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Scent of Light Episode

by Ken Norton

Entering the Stillness

Original Broadcast November 10, 2019, repeat on May 10, 2020

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The audio file above is the spoken word recording without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine with host Andre Marc.

Transcript

In this episode on the Scent of Light I will speak on Entering the Stillness.

In previous episodes I spoke of the value of entering the Stillness everyday in centering oneself in this age of abundant information and to make decisions best suited to the moment for the highest good.

The practice of entering the Stillness is called meditation. The practice is found in all religions and wisdom paths. There are various techniques but here are some fundamentals to get you started.

First make sure that you’re in the proper environment that is peaceful and that your attention is not needed to drive or operate a piece of equipment and the place is suitable to sit and shut your eyes. Use noise suppression ear plugs if sounds are disturbing you. If your joints are nimble enough sit in the lotus position with your legs crossed on a firm cushion. For the not so nimble a chair is fine. In either position it important that your spine is erect and straight with your hands resting upon one another or close by with upright palms. Place a timer nearby to alert you to the end of the meditation session. Set aside a time each day for your Stillness session. I recommend to start off with 10 minutes and work your way up to 30 minutes or more each day.

Once you are sitting comfortably with spine straight, close your eyes, breathe in through your nostrils slow and deep so that you feel your tummy around the navel above your hands is inflating. Slowly end the inhaling and shift into exhaling the air through the mouth. Repeat these slow and deep breathing cycles while you are quite attentive to the breath. If you notice you are leaning over or slumping, gently straighten out your spine again. This opens up your air passage for those deep and slow breaths.

Attention to one's breath is one of the best ways to move out of anxious thoughts and emotions. Breathing deep and slow calms the heart beat. Remember, our goal is to enter the Stillness within. In our meditative position, attentive to our deep slow breaths with no thought, dismissing stories as they are noticed and returning to sensing the breathing, we learn about this power of ours to notice when we think and when we do not think, when we are in an emotional state or not. This is powerful to learn by your practice, not by listening to me or reading of this power, but by your practice. Too often we have felt at the mercy of our emotions, whether sad or angry or happy. Simple daily visits to the Stillness within exercises this consciousness of your inner story telling to be the author or object. Give yourself a month of daily practice to notice its value.

The fruits of daily entering the Stillness will become apparent over time. I have noticed after years of meditation that I have tempered angry reactions by taking a moment to reflect on my inner self and the principles I hold dear to measure the situation. It helps me be a person of conscience. The daily meditation has strengthened my ability to move out of emotionally fueled stories to deal with life as it is unfolding around me in a way true to myself. I have become the peacemaker of my inner world and that has a good chance of spreading into my relations in the world. And you will experience this as well. The writer of Psalm 46 certainly found this practice of entering the Stillness beneficial to declare , “Be still and know that I am God.”

This is Ken Norton on the Scent Of Light. You can contact me via Ken at KennethENorton.com. The Scent of Light episodes are archived on the web at kennethenorton.com. Thanks for listening.

About the Author and Producer

Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and conscionable choices.

Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes on the Scent of Light.