Developing inner stillness.

On this page we'll show you two simple exercises you can use to deepen your
connection with inner stillness which over time, will build calmness and your
ability to stay centred in the present moment. The more you practice it, the
better it gets. Certainly, if these exercises are done daily they can have
profound effects, so practice is the key. Furthermore, they are easy to do, and
get easier and more delicious the more you do them.

Three Things Technique

To begin practicing this, find a comfortable chair and sit with your feet flat on
the floor with your spine erect. You may want to scan through the body for a
while, gently inviting any major tensions to release. Get a sence of your
weight pouring downwards into the chair.
Now with your eyes open, soften the gaze. By this, I mean keep the gaze
directly ahead as if gazing towards a distant point, but soften your eyes so as
to become more aware of your peripheral vision. Now keeping your gaze
where it is, notice three things out of the corner of your gaze. As your'e not
directly looking at them these might only be noticed as vague colours or
shapes.
Now keeping the soft gaze ahead, notice three things you can hear. (If
things seem quiet you can even imagine sounds such as a tinkling bell, or the
sound of waves on a beach; the brain will recieve the same effects.)
Finally, close you eyes and tuning into the body notice three differant,
physical sensations; maybe your breathing or the feel of your feet on the floor,
for example. Now repeat the process for as many times as feels comfortable.
You may be amazed at how differant you feel after a few rounds of this.
Maybe you feel calmer, quieter, less noisy in your head? With some practice
you can even begin to use this exercise out of doors as you go about your
daily life, (omitting the shut-eyed bit mind!)

Hakalau
This is an awareness building technique from the spiritual Hawaian tradition
taught to me as part of my tai chi learning. It's kind of a bigger version of the
three things technique. In basic terms it's simply a state of high awareness
caused by the opening of the peripheral vision. It's also an accelerated learning
state. It produces a state of high alertness, an openess to what is, rather than
thoughts, ideas and perceptions of it. So what your'e left with is a space of
deep calm which in turn, allows you to connect more deeply with life.
Sitting in a chair gaze as if towards a distant point and soften your gaze
to the peripheral vision. Now gently close your eyes. Now, even though
you've closed your eyes I want you to imagine you can still see. You can still
see in front of you, out to the sides, even behind you. Now if your indoors,
imagine that you can extend your vision even further, beyond the confines of
the room, through the walls of the building and out into the outside air. Allow
your gaze to scan all around you in all directions. Now imagine you can
extend that gaze even further out over the surrounding landscape, maybe
reaching over surrounding housing estates and streets, noticing the movement
and colours, the sounds. Notice too the green spaces, the parks, the grassy
places or stretches of water. Then reach even further, beyond the edges of your
town or city and out into the surrounding countryside. Allow your gaze to
stretch out in all directions, way out towards the horizons, where the sky
meets the land and the sky curves overhead into a vast dome of sky.
Now gently open the eyes and keeping a soft gaze do exactly the same
thing imagining you can reach out with your gaze in all directions, even
behind you. Gradually stretch away with your gaze till you reach the horizons,
where the sky meets the land and the sky curves overhead into a vast dome of
sky. Way up to the very top of the sky.
This isn't something you will "get" with one or two goes, it develops
gradually with daily practice. In time however, the experiance gets deeper and
deeper and you can find you can stay in hakalau wherever you are. Initially,
you may find it difficult to soften the gaze in public. Perhaps you've heard the
phrase; "The eyes are the windows to the soul." Generally, people spend much
of their time with their gaze fixed on the ground, and the usual reason they
give is they don't want to step in something nasty. Actually, it's that through
the eyes we connect with people on an emotional level and so there's a
resistance there. So it might be a better idea to practice this initially in the
countryside or on a beach, anywhere with big, unobstructed skies. In deep
hakalau it's impossible to think negative thoughts, so if you feel great
afterwards with an urge to let out a big sigh of release or an urge to laugh, it's
working! It's probally one of the most profoundly healing exercises I've ever
come across. I wont say anymore on this; I'll leave you to discover it's
richness for yourself.