Noise is so common that most of us don’t know what true silence is and often we flee it by turning on the TV or music to fill up a silent room. Cars rumble by, sending out their vibrations. Refrigerators hum inside houses. Air conditioners and heaters purr. On top of that we populate and pollute the space with Internet and radio too.

Every sound has its source in movement. Even the eyelid closing over the eye creates a sound. But stillness is a deep inner quiet where there is no movement of the mind. No thought, no agitation, no desire. It all temporarily ceases and all simply is – perfect in its being and becoming. Stillness is an inner place that is ever-present when we go deep enough to find it. It’s a place with no troubled currents where all is quiet, unruffled and profound.

This place can be found inside, often inspired or triggered by an outer event. A day ago as I worked inside, a white heron glided slowly down onto the marsh beyond my window. It stood perfectly still for a long time, alone amid the yellowing marsh grass. Its stillness took me into that place of observant silence.

Where do you find stillness today?

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.