100 Quotes About Stillness

The girl was a gypsy before an illness took control of her legs, now she watches in awe the world pass by whilst stillness teaches her about inner strength. Nikki Rowe

So it is said, for him who understands Heavenly joy, life is the working of Heaven; death is the transformation of things. In stillness, he and the yin share a single Virtue; in motion, he and the yang share a single flow. Zhuangzi

Why are we afraid of the silence that ensues after our death? Wasn’t it the same silence we endured before birth? Isn’t it the same silence we revel in when we are completely immersed in the present moment? Let us not be afraid. Kamand Kojouri

I woke up early and took the first train to take me away from the city. The noise and all its people. I was alone on the train and had no idea where I was going, and that’s why I went there. Two hours later we arrived in a small town, one of those towns with one single coffee shop and where everyone knows each other’s name. I walked for a while until I found the water, the most peaceful place I know. There I sat and stayed the whole day, with nothing and everything on my mind, cleaning my head. Silence, I learned, is some times the most beautiful sound. . Charlotte Eriksson

What transforms this world is – knowledge. Do you see what I mean? Nothing else can change anything in this world. Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world, while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is. When you look at the world with knowledge, you realize that things are unchangeable and at the same time are constantly being transformed. Yukio Mishima

Much of our suffering is caused by our false perceptions and attachment to mental images. We assume things to be true without really knowing whether they are true or not, then create a world of hurt for ourselves and others. Joseph P. Kauffman

Many people have failing relationships because they have not really fallen in love with each other, but they have fallen for the mental images they have created of one another. We assume we know our partner, we think about them nonstop, creating many different ideas of who they are, what they like, and how we will be together, then as soon as our partner does something that doesn’t fit with our mental image of them, we become sad, upset, confused, or heart broken. Our partner did not cause our suffering; we caused it, through our false perceptions and mental images. Joseph P. Kauffman

The majority of people in modern society feel separated–from the world, each other, and themselves. This feeling of separation is a resultfrom we humans attempting to separate ourselves from nature, and consequently forgetting who we really are. Joseph P. Kauffman

When we think of something, we create a mental image of it, and our image is then always filtered through our mental perception. We may meet someone one day when they are in a bad mood, we then make a false assumption that this person does not like us. We have created an image of this person, and now every time we meet them, we associate this person with our negative mental image of them. We don’t interact with them as they are in this moment; we interact with how we think they are. . Joseph P. Kauffman

We spend so much of our time lost in thought, trying to label everything as isolated objects and events. Though we fail to realize that our thoughts are incapable of defining anything in its totality. We can think about a situation for as long as we want to, but our thoughts will never know the situation exactly as it exists. Joseph P. Kauffman

As spiritual searchers we need to become freer and freer of the attachment to our own smallness in which we get occupied with me-me-me. Pondering on large ideas or standing in front of things which remind us of a vast scale can free us from acquisitiveness and competitiveness and from our likes and dislikes. If we sit with an increasing stillness of the body, and attune our mind to the sky or to the ocean or to the myriad stars at night, or any other indicators of vastness, the mind gradually stills and the heart is filled with quiet joy. Also recalling our own experiences in which we acted generously or with compassion for the simple delight of it without expectation of any gain can give us more confidence in the existence of a deeper goodness from which we may deviate. (39) . Ravi Ravindra

People who live in the night are acquainted with all kinds of quiet. There’s quiet enough to hear the distant traffic. Quiet enough to hear your breathing. Quiet enough to hear a lover’s heartbeat. There’s please-god-don’t-let-me-die quiet, and can’t-remember-her-name quiet. Is-he-lying quiet and can’t-make-rent quiet. There’s the quiet that inspires poets, and quiet that torments the lonely. . Chris Dee

The mind provides a person with the mental fortitude to survive any physical or spiritual crisis. For the present time, I am satisfying myself by building a little shop in the back of my mind, a place where stillness resides and a jangle of thoughts can come and visit. I am building a room of my own, a room that I can retreat to when needed, a place where I am always welcomed regardless of the trappings of this ordinary and finite life. I do not need much as far as earthy rewards, but I certainly will not spurn food, drink, companionship, love, affection, friendship, or other physical, emotional, spiritual, aesthetic, and sensuous pleasures that find their way to my humble doorstep. . Kilroy J. Oldster

I promise from now on to always make time for at least one more. One more chapter before I turn out the light and float off to sleep. One more kiss before I sink into this sea of words and search for meaning to bring back up with me. One more stretch and one more wiggle of my toes before I jump out of bed; and one more moment in meditation before I re-emerge. One more full, deep breath and one more look at the sunset. One more touch, one more smile, one more moment of stillness, of gratitude, of simplicity, of love. From now on, I’ll always make room for one more because you never know when one more is all you’ll ever have. . Cristen Rodgers

When you gaze out on a quiet, peaceful meadow, next to a still pond, under a motionless blue sky, you wonder how the noisy, busy cacophony of life could have arisen from such silent, motionless beginning. M..

