by Anne Malatt, Australia
What I love about Christmas is the stillness.
I love the feeling that we have stopped for a day to spend time with ourselves and with those we love.
Of course, there is often a frantic rush to do things before and after, and for many even during Christmas day, but it feels like there is a possibility for everyone to feel stillness on this day.
What if we could feel stillness every day?
What if this was a natural way to feel the essence of who we are?
What if we could allow ourselves to feel this way, every day?
I have found that if I start the day in stillness, before I go into motion, my day flows much more harmoniously. When I wake, I lie in bed and feel how I am. I make sure I am fully present in my body before I get up and move. This way, my movements are much more gentle and loving and confirm the living stillness that I am.
If I lose it, I stop and return to this feeling of stillness as soon as I realise I am struggling. I focus on breathing gently until I can feel my stillness again. If I can’t feel still, I go for a gentle walk until I can.
I have learnt this way of being through the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
If I live this way, every day can feel like Christmas.
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
“What if we could feel stillness every day?” Anne you answered your question very beautifully and also for me very inspirationally. The question I now have is – why is it that so many people do not know the power of stillness?
Sometimes it is like the Christmas period brings us a stop moment and supports us to reflect on life and connect with each other more deeply. When we do this we are brought into a period of grace and appreciation and this brings an honouring and type of movement that gives more space.
It is an amazing realization that we can feel a certain way, not because the day is special or any different, but because of what we are choosing for ourselves.
This is exactly what I loved about the Christmas we just had. I felt stillness and allowed myself to be in that, to let the days unfold and to flow with them. Since then and since being back at work I’ve felt the acute difference between how I am most of the time. So what I loved about Christmas was the moment to pause and reflect and then to take that with me.
A very great point you make here Anne, is how different the world feels on Christmas day, when we all stop and generally are more still. This highlights how our collective movements impact our self-created world in which we live, starting with how each and every one of us, with how we are choosing to live and the responsibility the we all have to make a huge difference in how the world is shaped through our everyday living.
When we connect to stillness it completely changes the way we move.
I was out at work this morning at 7am on Christmas day – the Stillness was tangible as it is most early mornings. How I live – rushed and drained or connected and vital allows me to be aware of this stillnes in the mornings or not. The Stillness is always there but it’s my choices that allow me to feel it or not.
Great point Leigh. We are only affected by outside influences if we have not connected to the stillness we naturally are.
Where I live it is wintertime when it is Christmas, the stillness felt in nature supports us to be in this quality all through the time of the craziness people can go into around Christmas.
Beautiful Anne, how stillness can be a real and very tangible way to live and how any day can bring this, if we choose it.
Yes.. always our choice in every moment: align to the stress and chaos in the world, or come back to our inner stillness, always residing within and readily available any time we choose to connect to and feel it – and bring more of that quality to the world, instead.
When we stay in our essence, living our true qualities, christmas can be a glorious time, as can every day. Reconnecting to the stillness within allows for our reconnection to our essence too.
I feel like Christmas could be a brilliant time for real rejuvenation, most people naturally have time off work, so what a great time to really take the time to care deeply for ourselves, rest, revitalise and appreciate everything that’s happened this year.
Christmas can be a truly beautiful time of catching up with others we haven’t connected with for a while. A good opportunity to put aside the mundane and enjoy each others company.
Christmas does not have to feel the way we are fed it feels like—mad rush, non stop festivities and indulgences of Food, emotions and attachments. Christmas is only this when we are this in our making already. So Christmas can be a whole different way and/or reflection if we change how we live.
I love the togetherness that Christmas offers, to come together, to reflect and simply be and enjoy
Thank you Anne for your words about connecting to your body and stillness before you start the day and begin moving. Our days can be transformed by staying connected to and moving in our stillness.
Awesome Anne, feels like the true purpose and quality of Christmas – being with us in full every day.
So it is not actually the day, it is what the day offers which is a reprieve from the craziness we have called normal!! It is the stillness of less motion on our streets and in shops. It is also, possibly, the opportunity for re-connecting with people and that can be a good and a bad thing as all our past choices will be in our faces. This simple day is a snapshot of something so much bigger isn’t it?
Many people call Christmas the silly season and as it draws ever so close it’s interesting to note the change in the energy of shopping centres and the real drive and tension in the air a this time. To be able to observe what os going on and re-connect to the stillness within our bodies is a marvellous way to explore a whole new take on Christmas and then extend that to our everyday. Movement is amazing and once connected to how we move even in the simplest of ways, can then expand our awareness of how our days then follow and support us to be in every moment.
Hi Anne, yes, I agree your Christmas theory as every new day presents a new opportunity to strengthen and deepen our relationship with the stillness that resides within enabling us to bring it to every moment and establish an ever deepening consistency.
Pure gold thank you, a profound change, a profound way of living that sets us truly free.
Stillness at Christmas is a whole new learning for me, one that I’m looking forward to living in the very near future.
Everyday can feel like Christmas if we connect to who we truly are. Our connection then grows and this can be shared with all others and we can love equally all people around us if we gather with them or not. A purposeful living that is expansive in many many ways and not limited to one or two days.
Christmas in the Northern hemisphere, especially when fresh snow has fallen, can be awe-inspiringly still and convey a taste of the delicious stillness we all have inside of us.
