/em> absolutely and entirely and finally what you aren\u2019t<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n ** *************How do we get there if it is impossible to understand and not found by way of maps?<\/p>\n**** Photo by K A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEffortlessly arrive<\/h3>\n************* ** *************The intellect wants to do something<\/em> and go somewhere<\/em>. But where would you go to get a realization? Actual meditative experiences come to you. You can\u2019t go to them. You make yourself receptive.<\/p>\n Be still and witness.<\/em><\/h4>\n Photo by K A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Here is a link to a short and simple meditation<\/a> from my Chitta Chat Podcast<\/p>\n And finally, you will indeed be still and know yourself as you are, a luminous being that is interconnected to all of life.<\/p>\n *************** ** Photo by John Buchanan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ** Pleased to meet you!<\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** \n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** ***************Be still and know. Is it possible? Yes, it is! Every life-changing \u201caha\u201d moment that has changed the trajectory of my life for the better has happened while I was sitting still in meditation. \u201cBe still and know\u201d ties in nicely with a practice known as Mahamudra, a profound but simple method to uncover the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4753,"featured_media":701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,83],"tags":[7,51,16,57,36],"class_list":["post-677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buddhism","category-meditation","tag-buddhism","tag-enlightenment","tag-happiness","tag-joy","tag-meditation"],"yoast_head":"\nBe Still and Know. Is It Possible?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is it possible to be still and know? Yes it is. 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