•  
A+ A A-

Finding Stillness: Resting at Home in the Middle of Chaos

zen still

There’s a part of us that wants to find peace from all the chaos in our lives, all the busyness and distractions and complication and stress and overwhelmingness of it all.

We want to get away from it all, or get control of everything and create order out of the mess. We want stillness, we want rest, we want peace.

But this kind of banishment of chaos and stress isn’t usually possible, unless you go into the mountains and live in a monastery. (Spoiler: You’ll find chaos there too.) So what can we do?

The answer is to find stillness and peace in the middle of chaos.

This is an advanced practice, and so if you’re new to meditation, I suggest starting with my beginner tips for mindfulness and then move on to my short ebook, the Zen Habits Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness. But if you’ve meditated a bit, you’ll have the foundational skills for stillness in chaos practice.

In this post, I’m going to share a practice of resting at home, and then talk about how to use that in the middle of the chaos of our lives.

Resting at Home Meditation

Try this now, if you’re somewhere where you can sit in quiet (even on a train or bus) for a minute or two:

  1. Sit still, ideally in a position where you feel stable and grounded.
  2. First check in with your body — how does it feel right now? What sensations can you notice? Is your posture upright and relaxed? What kind of energy are you feeling in this moment? What does it feel like to be alive right now?
  3. Then check in with your breath — is your breathing relaxed? How does this breath feel? What is the texture of this breath? Keep your attention on the breath for a few moments.
  4. Next, expand your awareness to everything in the room, including yourself. Not anything in particular, just a general open awareness of everything, eyes open, taking in all sensations, receiving them, not labeling them. Don’t judge anything, don’t fix on anything in particular, just open yourself to awareness of a field of sensations, your own body included in that field, not separate from anything.
  5. In any of these steps, if your mind starts to wander to thoughts, just notice that (without judgment) and gently come back to your awareness of the present moment.

If you can rest in this open awareness, coming back when you wander … what can happen is that you yourself can drop away. Not your body or your awareness, but your conception of yourself. We all have this idea of ourselves, a structure we’ve created that is “me,” but in truth it’s just a mental concept. With an open awareness, this conception can drop away. Try it for a minute or two, and see if you can let that mental concept of yourself drop away, so that you’re just a part of everything in your awareness.

What I’ve found is that in the moments you can do this, it feels like you’re coming home.

Think about what it’s like to come home — either to your home at night, or to your childhood home after being away. It’s like coming home to the familiar, to the comfortable, to a sense of belonging. This is where you belong, where you are loved, where you can be at rest. That’s the feeling that you can get if you rest in open awareness, with your sense of self just dropping away.

Rest in this sense of coming home. Rest in this place of stillness, of connecting to the infinite.

Finding Stillness in Daily Chaos

If you can get glimpses of this sense of stillness and of being at home, at peace, in the meditation above (and don’t worry if you can’t yet, it can take some practice) … then you have a place to come back to at any moment.

In a moment of stress or frustration, you can pause and find this sense of stillness. In an argument with your spouse, in the snarl of commuter traffic, in the frazzle of getting through your overwhelming daily tasks … you can rest at home, in this place of belonging.

At any moment during the day, you can access this:

  1. Notice that you’re stressed and feeling a sense of groundlessness, of chaos. Notice that this comes from wanting peace, stillness, control. Notice that this comes from wanting to be safe, wanting your idea of yourself to be in a safe, stable, peaceful place.
  2. Find that place by resting in open awareness, in this moment. Letting go of the sense of self, just being part of everything around you. Just coming home, to where you belong, where you’ve belonged all along.
  3. Find a sense of love for everything in your awareness, a sense of compassion for the parts that are in pain (yourself included, but also for others), a feeling of friendliness to everything in your awareness, a feeling of curiosity, of gentleness, of gratitude.
  4. Continue to do what you need to do in this moment, going through your email, doing your daily tasks, but with a sense of stillness in the middle of the chaos, a connection to the infinite all around you, a feeling of peace as you take action.

There’s no need to get away from the chaos. It’s just movement, in the place where you belong.

Zen Habits is about finding simplicity and mindfulness in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. My name is Leo Babauta. I live in Davis, California with my wife and six kids, where I eat vegan food, write, run, and read. Source

Pin It

Liked this article? Dive deeper into personal growth and wellness! Check out CrystalWind.ca for spiritual wisdom or explore AromaWorx.ca for natural well-being tips. Spread the positivity—share this with friends on their happiness journey!

Let’s Chat! Drop Your Thoughts Below! Scroll down to comment

Keep CrystalWind.ca free—your gift matters now!
Help us spread light today. Thank you, supporters!

Follow this blog

Featured Writers

Thank You for Visiting CrystalWind!

We’re honored to be part of your journey.

Share your thoughts at .

Let’s grow together!

Imagine a world of inspiration and healing, free for all—made possible by YOU!
Donate Now—Ignite the Magic at CrystalWind.ca!

Support CrystalWind.ca Today!

Unlock Your Light: Join Lightworkers Worldwide on CrystalWind.ca!

Call For Writers

Call For Writers!

Follow Us!

Featured This Month

Page:

Cancer Mythology

Cancer Mythology

The Mythology of Cancer: A Celestial Tale of Loyalty and Sacrifice Among th... Read more

Lammas by The Hedgewitch

Lammas by The Hedgewitch

Although in the heat of a Mid-western summer it might be difficult to discer... Read more

The Oak Tree - June 10th - July 7th

The Oak Tree - June 10th - July 7th

Summer Solstice ( Alban Hefin ) Read more

Birth Totem - Woodpecker

Birth Totem - Woodpecker

Birth Totem Woodpecker Birth dates: June 21 - July 21 Read more

Calcite

Calcite

The Cleansing Stone Calcite is a powerful amplifier and cleanser of energy.... Read more

Lammas

Lammas

Lammas Ritual Celebrated August 1st. Lammas is also known as Lughnasadh, La... Read more

Cancer

Cancer

CANCER Jun 21 - Jul 22 Read more

Abalone Shell

Abalone Shell

Echos Of The Ancestors Abalone strengthens the structure of the body and th... Read more

Moonstone

Moonstone

Moonstone is one of the best stones for bringing emotional calm and stability,... Read more

Egyptian Zodiac/Astrology

Egyptian Zodiac/Astrology

Egyptian astrology was one of the earliest forms of astrology. The Egyptians w... Read more

Strong Sun Moon

Strong Sun Moon

Flicker – Carnelian Agate – Wild Rose – Pink June 21 – July 22 Read more

Sun in Cancer

Sun in Cancer

Cancer Sun Sign Characteristics Overview The name "Cancer" comes from Latin, ... Read more

Lugh - Celtic God Of The Sun

Lugh - Celtic God Of The Sun

The god Lugh was worshiped in Ireland as a deity of the sun. This connection... Read more

Chalcedony

Chalcedony

The Stone Of Orators Chalcedony was very popular as a decorative stone in ant... Read more

Wild Rose

Wild Rose

Wild Rose Fills your life with soft romance. Gender: Feminine Planet: Venus... Read more

X

Right Click

No right click