Success Through Stillness

I didn't make that title up.  I stole it.

I'm reading Russell Simmons' new book Success Through Stillness.  I had watched him on Bethenny Frankel's talk show and was intrigued by the book.  Then I saw him on Super Soul Sunday with Oprah and thought that it was time I looked into it.

I have been trying to meditate probably for the past year or so.  My tarot cards had been telling me that I needed to visualize and that I needed to meditate.  I kept saying that I would meditate just as long as I knew how to.

I even asked my friend Dave for a recommendation on a book and he recommended the Dalai Lama's book How to Practice.  I might have even talked about it on the blog at some point.  I read the book and it didn't really make sense to me.  I then just decided that I would take time in the mornings when I got up and before I went to bed to just sit quietly in bed and think.  That's not quite meditation, but it did help calm me down.

So by the time I saw Russell talk with Oprah, I figured it was time for me to check this book out.  And I love the book because it is exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted to know how to meditate, but I also wanted to know why.  Russell spends the first two-third of the book debunking myths and just explaining the benefits of meditation.  Then he really simply explains how to do it and how to not fall out of it because you think you're doing it wrong.

It also led me back to yoga.  Yoga's a practice that you do when you want to get ready to meditate.  It really helps still the mind because you're focused on an activity.  It is also how I feel when I dance or when I cook.  I am focused on the thing and not on my mind.  I remember my dance teachers used to say to me, "You're over thinking it."  You have to just trust your body and move.

That's a great metaphor for life.  Just move.  Don't think.  Don't over think.

My search for stillness has really helped me take a break from my own judgment or defenses.  I don't get panicky.  And I don't just start defending myself and the reasons I should or shouldn't do something.  It's also nice to have time to do something for myself.  Again, this is me creating a dedicated space for myself.

Russell also talks about mindfulness and mindful eating.  The times I have done cleanses, I really found that I was focused on what I was taking in my body.  And I used it as a metaphor for being mindful about what I was taking in my mind, my soul, and my body.  If I am a mindful person, I am aware of who is coming into my life.  I am taking care of myself.  I feel like I need to do another cleanse again to get more mindful about what I am eating.

I have cut out a lot of processed foods.  And I am usually good about not drinking my calories.  But when I had a lot of writing to do, I ate largely out of comfort and wanting to be good to myself.  I gained ten pounds.  Ten pounds that were hard to lose.  And ten pounds that made me feel good to have lost.  So I'm easing things out.  I have cut out caffeine permanently since my first cleanse three years ago.  Now, I'd like to leave something else behind with this next cleanse.  I don't want to plan to leave something behind because when I cut out caffeine, it was a total surprise.  But sugar, meat and dairy are good candidates.  Not all three.  Just one.

There are things that are not necessary in life.  Distractions.  Things that get in the way.  And doing these cleanses are ways to eliminate the things that are unnecessary.  It's also a metaphor to clear out the ideas and people that are no longer necessary.  It all works together.

Today I meditated when I was feeling tired and unmotivated and plain bored.  Twenty minutes later I felt refreshed and ready to put a few more hours worth of work in, which I did.

Everybody's in their own place in terms of their personal spirituality and what motivates them.  I just know that meditation has been on my radar especially for the last year.  And if something keeps coming up for me, I need to pay attention.

I am grateful for stillness.
I am grateful for education.
I am grateful for learning.
I am grateful for weeknights with my boyfriend.
I am grateful for love.