Yes, it is also like this when there is snow and all the ground is white. Everything slows down and people seem to have more time to connect to each other. Our lives can run at a ridiculously fast and furious rate with increasing pressure to hit targets. To have a moment to just be, without all the doing to meet outside demands, gives us all a taste of how life could be very different.
I feel this way too about Christmas. There can be such a hype which can take us away from this pause moment on offer. Yet if we take it, it’s like a moment where the whole country and beyond is just taking a moment to stop, connect with loved ones and take a break from the momentum we may have been running in. Quite a beautiful offering.
I loved reading some for the previous comments of feeling the stillness by not eating breakfast in a hurried way, if breakfast sets your day, how you eat breakfast or anything we eat also sets your day too.
Stillness ought be felt in our everyday not just for weekends or public holiday, its as if we give ourselves permission during those extra days off and not the others.
When we stop and feel the stillness we have from within there is an inner calm, it gives us space to evaluate things, to feel what is going on, and most of all to enjoy life even the smallest of things can bring a smile to our face, we don’t need Christmas when everyday can be filled with such beautiful moments, that we so often miss because we are too busy in the distraction of life.
All I want for Christmas is… stillness. I agree Anne, I love the feeling of stillness at that time also, and on other public holidays, and even on weekend days. It’s utterly beautiful. As you say, we can make our every day a holiday… a holy-day… a stillness day.
The profound teaching in this blog is – there does not exist something as Christmas. Huh, what? Yes, in fact the ancientness does exist and the stillness can be observed and deeply felt. But it is us that is paying more attention and present conscious thinking to Christmas. So we can see it is our choice how much of that stillness, that togetherness we take out of the shelf, and when , how and how much. Christmas is in fact a symbol of having the opportunity and possibility to bring all of that alive in all those 364 days the rest of the year..So, what is Christmas truly reflecting us? That we can live all that brotherhood & togetherness, stillness and magic of God – everyday.
Something that helps me to keep stillness in my day is not eating breakfast, most mornings in the past I eat breakfast in a rushed and hurried manner, this quality is then with me throughout the day. I now choose to not do this and my day flows in a more purposeful flow.
So true Samantha. Not having breakfast makes me more aware of my body, I never quite know why but it seems to be more communicative with me when I eat lightly and have a good gap between dinner and breakfast. When I listen to my body I find that I eat less and when I do eat I eat well and the stillness Anne talks of is more palpable as my ‘normal’.
Very true Anne, Christmas can be a stop moment for people where they spend quality time with loved ones and enjoy and appreciate the year they have had – I agree this is something we can begin to live everyday not just one day of the year.
Hi Anne, this is such a beautiful reminder that we are all be responsible for our own level of stillness.
I love how much you value stillness, and how you have tools to bring that quality back if you loose it. Stillness is for sure an under valued quality worldwide today, we tend to be great at the activity part of life and not so great at the quality – or stillness.
A beautiful and lasting present to give ourselves and all around us to be present with our inner stillness.
Taking that stop moment throughout the day is so important in bringing us back to our stillness when we realise we are out, simply coming back to a gentle breath or a walk or whatever it is that brings us back to our bodies to be able to feel the harmony of the stillness within again.
I love Christmas too, I have always noticed how still the streets are, lots of people away and nobody rushing to work, its all through the air, its almost like you can touch it. The way that you have brought this feeling to each and everyday is inspiring, I am still working on fully embracing stillness and so the more I read about people that have, the better.
Wouldn’t it be lovely! I’m really appreciating how much I now realise it’s actually possible to make stillness a part of every day and not something I work forward to for a Saturday in 3 weeks time. It makes an enormous difference when I remind myself that we’re not going anywhere and that just being present is enough and actually so much easier to deal with.
It is beautiful to feel how blessed we really are, that in every moment we are offered the opportunity to connect to the stillness that we innately are within, to live in connection to our Soul and be the gift we are to this world.
Around the world, different religions and cultures have their own special days reserved throughout the year. And it’s kind of funny how that specialness only applies to those who believe/adhere to whatever they choose to, and only when their doctrine/tradition tells them so. As for me, Christmas was never really any more than a day to get a present and cake. It was not even a public holiday where I grew up. So, I totally agree – there is a possibility for everyone to feel stillness every day.
It’s true that potential for us to re-connect with the quality of stillness is always there – whether we are at work, at home, in a crowd, on holiday… it is not reserved for special occasions but on offer all the time if we are willing to choose it!
I was pondering the other day why I love Christmas and I realise it was the stillness on Christmas Day that I love. I agree with you Anne, that we could connect to stillness every day and not just save it for one day a year but to live it everyday.
I appreciated reading about the simple acts of self care you choose daily to support yourself Anne to stay with your stillness. Easy to do and a great foundation for every day.
The world needs more stillness as stillness could heal our world a little bit more.
For me its like there is this reprieve feeling on Christmas day when everything stops and what is important is at the forefront. As I read your blog- I did have the same feeling to go into today appreciating every connection and moment.
Stillness is the opposite of motion. The art of stopping and feeling, and being still is setting a platform of better health, wellbeing and vitality.
It’s not really Christmas at all really, it’s the fact that for many they give themselves space at this time of year to actually stop, and in fact we need to incorporate that into our day to day lives and not just one special day.
