“To be rooted in stillness is great good fortune. If we do not rest there, we keep racing around, even when we are sitting quietly.”
– Chuang-Tzu
What does it take to be rooted in stillness?
Like a spinning wheel, the many I’s inside one’s machine are in a constant state of motion. They pull one in different directions. Each identification sweeps one away, with each alluring thought, emotion or sensation coming from some part of the machine.
A few years ago, I potted my first plant on the balcony, the humble lemongrass. As my hands held the herb and lowered it into the earth, its long roots amazed me. They were very fibrous and thin but also very sturdy, going deep into the soil. Whether a gentle whisper or a gusty wind came, the lemongrass swayed joyfully and gracefully. Even today, its motion reminds me that this is possible only because of those roots. The roots go so deep that their stillness allows the tall grass above to dance.
Lao Tzu said, “Returning to the root is called stillness.” Roots can be tenacious in their pursuit to assert life so that a tree may stand in beauty. This rather tangible experience with the lemongrass helped me to connect to that core that had the ability to be stable. When the ‘I’s dislodge the Self, how can I re-establish my rootedness in the present?
At times when the ‘I’s are too superficial and keep skimming around with negativity or with their own momentum, the answer lies in looking more deeply. Does my steward or nine of hearts need to learn something? Is there some attitude in the lower self that one needs to weed out? Sometimes the ground on which one stands is too arid. The solution may be to more open, spread the roots a little further, to connect with higher impressions and find one’s balance again.
“Love is the perfect stillness and the greatest excitement, and the most profound act.”
– Rabia
Initial efforts at creating inner stillness may feel rigid and stiff. However, as one begins to find Presence as the resting place, stillness becomes a dimension of higher centers. Whether one engages in an activity or sitting quietly, inner stillness is the living, joyful core from which everything flows. In the school, we try to do one thing at a time. At first, this is like putting the reins on the lower self that is tends to scurry around. But after long practice by the steward and nine of hearts, one connects to that quiet, serene space where Presence can step in to experience Itself.
Rooted in stillness, presence starts to savour the moment and perceives the magic contained in it. Whatever one does then ensues from the quiet stillness of higher centres.
Radhika Shah is a writer in India, and a student of the Fourth Way for several decades. See her earlier articles for FourthWayToday.org at https://fourthwaytoday.org/author/radhika-shah/, including https://fourthwaytoday.org/who-am-i/.