Stillness

April 5, 2024

“What is stillness other than presence, consciousness freed from thought forms.”

Eckhardt Tolle: The Power of Now Journal

“When you are no longer totally identified with forms, consciousness—who you are—becomes freed from its imprisonment in form. This freedom is the arising of inner space. It comes as a stillness, a subtle peace deep within you, even in the face of something seemingly bad. This, too, will pass. Suddenly, there is space around the event. There is also space around the emotional highs and lows, even around pain. And above all, there is space between your thoughts. And from that space emanates a peace that is not “of this world,” because this world is form, and the peace is space. This is the peace of God.”

Eckhardt Tolle: “The Stillness of Space”

Unless you are Eckhart Tolle (whose assessment of anything comes from a deep understanding of the human soul) and you are concerned with the meaning of words or in an academic environment you might be tempted to define the word ‘Stillness’ as meaning no movement or activity. And, of course, this definition is correct in a literary sense. But as is his practice, ET takes the meaning of stillness to greater depths; he opens the door of my soul.

ET tells me that stillness frees my consciousness from thought forms. In my understanding, it frees my present state from an overthinking mind, bringing me to a place of calmness, mindfulness, and focus.

Allow me to give you an example. I have been trying for an embassy appointment to obtain a visa to attend a conference to provide a short presentation. I have made fifty such attempts in ten days with no success. I became so anxious that for one whole day, I was ill. I mailed the professor heading the project and explained my dilemma. She replied with encouraging words, appealing to me not to allow anxiety to take hold and to continue trying. These kind words reminded me to revert to my philosophy: Where an event in my life collides with my plans, if there is something I can do about it, then I will try. Where the situation is beyond my control, I must accept it.

Today, I feel much better as I have resolved to do what I can and have peace about what I can’t.

Finally, I see that this topic arising in my journal today, along with the kind professor’s mail – was no accident.

So, as I pen these words, I have a sense of peace. I have hushed the busy thoughts, making me feel like they are ‘my fault.’ If I succeed, I will be overjoyed; if not, I will still be at peace because there is a stillness in my soul.

Until our next meeting

Love and blessings

Peter-James Pienaar

[1] The Power of Now Journal 9781529383942 | Fruugo IE

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[1] Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now journal

Please Note:

Earlier parts of this series can be found here.

You will have noticed in this series that I reference “The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle.” The Power of Now Journal is just that: a journal whose pages are not numbered. The commentary you read on this page is a record of my personal experience arising from Eckhart’s comments on the relevant pages of the journal. With its dynamic wisdom, this beautifully printed book is available from Amazon. I feel confident that if you have read my piece, you will enjoy this delightful journal, even if you don’t usually keep or never have kept a journal.

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[1] The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle

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