After what seems a life time of literally throwing my body around by pushing it to keep up with the unnecessarily fast paced world around us I am starting to realise the more I allow myself to be gentle with myself, the more stillness clarity and wisdom I feel, and, the more enjoyable life is.
I love the practical examples you have shared with regards to reconnecting to the stillness within, especially first thing in the morning being with us, our body and how we feel instead of rushing to get up. Each and everyone of us holds this quality within the WHOLE time, it is always there and never leaves us … more we leave it! Esoteric Yoga is also a great support in reconnecting, allowing and feeling the stillness within.
There are some Christmas’s I have really enjoyed and others I have struggled with. It is like on this day I have all these pictures of how it should be- the perfect harmonious family feeling. It is interesting to observe, the day before I may not have any of those thoughts and then come Christmas day, if my life at that time doesn’t match the ‘Christmas picture’ I have observed that I can become more depressed or go hard on myself and just waiting for the day to be over. Too often the pictures get in the way of actually just enjoying the day- like any other day.
Great simple blog Anne. I often sense a sadness and disappointment in many people when the Christmas holidays are over and everything is ‘back to normal’. Could it indeed be we connect to something we do not allow ourselves to connect to in our everyday lives, like brotherhood (being together with family and friends and making time for this) and stillness (slowing down, feeling ourselves)?
This blog is a breath of fresh air Anne. I went for a walk on Christmas morning and it felt absolutely beautiful to take in the stillness as I walked past people’s homes. We so rarely stop and take stock of our lives and at this time of year we are given a marker for where we are really at.
I use to experience tension and uncertainty in the run up to Christmas as I lived by myself with most of my biological family living around the world. True brotherhood strips away identification with single family and connects us all to one universal family. With this understanding and a deeper sense of self, we are never alone.
I’ve noticed a rare quiet and stillness since Christmas day. Fewer people around, a tendency to open up to each other as they meet or pass. Also within myself I have felt a need to go inward, more repose, less activity as I align to this cycle of shorter days and longer nights.
So simple. Why wouldn’t we want to start our days like this. it makes sense, and oh boy does it feel so much more enjoyable than the alternative, which let’s face it, has never really worked for us, we’ve possibly just been too stubborn to try anything else.
What I love about Christmas is that we make room to spend time together but as you say it does not need to be limited to one day a year, as it is possible to live connected and present every day.
I agree and when I woke up this Christmas you could really feel how still it was, in fact someone made a comment to me along those lines. Just to hear the sound of no sound was almost breath taking. With life becoming busier and busier through the choices we make it’s great to appreciate these moments or times and breath them in. I wonder if this is why so many people look forward to Christmas, because of this stop and in that it’s chosen for them. What if Christmas came more than once, in relation to the stillness part? We should all enjoy and soak up moments to stop like this, it’s very healthy.
Again highlighting how no matter what time of year or what time of day there is always the opportunity or the choice to stop and feel. We are not shown or supported to merely “appreciate a moment” and if we do we usually have an each way bet, appreciate a little and then make sure we bring it down by being critical as well. It’s ok and in fact totally natural to not be right, because right has a wrong when in fact we are simply always learning and the freedom in that is huge if we can accept it. Our schooling has jammed the right, wrong thing into our expression when it’s simply not true. Don’t fear appreciating a moment fully with no kicker at the end, just leave it in appreciation. Whether this be towards someone, something or yourself, let go and just appreciate and see what this brings. There is a lot to feel and appreciate about Christmas, another day of learning.
Stillness is possible for us all, everyday. Christmas provides us the opportunity to feel this, being in brotherhood feeling the Union with everyone we are with. From this union with the all we feel the stillness.
If we live from the stillness that is naturally in us all we live life with a quality and grace that is rarely seen in our nowadays societies. Many people live in a rush and in that not in appreciation of that stillness that is held in their body, and by that have introduced a quality of being in their lives that is actually not them that sometimes makes them act in ways we in general do not understand, as how they where able to bring such atrocity and harm to the people involved and to the world.
I love how you present there is a possibility for everyone to feel stillness on Christmasday. It can be there everyday, simple and clear but I guess with this stop and in our side of the world, in wintertime, it can be more about connection with ourselves and others just reflecting and appreciating our lives. And stillness is available to us in those times, if we choose so.
Dear Anne, yesterday was Christmas Day and my friend was visiting and we were swimming in my pool and noticing something different. There was stillness. The purpose was quite clear, people were mostly either at home or driving to visit friends/families/church. The trillion of other activities that humans do (to distract themselves from feeling the stillness!) were not being done so there was stillness to be felt. It was so lovely.
Anne, thank you for bringing it all back to the simplicity and joy of stillness. And if we can have stillness on Christmas day, doesn’t it show it is possible every day?
The fact that we notice and even look forward to the stillness on Christmas day shows us just how little stillness we have in the rest of the year. For if we lived according to how you present here Anne, which actually sounds very simple, then we would not need the ‘stop day’ for it would be present every day in everything we do.
Indeed Andrew, and I reckon that many people would find that boring as then every day will be the same without any excitement to live by.
There is such a sense of relief in the body once we choose to no longer go with the hype of the commercial Christmas and let ourselves get pulled along with the stress that can occur, which if not careful can leave us feeling exhausted at a time when we would like to enjoy being with our relatives instead of wishing we could sit and veg in front of the telly.