I create beautiful art, so I can look back on the life my body fell short of in such a way that it brings me peace. Nikki Rowe

Sometimes you just have to turn off the lights, sit in the dark, and see what happens inside of you. Adam Oakley

Learn to observe your emotions without needing to act or distract yourself from them. Within that stillness your truest most vulnerable thoughts will arise and it is these thoughts that will show you where your healing work must begin. Alaric Hutchinson

No matter what kind of circumstances come together, if one’s stillness is not shaken and his goal does not change; he is known to have attained religion. Dada Bhagwan

I have often wondered whether especially those days when we are forced to remain idle are not precisely the days spend in the most profound activity. Whether our actions themselves, even if they do not take place until later, are nothing more than the last reverberations of a vast movement that occurs within us during idle days. In any case, it is very important to be idle with confidence, with devotion, possibly even with joy. The days when even our hands do not stir are so exceptionally quiet that it is hardly possible to raise them without hearing a whole lot. . Rainer Maria Rilke

Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we walk the same roads day in and day out, to the bus and back home and we cease to see. We walk in our sleep and teach our muscles to work without thinking and I dare you to walk where you have not yet walked and I dare you to notice. Don’t try to get anything out of it, because you won’t. Don’t try to make use of it, because you can’t. And that’s the point. Just walk, see, sit down if you like. And be. Just be, whatever you are with whatever you have, and realise that that is enough to be happy. There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it. Charlotte Eriksson

There's an old adage, " he said, "translated from the ancient Coptic, that contains all the wisdom of the ages -- "Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die. Beryl Markham

Education will teach you ephemeral things. God will teach you wonders. Michael Bassey Johnson

Being still does not mean don't move. It means move in peace. Eyen A. Gardner

[The modern age] knows nothing about isolation and nothing about silence. In our quietest and loneliest hour the automatic ice-maker in the refrigerator will cluck and drop an ice cube, the automatic dishwasher will sigh through its changes, a plane will drone over, the nearest freeway will vibrate the air. Red and white lights will pass in the sky, lights will shine along highways and glance off windows. There is always a radio that can be turned to some all-night station, or a television set to turn artificial moonlight into the flickering images of the late show. We can put on a turntable whatever consolation we most respond to, Mozart or Copland or the Grateful Dead. Wallace Stegner

You are the proof of everything Bert McCoy

Within yourself is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. Hermann Hesse

Today is a beautiful day. Thank you! Ron Barrow

The highest goodness is like water. Water is beneficial to all things but not contend. It stays in places which others despise. Therefore it is near Tao. The weakest things in the world can overmatch the strongest things in the world. Nothing in the world can be compared to water for its weak and yielding nature; yet in attacking the hard and strong nothing proves better than water. For there is no alternative to it. The weak can overcome and the yielding can overcame the hard. This all the world knows but does not practice. This again is the practice of ‘wu-wel’ and nonviolence. Water may be weak, pliable, fluid, but its action is not one of running away from an obstacle. On the contrary, it gives at the point of resistance, envelopes the object and passes beyond it. Ultimately it will wear down the hardest rock. Water is a more telling symbol than land… crossing the river to get to the other side is, again, attaining the state of enlightenment. J.C. Cooper

In the dead of night I stirred. Wakefulness flowed back into me. I was a cup full of sorrow, but that sorrow was stilled, like a pain that abates as long as one does not move. Robin Hobb

When a turbulent mind and wounded heart surrenders to grace, breathing is easy. T.F. Hodge

A visit to the family farm in spring means witnessing growth and challenge and beauty and stillness all rolled into one. Heidi Barr

Don't ever underestimate the value and power of doing nothing sometime. Aditya Ajmera

The sage is still not because he takes stillness to be good and therefore is still. The ten thousand things are insufficient to distract his mind - that is the reason he is still. Zhuangzi

In the stillness I find my heart growing hot while I seek the person I have already found. God is so much more than I know. Eric Samuel Timm

Movement is the freedom of the body; stillness, of the mind. Marty Rubin

Her vision of the world under the water represented a beautiful stillness, a version of heaven. It was the lost city of Lena, her alternate universe, the life she yearned for but didn't get to have. Ann Brashares

The perpetual movement of the water, rolling from and to unknown destinations, the voices of the sea shield us from the raging furies and shrieking sounds of dystopian surroundings, creating an unwinding veil for stilled happiness, acquainting us with the gentle, cosmic rhythms of an extraneous world. They are a soothing relief and let us listen to the voices of our inner world. ("Voices of the sea" ) . Erik Pevernagie

