larger pdf image of this page: Still and Quiet. Uncropped photo: Stillness (really beautiful)
Oh my…the idea of having a “still and quiet mind”…
ahhh, that sounds soooo good.
Well, I’m working on that, but certainly have a way to go.
Last summer, my husband Peter, my daughter Julie and I hiked to this very still and quiet little pond in the White Mountains of New Hampshire….Greeley Pond. It was sooo quiet and still….just remarkable.
After I saw this photo that we had taken,
it became an inspiration for me to practice quieting the mind…
through spending more time in nature, meditating …
and just taking more quiet time for myself at home.
It seems to take lots of “practice”, on an ongoing basis, to develop a mind that has more “stillness”…and sometimes, at least for me, consistent practice can be a bit of a challenge….but I continue to sit and practice on a “mostly regular” basis.
I printed that “Stillness” photo on clear, plastic transparencies, laminated them…and put them in windows…the window hangers are actually quite ethereal, the way they catch the light and reflection…definitely calming and soothing… a welcome relief after a busy day.
Oh…I would LOVE to have easy and ongoing access
to that “still and quiet mind”….
August 8: this is another image/post that I’ve brought up from the earlier posts. I’ve been a bit “stirred up” throughout the past few days, (well….10 days!) so would like this image right here to possibly help me settle. (????) An added note about “sitting” quietly or meditating… for me, I tend to get worn out hearing that “chattering mind”…sometimes called “the monkey mind”….jumping around, chattering away….it seems to be incessant at times…really quite amazing how challenging it can be, at times, to have the patience to sit there, coming back to following the breath and letting the mind quiet down. One strategy that I find helpful is to imagine having the sense of quiet in the photo…it really seems to help!
Pocket Perspectives 
My mind is calm and still most of the time now . . . but it took a lots of patience and practice to evict that chattering monkey.
A quiet mind, like the surface of a still pond, provides a more accurate reflection.
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What a perfect quote! Thank you…. I have another blog brimming with ideas similar to these….Reflections from a Friend, (linked on the blogroll to the right) with that pond photo on the headline area and lots of reflection pages with the pond photo on them…but I wasn’t aware of that quote..it’s perfect!.
Wow…calm and still mind most of the time?…ohhh, that sounds so good! I make steady progress and then a “tricky” situations arise and back I go…but yes, lots of patience and practice…and so I continue… : )
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I just googled “the quote” and the links all went back to posts on SLTW. It seems I penned “the quote” myself. 😆
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Well, all the better…it’s a great quote! 😎 ps…I learned how to make those emoticons from your site!… 🙄 ….now I have emoticons AND a good quote…thanks!
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I’m glad that you enjoyed my blog (letting our just average selves to shine). I really enjoyed your blog on stillness of the mind. It is so true that it’s very difficult to still that monkey mind. And your photo is stunning. Having that in the window, as a sun catcher, would be fantastic. Are you selling them?
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Thanks! The sun catchers are pretty….a nice “quieting-down” image….I don’t sell them but would be happy to send you one…I give them away to friends They have the word “stillness” on them. (although my husband has one in his office with just the photo on it) If anyone would like one, just email me at kboyle777@comcast.net. I have extras and would be happy to share. (I just looked at your gravatar..do you know the expression….a Japanese proverb, “fall down seven, stand up eight” ?….I love that one! )
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i’m with you…still working on quieting my mond…all the time. but for now i’m content with…more often than not… 😉
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“more often than not” ….well that sounds great to me! 😎
I wonder if there is a “calm minded” emoticon???
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That is one pure and true vision of calmness. Everything about it breaths peace and sense of personal solitude. Like the refreshing clear waters, the photo can renew a weary body and mind. Thanks for sharing to us this beautiful, breathtaking place. Thanks for today’s wonderful inspiration.
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Oh, you’re very welcome….that image has provide so many moments of calm in me…in moments that I really need those too…Isn’t it amazing how a photo, or even the image in my mind, can offer calm and renewal…I’m very thankful for those…And thanks for your reminder in your own post…I think it’s really helpful for people to keep this idea in mind…
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