When a certain level of activity ceases at this time of year (work or school for example) – we are given space to reflect, and observe our year, and aspects of our lives we may otherwise not. Some respond to this opportunity, whilst others frantically try to fill it with busyness to not feel what would otherwise be apparent.
Reading this reminded me of the feeling I used to have as a little girl when Sundays came around. In those days all the shops were closed and generally speaking everyone seemed to stay in bed longer and give themselves permission to do what they really felt to and not what they felt obliged to do. I agree though we can allow ourselves stillness anytime, we don’t have to wait for an occasion and for me too going for a walk can bring me right back to a level of stillness that I had left as I got caught up in the machinations of the outside world.
Love reading this on Christmas eve in the morning – a reminder to have that same magic before and after the day itself, and introduce it into every day.
I had to stop for a moment and notice that ‘Christmas morning stillness’ I used to experience as a kid – where it feels like the whole world is still asleep (apart from us excited kids) is now almost in my every morning. It feels like I’ve been walking past a pot of gold everyday and not taken notice of it or appreciated it. It is very possible that such can be a daily occurrence, this The Way of The Livingness has shown me but until now never really stopped to recognise. Thank you Anne.
What I’ve been noticing with the days leading up to Christmas is a beautiful stillness beneath all the hussle of Christmas shopping etc. Could this be because I have not got caught up in it all and am feeling the stillness that is there beneath the sometimes turbulent waters above?
I know what you mean Karin, there is an observation of all that’s going on, rather than feeling caught up and swept along by it.
I love that you point out that there is actually an offering of stillness when it comes to christmas and that this stillness can be always felt and actually lived from and with. Not a once in a year time possibility but a lifelong opportunity.
Coming up to Christmas this is great blog for all to read. This is often not the reflection we see around us at this time of year. I started my morning in just the way you speak of here, connecting to the inner stillness, and it changes the quality in every movement thereafter. A great reminder that we can choose this every day Anne.
With Christmas not too far away, I am looking forward to gathering with friends that are family. This is why I like Christmas, but interestingly, this is also something we do regularly, so yes, every day can be like Christmas.
Thank you Anne for sharing a Christmas stillness that can be felt and lived every day of our lives. Choosing to start our day with a connection to our inner stillness before we go into motion brings an easfullness and joy to each and every day.
What if we could feel stillness every day? and this is the choice we have every moment by meeting and living life through our bodies first, and the more we get to know that stillness within us – the more our movements reflect the essence and beauty that we are.
This blog has spoken something that has been unspoken about Christmas where amongst all the activity, there is a glimpse of how we might choose to live differently, from that foundation of stillness. ‘I wish it could be Christmas everyday’ is I feel sure, much more to do with this, than any giving of gifts.
There is something I love about Christmas as well, the lights and the fact that family get together but it is also a day for those with no family where this can be felt in a not so lovely way, but instead where people can feel incredibly alone. The truth is we are never alone and we all are in fact one gigantic family. A great reminder for me about connecting to the stillness within. Thank you.
Just what I needed to read as Christmas approaches, a moment to stop and appreciate the stillness on offer, this may become my morning read
I love how the quality of stillness is something that we can carry with us all the time – regardless of whether we are actually physically still or not and how we can actually be moving swiftly and with purpose and that stillness can remain! And I agree Anne – let’s live with that stillness everyday and not just in ‘special’ moments.
Making the commitment to connecting to our stillness at the start of each day, has a very positive effect on how the day turns out
I love this Anne. I also want to start tomorrow morning with this feeling and focus, just to see how it pans out.
Starting each day with Connection is a divine way to start each day. This connection supports us to continually re-connect throughout the day and bring stillness to our every move, integration and reflection.
Soon it will be Christmas again, a great time of inwardness if you don’t go to shopping centres. I find it a very good time to learn some new skills as I can work for days on the same subject.
Just what I needed to read. Thank You Anne. I have recently realised that I am still clinging onto the belief that I can be fully me in the world by pushing through and just getting on with what needs to be done. Take it from me, this doesn’t work. It is depleting and at some point ends up with me crashing into a brick wall and feeling exhausted. To start the day with stillness in such a simple way is just what my body is crying out for.
I love what you’re offering here Anne, not that Christmas day is special or even different to any other day, but by virtue of the facts everyone stops over Christmas there is an increased chance for everyone to feel the stillness and loveliness of life.
I used to love snow for the very same reason, the stillness that it brought. We have not had much snow in the UK in the last few years but in practising Esoteric Yoga we can discover that same stillness in our bodies and begin to appreciate the quality of our movements..
We try so hard to make Christmas Day this special day, to re-ignite the magic, where we once again can feel the serenity and the innate stillness that is our birth right and that we have somewhat lost somewhere in our transition to adulthood. But as you share Anne, this is not achieved through busy-ness or lots of doing, but is something we can make part of our every day if we allow ourselves to reconnect with that part in us that knows the stillness, the sacredness and the magic of God. It is like we lost something that is innate and then instead of finding this connection again we try to re-construct it outside of us.
Just imagine! All the pressure around the 25th of December would melt away if we adopted this attitude! Thanks Anne for the brilliant suggestion that there are 364 sometimes 365 other days of the year where we can choose to be joyful!!
Connecting to stillness allows us to see and feel everything… what our bodies are showing, where others are at around us and what is truly going on, and what needs to be done and what needs to be left.
Simple wisdom . . . .start the day in stillness and come back the that stillness every time you stray and one is bound to have a great day.