There was an agelessness about him, a stillness; on Roose Bolton's face, rage and joy looked much the same. George R.r. Martin

Happiness is an undercurrent of sensitivity and leads a surreptitious life: it is an internal eventuality. We can feel it in stillness and it stands the test of time. Joy is an eruption of cheerful moments and we want to express it: it is an external eventuality. We might shout it out, as it conveys a dynamic of fleeting instants. Joy gives voice to “en-joy-ment”. ("The grass was greener over there") . Erik Pevernagie

...unquestioning automatonsblindly marching to the beat -an eerie crunching soundhoards of shuffling feet...(from silent moments) Muse

Inner stillness is the key to outer strength. Jared Brock

Meditation takes you out of your mind and possibly into the future, negative thoughts are quicksands that keeps you glued to your past. Michael Bassey Johnson

Riding that ridge between reason and recklessness, stillness and speed, is the first, maybe the most important, thing I learned about motorcycles. Lily BrooksDalton

Your duty is to be and not to be this or that. 'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words 'Be still'. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I am so and so'. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that? Ramana Maharshi

When you enter a place of stillness, you awaken the divinity within you. Peggy Sealfon

I think there is a difference between aloneness and loneliness. Aloneness is necessary for the soul to thrive - even to come alive. Not loneliness. Steve Goodier

Meditate,  Clear,  Calm,  Center,  Ground, Empty your mind, Stillness. Be receptive to a new approach. Believe in the possibilities of new opportunities. Akiroq Brost

Mindfulness & Meditation help focus on the moment while at the same time knowing we cannot capture that moment, we are in a flow of moments we let flow. We can watch moments in detail without being attached to them. Non-attachment to past & future stems from this practice. Worry about past or future is wasted energy, however we can observe the past & learn from it without agonising over it & trust ourselves to handle the future better. We can celebrate the opportunity to grow as we gain understanding from observation & experience. We can watch ourselves & avoid being caught up in over-reactions. "I am loved, right now, in this moment, I love, and am part of love itself. I am aware of myself at every level - the mental slowing gracefully to sense the spiritual within & all around, and the physical being still, or moving. I tune in to the flow of life in my body & the flow of life everywhere. I circulate love with each breath - from without to within & from within to all around. . Jay Woodman

One of the strange laws of the contemplative life, " Thomas Merton, one of its sovereign explorers, pointed out, "is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you bear with them until they somehow solve themselves. Or until life solves them for you. Pico Iyer

... a man sitting still is alone, often, with the memory of all he doesn't have. And what he does have can look very much like nothing. Pico Iyer

During the Meiji era, the Japanese Zen master, Nan-in had a visitor from a respected university — a professor who wanted to learn about Zen. Nan-in served the professor a pot of tea, but when the cupwas full, he continued pouring until the cup was overflowing. The startled professor watched in amazement until he could no longer restrain himself from intervening, “The cup is full and no more will go in. You’re making a mess! ” “Like this cup, ” Nan-insaid, “You are full of your own opinions, artificial concepts and negative speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?” Like the learned professor who wanted to understand spirituality, you too must empty your cup and have an open mind and heart. Christopher Dines

Can you be alone without being lonely? Can you spend time by yourself without craving noise or company of other people? Have you discovered the glory of quiet time spent alone, time spent listening to your soul? Solitude brings with it gifts that come from nowhere else. Steve Goodier

Only in stillness does the imperceivable become discernible Bryant McGill

When we are quiet and still we contract and settle. Bryant McGill

Today, find a point of stillness: brief, but precious slight, but full small, but luminously real. Find a point stillness in the balance of all things between the breathing out and breathing in. Naama Yehuda

I can be alone without being lonely. In fact, those times of solitude are necessary respite for a beleaguered soul, set upon by the pressures of life. I need to take whatever moments I can to just be still. Steve Goodier

Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain. Eckhart Tolle

When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave until you have captured its essence. Minor White

A book about books is like a poem about poetry: Books are knowledge, paid for, all. Readers - horses in a stall. Stallions should always run. Lest they stale become, in turn. Running waters are most clear. In some books, you disappear —lose yourself, and track of time. How I wish that one was mine.. Mine, to have, to write, to read.. Mine, just like a flying steed. Mine, forever, - to improve. Would I then, of me, approve? I would not, I can't.. myself. I'm but dust, swept off a shelf. Fly, can I, just 'til I'm settled, down, beside my flower, petalled. Will Advise

I felt a deep grief that crouched and stayed still as if it was afraid to move. Iris Murdoch

The most powerful forces in the universe are infinite. Love, imagination, intuition, stillness. Then why should we define our soul? Matthew Donnelly

Jesus loves hidden souls. A hidden flower is the most fragrant. I must strive to make the interior of my soul a resting place for the Heart of Jesus. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Transition isn't pretty, but stagnation is hideous. Nikki Rowe

