Stillness speaks loudly

BEYOND SOUNDS IS A SACREDNESS THAT CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD BY THOUGHTS ALONE

I recently went on a trip to Himachal Pradesh and was overwhelmed by the grace and beauty of the majestic mountains and the breathtaking scenery. I wondered what it was all about nature that makes us speechless. I got my answer while reading Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and Stillness Speaks.

Eckhart says when we see something really beautiful or a breathtaking scenery, in that state of intense alertness, there is no mental commentary running simultaneously. It is this continuous mind activity that keeps us imprisoned in the world of form and becomes an opaque screen that prevents one from becoming conscious of the unmanifested.

However when we are intensely present, we don’t need to be concerned about the cessation of thinking , for the mind then stops automatically to behold that vision.

He says to bring our attention to a tree or flower doesn’t mean to think about it or label it, but simply to perceive it or hold it in your awareness.

Something of its essence then transmits itself to you. You can sense how still it is, and in doing so, the same stillness arises within you. You sense how deeply it rests in being and is completely at one with what it is and where it is. We don’t have to always go to the mountains or beaches to appreciate the beauty of nature.
When walking or resting in nature, we can honour that realm by being there fully. “Be still, look and listen. See how every animal and plant is completely itself.” However, he also cautions that for us to appreciate it, we need to go beyond the mental habit of labeling.

We bring awareness to the many subtle sounds of nature like the rustling of leaves in the wind , raindrops falling , the humming of an insect. We should give ourselves completely to the art of listening for beyond the sounds there is a sacredness that cannot be understood by thought.

So you need not always escape to the hills to enjoy nature; create it yourself around you.