You reminded me of how I felt about Christmas when I was a child. I was feeling the stillness but along the way growing up, I seemed to have lost that feeling. Now I am learning to reconnect to stillness again, it really wasn’t lost but I had simply put it to one side and had even forgotten about, until recently. Thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine inspiring me to live in my stillness and connect to it in my every day because stillness is within us all.
If I live the whole year in stress and looking for the outcomes – how should I be different on that one day on the end of the year?
Christmas in my home was total stress. As we had two grandmothers who would not like to celebrate together and family members which were not joining one or the other. We started in the early afternoon with ‘Christmas’ in our nuclear family. We rolled down the blinds to make it ‘cosy’ and create a mood of a calm evening. After our distribution of presents we went to one grandmother, doing the same thing and after that, the same with the other grandmother (always different locations off cause) and than…the rest of the family came up to our home again. Stress. And what I can see now how we did try to create a ‘still moment’ everywhere, instead of surrendering to the stillness which lies natural in being together as a family and enjoy each other’s company by just for being there. Crazy…. But I love to connect to this potential and bring the truth of Christmas into every day.
Note to self and a great reminder Anne. Whenever I lose myself in the frantic pace of the world around me all I have to do to bring myself back to me is focus on my breathing – how easy is that?
It is really sad in this day and age that we think one day is more important than another as this only serves to exacerbate the emotional highs and lows that shadows us all and keeps us locked in the drama of everyday life and blind to seeing that there is another way to be and live.
A deeply inspiring way to live that keeps us connected to living the stillness within so that it is reflected in everything we do…. a choice we can embrace every day. Gorgeous.
I do enjoy the sense of togetherness and connection that we experience at Christmas. It feels lovely to come together with people and it is often a time where people put things on hold to make time to connect. There is a slight difference to the rhythm of this time of year and people are generally a little more open.
What if we could feel stillness every day? What if this was a natural way to feel the essence of who we are?
What if we could allow ourselves to feel this way, every day?
Relevant questions to ponder on Anne; what a joy it is to feel stillness every day and how devastating it is to move away from stillness into disharmony. The choice and responsibility is ours to reconnect back to stillness when we feel the disharmony.
“What if we could feel stillness every day? What if this was a natural way to feel the essence of who we are?” Two beautiful questions Anne. I love the time between Christmas and New Year when the world seems to stop for a few days (unless you go to the sales!). So the question is why don’t we take that stillness with us all the time in our everyday interactions? I know for myself I can get easily distracted and look for stimulation to take me out of that still place – but progressively less so…..Making small stops in the day – to breathe gently and come back to me – supports this.
Thank you Anne for sharing the simplicity of starting the day connecting to the stillness within. I too Elaine, love the early morning stillness before the world awakens.
I find that lovely feeling of stillness in the early mornings, before the sun rises and the birds start singing. Most of the world is asleep and if I have to drive anywhere the roads are relatively free. It is easier too to connect to the stillness within me when there are no distractions from outside so practising meditation or gentle movement at this time seems doubly powerful and a huge support for the rest of the day.
Stillness is magical. Universal Medicine has introduced me to the stillness within that can be felt while going about my every day and while all around – especially at Christmas time – are in a frantic frenzy of doing and overwhelm.
Lovely Anne. How simple it can be to find stillness and reconnect to it whenever we notice the choice we made to leave it.
This is so simple, Anne and a great reminder in the run up to Christmas. There is a different quality to Christmas day and I also feel it when there is a good downfall of snow. The similarity being that everywhere stops. I have come to learn that it is not that we have to stop but to have space in our lives to feel and appreciate this stillness. Esoteric Yoga is a supportive way to connect to and develop this.
Starting each day connected to our stillness. This is a simply divine way to start each day and gives us an opportunity to connect to ourselves with ease and simplicity, especially in a world that is full of go,go, go. I say bring on the stillness.
What a simple message here Anne in the reminder of the opportunity to connect to stillness at any time… this is particularly relevant to me today as I found myself rushing and in some overwhelm to get certain things done, so thank you for the confirmation that by coming back to stillness, the overwhelm no longer has the same hold.
Love the simplicity of this blog Anne. Connecting to that place of stillness we all hold within our bodies is the best foundation to start each and everyday with.
In the run up to Christmas where everything seems to speed up and get more frenetic it is great to have a reminder of how we can stay in stillness with ourselves and not let the craziness of the outside world impinge on our daily caring relationship with ourselves and the quality that offers.
I love the healing courses that Universal Medicine offer. I find that I am able to connect to the stillness within and wherever I am I go deeper in my own awareness and healing.
Thank you Anne – Christmas is creeping around again and I can already feel peoples excitement and relief of a time to relax – but as you share here – why is this reserved for the holidays rather than a consistent choice? Why do we not honour our bodies all year round? Stillness is a work in progress for me, slowly I am allowing my body to more and more return to its true pace rather than the perceived pace of a busy life. And in this there is so much space. It makes me realise I have been clutching on to this idea of getting things done so I can rest rather than being still and allowing the space to get things done.
Reading this Anne, reminded me of waking up to snow, which we don’t get that much of in my part of the UK, but there is a very still feeling of which we rarely get to experience. Thank you for the reminder that we don’t need to have a snow day in order to stop and feel our own stillness.
