Intentionally Still- {Intentional Homeschooling Series}

Learning the art of being intentionally still can impact your entire life.  This I know to be true.  I have been hesitant to acquire this skill as my mom who dappled in New Age caused me to be very cynical about meditation, or rather Transcendental Meditation that is from the Hindu religion. It was a weird time in the 1970’s where I grew up in Miami.  Now, whenever I hear the word meditation, I get a bad taste in my mouth and I am very distrusting.  I have found that many Christians understandably feel the same way.

“For whatever reason, meditation has not been a mainstay of traditional, Christian, religious organizations.  Prayer and Bible reading are encouraged as well as the occasional mention of contemplative prayer, but not so much meditation.” Jackie Trottman

But God said: “Be still.” (NIV, italics are mine)

• Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
• 1 Samuel 12:16 Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!
• Job 37:14  Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.
• Psalm 37:7  Be still before the Lord
      and wait patiently for him;…
• Zechariah 2:13a  Be still before the Lord, all mankind…

• Psalm 46:10  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God

And we know that the disciples and even Jesus went away to a quiet place, whether it was up on a mountain or by a tree.  For the purpose of this post, I am referring to being still and quieting the mind.  It is intentionally not being distracted.  It is focusing your thinking which takes effort.  Sometimes it is just watching your thoughts and taking them captive.  It is not problem solving or planning.  It is simply being. Call it being mindfully present.  You are not supposed to do anything. 

I would have to say that I struggle with stillness more than any other discipline.  And learning how to be still teaches me how to be present more and less overwhelmed.

They say we have 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day.  Think about how this escalates in a week (600,000), a month (1,500,000) or a year (18,000,000).  I have a hard time turning off my brain.  When attempting to be quiet, all my thoughts dance around the chicken that needs to be defrosted, the email that needs to be answered, or the appointment that needs to be made.  I become lost in my thoughts.

And I also find heavier reasons to avoid being still.  Sometimes silence is bursting with regrets, anxieties, anger, and sadness.

But it gets easier.

Start with 5 minutes.  Try it.  For 5 minutes (10 if you are brave), set a timer, and close your eyes (or not) in a quiet place.  Just still yourself.  Watch your thoughts and do not act upon them.  Focus on your breathing.  Just be.

This is what peace and calm looks like.

You will see the benefits.  When stressors come up, often they are no more than a ripple when you are able to pull from that deep reserve of peace and stillness you have disciplined into your life.  There are things that used to shake or rattle me, that now do not have the same affect they once did.  Distractedness can be better managed.

As homeschool moms, teachers, chauffeurs, cooks, disciplinarians, managers of our homes, wives (and all the other hats we wear), it is important to be still and to be able to draw from a reserve of peace if we are to be effective and create a peaceful learning environment.

My goal now is to teach this to my kids.  By example, I have taught them the opposite.  I am always moving, always producing, and often feel guilty or insignificant if I am not.

The art of being still goes back centuries but I first learned about the practicality and applicability of this ‘practice of stillness’ to my own life from a blog post by Michael Hyatt.  It was there he introduced me to being still.

Being able to recall what still feels like, makes you stronger.  But it requires being intentional; intentionally setting apart time to be still and going to or creating a place where you will be undisturbed for 10 minutes or so.

If you are not intentional, it won’t happen.  Trust me.

“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.”

~ Amy Carmichael  

Check out this TED Talk by Andrew Puddicombe.

 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  1 Kings 19:11-12