Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm. —Unknown
This month, Lake beckons us into her calm waters in hopes that our expansive summer adventures may find their complement in the still quiet place that is ever only a few deep breaths away. The Serenity card always brings to mind the placid high mountain lakes of Colorado that are a favorite warm weather destination of mine. Though the requisite day hike is not always an option, I need only close my eyes to the conjure their tranquil waters.
In thinking of how to share this experience with you and yours, our beloved Waldorf-inspired kindergarten teacher Kaivalya Miller comes to mind. She is rather like a lake herself and can somehow mysteriously cast a deep calm over a spirited class of nine children. Her classroom is like a sanctuary. So that she may share some of her wisdom with us mamas, I have asked to interview her later this month. Be sure to stay tuned.
In the meantime, and as an enticement, she has offered a mindfulness practice for young children. She has been using this magical “Introduction to the Still Quiet Place” with the Applesong children this spring. It has been truly delightful to hear reports from the parents about how the Still Quiet Place is now finding its way into the children’s homes with comments like, “Mama, I think you need to visit your still quiet place. Its not a place you can travel to by boat, car, or airplane.” Perhaps if you share this practice with your little one, you too will be reminded of your inner tranquility when you have worked yourself up into a tempest.
“Introduction to the Still Quiet Place” by Amy Saltzman
I would like to share one of my favorite places with you
I call it the still quiet place
Its not a place you can travel to by boat, car or airplane
It’s a place inside of you and you can find it by just closing your eyes
Its like a treasure hunt and the most wonderful thing is that the treasure and map are inside you
So if you want to discover the treasure inside of you sit tall and close your eyes
Take a few slow deep breaths
Put your hand on your belly and see if you can feel your belly rise like a balloon when you breathe in
And shrinking like a balloon when you breathe out
Whenever your ready you can move your hand and let it rest in your lap
See if you can feel your breath move your belly without your hand filling you and emptying you
See if you can feel a kind of warm easy smile in you body
Maybe it’s in your heart or your belly
Can you feel it?
This is your still quiet place
It may feel simple, easy, and comfortable
Take some more slow deep breaths and really snuggle in
The best thing about your still quiet place is that it’s always inside you
And you can visit it whenever you like
It is nice to visit your still quiet place and feel the love that is there
It is especially helpful to visit your still quiet place if you are feeling angry, silly, sad or afraid
The still quiet place is a good place to talk with these feelings and to make friends with them
When you rest in your still quiet place and talk to your feelings you may find that your feelings aren’t as big or as powerful as they seem
Remember you can come whenever you want and stay as long as you like all you have to do is put your hand on your belly and follow the path of your breathe to the treasure of your still quiet place
Everyone has a still quiet place inside.
You can even help grown ups find the still quiet place inside them by inviting them to travel to the still quiet place with you
Thanks for traveling to the still quiet place with me!
I am so glad I happened to look in my junk mail tonight because there was this email for this post (why these were going there I’ll never know). This is just what I needed to read tonight as we are preparing to move back to Colorado from Seattle in about one week so home and life feel like a wild storm. My husband and I have often been saying to each other, “Picture the placid calm lake, placid calm lake…” and it is amazing how quickly I drop back into a deeper, steady breath with that simple visualization. I have even witnessed my 4 yo taking big breathes and exhaling deeply when she gets anxious or excited about something. The Introduction to the Still Quiet Place will be perfect for us no matter if we are moving or not! Thank You!
Me again…last night I lay awake and I remembered a quote that was read at the beginning of a yoga class that follows along with this so well:
All tempest has,
like a navel,
a hole in its middle,
through which
a gull can fly,
in silence.
-Fourteenth-century Japanese, Anonymous
I love this image of a gull flying gracefully through the stillness in the center of the storm. Mark Nepo writes, “When in the center, we are relieved by our spiritual place in the Oneness of things. So to find the center and spread our battered wings is to feel the God within.” (p 156 in The Book of Awakening).
Thank you for sharing this! Sometimes when Tulsi needs quiet time with her emotions, she goes into her “tent” and pulls the curtain shut and breathes. I think she would love this guided journey and language to connect all she feels, and I think she’d apply it the next time. It’s very sweet, respectful, supportive, gentle. AND, she’d remind us to find this place inside of us, too, when we need it. :) Beautiful. Looking forward to the interview!