Gosh how interesting that as humans we have only given ourselves the one day at christmas to stop to be in our stillness if we choose. And yes Anne imagine if we gave that same celebration and honouring of our stillness in our living way everyday.
I used to love the feeling of waking up on Christmas Day, as a kid, to me the air always felt different, warm and a bit more silky on your skin. I loved the smells and knowing that today was a day when my parents stop working and we would spend the day at the river with the extended family. Having lunch, swimming and everyone just being together- it would be amazing to live with this quality and connection everyday.
To feel that stillness, and the connection it brings with it, is a blessing from the teachings of Universal Medicine for every day of the year. Thank you Anne, for Christmas every day of the year too!
Living with stillness everyday is a celebration in itself. Its a gift we can truly honour and enjoy everyday including Christmas. Thank you Anne.
Every day can be absolutely amazing when we come from stillness! I love this reminder Anne. There is nothing to project into the future when the present moment is so yummy! I am so deeply inspired my Universal Medicine and love the gentle breath medication as a way of reconnection.
The simplicity and power of choosing stillness everyday – thanks for the reminder Anne.
Beautiful Anne, I feel I have to start the day in stillness as well or the stillness is hard to find during my day. My morning routine is to lie in bed and feel my connection to divinity and stillness before I get up. This commitment to find this before I start my day, supports me to carry the stillness throughout my day.
Anne I just love this. So simple. What you have shared is very profound and a living way for all of us. Feeling our stillness is and can be a challenging thing, especially if motion is all we have come to know in our way of life. So building into our daily rhythm gentle breathing, walking, feeling that stillness before getting out of bed, are all ways to connect. Thank you…..very inspiring indeed.
Checking in with yourself and your body first thing on waking and connecting to your stillness is the biggest daily Christmas present you can give yourself. It can truly support you through the turkey stuffing and Christmas pud of life.
Anne, I am struck by the simplicity in which you describe the beauty of stillness. It has given me a friendly nudge to recalibrate how I am in this present moment. Thank you.
To start the day only after I am fully present in my body. That’s divine! Everything flows smoothly on such days, things get done, there’s no craving for foods that don’t support me, I enjoy what I do, engaging with people… To me that’s the way it is!
I love this Anne – stillness is the best present anyone can give to themselves.
Stillness is the wisdom of the ages radiating from one’s body with grace. A knowing that is so deep that there is no way to shake it anymore.
Stopping whenever we realize that something else than our inner stillness has crept in, observing which of our choices has been the root cause and then choosing differently – this is a true way forward.
Christmas every day. Thats exactly what life can feel like.
Whenever we do not feel a deep stillness inside of us, we are not living what we truly are and have the chance to look at what has lead us of track.
Thank you Anne for presenting how you connect to your stillness. You have inspired me to continue trying.
When I was a child I never felt any stillness in Christmas just a lot of tension and noisy family emotions. In fact stillness was not even a word I had heard of. However these days I too feel a lot of stillness in Christmas as my husband and I do not get caught up in the whole commercial Christmas whirlwind. I love Stillness which is a state of being that I have only come to experience since meeting Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. Unimedpedia Stillness is well worth a visit: http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-stillness.html where you will find some beautiful quotes and free audio about Stillness.
One morning a couple of weeks ago I felt to wake up earlier than usual, coming down stairs there was this very stark and noticeable ‘christmas morning’ feeling. That sense that the whole world is asleep and there is very little motion. In that day I got so much done and what this blog has got me wondering is – if I chose to prepare myself to be in that stillness the night before regularly, what would happen in the morning and beyond?
So true Leigh, what would happen if we choose to prepare for each new day like that – and why don’t we simply do it?
Just this last week past I found myself waking up at 2am two days in a row (both work days) Part of me was actually surprised that I could do a full days work on the amount of sleep I had (from 8:30 to 2am) but the key in all of this was that I found if I did not listen to how I felt during the day the drain on my energy levels were highlighted even more. Would it be a case of having to re-learn how and be willing to care for ourselves to such an extent in the day that eventually we can benefit from being awake to experience that morning stillness regularly?
So beauty-filled are the days, that start with a ‘true’ still-ness!
This was so gorgeous to read. Living stillness and then gently taking that with you into you your day is such an exquisitely divine, deeply beautiful and inspiring way to move through life.
There is so much power in connecting to and feeling the stillness within, for me it is the most exquisite way to feel as it allows me to feel who I truly am and who wouldn’t want to feel that within them every single day.
I love this Anne, such simple effective ways to live and feel the joy of being with ourselves being a true ‘present’ ( ha ha – oh dear call the bad jokes police!) but seriously it does only get better and better living this way!
Love it Vanessa! Living in this way is indeed the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
A beautiful gift for ourselves and a beautiful gift for others – it’s a win/win.
The stillness has a lot of power, a lot more than we tend to let ourselves feel. It is very empowering to live with the beauty that comes from being with oneself and others in that stillness. What a way to live each day!
A beautiful and very inspiring blog Anne – something we could bring into our everyday. ‘Stillness before motion’
Move over white Christmas there is a new Christmas in town.
Yes light Christmas, filled with love and light!
I too love to start my day connecting to myself and feeling my body before I go about my activities. I am learning the more still I am, the more I love life and all that it brings.
