Silence and stillness

I'm sure many of us have heard the famous quote from Angeles Arrien:

“When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of your own silence?”

Stillness and silence have been the theme of my own teachings for the past several weeks. Singing and dancing are important (and most of you know that I say it all the time). But silence and stillness are equally important. In our hectic world, there are ever-increasing demands on our time. In an age of supercomputers in our pockets, we are prevented from being unavailable. We also prevent ourselves from being still, as we take out our phones in line at the grocery store, in the waiting room at the doctor, and even behind the wheel!

Silence and stillness are not the same, and we need both. How can we really listen if we constantly create noise? How can we rest if we're always on the move? Our shamanic work requires both singing and silence, both dancing and stillness. It can be challenging at first when we aren't used to it, but I encourage you to find those moments when you take your ear buds out a listen to the sound of a forest, or to stop scrolling and fell the sensation of the air around you.

When did you stop being silent? When did you stop being still?