Attain complete emptiness, Hold fast to stillness. Understanding the ordinary: Mind opens. Mind opening leads to compassion, Compassion to nobility, Nobility to heavenliness, Heavenliness to TAO. TAO endures. Your body dies. There is no danger. Lao Tzu

When I finally lie down, I find sleep elusive. The same thoughts that trouble me during the day are only compounded by the stillness of night. Brandon Sanderson

Chasing something external to satisfy the internal is a hollow practice. The only thing you can chase is yourself and you are already here! Tresh An

When a man does not dwell in self, then things will of themselves reveal their forms to him. His movement is like that of water, his stillness like that of a mirror, his responses like those of an echo. Zhuangzi

Enjoy the stillness, sweet snail! Savor the spring breeze while it still means something! Soon enough, like summer tempests your tears will come! Walt Holcombe

You remain so silent, as carried away, through mist of your thoughts, so dark and so deep, and even awake same as when asleep, waiting for enlightenment of a newborn day. I'm bound to your silence, to the core i'm bound, to delicate stillness, so cruel and so tender, that despite of danger, soul yearns to surrender, to that mesmerizing absence of the sound. I resign everything i once knew so clear, throwing in the wind fragments of my past, they are worth so little, they're nothing but dust, nothing to remember, and nothing to fear.. Aleksandra Ninkovic

I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last. Rebecca Solnit

This was once Mazama, I kept reminding myself. This was once a mountain that stood nearly 12, 000 feet tall and then had its heart removed. This was once a wasteland of lava and pumice and ash. This was once an empty bowl that took hundreds of years to fill. But hard as I tried, I couldn't see them in my mind's eye. Not the mountain or the wasteland or the empty bowl. They simply were not there anymore. There was only the stillness and the silence of that water: what a mountain and a wasteland and an empty bowl turned into after the healing process. Cheryl Strayed

One's action ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be a mere rushing on. D.h. Lawrence

The sweetest melody that playson starry nights and wintry days, most soothing to my listening earsand calming to beleaguering fears, I call a symphony on air―the song of sweet, still silence rare. Richelle E. Goodrich

In the morning stillness, when the world is just waking up and your conscious mind hasn't fully taken over, you may feel a connection or passageway to another world, and a feeling that something is about to happen in yours. It's like a quiet storm is coming. You can feel the distant rumble of thunder on the horizon, yet you have no idea of the deluge your life is about to experience. Padma Lakshmi

Space and silence are two aspects of the same thing. The same no-thing. They are externalization of inner space and inner silence, which is stillness: the infinitely creative womb of all existence. Eckhart Tolle

When I say I love the silence, I'm not being entirely truthful. What I actually love are the abundant, delicate sounds that amplify when I'm silent. These curious creaks, mutters, and hums compel my imagination. Richelle E. Goodrich

Life’s most precious moments are not all loud or uproarious. Silence and stillness has its own virtues. Kilroy J. Oldster

In fact, the room was so quiet you might have heard a drop of paint splash. Jasper Fforde

And it was so still. The silence of the fields seemed to enter and move familiarly through the house. The wind used the open hall. He felt that he was in a mysterious, quiet, cool danger. It was necessary to do what?...to talk.(" Death Of A Traveling Salesman") Eudora Welty

There is a presence, a silence, a stillness which is here by itself. There is no doer of it, no creator of this stillness. It is simply here in you, with you. It is the fragrance of your own self. There is nothing to do about this, it is naturally present. This fragrance of peace, this spaciousness, it is the fragrance of your own being. Mooji

The constant talker will never, or a least rarely, grasp truth. Of course even he must experience some truths, otherwise he could not exist. He does notice certain facts, observe certain relations, draw conclusions and make plans. But he does not yet possess genuine truth, which comes into being only when the essence of an object, the significance of a relaton, and what is valid and eternal in this world reveal themselves. This requires the spacousness, freedom, and pure receptiveness of that inner “clean-swept room” whilch silence alone can create . Romano Guardini

Words were his delight; Hers, a gay gracefulness Of dancing and moving. But when to the place Of deep loving (Starlight at midnight) At last they came, Their full communion And consummation, Their complete sphere, Was stillness for her, Silence for him. Theodore Spencer

Nature, take my breath with you; renew it with the wild breeze and fill my being up with so much soul, ego learns to fade away. Nikki Rowe

UNSOPHISTICATEDI sing my merry songat first blush of daythis external peacetendered by the soft shadeof tidy clouds idly crossing places, a fresh note returns to mind: I am unsophisticated at heart. Tara Estacaan

Through our awareness, we can open the inheritance of our qualities or talents, and behind that, reside in the stillness of being, present in the sanctity of universal love. Georgi Y. Johnson

There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher strength than to act. Margaret Bottome