I love what you have presented here Anne about Christmas being a time when we can all potentially be still. Several years ago I started presenting a 6 day program of Esoteric Yoga (the Yoga of Stillness) starting on Boxing day. I could also feel this is a natural time of stillness and inner-reflection. Coming to the end of the year, often with at least a few days holiday, naturally creates space to look back and consider how your year has been and what you would like to keep or discard in the coming year. Isn’t it interesting the crazy busyness that most of us create at this time of year to avoid this opportunity?
I have attended one of the programs you presented during this time and it is such a powerful way to bring completion to a year and the quality of stillness into the next.
Stillness is the most beautiful and exquisite feeling in the body, however a challenge to behold it during a day which can have ups and downs.
Practise – regularly coming back to stillness and, especially, especially, not blaming ourselves but staying loving with ourselves when we find that we have moved away from stillness. That works.
I used to find Christmas exhausting and often got left with a feeling of disappointment that something was missing. For the past 3 years our adult children have spent Christmas Day with the families of their partners as Christmas Day to us is just a day. I have spent Christmas Day gently preparing a special meal for when we are all together the day after Christmas Day and I have found that I have enjoyed the best Christmas Days ever.The greatest present I have unwrapped within me is the stillness of my inner-heart.
The way you celebrate the time with your family is lovely Mary. It strikes me that there are two Christmases, two birthdays, two anniversaries. The ones which have become commercial, with cards presents, external show, that only happen on certain days, and the daily ones where we celebrate that beautiful stillness and connection with ourselves and others, with the present presence of stillness beyond price.
Beautiful and true Mary ‘The greatest present I have unwrapped within me is the stillness of my inner-heart.’ and it an everlasting exquisite present and it will never be boring.
Lovely blog Anne. It feels beautiful to have more stillness in my day, but the challenge is to maintain it on a consistent basis.
I love that too, to make everyday a special day and to live in stillness and joy. It doesn’t have to be just one day a year it can be everyday.
Beautiful, simply and inspiring blog Anne. I loved reading it. This is something I am practicing too. To bring stillness into my everyday life.
I love this Anne and can relate to how stillness in my day can make everything flow better. When I start to trying to rush, everything feels like an uphill struggle and my whole body feels hard and tense. When I am more still, everything feels a lot easier, even when I have a lot to do.
Beautiful, Anne. Beginning the day in stillness is so very supportive.
Before meeting Serge Benhayon I did not even know that there was a stillness inside of me that I could connect to before doing anything. I am so grateful that through Serge’s presentations I became aware of this stillness, connected to this stillness and have the choice to return to the stillness whenever I am out of it.
I really love this blog Anne as I feel stillness is such an important part of life . In the times when I don’t have it is is dearly missed and the wisdom it brings .
Feels like Christmas and birthday at the same time! Thanks Universal Medicine – 365 days a year!
Thank you for this short and simple blog about the thing that is so important in our lives, being in stillness and truly connected to ourself.
Thank you for this beautiful blog and to remind us how simple it is to connect to stillness. I came to understand stillness when I met Serge Benhayon, my life was full of motion all the time. I now love the feeling of stillness and connecting to my body, it feels so natural. It has taken me time to connect to this feeling, but it amazing. Now I am able to catch myself quicker when I go back into the motion energy.
Thanks Anne for sharing your blog , yes in truth every day is a day full of Christ if only we connect to it and claim it as who we are.
Anne, reading this I reconnected instantly to my stillness. You are so right, if we did make this gorgeous yummy choice to connect to our stillness every day then every day would be like Christmas, with the best gift ever.
So true Donna. I love your take on presence and presents, that is well worth celebrating.
If we were to truly live in stillness there would be no need for Christmas presents as we would experience that our own presence is full and enough to not want or need for anything outside of ourselves. Christmas presents would solely then be a celebration rather than fulfilling any needs.
“In our own presence everyday would be a celebration of ourselves as there would be nothing from the outside that could take us away from the beauty and joy that we are.” Now that’s a present worth having and giving!
I love this blog, as the joy in reading it confirms to me I too know that feeling of stillness in my body and how much I love it. Life just flows as does my body with simplicity and ease, but most of all in the stillness I feel a deep connection, equalness and deep love of people, everywhere, everything feels complete.
Hi Anne, a great reminder, as we can often get caught up in the whirlwind of christmas that people are going through, and what society promotes, if we allow ourselves to. However, then this could also relate to everyday, so consciously choosing not to get caught up, enjoin or take on other people’s stuff, instead making a conscious effort to be in our stillness everyday…because it is just so yummy.
Thankyou Anne, beautifully shared and expressed.
I like how we are always given a choice about the quality of our days. The fact that we do actually have a choice is not something widely talked about, at least not in this way, with such stillness and self appreciation.
Gorgeous Anne.
Stillness surely is a great feeling. I cannot relate to ever feeling the stillness at Christmas in amongst the busyness, but I know this can be something I can work on more in my daily rhythm to make stillness a more common, moment to moment experience in my life.
Very inspiring, beautiful reminder. Thank you, Anne. So true that we don’t need to wait for a certain day of the year to bring out a way of being we know we enjoy.
I have appreciated stillness on Christmas day, I am learning to appreciate it every day. It brings a quality to the day that supports me and I feel an appreciation for myself and others when I connect with stillness.
I had never considered Christmas to be a day of stillness but I am wondering if I wanted it to be more, placed too much expectation in a moment that could have been a stopping point to connect. A bit like how I have lived every other day in the year until I met Serge Benhayon; then I stopped and felt the stillness I had not honoured for what seemed like an eternity.
Thank you Anne. For long time I have had a bit of a ‘bah humbug’ attitude about Christmas, as I have been in reaction to what Christmas has turned into and the fact that I work a lot of Christmases, as a child I just adored Christmas. I had a gorgeous day last year where myself and my partner went out in the boat and found a place to park ourselves and just be, enjoy each other, ourselves and the day, without any expectation of anything. I realise it’s not about what we do but how we are with ourselves and that we can choose to be this way everyday.
Exactly Jennifer, if we are with ourselves, we will make choices that truly support and lovingly hold us and everybody else so that indeed every day will feel like Christmas.
Beautiful Anne. And why choose anything less? Loving and celebrating self and Loving and celebrating others every day – yes, l’ll have a piece of that thanks 🙂
In the beginning stillness was a bit of a challenge for me because I did not want to stop being in so much motion. This motion gave me a form of security because it was so familiar in my body. When I understood this I could chose to stopp and allow myself to feel insecure and after that to feel this stillness deep inside of me . . .
Reading your blog this morning, Anne, brought a beautiful stop for me, how still am I now, in this moment. Thank you.
Yes I can relate to this stillness as a stop of our usual momentum. Like Christmas day is a stop to our usual days activity. Great reflection Anne, and yes bringing stillness in as our usual momentum makes quality to our living. Thank you for sharing.
yes, this is a great reminder to stop and feel how still we all are inside, and how we can support ourselves to bring this into our days.
I can relate to that moment to check in the morning before getting up- since I am doing this, it gives me a marker throughout my day, where I am at in my body.
Beautiful Anne. I too have always enjoyed this feeling about this day. It is an opportunity to feel that there is a stillness within, that this is our essence and that we can be and live with each other in this way. What if we celebrated on this day, as a marker, that this stillness is our true way to live and to share our love? And that this celebration can be lived every day.
Feeling stillness everyday and celebrating myself everyday feel like lovely connecting rituals that I am attempting to make part of my daily rhythm, each and every day.
So simple and beautifully expressed Anne with such a powerful message, thank you
The 3 questions you pose are very poignant ones for us to deeply ponder
Gosh that’s every child’s dream to have Christmas everyday! And it is my dream to feel the stillness of the amazing woman I am everyday. Mmmm bring on that stillness.
Anne beautifully written – I was contemplating just yesterday how it is that I know movement so well and can stay with what is moving and happening – yet when there is the opportunity for stillness I sometimes can’t stay with my body and truly accept that moment for me. This article has connected me with the fact that I am living stillness and the momentums of doing are just a sideline distraction to me living this more deeply.
Simple appreciation of stillness and is what I also feel when it snows — the silence the flakes bring, or very early in the morning. Having the opportunity to stop, and to feel connected to this silence as you describe Anne, is worth everything.
That is exactly what I love about Christmas too Anne. That it is a day to stop, with no agenda and be with others. It would be truly wonderful if we approached every day with the same quality.
‘What if we could feel stillness every day?’ Awesome question Anne and something that I have touched on but not had a consistency with. However after reading your blog I realised how much of a support it is to live a day where my first movement comes from stillness. Most of all this means that I get to live Christmas morning every day and not just once a year.
How lovely and simple, just as life can be when we connect to the stillness within.
I could not but gladly smile when reading your beautiful blog Anne.
My partner and me very often tend to say that life for us feels like it is Christmas nearly everyday. The deeper connection with ourselves and others which we have found with the help of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon has brought such a difference to our lives – there is so much more love and appreciation and a celebratory mood that comes with it.
Anne, such a great reminder and such a simple thing, to just stop each morning and feel our bodies before we move, and just connect back anytime.
Beautiful sharing Anne! I have noticed the general feeling of overwhelm and overdrive people get in, in the holiday season. In the past this was normal for me. Not any longer.
I really felt that blog. Thankyou for the teaching (:
Starting the day in stillness…Lovely and simple Anne.
There are days when what I have to do that day starts crowding my mind and then I wrongly believe that I won’t get it all done if I take a moment to confirm the stillness. But if I rush and give in to that momentum, the whole day starts on the wrong footing.
I know that feeling Gabrielle, the controversy is that when I start that way I am far less productive then when I start from stillness and take little check in moments during the day to come back if needed. And it feels soooo much better!
Anne, even the way you have written this feels still. Lovely.
Stillness, such a beautiful quality, there for us at any moment should we so choose.
I agree Jeanette, I loved reading Anne’s article, and yes stillness and the space it brings is a daily choice, a year round gift to ourselves.
A beautiful analogy, Anne. Thank you for the reminder of being in stillness, starting the day in stillness and to keep coming back to stillness. Much needed in my/our busy lives.
Yes, I like being still and when things get difficult during the day coming back to stillness is very useful. It even helps when things are going well.
This is lovely and inspiring. Only today I was aware of a mental busyness I had been in; and how when I walked it was from the busyness and not from the strength and stillness within my body. So I made an effort to slow my walk down to be with me and not be with the rush or spin of the day … or days! And it felt good to do this, that by just slowing down and feeling how I walked was giving me a gift.
Thank you Anne. This blog is so simple but powerful in offering another way to be.